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Description
The project will contribute to ensuring an effective coordination among competent authorities and to develop strategies, action and contingency plans. The project will improve the effective monitoring of the various aspects of migration, the establishment of a knowledge sharing mechanism and the capacity building among the first line and supportive personnel. Through the project, qualitative and quantitative data on the area of migration and asylum will be produced, risks will be identified, contingency plans for high-influx situations developed and evaluations and statistics will be produced. The Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, as well as the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDI) and the Ionian University, will support the project by providing experience and expertise.
The project will include the following main activities:
- Establishing and operating a Migration and Asylum Observatory, including a feasibility/maturity study and legal framework ahead of the establishment;
- Developing action plans and contingency plans;
- Establishing and operating a national registry of interpreters, including a maturity/feasibility study.
Summary of project results
The steady flow of migrants created a two-fold challenge for the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. On the one hand there was a great need for reliable data and analysis on the fields of migration and asylum. Though the different services of MoMA produce statistics and reports on a regular basis, there was a clear need for a more unified and systematic approach and for the use of data in a more structured way through forecasting and prognosis. This project consisted of 2 major sub-projects: The establishment of Migration and Asylum Observatory and a Registry of Interpreters.
The rationale behind the “Migration and Asylum Observatory” was to be a cornerstone of this research approach, providing invaluable guidance and co-designing innovative policies in collaboration with relevant directorates and departments. The Observatory could cover the entire spectrum of the ministry''s competences, from reception and management of migration and asylum to integration policy through the holistic examination of data and information from all fields of action to generate evidence-based policy conclusions and promote innovation.
As far as the “Registry of Interpreters” is concerned, despite the increased needs for interpretation, there has been a lack of a framework for public service interpreting, especially at the state level. The establishment of Registry of Interpreters as part of the organigram of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum including the certification, evaluation and training of registered interpreters would ensure the adoption of a common and unified framework for public service interpretation and the provision of better services to users of interpretation, both personnel of the ministry and third country nationals to ensure their right to effective communication.
Predefined Project 3 aligns with the objective of the GR-G Programme to ensure a functioning national asylum and migration management and to safeguard the right to seek asylum, as it has the potential to further enhance the capacity of the Ministry on two crucial sectors, data-driven strategic planning and policy making and the provision of better interpretation services on the context of the reception and asylum procedures.
The activities implemented in the context of Predefined Project 3 are the following:
• An integrated project team consisting of 11 employees from different services of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum relevant to the implementation of the project (Directorate of Human Resources, Procurement Department, Budget Department, etc.) was established to assist with the management of the Project.
• A maturity and feasibility study conducted by an external contractor. The maturity- feasibility study produced an analysis and identification of stakeholders, a review and systematization of relevant international bibliography for good and other practices in respect to the implementation of comparable national or/and European projects, an assessment and evaluation of the situation of the assets and equipment to be used for the implementation and operation of the Observatory and the Registry and identification of specifications and requirements for the development of IT platforms for the Observatory and the Registry.
• Recruitment of temporary staff for the Observatory and for the Registry.
• Electronic equipment was purchased for the operation of both the Observatory and the Registry of Interpreters through a tender and procurement procedure.
As part of the sub-project “Registry of Interpreters” a Partnership Agreement was signed with the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpretation of the Ionian University. The partnership produced the following deliverables:
• A draft of the Ministerial Decision for the establishment and operation of the Registry.
• A qualification and accreditation system for public service interpreters.
• Design of the Code of Ethics
• Bilingual tests in eight languages (Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Kurmanji, Sorani, Somali, Farsi, Punjabi)
• Pilot tests in eight languages with the participation of 61 tested interpreters.
• Pilot training for interpreters who succeeded in the pilot tests.
• Two-day pilot training programme with the participation of 34 successful candidates in the language tests on the ethical framework, basic skills and best practices of interpreting in the Civil Service.
Though at the closure of the programme there wasn’t a full implementation of the project, significant results were produced, especially relating to the field of public service interpretation. A Ministerial Decision for the establishment of the Registry of Interpreters has been drafted and submitted to the political hierarchy and the relevant legal service of the ministry, which sets the bases for its official establishment. This will have a serious impact on the field of public service interpretation, as there will be a legal framework to define criteria for the registration, qualification and accreditation of interpreters.
As part of the project a qualification system for interpreters has been designed in cooperation with the Ionian University. The design has provisions both for the short and the long-term operation of the Registry. On the short-term there will be two levels of qualification while on the longer term three more levels can be gradually added including an advanced university degree level.
In the context of the project pilot bilingual tests in eight languages (Arabic, Farsi, Punjabi, Urdu, Somali, Kurmanji, Sorani) were held. An official invitation was issued, and 61 interpreters participated. Those of the participants that succeeded participated also in three-day pilot training courses. In total 35 candidates participated in the training sessions.
As part of the design of the qualification system, the research team of the Ionian University conducted research involving employees of the ministry that make use of interpretation services. In that way, we could ensure that the project considered the needs of the users of interpretation. Also, after the pilot language tests the participants filled in anonymous questionnaires with comments and observations on the form of the tests. In this way their comments can be considered for the further improvement of the testing procedure.
The above activities ensure that the needs of two categories of end beneficiaries of the project (public employees and interpreters) are taken account of and addressed to lesser or bigger extent.
The delivery of the qualification and accreditation system including the pilot activities enhances the capacity of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and will act as the base for the operation of the Registry of Interpreters.