Financial Literacy for Migrants: Mapping and Assessment of Needs

About the Project

To conduct the “Financial literacy for migrants: Mapping and assessment of needs” research, a Coordination Council was formed with the participation of representatives of the Central Bank of Armenia, the Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation, and CRRC-Armenia. The purpose of the formation of the council was to exchange information through periodic meetings, receive/provide advisory support, discuss and resolve challenges that arise during the implementation of the research.

To map the target groups, as well as to assess the needs of migrants from the point of view of financial literacy, and to identify the most effective ways of providing/communicating this knowledge, a round table discussion of the main stakeholders was organized, in which both government institutions (the State Employment Agency of the Republic of Armenia, the Migration Service, the Statistical Committee), as well as representatives of international and non-governmental organizations (International Organization for Migration, Armenian Caritas, Armenian Red Cross Society) participated. During the round table discussion, it was clarified what groups of migrants and how the state and public institutions work with, what challenges they face in identifying these groups and organizing and implementing various courses/seminars, including those related to financial literacy. Subsequently, the information obtained during the round table discussion was used to organize and conduct a focus group discussions with selected target groups of migrants.

To map the target groups of migrants, the CRRC-Armenia team had a number of meetings and discussions with representatives of state and non-governmental organizations, in particular, Irina Davtyan, Deputy Head of the Migration Service of the Republic of Armenia, Amalya Enokyan leading specialist at the Labor Migration Department of the State Employment Service of the Republic of Armenia, Anush Khanoyan, consultant at the European Union Return and Reintegration Program (ERRIN) implemented by the Armenian representation of the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Sargis Balkhyan, head of the external relations and consulting department of Aleppo Compatriotic Charitable Organization.

In parallel, a secondary analysis of available research and analytical materials on migration processes in Armenia and the population involved in these was carried out.