News

Towards a dignified standard of living for asylum seekers

European Policy Forum, 22-24 May - Malmö (Sweden)

March 2007

The EQUAL Community Initiative is approaching its last year of activities, and the Development Partnerships are taking stock and disseminating their successes and lessons learnt. At the same time, many are looking for future collaboration opportunities and funding options. It is certainly an energetic period, marking the end of six intensive years of partnership building and hard work. The Swedish European Social Fund (ESF) Council has taken on board the challenging task to bring together all the good practices, experiences and achievements of the EQUAL Asylum Seekers theme, with a view to present these to a European audience of politicians, decision-makers and media representatives. The European Policy Forum entitled "Minimum standards - and beyond, the contribution of EQUAL to a dignified standard of living for asylum seekers", hosted by Swedish ESF-Council, the Swedish National Thematic Network on Asylum and the city of Malmö, with the support of the European Commission, will proudly present what has been achieved so far.

EQUAL Asylum Seekers

The EQUAL theme for the social and vocational integration of Asylum Seekers has been particularly successful, especially when considering that prior to EQUAL no EU funding had ever supported this very disadvantaged target group in finding employment and in accessing vocational education and training. The EQUAL partnerships funded under both Rounds explored many innovative and sometimes truly daring approaches to support the successful integration of those seeking asylum. In addition to activities focusing on job insertion, projects also provided education, training and advice. And given that in many countries the integration of asylum seekers was a novelty, organisational capacity building, networking and awareness-raising were also core elements of nearly all EQUAL partnerships.

"Temaasyl", the website for the event

The actors in the Asylum Seeker theme had to face many challenges, probably much more than any other EQUAL theme. Fast changing and sometimes hostile political climates, racism and xenophobia, often caused by sheer ignorance, asylum procedures either leaving asylum seekers for years in the 'system' or speeding up processes making integration impossible, etc. But there were also great opportunities: the adoption of the Reception Directive [1] meant that many Member States worked hard to improve the quality standards of their reception and support facilities, and a number of countries changed their legislation to allow asylum seekers to work while waiting for a decision on their application.

The exchange events and conferences organised by the European Thematic Group on Asylum Seekers (the ETG5) showed the benefits of the integration efforts time and time again. A first event, held in Brussels in 2003, discussed the challenges and opportunities of transnational cooperation. Later in that same year, a second event in the Netherlands brought the Development Partnerships together to exchange experiences and argue for the benefits of providing advice, education and training to asylum seekers. In April 2005, a European Conference was organised to present the results and recommendations emerging from Round 1 of EQUAL Asylum Seekers. Over 250 persons took part in the conference, which also included an exchange event on Capacity building and a Learning Day for New Member States, which were about to join EQUAL in Round 1. The ETG5 also supported the Greek Managing Authorities in the organisation of the most recent exchange event, which looked at ways to get asylum seekers into employment, in Crete in June 2006. Reports on the events are available on the EQUAL website.

Marking the end of an exciting six-year period - but going with a bang!

This Policy Forum "Minimum standards - and beyond, the contribution of EQUAL to a dignified standard of living for asylum seekers" draws together the most successful practices from EQUAL and examines their contribution to the practical application of the various minimum conditions set out in the Reception Directive in the Member States. It looks in particular at the many benefits of adopting reception measures that even go beyond the minimum requirements, in terms of access to employment, education and training, and services offered.

The event will:

Present and discuss successful approaches to integrate asylum seekers in different national contexts within the EU;
Illustrate the benefits of going beyond the minimum standards outlined in the Reception Directive;
Make the case for a more comprehensive integration of asylum seekers to politicians and decision makers; and,
Look at future opportunities to help the integration of asylum seekers after EQUAL has ended, through European Funds such as the European Social Fund (ESF), anti-discrimination and social inclusion processes, etc.

Participants will include policy players from national and international agencies, NGOs, experts and other stakeholders will debate and learn from the successful approaches that are being presented. The Policy Forum will be illustrated by work on the ground, research and policy analysis and be structured around interactive plenary sessions and on-site workshops on the premises of EQUAL partnerships.
An exhibition will showcase successful practices within EQUAL and other EU funding programmes from across the Member States. At the same time, the exhibition will provide a platform for EQUAL actors to give short lectures, to meet, in a more informal manner, the people attending the event, and to show the many interesting visual products that have been developed.

Draft programme

22 May 2007
19.00 - 22.00
Opening of Showcasing Exhibition and Welcome dinner
Festive opening of the Showcasing Exhibition with Member State stands presenting national EQUAL good practices, including entertainment and dinner.

Entertainment by Zinat Al Sadat Pirzadeh, comedienne

23 May 2007
9.00 - 12.00
Opening Plenary Session
Welcome, presentations and debate to help map the context of asylum policy, covering:

Asylum and refugees - the Swedish approach
European Asylum policy - key objectives and achievements
The Reception Directive - progress and impact
The European Social Fund and EQUAL - social inclusion and reception

13.30 - 17.30
Seminars and workshops - Part 1: study visits and learning seminar
Three Seminars following the EQUAL Asylum Seekers priority themes, namely:

Advice, education and Training
Employment and employer relations
Capacity building

Participants can chose between two study visits to EQUAL partnerships in Copenhagen and Malmö or a learning seminar with interesting presentations on how to best build capacity.

24 May 2007
9.00 - 12.00
Seminars and workshops - Part 2: seminars to set the scene and interactive workshops
The seminars will include short presentations and debate on the thematic priorities of EQUAL, covering:

Progress on the relevant articles of the Reception Directive
A national example of going beyond the minimum standards of the Reception Directive
EQUAL lessons

The workshops divide the seminar participants up into smaller groups. They will comprise:

Testimonials of good practice
Interactive discussions on how to transfer these

One workshop will be specifically dedicated to policy and decision makers.

13.30 - 15.00
Closing Plenary Session
Panel discussion to highlight the messages that emerged from the seminars and workshops, discuss the transferability of the good practices in the EQUAL Asylum Seekers theme and their link to the Reception Directive. Questions addressed will include:

How to ensure that the good practices are transferred into policy-making and legislating?
What next? What resources are available to help asylum seekers integrate?
Equality for all? Why are asylum seekers excluded from many relevant initiatives such as the European Year of Equal Opportunities, social inclusion process, etc?
Future EU policy development? What should happen with the Common European Asylum System? What other policies should take asylum seekers into account?

After the panel discussion, the floor will be opened to all participants.

Host and moderator
Göran Rosenberg, writer and journalist

Key speakers at the Policy Forum include:

Tobias Billstrom, Swedish Minister of Migration
Peter Stub Jorgensen, Director ESF, Monitoring of Corresponding National Policies, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Anita Gradin, former European Commissioner of Immigration, Home affairs and justice
Bjarte Vandvik, Secretary General, European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
Anne-Marie Qvarfort, Director General, Swedish ESF-Council

Website for the event, including updates to the programme Temaasyl.

[1] Short title for Council Directive 2003/9/EC Laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers

Top