A new project launched by IOM is reaching out to migrants in Italy
to promote development and strengthen links between the diaspora
and their communities of origin.

The project, Migration for Development in Latin America (MIDLA),
funded by Italian Development Cooperation, aims to promote
socio-economic development for participating countries in Latin
America by identifying and mobilizing the human and financial
resources of migrants from four countries living in Italy.

The estimated 280,000 migrants from Latin America living in
Italy constitute a driving force for development.  These
migrants send millions of dollars in remittances to their families
each year.  They also participate in hometown associations
that serve to maintain the links with their home communities and
drive development. The migrants in Italy work in diverse sectors
and many have started their own businesses.

"The MIDLA Programme will involve migrants from Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru," explains Tana Anglana, IOM's Project
Manager in Italy. "Our aim is to identify the diaspora, meet with
migrants' associations, promote the creation of partnerships
between them and Italian actors, strive to make money transfer
mechanisms more transparent, collect information on existing
incentives as well as advise those who wish to invest in their
countries."

As the project gets underway,  IOM offices are compiling
and analyzing information on the full spectrum of Latin American
migrants in Italy, including looking at national migration
policies, the link between migration and development, remittances,
investments and social enterprises, skilled migration and the
creation of social networks.

A research project titled: Peru: International Migration
Statistics 1990 – 2007, developed by IOM, Peru's General
Directorate of Migration and Naturalization and the National
Institute of Statistics and Technology, confirmed that one in 10
Peruvian citizens who migrated abroad during that time settled in
Italy.  Today it is estimated that the number of Peruvians in
Italy is 70,755.  Peruvians are the second largest Latin
American community residing in Italy after Ecuadorians who number
73,235.

The MIDLA programme was designed to resemble the successful IOM
Migration for Development in Africa or MIDA programme, launched in
2001 to promote the temporary or virtual return of qualified
African migrants to their countries of origin to share their
knowledge and help in the development of their communities of
origin.

For more information please contact:

Flavio Di Giacomo

IOM Rome

Tel. +39 06 44 186 207

E-mail: "mailto:fdigiacomo@iom.int">fdigiacomo@iom.int 

or

Juan Pablo Casapia

IOM Lima

Tel: +511.221.7698 / 221-7209

E-mail: "mailto:jcasapia@iom.int">jcasapia@iom.int

or

Ana Maria Guzman

IOM Quito

Telephone: +593.2.225.3948

E-mail: "mailto:aguzman@oim.int">aguzman@oim.int