The City of Amsterdam, as Coordinator of the Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees within the Urban Agenda for the EU, will organise a working conference for and by migrants and (former) refugees. It will be held on Wednesday, 17 May 2017 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This working conference will bring together migrants, (former) refugees and experts from different EU-cities in the field of integration of migrants and refugees, to together find solutions for issues on the topics of reception, housing, work and education. 

Why this Working Conference?

For migrants and refugees integration into society can be a complex and multi-facetted issue, in which many factors decide the eventual success to integrate. There have been many examples of integration policy failing to hit the mark or being disconnected from the target group. One way to prevent this is to involve migrants and refugees more in the policy that is made for them. The Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees aims to include migrants and former refugees in the process of finding solutions to the obstacles to integration and inclusion. By doing this, it wants to make policy with migrants and refugees, rather than just about them. 

Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees

As destinations for almost 70% of the refugees, many cities face several challenges in welcoming newcomers and supporting them to gain access to housing, work and education. Therefore, the Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees was created, allowing European cities to work together towards successful integration. By providing better funding, better regulation and better knowledge sharing, the EU can help cities and practitioners to make a difference in these fields. 

More Information

For more information on the Working Conference please contact the coordinator Sabina Kekic of the City of Amsterdam via s.kekic@amsterdam.nl.