Civil Society and Refugee Reception in Times of Crises

Can European civil societies manage the accommodation and social inclusion of war refugees better, more efficiently and much more cost-effectively than authorities - especially in exceptional situations?

Probably yes, as long as the authorities provide professional support to the civilian actors!

Based on practical experience related to the Ukrainian refugee migration from February 2022, our office Büro Exchange & Cooperation BEC argues that the authorities of European countries should primarily rely on the flexible, humanitarian-minded part of civil society for such mass migrations in terms of accommodation and societal integration.

The BEC team presented its analyses and proposals in this regard with a focus on Switzerland for the first time at the Zurich Migration Conference in September 2022: “The potential of host families for the (initial) reception and integration of refugees”. (PDF, in German)

At the International Integration Conference of Estonia in November 2023, Team BEC presented a pointed discussion paper to an international audience titled: “The societal integration of Ukrainian war refugees in Switzerland since March 2022: Structural problems, missed opportunities and possible improvements”. (PDF, in English)

What are our pointed theses and proposals for the current international debate?

1. A welcoming civil society can organize refugee reception in emergency faster and better than the authorities.

2. Authorities need to support civil society actors with individualized financial and professional resources.

3. A transcontinental pool of qualified experts should be established and trained for emergency situations in refugee reception. Authorities need to predefine the entry, residency, employment, and management of these experts.

4. The state can save a lot of money - the measures cost a fraction of the financial outlay for otherwise necessary expenses in accommodation infrastructure, care in collective facilities, and other related state measures.

Watch the online presentation of Gina Balsiger in Tallinn on November 16, 2023.

*Thomas Schmutz