Aegean Migration Working Group

The Aegean Migration Working Group is the foundation's longest-running standing track. It brings together municipal officials from Lesvos, Chios, Samos, İzmir, and Çeşme, alongside national-level asylum authorities and humanitarian NGOs working on the eastern Aegean route. The premise is operational rather than political: the people doing the work meet each other, share what is happening on each side of the maritime border, and publish a quarterly situational note.

The working group does not advocate for or against any particular asylum policy. It documents what is, identifies gaps in case-handover and unaccompanied-minors protocols, and proposes minor procedural improvements that municipalities can adopt without national-level legislative change. Where there is a national-level question, the working group flags it and steps aside.

Membership is by invitation, balanced across the Greek, Turkish, and Cypriot sides, and refreshed annually. All quarterly notes are public and citable.