The RedEs Colombia website (Network Colombia), created in December
2007 to promote links between Colombian migrants and their country
of origin, has registered its 10,000th user, a Colombian migrant
living in New York.

The site, "http://www.redescolombia.org/" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.redescolombia.org/  managed by IOM Colombia
in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offers
Colombians the possibility to stay in touch with family and
friends, propose and develop projects, receive and share
information, carry out employment searches, create personal pages
with personal information, photos, hobbies and interests, as well
as create slideshows and blogs.  

RedEs Colombia also offers a search component where users can
search specific profiles using names, place of birth, age, gender,
hobbies, etc.

According to the 2005 census, carried out by the National
Administrative Department for Statistics (DANE by its Spanish
acronym), more than 3.3 million Colombians are living abroad. 
This was the first census, with IOM support, to include migration
variables. 

The results of the questionnaires confirmed that most Colombians
living abroad hail from the Department of Valle del Cauca (24.1 per
cent) and from the capital's metropolitan area (18.7 per
cent).  Destination countries for Colombian migrants are
mainly the United States (35.3 per cent) and Spain (23.4 per
cent).

An important tool incorporated into RedEs Colombia is the
ability to collect migration-related information allowing the
government to establish migration policies.

"Colombians have shown their willingness to invest in Colombia
and their desire to return one day and contribute to the
development of their country.  The success of RedEs Colombia
is an example of how migrants can contribute to the development of
government policies that will benefit those returning home and the
families that stayed behind," explains Jose Angel Oropeza, IOM
Chief of Mission in Colombia.

As the manager of RedEs Colombia, IOM develops new strategies to
advertise the site and encourages the private sector to participate
and create alliances so that the project can have long-term
success. 

According to projections for 2008, published by Colombia's
Central Bank, Colombian migrants will send USD 4 billion in
remittances this year.

For more information please contact:

Jorge Andrés Gallo

IOM Colombia

Tel: +57.1.594.6410 Ext. 142

Mobile: +57.311.561.9495

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