Islamabad / Lahore: In collaboration with ILO, the Silk Routes Partnership project established – as one main pilot initiative – two Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) in Islamabad and Lahore. The centres provide information and capacity building to potential migrants in Pakistan on rights, legal practices, jobs and protection possibilities abroad as well as on the dangers and consequences of irregular migration.
For this purpose, the MRC staff develops information material for awareness raising and mass distribution. An official website for the MRC is also under development (http://mrc.org.pk). Staff at both locations also started outreach activities to schools, colleges, technical vocational and training institutes in order to raise awareness amongst the general public, especially the youth, on the MRCs and its functions. The MRC staff in Islamabad also visits the Protectorate of Emigrants office in Rawalpindi weekly for pre-departure orientation lectures.
The official inauguration of the Islamabad MRC was held on 12 April 2016. The Federal Secretary of the MOPHRD officially inaugurated the event. The event was also attended by the ambassadors of the EU Delegation and Hungary, government stakeholders, international organisations, civil society, media and university students. An introductory promotional video on the MRC was produced to introduce the MRCs and their service.
20 April 2016
