Germany: German authorities are looking at Ireland's experience of attracting back emigrants in the hope of encouraging young people to move home to depopulated eastern states.
Decades after west German families sent "west packages" to their relatives in east Germany, authorities in the eastern city of Magdeburg are now sending special "homeland cartons" westwards.
The target recipients are the one in five Magdeburg residents who have left to work in western states since unification, depriving the eastern city of 60,000 educated young people.
The aim is to "encourage homesickness". The carton's contents include local delicacies, an online subscription to the local newspaper and vouchers for Magdeburg sports matches and bars.
Other pilot programmes include a "returning agency" to make the move easier, as well as a website where people can swap news, learn of jobs fairs back home and read about the "Returnee of the Month".
"We are working on the lessons of the Irish who left for the USA in the '70s and the networks maintained with home," said sociologist Prof Christiane Dienel, who started the "homeland carton" programme.
"Our studies have shown that migrants only return when they have an emotional connection and contact with their homeland." Two years ago, she travelled to Dublin and Mayo to research whether the economic boom in Ireland had affected regional areas.
"What I learned is that with an economy upswing even the periphery regions benefit," she said. In her report findings, she related the Irish experience of keeping up contacts with emigrants and the economic decisions that resulted, such as foreign companies opening branches in Ireland. Her report also stressed the need to recognise the positive aspect of emigrants' experiences abroad while emphasising the quality of life at home.