Refugee Sponsorship Convention in the Spotlight

The Share QSN European Refugee Sponsorship Convention, held in Brussels on Wednesday 26th of April, gathered more than 150 participants from across Europe, including volunteers, refugees, CSOs, municipalities and regions, governments, EU institutions and think tanks. Inspiring all actors working in the field of community sponsorship, complementary pathways and integration of refugees and migrants, the event attracted the attention of the Press across Europe with articles highlighting the fruitful discussions on the different country programmes. 

The Spanish regional government reported on the conference in an article titled “El Gobierno de Navarra comparte en Bruselas buenas prácticas sobre la acogida de personas refugiadas” which can be translated to “The Navarra government shares good practices on welcoming refugees in Brussels”. The article echoed the Convention’s main aim to recognise the efforts of the volunteers, whom are the heart of the programmes. The picture on the left  shows the ‘Spanish delegation’ made up of volunteers, social assistants, regional government officials and a refugee posing at the Convention.

The Belgian newspaper RTL info reported on the conference in an article titled “Le Community Sponsorship mis à l’honneur à Bruxelles” which can be translated to “Honouring community sponsorship in Brussles”. The newsarticle captured the essence of community sponsorship by quoting one of the volunteers who welcomed a refugee family in a village in Flanders who enthousiastically expressed

“I immediately accepted to be part of a volunteer group welcoming a family!”

The Spanish Fons Catalá published an article ‘El Fons Català participa a l’European Refugee Sponsorship Convention a Bruselles’ which translates to “Fons Catalan participates in the European Refugee Sponsorship Convention in Brussels”.

The article highlighted the participation of the Fons Català in the event, as they are setting up their own sponsorship model and used the opportunity of the event to learn from other actors’ best practices.