Andean migrant associations' host and home country engagement: lessons from the cantons of Geneva and Vaud, Switzerland

The scarce studies on Latin American migration to Switzerland have mainly focused on communities, slightly less on individuals, and there has been little research on Latin-American migrants' participation in migrant associations from their countries of origin. The lack of knowledge and understanding of migrant associations from Latin American countries in general and from the Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in particular, is the primary motivation for this study. It seeks to fill this gap by examining the origins, aims and main activities of Andean migrant associations from the above-mentioned countries in the Cantons of Geneva and Vaud in Switzerland to understand the degree to which they contribute to the integration of Andean migrants in their host country, and engage with their countries of origin. This study seeks to also understand Andean migrant associations' structure, capacity development, and interactions with other migrant associations, civic organizations and public authorities