Social integration of migrants

On 15 May, the Policy Learning Platform will host a webinar focusing on the social integration of migrants. 

As of 1 January 2023, 27.3 million people, 6.1% of the EU’s 448.8 million population, were non-EU citizens.

According to the International Centre for Migration Development, two key developments shaped the European migration debate in 2023: the ongoing war in Ukraine and the rising number of irregular arrivals and asylum applications from other world regions.

The Ukrainian refugee crisis remains the largest in Europe since World War II. The UNHCR reports that 4.3 million Ukrainian refugees are registered in EU Member States. Meanwhile, nearly one million asylum applications were submitted in the first ten months of 2023—an increase of 21.3% compared to the same period in 2022, marking the highest figures since 2016. This steady rise has been driven by worsening crises in Europe’s neighborhood, economic disparities, and the lifting of COVID-related mobility restrictions.

While migration policies are primarily shaped at the national level, integration happens locally. Cities and municipalities are on the front lines, providing essential services and fostering engagement within diverse communities. Sharing best practices in integration at the local level can offer valuable insights for regions across Europe.

This webinar will examine community integration through the lens of social welfare, addressing key challenges migrants face, such as language and cultural barriers, limited access to education, access to housing, child support services and ways on how to assist migrants in their social integration.

Join us to explore how local approaches can support successful integration and build more inclusive communities.

What you can expect

Keynote speech  

• Adnan Abdul Ghani, Project Manager and Expert on Migrations in Save The Children, Sweden, SALAM project, on 'Integration strategy in action: empowering change through co-creation and a child-centered approach'

Interreg Europe Good practices presentations

• John Hobbs, Senior Lecturer at Munster Technological University, SIRM project, about the good practice “Nasc: New Beginnings, Children & Families Project”, Ireland
• Tomasz Dudziński, Regional Labor Office in Szczecin, MILEstone project, about the good practice “Together we can do more”, Poland

Register below

To access the registration form, please login or create an Interreg Europe community account.