BRUSSELS, 29 June 2015 – NEXUS participated in the final partners meeting in the framework of the Trafficking Victims Re/integration Programme (TVRP), hosted by the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF). The TVRP was implemented in the Balkans from 2006 to 2015. NEXUS was the Regional Technical Advisor for the TVRP from 2006 to 2015.
The objectives of the final TVRP partners meeting were to review the progress of reintegration efforts in the TVRP project countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia) and identify pressing issues for TVRP partners in their reintegration work; to discuss the results and lessons of the national roundtable discussions held in May and June 2015; and to discuss plans for how to continue reintegration efforts in going forward.
The final TVRP partners meeting was attended by representatives from Albania (Different and Equal, Tjeter Vizion, Vatra), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Medica Zenica, Zemlya Djece), Kosovo (Center for Protection of Victims and Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings, Hope and Homes), Macedonia (Equal Access, Open Gate) and Serbia (Atina, and Centre for Youth Integration).
The TVRP was launched in 2006 by KBF in Belgium to enhance the scope and capacity of reintegration programs for trafficking victims in the Balkans. KBF funded the program from 2006 to 2015; from 2011, the TVRP was co-funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The objectives of the TVRP were:
- to support programs which will result in the sustainable reintegration of trafficking victims;
- to build the capacity of NGOs to provide reintegration services and support;
- to encourage cooperation and synergies with government services and national referral mechanisms;
- to identify effective and human rights centered models of and approaches to reintegration of trafficking victims;
- to promote sustainable reintegration programs beyond the TVRP.
Grants totalling 1.5M€ were awarded to 15 NGOs in seven countries between 2007 and 2014. These NGOs included: Different and Equal (Albania),Tjeter Vizion (Albania), Vatra (Albania), Medica Zeneca (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Zemlya Djece (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Animus Association (Bulgaria), Nadja Centre (Bulgaria), Center for Protection of Victims and Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings (Kosovo), Hope and Homes (Kosovo), Equal Access (Macedonia), Open Gate (Macedonia), Adware (Romania), Young Generation (Romania), Atina (Serbia), and Centre for Youth Integration (Serbia).
This was the seventh and final partners meeting hosted by KBF and facilitated jointly by KBF and NEXUS Institute. Previous partners meetings and technical seminars were held in Brussels, Belgium (March 2008); Durres, Albania (May 2009); Pomorie, Bulgaria (June 2010); Skopje, Macedonia (November 2011); Becici, Montenegro (October 2012); and Jahorina, Bosnia-Herzegovina (September 2013). Topics for technical seminars included: monitoring and evaluating the reintegration programs and services; economic empowerment of trafficked persons; reintegration of trafficked children and youth; and sustainability of reintegration efforts.