The preparations for the Diaspora Days that will be held this August have started. The authorities held meetings with representatives of the diaspora to agree the program of events, IPN reports.

In a meeting with representatives of the Movement of Migrant Women of Moldova, Bureau for Diaspora Relations head Olga Coptu said that this year the Diaspora Days will take place during August 18-20 and it is very important for the representatives of the diaspora to become involved and take part in these events. The Diaspora Days are staged in Moldova with the aim of ensuring a dialogue at the level of diaspora-country, on the one hand, and at the level of country-diaspora, on the other hand. They want to mobilize and involve the diaspora associations in the process of promoting Moldova by common events designed to contribute to the sustainable development of the country.

Bureau for Diaspora Relations consultant Anastasia Badan said the Open Doors Days at the Government will be held on the first day. A panel discussion with the involvement of Prime Minister Pavel Filip will be held within them. The same day, there will be presented a study carried out by a number of experts. The event will involve representatives of the diplomatic corps. Also, there will be presented the Excellence Groups of the Diaspora - a new governmental program intended for Moldovans abroad, which is designed to create a mechanism of cooperation between governmental institutions and highly-qualified experts of the diaspora in five key areas for developing the Republic of Moldova.

On the second day, there will be staged a number of thematic workshops to discuss issues related to economic programs and opportunities of promoting the sustainable integration of migrants, nostalgic tourism, social systems, transfer of good practices, mechanisms for promoting the diaspora-country relations etc. Consultations will be held on the National Development Strategy “Moldova 2020”.

On the third day, cultural activities will be organized outside Chisinau. Within these, representatives of different diaspora associations will represent the particularities of the countries from which they come, such as symbols and dishes. A workshop will be devoted to Romanian language teachers from the diaspora. There will be mounted painting and book exhibitions.

The Diaspora Days have been held annually since 2014. Under a Government decision taken in June 2016, the event is staged by the executive through the agency of the Bureau for Diaspora Relations at the end of the third week of August.