The IOM Albania programme “Engage the Albanian Diaspora to the Social and Economic Development of Albania” is adapting some of the activities to the new situation in the country due to Covid - 19 outbreak. The telecommuting smart working will be the new key tool to implement some of the Programme activities. In the light of this, on 26 March 2020, Diaspora Programme held a Skype validation meeting “Presenting ToT[1] Curriculum on Fundraising”.

In the meeting 18 participated the IOM Albania Diaspora Programme representatives, international and local consultants, as well as representatives from Albanian State Minister for Diaspora; Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth; Minister of State for Entrepreneurs; Ministry of Tourism and Environment; Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs;  Albanian Investment Development Agency; Albanian National Fund of Diaspora, National Diaspora Agency, Diaspora Publishing Center, Albanian Diaspora Business Chamber. Diaspora Engagement Institutions are the main beneficiaries of the Fundraising Training.

This validation meeting was organized in the context of the capacity building component of the IOM Albania Diaspora Programme in collaboration with Albanian School of Public Administration (ASPA). The validation meeting aimed to receive the participants feedback on ToT Curriculum on Fundraising, to better adapt the 3 training modules to the needs of the beneficiaries.

A 5-day training on Fundraising, to be organized in the upcoming weeks, will contribute to the capacity building to public officials dealing with diaspora engagement policy implementation. ToT Curriculum on Fundraising is an important tool to provide strategies and techniques on how to approach different bilateral and multilateral donor to raise fund and support different projects in relation to Albanian diaspora engagement into social and economic development of Albania. It is a very important mechanism to strengthen the capacity of public institution representatives on how to diversify their financial resources aiming to build programmes and project that bring Albanian diaspora communities closer to their home country.  

The IOM Albania Diaspora Programme is implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Albania, the UN Migration Agency, with funding from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in coordination with the Albanian State Minister for Diaspora, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Economy through Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA).