Event

Refugees in Europe – perspectives on people in context

27.06.2018

On June 26, 2018, the European Foundation for Democracy  and the European Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung jointly organized an interactive panel discussion on the findings of EFD’s  recently published ‘Refugees in Europe- review of integration practices and policies’ report.

Together with national integration experts from 7 European countries  and a diverse European audience we discussed about what practices can be used on a wider scale in order to align integration strategies across the EU and thus facilitate the daily work of local initiatives, grassroots organizations and volunteers.

Speakers included Sarah Affani, (SINGA – France), Pauline Wautie (Convivial, Belgium) Mohammed Khattab, (Interface – Austria), Åsa Hedberg, (County Administrative Board of Östergötland – Sweden), Benedict Göbel (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung – Germany), Araa Al Jamarani (Syrian Women in The Netherlands – The Netherlands) and Michala Clante Bendixen (Refugees Welcome – Denmark).

In spring 2018, the European Foundation for Democracy has addressed the existing gap in information sharing by issuing a qualitative report that reviews practices and policies in the integration of refugees in seven different European countries. The study examines “good practices” and identifies less good practices as well as general integrational challenges in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Based on these findings, the study presents recommendations for improved integration policies and practices to national governments and to the EU as a whole.