As part of the shared mission of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (JCEP), the annual gathering of the Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (JRS Europe) offers a key moment to deepen collaboration, discern common priorities, and strengthen our response to the realities faced by displaced people across the continent. The president of JCEP, Dalibor Renić SJ, represented the Conference in the event.

Held in Madrid, this year’s JRS Europe Annual General Meeting gathered our teams from across the country offices to reflect on current challenges, exchange experiences, and strengthen collective action. 

The meeting opened with inputs from Dalibor Renić, SJ, President of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (JCEP), on Jesuits in Europe and a session on the social apostolate in Spain, offering a broader perspective on the context in which JRS operates and the ongoing transformation of this work. 

The morning continued with a workshop led by Centro SIRA, focusing on the Do No Harm approach, collaborative networking, and community-based interventions. 

This space provided practical tools and methodologies, encouraging participants to reflect on how to strengthen coordination and ensure that interventions remain sensitive to context and grounded in the needs of the communities served. 

In the afternoon, participants moved to the La Ventilla neighbourhood, where the focus shifted to the hospitality programme in Spain, presented by our SJM teams in Pueblos Unidos and Fundación Ellacuría. 

Through this exchange, participants were introduced to concrete projects of the social apostolate and how the Jesuit mission is lived in a multicultural context. This was followed by visits to different initiatives in the neighbourhood, offering a direct experience of accompaniment and community based work. 

The following day began at Centro Padre Rubio, where the FOESSA Foundation driven by Caritas Española presented key findings on trends and social challenges in the current context. 

This input provided a broader analytical perspective, helping participants better understand the evolving social landscape and the structural challenges affecting the communities JRS serves.

The morning then continued with a series of parallel workshops, where participants were divided into smaller groups to engage more deeply with specific thematic areas: detention, advocacy, hospitality narratives, agency and young migrants, and social economy. 

Led by teams of the social apostolate in Spain, these workshops presented concrete experiences from the field, offering practical insights into how these areas are addressed in different contexts. Organized in two rounds, the format allowed each participant to attend two workshops, encouraging exchange, learning, and a more focused discussion. 

The meeting concluded with a moment to harvest the experience, bringing together key learnings and reflections from the days in Madrid. This final exchange allowed participants to reconnect the different inputs, encounters, and discussions into a shared understanding of the path ahead.  

Throughout the AGM, the combination of reflection, practical exchange, and direct engagement with the local context reinforced the strength of the JRS Europe network. Grounded in shared values and enriched by diverse experiences, the meeting offered a renewed sense of collaboration and commitment to continue responding together to the realities faced by the people we serve.