AUDA (Assisted Voluntary Return to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia)

In order to make the reintegration of returnees go more smoothly, the AUDA project has investigated the possibility of increasing co-operation with the country of origin. It aims to influence the improvement of structural deficiencies in the countries that receive returnees by stabilising the economy, creating jobs and improving the education sector. By influencing these factors, the returnees will have better opportunities for reintegration.

Co-operation with the country of origin would require the expertise and co-operation of several administrative branches so that it may affect the various sectors of the country of origin, such as employment, education and housing. In Finland, this would require cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in particular. Launching actual co-operation projects, on the other hand, requires both funding and expertise in other administrative branches.

Including the diaspora communities permanently resident in Finland more closely in the work would also be important, because diaspora communities that understand the language and culture of the countries of origin can play an important role in the development of those countries. A report on personal views of the diaspora with regard to stabilising their background country has been drawn up in the AUDA project by the Finnish Somalia Network.