World Bank Migration and Remittance Peer-Assisted Learning Network meeting (MIRPAL) FIRST MIRPAL CONFERENCE AND THEMATIC WORKSHOPS Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan Moscow, Russia May 31- June 3, 2010 Hotel Izmailovo, wing Vega http://www.otel-izmajlovo.ru/vega.php Co-sponsored by the World Bank s Innovation Grant and Department for International Development (DFID)
MIRPAL is a community of practice that includes practitioners and professionals representing government officials as well as non-government stakeholders working in the area of migration and remittances from the 9 CIS countries including Armenia, Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Key objectives of the first MIRPAL meeting are to: (1) Strengthen the platform for regional dialogue between migration and remittance practitioners and professionals to cover the key topics of particular interest to the participating countries, in particular: (i) (ii) Discuss administration and organizational progress with the creating of the MIRPAL Discuss the draft strategy for July 2010-December 2012, collect inputs to the strategy from countries and agree on the next steps (2) Conduct first two back-to-back thematic meetings covering the following topics: (i) (ii) Measuring international remittances: concepts, methods, practice Improving tools and methods in estimating international migration, Monitoring and exchange of information Thematic workshop 1 - Measuring international remittances: concepts, methods, practice Key expected outputs of this workshop include: (i) Practical discussions and peer consultations on methodologies of estimating remittances, both formal and informal; (ii) Practical recommendations to improve exiting methods (iii)determine technical assistance requirements and demands (iv) Identify priority reform areas (policy and procedures) in order to improve reporting and estimation practices Expected audience: the audience of this workshop will include: (i) direct data compilers, i.e. key staff of the balance-of-payment department of the National/Central Banks; (ii) representatives of other relevant agencies directly involved in data collection (MTOs, statistical agencies); (iii) MIRPAL National focal points; (iv) WB migration program coordinators and donor agencies.
Thematic workshop 2 - Improving tools and methods in estimating international migration, Monitoring and exchange of information Key expected outputs of this workshop include: (i) Practical discussions and peer consultations on methodologies and data collection systems on international migration; (ii) Practical recommendations to improve exiting methods (iii) Develop draft approaches towards unified interstate statistical system to collect information on international labor migration (iv) Prepare set of recommendations to streamline exchange of information on labor migrants in the participating CIS MIRPAL countries. Expected audience: the audience of this workshop will include: (i) representatives of national statistical agencies engaged in migration statistics; (ii) national labor migration authorities; (iii) representatives of the academia and large GOs engaged in surveys and analytical work or support services (employment) Overall expected outcome of the meeting include the following: (i) Inputs to the MIRPAL development strategy and activity plans from the participating countries; agreement on next steps, tools and approaches (ii) Adoption of recommendations to improve remittance estimation methods in MIRPAL countries (iii) Develop and agree of approaches to develop unified migration data collection systems, data exchange and monitoring.
Day 1, Monday, May 31, 2010 Measuring international remittances: concepts, methods, practice 09:00-09:15 Workshop opening and welcome from organizers Vyacheslav Postavnin, Pedro Alba, Country Director for Russia, WB 09:15-10:45 Country presentations (10 min each country) (summary of methods used in countries, tolls and challenges) [outline has been provided to the focal points] 10:45-11:00 Coffee-break 11:00-11:20 Remittance data and development implications: Data sources and estimates of flows at the global, regional and national levels 11:20-11:40 Modern concepts and definitions: Remittances within BPM5 and BPM6 guidelines. 11:40-12:00 12:00-12:30 Formal and informal remittance channels. Data sources and available estimating methods (tools and instruments) Factoring-in informal remittances (including in-kind) remittances, including those by short-term and seasonal migrants, as well as cross-border area remittances 12:30-13:00 13:00-14:00 Lunch 14:00-14:45 Bridging the gap - Analyzing the outcomes of remittance estimation with mirror statistics (case of Tajikistan and Russia) 14:45-15:00 Current and future role of the interstate CIS Bank as a possible policy coordinator in the area of harmonizing remittance estimation methods 15:00-15:15 Coffee-break 15:15-17:00 Round table to come up with the recommendations/road map to improve remittance estimation at each country level [Tamara and Sanket to come up with the template] 17:00-18:00 Open floor discussions and continuation of round table and work and on Action Plan 19:00 Dinner (Second group of people arrives) Sudharshan Canagarajah, ECA Migration Program Coordinator, WB Chair: Kazi Matin, Sector Manager Central Asia and Caucuses, World Bank National Banks (compilers) Moderator: TBA Speaker: Sanket Mohapatra, World Bank Tamara Razin, IMF Chair and moderator: Tamara Razin Speaker: Mr. Kenneth Egesa, National Bank of Uganda Moderator: Tamara Razin and Natalia Kupriyanova (RU) CIS interstate Bank (Tbc) Resource people: Sanket Mohapatra and Tamara Razin, Resource people: TBA
Day 2, Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Challenges and perspectives of introducing new technologies in remittances 09:00-09:20 Policy measures to reduce costs and improve efficiency, safety and choice in the market for cross border remittances 09:20-09:50 09:50-10:10 Improving access to banking infrastructure for remittances (Access to official money transfer channels and mobile banking, strengthening capacity with advancing telecommunication systems) 10:10-10:40 10:40-11:00 Challenges of improving financial literacy and awareness among migrants (lessons from Latin America and CIS) 11:00-11:30 11:30-11:45 Coffee-break 11:45-13:00 Round table Workshop recommendations to improve access to remittance infrastructures through new technologies, literacy and products [Agree on an Action Plan and a MOU with countries] 13:00-13:15 Workshop resume and next steps and activities in this area under MIRPAL Chair: Sudharshan, WB Speaker: Hemant Baijal, Payments Specialist, WB Chair: Chair: Nikolai Gussman Speaker: Mehdi Elhaoussine Chair:Hemant Bijal Speaker: Nancy Castillo, Interamerican Dialogue Sue Ruthledge (tbc) Resource people: Mehdi Elhaoussine, Hemant Baijal, Sanket Mohapatra, WB Sudarshan and Postavnin 13:15-14:00 Lunch MIRPAL strategy, work plans and next steps 14:00-14:30 MIRPAL strategy and work plan for 2010-2012 Vyacheslav Postavnin, 14:30-15:00 WB s work on migration and how MIRPAL fits (expectations) 15:00-16:30 Round table Country inputs to the MIRPAL strategy 16:30-16:50 Coffee-break 16:50-18:00 Round table Country inputs to the MIRPAL strategy 18:00-19:00 Donor round table Presentation from donors on programs and initiatives 19:00 Dinner Luca Barbone, WB Sudharshan Cnagarajah, WB MIRPAL National Focal points MIRPAL National Focal points Chair: DFID All participating donors (TBC)
Day 3, Wednesday, June 2, 2010 Improving quality and coverage of data on international migration 09:00-09:10 Workshop opening and welcome from organizers. Why does the Bank and MIRPAL pay attention to data on migration (quality and coverage) 09:10-11:00 Country presentations from statistical agencies (15 min each country) (summary of methods used in countries, and effectiveness of the knowledge sharing activities) [outline has been provided to the focal points] Vyacheslav Postavnin, Luca Barbone, WB Moderator: Olga Chudinovskih All countries 11:00-11:15 Coffee-break 11:15-12:00 Continuous migration reporting system in the Latin America (SOPEMI) 12:00-13:00 Data Administration Key directions to improve migrant data collection, tools and approaches to estimate international labor migration (statistical reports, agency-level reporting) +1 country presentation 13:00-14:00 Lunch 14:00-14:45 Labor market data and migration Labor market data and challenges of linking with labor migration (To define with Nilim) +1 country presentation 14:45-15:45 Use of Household data and surveys Improving Migration and Remittances Data using Households Surveys in Eastern Europe and Central Asia +1 country presentation 15:45-16:00 Coffee-break 16:00-18:00 Round table to come up with the recommendations to improve migration data collection [Agree on an Action Plan and a MOU with countries] 19:00 Dinner Georges Lemaitre, SOPEMI Moderator: Olga Chudinovskih and FMS Moderator: (tbd) Nilim Buruah, ILO Chair: Victor Sulla, WB Richard Bilsborrow (Professor from University of North Carolina) Chair: Alexey Stukalo, OSCE and Victor Sulla, WB (with Richard)
Day 4, Thursday, June 3, 2010 Improving monitoring and reporting on migration data, exchange of data 09:00-09:30 Day opening and objectives. Vyacheslav Postavnin, Why do we pay attention to migrant monitoring, report and exchange of data 09:30-10:15 OECD system to collect, monitor, report and exchange of information about labor migrants. 10:15-11:15 Additional sources of the information from surveys by think-tanks and NGOs to improve monitoring of international migration 11:15-11:30 Coffee-break 11:30-12:00 Gap and opportunities for improved data reporting and exchange of data in the CIS Sudharshan Canagarajah, WB Alexey Stukalo, Deputy- Director, Deputy Co-ordinator of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Moderator: (tbd) Tukukanova (RU) and Gagik Torosyan (Armenia) Interstate CIS statistical agency (EURASEC) ЕВРАЗЕС 12:00-13:00 Lunch 13:00-14:15 Open floor discussions (from all countries) 14:15-15:45 Small group work (recommendations and action plan to improve monitoring and exchange of data) 15:45-16:00 Coffee-break 16:00-17:30 Small group work (recommendations and action plan to improve monitoring and exchange of data) Moderator: Migration XXI century Alexey Stukalo and Richard Bilsborrow Moderator: Migration XXI century Alexey Stukalo and Richard Bilsborrow 17:30:18:00 Workshop summary and resume of next steps Vyacheslav Postavnin, 18:00 Dinner Sudharshan Canagarajah, WB and focal points Participants depart (or next day)