Humanitarian and development actors in low- and middle-income countries that host refugees have focused many of their recent interventions on integrating newcomers into national development strategies and promoting access to public services nationwide. But how do these efforts play out at the local level?

This MPI Europe conversation explores how development actors can work with local authorities to enhance the social and economic inclusion of refugees. Subnational authorities have been at the forefront of hosting refugees; while their capacity can be narrow, they often have first-hand experience in managing relations between host and refugee communities. During this webchat, experts discuss partnerships between local authorities, the UNHCR, and development actors that are aimed at integrating refugees in local governance mechanisms. These experiences suggest that improvements for refugees often start at the local level, where general principles agreed upon in international fora are being tested. 

This discussion involving representatives from the World Bank, UNHCR, and Kenya’s Refugee Affairs Secretariat explores three main questions: How can development and humanitarian actors engage with local institutions to promote refugee inclusion? How has the involvement of refugees in local institutions materialized and what are the ways to ensure this participation leads to tangible changes? Finally, in fragile environments, how can discussions on refugee inclusion enhance the engagement of other groups that have traditionally been marginalized in refugee-hosting regions (e.g., internally displaced persons, ethnic minorities, or returnees)?

While climate change and migration remain high on political agendas in Europe, the exact link between the two remains uncertain. Without clarity on how different climate events might lead to more human mobility (or conversely, immobility), it is difficult for migration policymakers and development actors to align their efforts and ensure they are spending resources wisely. Investments in climate adaptation, for instance, which aim to build communities’ resilience to cope with environmental stress, have only recently begun to take human mobility into account. And so far, adaptation activities make up only a small part of Europe’s formidable climate spending.

The COVID-19 pandemic only adds to the urgency of finding innovative financing tools for climate adaptation and migration. Many of the adaptation strategies policymakers previously applied to support communities affected by sudden-onset floods or slow-onset desertification are now obsolete, for example as physical distancing requirements have complicated evacuation and relocation. And because the issue cuts across different policy portfolios, it is difficult to assign clear responsibilities. 

This MPI Europe discussion, with MPI Europe's Hanne Beirens, University of Liège's François Gemenne, GIZ's Dorothea Rischewski, and the European Investment Bank's Moa Westman, explored different migration policy options related to climate adaptation and the evolving landscape of climate finance tools. Speakers also examined what funding gaps and opportunities exist for collaboration with partner countries and what funding instruments might address the most pressing needs. The conversation also explored the implications of COVID-19 for migration and climate adaptation funding approaches.

The rapid closures of borders around the world have been among the most dramatic migration-related effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 130 countries have introduced entry restrictions at their borders, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates. While these closures have virtually suspended leisure and business travel across the world, the effects are proving even more severe for refugees and migrants fleeing danger. Crossing an international border to a country of safety and filing an asylum claim is no longer possible in many places—a seismic shock to the foundations of a post-World War II international protection system that relies on the goodwill of national governments to grant access to their territory for those in need.

The pandemic has also placed into stark relief the unique vulnerabilities forced migrants now confront in the face of outbreak. The reception facilities where many asylum seekers live while awaiting a verdict on their claim invite outbreaks, even in high-income countries with well-run asylum and reception systems. Infection is likely to spread even more rapidly in severely overcrowded facilities, such as the camps on the Greek islands and informal settlements in Mexican border cities where migrants awaiting U.S. asylum hearings are massed. In developing countries where access to proper health care is limited even for nationals, the consequences of the pandemic could be disastrous for refugees who often live in densely packed housing with poor sanitation. At the same time, the suspension of resettlement operations by IOM and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has closed off a crucial lifeline for the especially vulnerable.

Speakers on this webinar consider how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected—and perhaps, remade—the global protection systems. Meghan Benton, Director for Research of MPI’s International Program, is joined by MPI colleagues, Kathleen Newland, Hanne Beirens, Sarah Pierce, and Susan Fratzke, for a free-flowing conversation regarding the effects of the pandemic on asylum systems in Europe and North America, as well as those in developing regions, where 85 percent of refugees remain. In addition to considering the immediate effects the crisis has had on national asylum systems and on refugees themselves, the conversation looks ahead and begin to assess the implications for the principle of asylum and access to protection in the future.

View MPI's resources on COVID-19

Across Europe, employers with seasonal labor needs in sectors such as agriculture, hospitality, and tourism often rely on hiring workers from other countries. Some, such as Germany, source these workers from other EU Member States, especially in Eastern and Central Europe. Others rely on programs that recruit seasonal workers from non-EU countries such as Morocco. While low-skilled workers generally have limited opportunities to legally migrate to the European Union, seasonal migration forms an important exception.

Designing and implementing seasonal worker programs that are responsive to labor market needs but also prioritize the well-being of seasonal workers and deter overstays remain challenging. Likewise, while studies point to the potential development contributions of seasonal migration for origin countries, policymakers can struggle to translate this potential into practice. 

As the European Union prepares to review the implementation of its Seasonal Workers Directive, as well as countries such as the United Kingdom continue to explore new approaches to selecting seasonal workers, this webinar features findings from a policy brief, Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges.  On this webinar MPI Policy Analyst Kate Hooper was joined Concordia CEO Stephanie Maurel and Jan Schneider, Head of the Research Unit at the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR), for a discussion recent trends in European seasonal migration programmes and best practices.

This webinar is part of a project by MPI Europe and the Expert Council’s Research Unit on mobility options to Europe for those not in need of protection, supported by the Mercator Foundation.

Against a backdrop of large-scale spontaneous migration flows towards Europe, facilitating legal migration is often called for as an alternative to irregular migration for individuals and groups not in need of international protection. Moreover, with populations aging and workforces slated to shrink over the next few decades in many European countries, policies that can efficiently recruit migrants to meet labor and skills shortages will be at a premium. While the conversation to date has focused on high-skilled migrants, short-to-medium term projections suggest that demand may also grow for low- and middle-skilled workers in sectors such as health and elder care, manufacturing, and construction. But the changing political environment around migration means that the space for reforms to legal migration policies has narrowed in many countries. At the national level, for example, policymakers must strike a fine balance between accommodating employer demand for more flexible and responsive selection policies and meeting their obligations to protect and promote the labor market participation of local populations. And while expanding legal migration pathways is a common theme of negotiations with third countries, both political and practical considerations (such as how to test demand and scale up initiatives) have stymied efforts to deliver on this pledge.

This event hosted by MPI Europe and the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration includes a discussion of research into legal migration pathways for work and training for low- and middle-skilled migrants not in need of protection.

Speakers consider several questions:
• What opportunities for work or training in Europe can low- and middle-skilled third-country nationals access? What policies and programs have been tried and tested at EU and Member State levels and how successful have they been?
• What practical reforms can governments consider to their selection policies to ensure they are primed to assess and respond to fast-changing labor market needs? What lessons can we learn from bilateral partnerships on legal migration in this regard?
• What role can the European Union play in supporting efforts by Member States to reform or expand their legal migration channels? Where is the European Union’s added value most keenly felt?

“Legal migration for work and training: Mobility options to Europe for those not in need of protection” is a project of the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration in cooperation with MPI Europe, and is funded by Stiftung Mercator.

Drawing on the expertise of housing experts, refugee and migrant organisations, social enterprises, and urban designers, this final session of the MPI Europe conference, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' reflects on the key themes and next steps identified in the two-day conference such as the potential of co-housing for community building; the role of urban planning for more inclusive cities; building innovative cross-sectoral partnerships; and novel approaches to measuring and communicating success in social innovation.

Moderator: Elizabeth Collett, Director, MPI Europe (on leave of absence); Special Adviser to the Director General, International Organization for Migration

Speakers

• David Manicom, Assistant Deputy Minister, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada
• Laura Corrado, Head of Unit, Legal Migration and Integration, DG Home, European Commission
• Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General, Housing Europe

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 25 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

What types of partnerships best generate innovative ideas for refugee inclusion, what types of organizations should governments should partner with, and what are the challenges and opportunities of public-private partnerships? During this panel from the MPI Europe event, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' panelists answer these and other questions.

Moderator: Kenny Clewett, Director, Hello Europe Initiative, Ashoka, Spain

Speakers

• Antigone Kotanidis, Project Coordinator on behalf of the Municipality of Athens, Curing the Limbo, Greece
• Hugo Ortiz Dubon, Co-Founder and Diversity Strategist, We Link Sweden, Sweden
• Viola Zabeti, Press and Opinion (Public Affairs), Union of Sweden, Stockholm

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 25 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

Discussants at this panel from an MPI Europe event, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' examine the innovative approaches of cities and rural areas when it comes to refugee inclusion.

Moderator: Haroon Saad, Lead Expert, Local Urban Development European Network, Belgium

Speakers

• Eleftherios Papagiannakis, Vice Mayor for Migrants, Refugees, and Municipal Decentralization, Municipality of Athens, Greece
• Mari Bjerck, Researcher, Eastern Norway Research Institute, Project SIMRA (Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas), Norway
• Antoine Savary, Deputy Head of Unit, Legal Migration and Integration, DG Home, European Commission

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 25 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

This panel examines the role of employment in creating a sense of home, including the role of professional mentoring in promoting social inclusion and access to the labour market. It was one of several panels at the MPI Europe event, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home'.

Moderator: Ben Mason, Researcher and project lead, Betterplace lab, Germany

Speakers

• Julie Bodson, Advocacy Coordinator, DUO for a JOB, Belgium
• Hugo Ortiz Dubon, Co-founder and diversity strategist, We Link Sweden, Sweden
• Tariq Tarey, Director of Refugee Social Services, Jewish Family Services, United States

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 24 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

This panel from the MPI Europe conference, ‘Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home,' looks at housing as a gateway to integration and examines the role of a home in shaping opportunities for newcomers, what needs should be factored in, and how to reduce receiving communities’ anxieties concerning social change.

Welcoming Remarks

• Stéphane Dion, Canadian Ambassador to Germany and Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe
• Carlos Trindade, President, EESC Group on Immigration and Integration
• Meghan Benton, Senior Policy Analyst and Assistant Director for Research, International Programme, Migration Policy Institute

Speakers

• Anila Noor, Member of the European Migrant Advisory Board, Netherlands
• Tariq Tarey, Director of Refugee Social Services, Jewish Family Services, United States
• Doug Saunders, journalist and author, Canada/UK
• Fuad Mahamed, Founder, Ashley Community Housing, United Kingdom
• Moderator: Meghan Benton, MPI

“Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home.” European Economic and Social Committee. 24 April, 2019. © 2019 EU.

Getting recently arrived immigrants and refugees into work has long been considered the lynchpin of successful integration, with the legitimacy of migration and asylum systems often linked to positive economic outcomes. Spurred in part by the European migration crisis, significant social innovations and public-sector investments have focused on assessing newcomers’ existing skills, matching them with available jobs, and providing training to those in need. But with labour markets increasingly characterized by technological disruption and the flexible but precarious "gig economy," this model risks being severely upended.

This Migration Policy Institute Europe webinar marks the release of two publications produced in the framework of its Integration Futures Working Group. Jobs in 2028: How Will Changing Labor Markets Affect Immigrant Integration in Europe? examines possible scenarios for how social, economic, and technological trends could affect jobs, labor market policy, education and social policies, and migrant integration. The second report, Tech Jobs for Refugees: Assessing the Potential of Coding Schools for Refugee Integration in Germany, explores the potential of coding schools for refugees to help alleviate skills shortages and provide a pathway to work—for more than only a high-skilled minority. Join the experts for a discussion of key questions: How can governments equip newcomers—and indeed citizens—with the skills to thrive in the job markets of the future? How can governments prepare public services and contribution-based benefit schemes for a changing world of work? And for those unable to find work, what are the alternative ways that newcomers can meaningfully and measurably contribute to society?

Across the globe, the mobility of people has become a complex, multilayered phenomenon that no government can manage effectively in isolation. This is no more starkly evident than in Europe. But even as nativism and various forms of nationalism have become seemingly permanent features of European electoral politics, EU Member States are attempting to intensify cooperation on migration matters within Europe, as well as with key countries in Africa and beyond. Europe is not alone in the search for practical answers to migration and its many consequences. Every region of the world is undergoing rapid change and seeking to create governance structures capable of responding effectively to the challenges and opportunities presented by migration. While contexts and priorities differ vastly, the need for some common understanding amongst states as to how migration should be managed in the future is now a top item on the political agenda.

This MPI Europe discussion brings together two of the most experienced thinkers on migration policy— António Vitorino and Demetrios G. Papademetriou—to discuss these matters and explore what will be needed over the next years to ensure that the properly managed movement of people remains an integral, positive force in the world.

Vitorino, former Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal and former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, was a key architect of European collaboration on migration. He is now the Portuguese candidate to become Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Papademetriou is the founder of MPI Europe and served as its President until the end of 2017. He has also served as Chair of the World Economic Forum’s global migration task force and the migration group for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and has written extensively and advised senior policymakers in dozens of countries. This timely discussion is introduced by MPI Europe Director Elizabeth Collett.

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many non-traditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—have pioneered innovative solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. In the context of this experimentation, business has played a fundamental role, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic leveraging their potential as employers, donors, and partners in innovative alliances. This two-day conference reflected on how innovative initiatives for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change. The event brought together a diverse group of public officials, business leaders, service designers, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and refugee initiatives from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

The final interactive panel session “From Niche to Mainstream: Unlocking the Potential of Innovation for Lasting Change” included contributions from:

• Chair: Elizabeth Collett, Director, Migration Policy Institute Europe
• Louisa Taylor, Director, Refugee 613, Canada 
• Ben Mason, Project lead on digital innovation around refugees and migration, Betterplace lab, Germany
• David Manicom, Assistant Deputy Minister, Settlement and Integration Sector, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
• Laura Corrado, Head of Unit Legal Migration and Integration, DG HOME, European Commission

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many non-traditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—have pioneered innovative solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. In the context of this experimentation, business has played a fundamental role, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic leveraging their potential as employers, donors, and partners in innovative alliances. This two-day conference reflected on how innovative initiatives for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change. The event brought together a diverse group of public officials, business leaders, service designers, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and refugee initiatives from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

This workshop on Employer Engagement: Innovative Approaches to Training and Hiring Refugees featured:  

• Chair: Laurent Aujean, Policy Officer, Unit Legal Migration and Integration, DG Home, European Commission
• Sayre Nyce, Executive Director, Talent Beyond Boundaries, United States
• Peter O’Sullivan, Resettlement Officer, UNHCR, Bureau for Europe
• Mustafa Alroomi, Web Developer & Askim Kintziger, Innovation Consultant, Cronos Groep, Belgium

The European Union has long acknowledged the crucial role for new and expanded legal pathways in creating a well-managed migration system. Yet to date, there has been a lack of common understanding among Member States on how legal pathways can and should be used, how different channels fit together to achieve migration objectives, or what is meant by commonly used concepts, such as humanitarian visas. The refugee and migration crisis thrust the issue of legal pathways to the top of EU and national government agendas, bringing with it new energy for innovation and action; but progress has so far suffered from a lack of strategic thinking on how legal channels can work together and how to overcome the design and implementation challenges Member States have faced.

Following the recently released mid-term review of the European Agenda on Migration, this timely webinar offers insights from EU Member States on how existing, new, and untapped legal pathways—such as resettlement, community-based sponsorship, and family reunification—can interact with other humanitarian policies and fit into a larger protection strategy.

The publications discussed in this webinar are:

Tracing the channels refugees use to seek protection in Europe: http://bit.ly/2w3YMId

Engaging communities in refugee protection: The potential of private sponsorship in Europe: http://bit.ly/2xs188Y

The scale of the global refugee crisis has ratcheted up the pressure on governments and their international partners to find sustainable avenues for protection of the displaced. Successive international conferences, including the September 2016 UN summit for refugees and migrants, have highlighted the need for more resettlement places as an integral part of the international response to the crisis. At the EU level, Member State governments are under increasing pressure to open more legal channels to protection as part of a larger effort to reduce the demands on national asylum systems. Yet governments seeking to expand their resettlement program—or engage in resettlement for the first time—face a dearth of solid evidence on what resettlement practices work and why.

This webinar highlights the findings of an MPI Europe report on critical gaps in research and evaluation of resettlement programs, and recommendations for improving evidence gathering and knowledge sharing between resettlement countries. The discussion also includes insights from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and national resettlement actors on the knowledge and support needs that new and expanding resettlement countries face, and what role international initiatives such as the Emerging Resettlement Countries Joint Support Mechanism (ERCM) and the European Action on Facilitating Resettlement and Refugee Admission through New Knowledge (EU-FRANK) can play in filling these gaps.

This webinar is part of the European Action on Facilitating Resettlement and Refugee Admission through New Knowledge (EU-FRANK) project. The project is funded by the European Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF).

As European leaders prepare to meet in Malta early next month, their search for means to reduce the number of boats departing the Libyan coast is becoming ever more desperate. In the year since the Valletta Summit, the European Union and Member State governments have ramped up cooperation with origin, transit, and hosting countries, yet questions remain over how effective these partnerships have been and how far they can be reasonably be pursued. Faced with mixed results thus far, there is a growing chorus calling for offshore processing for asylum seekers and greater efforts to bolster Libyan capacities in "pulling back" boats headed towards Europe. 

In this context, discussions around longer-term interventions —notably the ability of humanitarian and development support to affect migration drivers— are less prominent. While policymakers discuss the pros and cons of making development aid conditional on third-country cooperation, less focus has been placed on effectively forecasting humanitarian and development needs, shaping successful policy interventions, and filling gaps in our existing knowledge about who, why, and when individuals decide to move.  

In this webinar, experts assess how policymakers can best reflect on the lessons learned over the past year, align their objectives with the realities on the ground, and shape a longer-term agenda going forward.