Oléron is the largest French island on the Atlantic coast near La Rochelle. It is famous for its beaches, landscapes and oysters, but many people are unaware of the solidarity shown by some of its inhabitants, who have been involved in giving refugees a citizen’s welcome since 2015. Follow the link to read more!
The importance of sponsor and refugee’s active engagement in community sponsorship programmes design, implementation and monitoring was a key highlight of the June 2021 monitoring workshop hosted by Caritas International and the SHARE Network. In this workshop, best practices in the monitoring of community sponsorship programmes, and especially refugee and sponsor engagement within that framework, were presented by speakers from Canada, Belgium, France and Italy. Click here to read more!
The virtual roundtable on Refugee Sponsorship and Student Pathways, co-organized by the SHARE Network and Caritas Italiana on 30 June 2020 provided insights into some of the programmes currently implemented in both Europe and Canada. It also gave the opportunity to Yohannes, a refugee student arrived in Italy to continue his studies, to share his experience. Follow the link to read more about the event and Yohannes' story!
ICMC Europe and the SHARE Network join a coalition of major civil society organisations to urge the EU and its member states to revive and scale up their refugee resettlement efforts ahead of a key opportunity to rally pledges, the EU Resettlement Forum, on 9th July. Follow the link to read the full statement!
In Germany, community sponsorship has been implemented under the "NesT – New Start in a Team" pilot programme since May 2019, with the active participation of SHARE QSN Project partner DiCV Cologne. Click here to read about the activities of the sponsor group of the St. Gereon parish in the neighborhood of Cologne-Merheim, and the story of Shurook, the first refugee to arrive in Germany via the NeST programme.
On 30 June 2021 Caritas Italy and the SHARE Network will organise the SHARE Quality Sponsorship Network (QSN) roundtable to take stock of current approaches, frameworks and practices being developed, and focus on rights-based approaches offering durable solutions for refugee students. Click here to read the agenda!
On the 31st of March 2021 the SHARE Network hosted a Roundtable on Refugee Sponsorship Monitoring and Evaluation in the framework of the SHARE QSN Project providing a platform to present and discuss the lessons learned from EU countries’ experiences with community-based sponsorship programmes and best practices in conducting evaluations. Follow the link to read the Roundtable Report!
On 27 April 2021, the Basque Government, partner in the SHARE QSN project, organized an online event to discuss the evaluation of the first regional community sponsorship pilot in Spain, bringing together representatives from Spanish national, regional and local authorities, civil society, faith-based organisations and local volunteer groups, as well as UNHCR, GRSI, the SHARE Network and other interested parties. Follow the link to learn more!
On 20 May 2021, in the framework of the SHARE SIRA project, 35 experts from a diverse range of organisations and institutions came together for the first meeting of the SHARE Network Expert Group "Inclusive Territories for Integration: Building Back Better for Refugee & Migrant Integration in the EU". Follow the link to view the agenda and download expert presentations.
How can cities and smaller municipalities actively engage in sponsorship programmes? How can they promote and support resettlement and complementary pathways in which refugees are supported by volunteer groups to integrate into the local community? These questions were discussed on March 30th 2021 during an online event co-organised by the French National Association of Welcoming Cities and Territories (ANVITA) and the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) in collaboration with the Féderation de l'Entraide Protestante (FEP), the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI) and the Share Network. Read more!
The new article of the SHARE Network series Mayors in the Spotlight is out now! This time we interviewed Vasilios Tsiakos, Mayor of Karditsa, Greece, and promoting inclusion for all vulnerable groups at the municipality level. Check it out!
On 13 April 2021, the SHARE Network and the Observatoire de l’immigration et de l’asile of the Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI) convened the roundtable “Welcoming migrants and refugees in times of pandemic: lessons learned from COVID-19”, which focused on the situation in France and brought together over 100 national actors from public institutions, academia and civil society. Follow the link to learn more about what was discussed and access useful resources!
The SHARE Network today publishes the results of a European survey on the impact of COVID-19 for refugee and migrant welcome and integration in the EU, and the ways in which refugees, migrants and those working with and alongside them have responded. Follow the link to find out more about its results and findings!
European cities and towns are at the forefront of the reception and integration of refugees and migrants, and the new SHARE Network’s series “Mayors in the Spotlight” aims at celebrating and showcasing the leadership of local Mayors in smaller and rural municipalities across Europe, paving the way to a more welcoming Europe.
Follow the link to read more!
As part of the SHARE Quality Sponsorship Network (QSN), the SHARE Network will be hosting a transnational roundtable on refugee sponsorship monitoring and evaluation, with results from the discussion feeding into an upcoming policy-brief produced by ICMC Europe. Follow the link to read more about participants and themes covered.
The SHARE Network webinar 'Participation & Co-creation for Refugee & Migrant Integration in the EU' took place on 15 December 2020. Follow the link to read reports and watch videos of all presentations, access additional resources, and download SHARE Network tools developed to guide participation activities for integration and inclusion.
