The Future of Complementary Pathways: Paving the Way for Growth

Successive displacement crises over the past decade, combined with limited growth in traditional resettlement, have highlighted the urgent need for alternative legal pathways for people in need of international protection. Civil-society organizations across Europe, often in collaboration with governments and other stakeholders, have launched various refugee sponsorship initiatives and complementary pathway schemes, including education and labor-based programs. While some of these initiatives have reached significant scale, many still struggle to expand.
On this webinar experts explore the steps that can be taken to unlock further growth and overcome obstacles to scaling these initiatives. They also outline the key components necessary for building a robust ecosystem for growth and long-term success, highlighting innovative tools and mechanisms that are driving progress. The event launched an MPI Europe report, Complementary Pathways: Key Factors in Future Growth, which features insights and recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders engaged in expanding legal pathways for people in need of international protection.
This conversation is convened under the Complementary Pathways Network (COMET) Project, which aims to develop a blueprint for complementary pathways in Europe by creating common tools and quality standards for matching, predeparture orientation, reception, and post-arrival support, and by building the capacity of receiving communities. Other COMET Project research and tools can be found at: www.cometnetwork.eu.

To Stay or Go: Factors Shaping Ukrainian Refugees’ Intentions Whether to Return to Ukraine

Despite the ongoing war and heavy destruction across Ukraine, some of the more than 6 million Ukrainians who fled after Russia’s invasion in February 2022 are already returning to Ukraine.
As of August 2024, an estimated 1 million Ukrainians had returned to their country from abroad, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). While most visit briefly, to see family or tend to their property, others return with the intention of staying permanently.
These actions raise questions for European and Ukrainian policymakers alike about the likely scale and drivers of future returns, and how to adapt their policies to prepare for these movements. For instance, do return intentions vary across host countries, and if so, how? What factors most influence Ukrainian refugees' intentions to return? What role does security in Ukraine play in shaping return decisions? Is more generous host-country support for refugees reducing intentions to return? Finally, what policy measures are necessary to support sustainable return or deeper integration in the host society?
This webinar, resulting from a research collaboration between IOM and MPI Europe, explores how personal circumstances and host-country and home-country conditions shape refugees’ intentions to return or remain abroad. 

Engaging Local Voices: Letting Cities Inform National Refugee Resettlement Goals

With the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) approaching, most of the planning focus has been on resettlement and complementary pathways pledges that will be announced at the December gathering and the number of refugees that states are committing to admit. Far less attention is being given to the crucial issues of how countries will reach their goals, whether the necessary capacity and infrastructure exist, and if there is effective coordination between the state and nonstate actors involved at different levels.
Effective communication and collaboration between local and national authorities are essential to ensure that resettlement and complementary pathways pledges are grounded in the realistic capacity and goodwill of local governments. Engaging with these local authorities, who often oversee reception and integration processes, can also enhance post-arrival planning and, therefore, refugees' integration prospects. Recent responses to the displacement of Ukrainians underscored the benefits of involving local authorities, as they have played a crucial role in identifying housing solutions and providing informal integration support through innovative local-national coordination and communication. 
This MPI Europe discussion considers how municipalities and other key stakeholders can be engaged in informing and delivering on the 2024 resettlement and complementary pathways pledges. Featuring findings from the recent publication Improving Stakeholder Coordination in Refugee Resettlement: A Path to More Effective, Inclusive Programs, this webinar explores opportunities for effective multi-level engagement ahead of the GRF.

World of Migration: Documenting the Migration Journey: African Kinship Dynamics in Europe

African migrants harness the strength of kinship in pursuit of security and stability as they settle in a European landscape that is sometimes made precarious by their legal status and shifting policies. In this episode, MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses this fascinating phenomenon with Apostolos Andrikopoulos, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow at Harvard University and the University of Amsterdam. Together, they dive into the intricate web of kinship-based support systems employed by African migrants as they navigate migration routes and integration at destination, including through the exchange or brokering of identity documents. All in their quest for a better life. Tune in for an engaging conversation. 

Toward a Road Map for Digitalization in the EU Humanitarian Protection Space

The arrival of more than 8 million people from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022 has added considerable pressure on reception and integration systems already under significant strain and confronting existing structural challenges. Governments have had to quickly register large numbers of arrivals, provide first-reception services, ensure access to education and health care, and incorporate newcomers into the labor market.
Faced with this herculean task, digital solutions became a lifeline for many governments and stakeholders. From remote registration to distance schooling and matching apps to facilitate access to housing and the labor market, the last year has borne witness to a boom of digital tools to quickly increase capacity, streamline processes, and improve support for the displaced. Yet, these are often standalone initiatives, endangering their sustainability. And while digitalization holds promise to deeply transform migration and integration systems, without a clear vision and control over their development, digital tools also carry significant risk, such as eroded data privacy and exclusion.
One year into the Ukrainian displacement crisis offers an opportunity to take stock of the digital solutions utilized. In this MPI Europe webinar, speakers examine the trade-offs, identify lessons learned, and explore how digital tools might strengthen migration and integration systems for the future. This webinar, part of an MPI Europe digitalization project, features the findings of a recent report from the Beyond Territorial Asylum: Making Protection Work in a Bordered World initiative led by MPI and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The initiative aims to redesign the global protection and resettlement infrastructure in a way that is more equitable, flexible, and sustainable.
Related report:  https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/asylum-system-digital-tools

Ukrainian Displacement in Europe, One Year Later

The war in Ukraine reaches its one-year milestone on February 24, 2023. Whilst the fallout of the Russian invasion, whether geopolitical, economic, energy- or food-related, has left few countries untouched, the European Union has had to gear up for the prolonged stay of nearly 5 million displaced Ukrainians and face the prospect of new arrivals amid unrelenting violence. This has presented policymakers with the multi-pronged challenge of integrating Ukrainian refugees into housing, education, and labor markets while also preparing for the eventual rebuilding of Ukraine and return of millions of its citizens. Nearly one year into the massive displacement and the relief effort, this MPI Europe webinar examines what has been done to foster the integration of those staying long(er) in host societies, to organize first reception services for any additional newcomers, and to prepare the return of those set on going home and rebuilding Ukraine. Speakers explore responses ranging from swift implementation of the Temporary Protection Directive to improvements in labor market integration, as well as efforts to facilitate social and economic reintegration for those intent on returning. The speakers also consider how the tension between reception, integration, and return (to rebuild) has materialized in the context of the Ukrainian response, and the challenges that lie ahead. The time is ripe to devise a range of approaches that can serve the interests of displaced Ukrainians, host societies, and Ukraine alike. This webinar examines whether the emerging practices are adequate.
Read the related commentary.
www.migrationpolicy.org

Migrant Integration: Learning from What Works in Times of Uncertainty

With millions fleeing war-torn Ukraine, questions about how to effectively promote migrant integration are again front and center. Integration policy is often forged in the heat of crises and led by political priorities, with limited resources devoted to making improvements along the way. As a result, lessons from promising innovations that tend to emerge particularly during crises often get lost. Understanding what works, under which conditions, and how to use this knowledge is crucial to design effective policies. Failure to embrace an evidence culture in migrant integration may come at a high human, financial, and societal cost for not only migrants, but also for governments and host societies. 
This webinar, organized as part of the HORIZON SPRING project on Sustainable Practices on Integration, brings together experts and policymakers to examine the state of the field and promising innovations that facilitate an evidence culture in migrant integration, particularly in contexts marked by uncertainty and limited resources, such as the current effort to integrate displaced Ukrainians. The discussion spotlights projects that demonstrate how an evidence culture can be leveraged to benefit migrant integration policymaking, including from the frontline reception of Ukrainian refugees. 
The webinar marked the publication of a policy brief that maps out the state of play of an evidence culture in migrant integration and identifies obstacles and promising steps policymakers at EU and national levels could take. It also previews the launch of a toolkit that will help policymakers and practitioners in their efforts to embed an evidence culture in migrant integration.

Migrant Integration Governance After the Pandemic: Lasting Adaptations?

The COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout have triggered the perfect storm in migrant integration, with migrants and refugees experiencing disproportionate health and economic effects. They also upended the ability of policymakers and practitioners to respond in typical ways, given the halt to the delivery of in-person services and the forced shift online.
Marking the release of a Migration Policy Institute Europe report, this webinar examines how government strategies, practices, and instruments of integration policymaking have adapted during the pandemic both in Europe and North America. How did policymakers ensure effective and agile responses in a context of COVID-induced disruption, and what can be learned to promote cost-effective integration policies moving forward?

Forging Partnerships to Make the Reintegration of Migrants More Effective and Sustainable

There is no "one-size-fits-all" reintegration model that can ensure success for returning migrants and the communities into which they are re-entering. Returnees have complex, interconnected economic, social, and psychosocial needs that typically cannot be covered by one single service provider. Returning migrants need to be able to access core public services (documentation, work opportunities, and health care) as well as context-specific local initiatives that will endure even after reintegration programs end. Yet while there is a growing acknowledgment that better partnerships between reintegration providers and local actors are needed to expand the variety of support measures available to returnees, there is no consensus as to how these connections (or "referrals") should be organized, what types of services referral partners should deliver (and what support they need to do so), and how outcomes can best be monitored over time.
This MPI Europe webinar, releasing a brief, examines how to design referral mechanisms so that returnees receive the core services they need, while also ensuring support is embedded within local contexts (for instance delivered by trusted providers, or calibrated to specific ethnic, cultural, or linguistic needs). Speakers explore questions around how major donors and providers can effectively partner with local actors, striking the right balance between formal reintegration programs (that are often more established but can be removed from local needs) and local initiatives (which may lack capacity but be better placed to cultivate trust with beneficiaries). How can programs be embedded within the fabric of local communities and "professionalized" to ensure that migrants do not fall through the cracks and outcomes are monitored over time?

Innovation Within Government. Rethinking and Modernizing Integration Policy Plenary Session

MPI Europe Director Hanne Beirens moderated a session where Laura Batalla from Ashoka Hello Europe Initiative, David Cashaback from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Drocella Mugorewera from the Refugee Congress, Cameron McGlothlin of the U.S. Department of State's Office of Refugee Admissions, and Vincent Catot from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, discussed these questions:
How is integration policymaking evolving, under the combined pressures of the pandemic, economic shifts, rising social needs, and technological transformation?
How have policymakers in Europe and North America responded to the need for rapid and agile policy action to address COVID-19-induced disruption, at a time in which many of their usual routines, practices, and tools have been upended? How might these experiences shape integration policy in the longer run—in its objectives, practices, and overall mission?
How can multi-level governance approaches and multi-stakeholder cooperation help governments address evolving integration challenges and promote innovation? How to ensure systematic learning and transfer between community-level innovations and government policy?

Strengthening the Social Innovation Ecosystem in Challenging Times

In this session, MPI's Meghan Benton led a conversation between Brian Ssebunya, the Economic Recovery and Development Senior Technical Advisor at International Rescue Committee;  Awmaima Amrayaf, DLA Piper's Pro Bono Legal Officer and Coordinator of ‘Know Your Rights’ program; and Asma Naimi from Esade Business School on the following questions:
How can we maximise the contribution of social-innovation models and players to advance refugee and migrant inclusion, as Europe and North America re-emerge from crisis?
How can promising innovations for inclusion leave their "comfort zone" and reach underserved places and groups where the challenges are tougher, but where the returns are potentially greater
What has been the private sector’s contribution to countering refugee and migrant vulnerability during the COVID-19 crisis—as an investor, employer, and knowledge provider? What opportunities exist to strengthen private-sector involvement—not just in kickstarting new solutions to inclusion, but in consolidating them and making them sustainable?
Talking about "inclusive recovery": What does the COVID-19 emergency tell us about the role of refugee and migrant entrepreneurs within social innovation ecosystems? What should programs supporting inclusive and diverse social entrepreneurship look like?

Digital Equity: How Will Rapid Digitization Impact Migrant and Refugee Inclusion?

MPI Europe Senior Policy Analyst Jasmijn Slootjes moderated a session where Imad Elabdala, Founder, Hero2B and Kidnovation; Josephine Goube, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Techfugees for Impact; and Marco Campana, Freelance Communications Consultant discussed the following questions:
What lessons can recent innovations provide on how to advance migrant and refugee inclusion through digital services—particularly in a context of social and physical distancing?
What limitations, challenges, and inequities should social innovators in civil society, the private sector, and government keep in mind when exploring the potential of tech for inclusion?
What investments are necessary to ensure that digitization does not lead to widening inequalities in diverse communities and societies?
How can we prevent a proliferation of short-lived, fragmented digital tools and tech solutions—thus improving sustainability, quality, and impact?

A Tribute to the Life of Dr. Demetrios G. Papademetriou

This event celebrated the remarkable legacy of MPI's first president and MPI Europe's founder, Demetrios G. Papademetriou. One of the world's pre-eminent scholars and lecturers on international migration, he developed a rich body of scholarship shared in more than 275 books, research reports, articles, and other publications. He also advised numerous governments, international organizations, civil-society groups, and philanthropic organizations around the world on immigration and immigrant integration issues.
Read the event program and select writings from Dr. PapademetriouRead MPI's press release on his passing.For his obituary or to leave any memories for his family, click here.Read a collection of tributes to his life and legacy.Listen to his thoughts on this World of Migration podcast episode.
Speakers: 
Sir Trevor Phillips, OBE, Co-Founder, Webber Phillips Ltd.; former Chair, Equality and Human Rights Commission, England, Scotland, and Wales; Founding Member, MPI Transatlantic Council on Migration
Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, MPI; former Commissioner, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
Ulrich Weinbrenner, Director-General for Migration, Refugees, and Return Policy, Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, Federal Republic of Germany
Michael Fix, Senior Fellow and former President, MPI
Gustavo Mohar, MPI Board Member; former Under Secretary for Migration, Population, and Religious Affairs, Ministry of Governance, Government of Mexico
Brenda Dann Messier, Senior Advisor, Education Strategy Group; former Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education
Malcolm Brown, MPI Board Member; former Deputy Minister of Public Safety; former Executive Vice President, Canada Border Services Agency, Government of Canada
Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive Director, America's Voice
Moderator: 
Andrew Selee, President, MPI

SI4RI Conference: Refugee and Migrant Inclusion in Smaller and Rural Communities

MPI Europe Policy Analyst Liam Patuzzi moderated a breakout session where David Campbell, President, Jupia Consultants Inc.; Andrea Soler Eslava, Senior Rural Integration Project Manager, International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC); Danielle Gluns, Head of the Research and Transfer Office for Migration Policy, University of Hildesheim; Khmlin Haj Mohamad, Regional Refugee Ambassador, SHARE SIRA project (Expanding Social Orientation & Integration for Newcomers in Rural Areas in Europe); and Maher Dahdal, Regional Refugee Ambassador, SHARE SIRA project, discussed the following topics:
As smaller towns and rural areas have stepped up their efforts to welcome refugees and migrants in recent years, what can we learn about these communities’ resources and limitations in promoting social inclusion and cohesion? What new bottlenecks has the COVID-19 pandemic generated?
What does social innovation for inclusion look like in rural areas, and what conditions does it need to develop? How is it linked with other trends shaping the future of small and rural communities—such as demographics, infrastructural, and environmental ones?
How can small communities successfully transfer and adapt innovative practices that originated in larger cities? At the same time, how can they nurture ‘home-grown’ innovations specifically tailored to their context(s)?

SI4RI Conference: Planning and Shaping Inclusive Post-COVID-19 Recovery

In this session moderated by MPI's International Program Director of Research Meghan Benton, panelists Anila Noor, Member, European Commission's Expert Group on the Views of Migrants, and Founder, New Women Connectors, the Netherlands; Scarlet Cronin, Acting Executive Director, The Tent Partnership for Refugees; Katharina Bamberg, Policy Advisor on Migration and Integration, Eurocities; and Christina Pope, Senior Director of Welcoming International, Welcoming America discussed the following questions:
Over the past year-and-a-half, we have heard a lot of conversations about (and calls for) "inclusive recovery". If we were to make this more concrete: what does inclusive recovery look like for you?
How can government, the private sector, and social-sector organizations partner design and promote strategies for post-COVID-19 recovery that reflect the needs and resources of diverse communities? Where can we identify examples of these strategies?
How can "social innovation for inclusion" evolve into "inclusive social innovation"—expanding opportunities for diverse groups to participate in social entrepreneurship, community engagement, and policymaking?

SI4RI Conference -- Where Challenges Intersect: Promoting the Inclusion of Migrant Women and Vulnerable Groups

In a breakout session, MPI Europe Senior Policy Analyst Jasmijn Slootjes led a discussion with Beba Svigir, Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Immigrant Women's Association; Lama Jaghjougha, Founder, Raise Women's Awareness Network; Kava Spartak, Director, YAAR e.V; and Drocella Mugorewera, Board Member of Refugee Congress and Executive Director of Bridge Refugee Services, United States on the following topics:
What are the key success factors for interventions aiming to protect groups at high risk of exclusion and marginalization, promoting their well-being and participation? How far have we come since 2015-16, and what is still missing?
How have organizations adapted their models of service provision in response to the pandemic, and how successful are these adaptations proving to be—for example, in recreating a sense of community and trust even in virtual and hybrid formats?
How can holistic, highly tailored, and often resource-intensive forms of support be sustained and brought to scale?
What models can help leverage the entrepreneurialism, innovativeness and resilience of migrant and refugee women, whose vital role in our societies has been further highlighted by the pandemic?

SI4RI Conference: We’re All In This Together? The Potential of Narratives to Strengthen Social Cohesion.

In a breakout session, MPI International Program Associate Director Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan led a conversation with Agnieszka Kosowicz, President of the Board, Polish Migration Forum; Suzette Brooks Masters, Senior Strategist, Center for Inclusion and Belonging, American Immigration Council; Sophie van Haasen, Coordinator, Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Mayors Mechanism; and Moussa Al Jamaat, Journalist, Baynana, Spain on the following questions:
How have new initiatives at different levels—from local efforts to international campaigns—sought to promote more positive narratives around diversity? What evidence do we have on what works (and what does not) in terms of shifting attitudes on highly polarized issues? What pitfalls should be avoided when seeking to shape inclusive narratives?
How can innovative public communication strategies contribute to sustained investments in migrant and refugee inclusion, even as diverse societies move out of crisis?
Beyond public communication strategies, what other types of activities and modes of engagement can foster positive narratives around diversity and inclusion? What are their strengths and limitations?
How can refugees and migrants proactively and effectively contribute to shaping narratives around migration, diversity, and inclusion?

SI4RI Conference: The COVID-19 Crisis: A ”Make-or-Break” Moment for Social Innovation for Inclusion?

In this session Kenny Clewett, Director, Ashoka Hello Europe Initiative; Mustafa Alio, Managing Director, R-SEAT (Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table); Fayrouz Saad, Director of Public Engagement, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and Kava Spartak, Managing Director, YAAR e.V, Germany discuss the following questions in a conversation moderated by MPI Europe Policy Analyst Liam Patuzzi. 
What role has social innovation played in responding to new forms of marginalization and inequality exacerbated by COVID-19, supporting the most vulnerable while preventing rifts within diverse communities?
How has the pandemic affected the operations of civil society, social enterprises, public service providers and other key players that have propelled social innovation for inclusion in recent years—on both sides of the Atlantic?
What models of engagement and service provision have suffered, and which ones have proven more resilient? What new forms of community engagement and solidarity have originated amid crisis, and how sustainable are they?
What main adaptation strategies have we observed—from shifting to digital to expanding emergency services, from seeking new funding/financing sources to strengthening collaboration with community leaders and other stakeholders?
What short- and long-term impact could these transformations and adaptations have on refugee and migrant inclusion?
After years of vitality and experimentation, but also persisting weaknesses and sustainability challenges, how well-placed is the ‘infrastructure of inclusion’ to address urgent and long-term needs of newly arrived refugees—both in Europe and North America?

WELCOMING REMARKS - Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion (SI4RI): Sowing Innovation in the Cracks of Crisis

This virtual conference explores how the diverse landscape of partnerships, social enterprises, participatory models, and community-led initiatives spearheading social innovation for inclusion has fared during COVID-19. It also focuses on how this ecosystem can emerge strengthened from the pandemic, and be a vital force in addressing new humanitarian challenges.
Welcoming Remarks by:
Hanne Beirens, Director, MPI Europe
Brian Street, Refugee and Migration Affairs Officer, U.S. Mission to the European Union
Mary Coulter, Counsellor for Migration, Mission of Canada to the European Union,
Paul Soete, President of the Thematic Study Group on Immigration and Integration, European Economic and Social Committee

How Will the Pandemic Reshape Public Health for Migrants?

The COVID-19 public-health crisis exacerbated longstanding migrant vulnerabilities ranging from heightened exposure to infection to disproportionate barriers in accessing health services. However, the pandemic also triggered innovations in migration and health policy that may ultimately improve conditions for some migrants—including regularization, increased health-care benefits, and increased use of digital tools to improve health literacy and information provision. The acute understanding that public health requires coverage for the entire community has renewed interest in tackling issues faced by marginalized populations.
With COVID-19 likely to significantly reshape health-care systems in Europe and worldwide, there is a window of opportunity to test new strategies to tackle longstanding migrant health disparities, and ensure that structural changes accommodate the complex needs of diverse populations. What lessons can be learned from strategies that arose during the pandemic and can they inform more inclusive health care post-pandemic? This webinar features experts and policymakers assessing the most promising strategies to ensure migrant health after the pandemic, as well as the related challenges and opportunities. 
Speakers highlight key findings from the ApartTogether study about the impact of the pandemic on migrants, reflect on the implications of the public-health crisis for migrant health, examine practical strategies that countries such as Portugal have taken, and discuss the most pressing challenges and issues facing migrants in European public-health systems today. This webinar is part of the Integration Futures Working Group initiative supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.  A related report from the project — Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe — also addresses some of the topics raised on this webinar.