Working Conference on reception and housing of migrants and refugees, Amsterdam, November 2016

Within the context of the Partnership on the Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees, the City of Amsterdam in cooperation with the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) organised a working conference on the housing and reception of migrants and refugees in European cities on 10 and 11 November 2016. 

The mayor of Amsterdam Eberhard van der Laan, opened the conference emphasising cities receiving many refugees should get better access to European funds, and cities should make better use of the expertise and knowledge of NGOs. Keynotes were given by Marc Calon, President of Housing Europe, and Juan Diego Catalano, member of the city council of Palermo.

More than 100 experts, policy makers, status holders and social workers joined the debate and took part in thematic workshops. The working groups on housing focused on the accessibility of housing and capacity building, while the working groups on reception dealt with health care and early integration. For each, Housing Europe and the Migration Policy Group had identified several bottlenecks in advance.

Participants were invited to join a site visit in Amsterdam to BOOST Ringdijk (reception) or Riekerhaven (housing) - both examples of providing an alternative and creative way of receiving and housing refugees.

The conference yielded that cities should get more direct access to European funds and that funding should be more flexible both for cities and NGOs. Moreover, it was mentioned that certain legal regulations require improved clarity and adaption in order to provide a more comprehensive set of rules enabling social cohesion and integration. Another solution related to knowledge exchange was setting up online platforms to link cities with the same characteristics and challenges, but also to make better use of existing platforms and networks, such as URBACT or EUROCITIES' Solidarity Cities.

The conference report is available in the Library section.