[Original article in French here]
On Wednesday, January 18th, in the Maison d’Europe, France Bénévolat organised a thrilling conference on “How to better integrate refugees and migrants in our societies”. Many European actors from Norway, Sweden, Germany, but also politicians, administrative officers, associations, volunteers presented their innovative ways to welcome refugees with, for instance, the self-government of refugee camps refugees themselves.
One of the objectives of this conference is to favour cooperation between every local actor to answer the diversity of needs in the welcoming of refugees. Also, we wanted to highlight the implications of refugees as co-actors of their own integration.
France Bénévolat organised this day from the reflections on the subject by the Commission Inter Associative. This process led to four capital conditions for the sustainable effectiveness of welcoming:
- Coherence and strength of action, brought by associations
- Inter-organisational work, in order to answer the diversity of needs on welcoming
- Cooperation between every local actor to mobilise tools
- Direct implication of refugees as co-actors of their own integration
The knowledge of innovative steps and experience must open ne chances for refugee camps and invite active citizenship in both people and migrants.
Many volunteers are working right now with the support of local teams in Grenoble, Nantes, Tours, Paris, Rennes and elsewhere in France.
During this event, France Bénévolat et out a programme based on the best practices identified in France and in the whole Europe, as previously done for other themes.
Discover and rediscover the innovative actions of the speakers
- Project Talents presented by Michel Lefranc
- Role of the European Commission on the welcoming of refugees by Monsieur Antoine Savary, Deputy Head of Unit at DG HOME (European Commission in France)
Welcome systems ad innnovative animations
In Sweden
- Regional development initiatives towards asylum-seekers andnew-comers in Region Västra Götaland by Anders Carlberg, Head of the Research Service, Education and Development
- Self-governement of a refugee camp by refugees themselves in Sweden, by Adnan Abdul Ghani, founder of the initiative in Restad camp, in Västra Götaland => Video
- Innovative implications of a refugee school for Swedish and professinalising ends by Marie Medstrom, Director fo Cuben School, and Johanna Togelid, Teacher => Video
In Germany
Welcoming of refugees in Baden-Württemberg and Stuttgart by Gari Pavkovic, Commissioner for Integration in the City of Stuttgart
In Norway
Welcoming of refugees in Oslo by Petter Yttereng, Curator of establishment Rosenholf and Eva Bech, Professor
Unaccompanied minors:
- By Yousef Ajaj, Member of an association fighting for unaccompanied minors
- By Gari Pavkovic, Commissioner for Integration in the City of Stuttgart
Zoom in on France and Paris
The conference was held in front of:
Pascal Brice, Director General of the French office for the protection of refugees and stateless people (OFPRA)
Madame Anne-Charlotte Leluc, Consellor for refugees in the cabinet of Dominique Versini, in the City of Paris.
Useful docs to set the scene and deepen the concepts proposed above:
- Le plan de Mobilisation de la communauté de Paris pour l’accueil des réfugiés (FR)
- Le plan de Mobilisation de la communauté de Paris pour l’accueil des réfugiés (GB)
- Guide “accueil des réfugiés à Paris“
TALENTS 