Puglia Region and IOM Sign Migration Integration Protocol

The Apulian regional government has approved a two‑year protocol of cooperation with the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agreement aims to strengthen regional staff skills, develop standard operating procedures for screening and assisting migrants, support the drafting of a new regional migration policy plan, and promote projects on housing, anti‑traffic‑king, and empowerment of migrant communities. Regional culture and migration policy chief Silvia Miglietta highlighted the partnership as an investment in institutional capacity and rights‑based inclusion.

The protocol follows a longer Italian tradition of migrant‑worker support, exemplified by the CGIL Foreign Workers Center in Modena, founded in the late 1980s to assist immigrant labourers with rights, duties, and social integration. The centre historically helped organise collective actions, address exploitative working conditions, and provide housing assistance, shaping Modena’s reputation as an early model of inclusive labour policy.