Public associations of the Moldovan diaspora in Canada created the National Diaspora Council in Canada and adopted regulations that govern its activity in a roundtable meeting staged in Montréal. The Council will adjust and coordinate the activities of public associations of the diaspora and community groups in a move to increase the efficiency and visibility of their cultural and economic activities, IPN reports.
According to the Bureau for Diaspora Relations, the project was initiated by Ala Mindicanu, head of the association Community of Moldovans in Québec. The Council will also include representatives of the associations based in Montréal, Edmonton, Calgary, Laval and other cities. The Council is designed to contribute to and promote the national cultural and economic values and to keep a permanent relationship with the Republic of Moldova.
The event to found the National Diaspora Council in Canada involved Moldova’s Ambassador to Canada Ala Beleavschi, Romania’s Consul General in Montréal Ioana Gabriela Costache, head of the Bureau for Diaspora Relations Olga Coptu, coordinator of the Migration and Development Program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Gennady Cretu and others.
The Council will start work on January 25, when it will hold the first meeting to discuss the activity program for 2018-2019. Ala Mindicanu was chosen as Council head.
The roundtable meeting was held thanks to the governmental program “Excellence Groups of the Diaspora” as part of the Diaspora Engagement Hub Program that is implemented by the Bureau for Diaspora Relations and IOM Moldova within the project “Building Moldova’s development capacities by establishing partnerships between diaspora and the country of origin” that is financed by the IOM Development Fund.
