JRS Europe's Annual General Meeting.

Brussels, 30 April 2019 – More than 50 JRS staff members from over 12 countries came together this April in Barcelona for JRS Europe’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), specially dedicated this year to the topic of integration in the city.

“At JRS, we accompany people on arrival or that has been for some years in Europe; we accompany them learning languages, searching for a job, when they go to the doctor or when they enrol their children in the school. Cities are full of opportunities, but also of challenges for everybody: locals, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees,” reflected Jose Ignacio Garcia SJ, director of JRS Europe.

The AGM has been a space to reflect on the challenges the city presents for our work and to share best practices on integration across Europe. Most importantly, we discussed about all those who live in our cities and whose irregular administrative situation obliges them to a life of destitution and vulnerability.

The first day of exchanges included a discussion with migration academic experts who presented the theoretical framework on integration and valuable insights into the Spanish and Catalonian local context. Luis Rodriguez, from the University Institute of Studies on Migration (IUEM), presented the research project on Social Integration of Population of Immigrant Origin in Spain. Silvia Carrasco, from the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) discussed about the challenges and opportunities for the integration of immigrants in Catalonia and highlighted the importance of including both locals and migrants in any integration project to shape cities that foster co-existence and respect for the other. Finally, the panel session was closed by Xavier Alonso from the Generalitat de Catalunya, who addressed public integration policies in Catalonia.