Voices from Refugees in Europe: Responsibility to Protect

On Wednesday 16 May, the European Foundation for Democracy organised a panel discussion, hosted by MEPs Kati Piri (S&D/NL) and Gérard Deprez (ALDE/BE), to present the findings of our recently completed research project which examined how different European countries with high numbers of refugees and/or experience of integrating high numbers of refugees (namely Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and France) are managing the integration process. The research also identifies good practices for integrating refugees in these countries that might be recommended and replicated in other member states, as well as less good practices to amend.

The research, which included interviews with government officials, academics, NGOs and practitioners, including front-line professionals who work directly with refugees, employer federations and other representative organisations, as well as refugees and asylum seekers themselves, looked in particular at the situation of Syrian refugees in Europe, though not exclusively. More than half of the respondents for this research were refugees or asylum seekers.

The panel discussed the findings of the research, as well as the perspectives of a number of experts and refugees, as they shared their experiences, personal stories, as well as their recommendations for good models for refugee integration. Yousef Wehbe, a Palestinian refugee based in Berlin, has, for most of his life, been working with refugee communities on the protection of their rights and integration into host communities; Mohamad Khadam, a Syrian living in Vienna, works for the integration of his compatriots in Austria and Germany; Sally Othman, a Syrian refugee, works in Brussels to help integrate newcomers into the labour market; Marzia Masjidi, from Afghanistan, works in Antwerp supporting the integration of asylum seekers by focusing on human rights and gender equality; Marwa Farid, from Egypt, is an expert on monitoring and evaluating policy programmes in multiple fields, including integration.

Wednesday 16 May 2018

10:30-12:30 

European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, Brussels

 Room PHS P1C047

Voices from Refugees in Europe:  Responsibility to Protect

Hosted by

Kati Piri MEP (S&D/NL)
Gérard Deprez MEP (ALDE/BE)

Speakers

Yousef Wehbe
Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression

Mohamad Khadam
Union of Syrians Abroad

Sally Othman
DUO for a JOB

Marzia Masjidi
Humanitarian Welfare Association

Marwa Farid
European Foundation for Democracy

Moderator

John Duhig
European Foundation for Democracy

Register: events@europeandemocracy.eu  

If you need access to the Parliament, please include name, surname, date of birth, nationality, type of ID and ID number by 8th May at 2:00pm.