Auteurs: Elena Ponzoni, Halleh Ghorashi, Mohammed Badran (in samenwerking met Simone Aumaj).
Collectie
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Refugee Academy
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Artikel
Naar een structurele plek voor het perspectief en de visie van vluchtelingen in beleidsvorming
Een vluchtervaring kent vele fases die elk gevoed worden door positieve en negatieve betekenissen. Het begint met het achterlaten van alles wat vertrouwd is – je leven, je dierbaren, je omgeving – en de noodzaak om vanwege geweld een nieuw begin te maken. Dat vraagt om veel inzet, veerkracht en vindingrijkheid. In de eerste jaren na de vlucht komt veel positieve energie los, maar zijn er ook veel obstakels om een succesvolle start in een nieuwe omgeving te maken. Daarom is het cruciaal dat de maatschappelijke structuren rond vluchtelingen inclusief genoeg zijn om hun een duw in de goede richting te geven.
De ervaringen van eerdere generaties vluchtelingen zijn essentieel om het beleid van overheden, organisatie en maatschappelijke initiatieven inclusief te maken. Het structureel betrekken van vluchtelingperspectieven op beleidsniveau draagt bij aan representatiever en inclusiever beleid, omdat de visies, ervaringen en expertise van mensen voor wie dit beleid bedoeld is, daarin worden meegenomen. Recent zijn er diverse initiatieven ontstaan in Nederland en Europa van en met vluchtelingen, die de noodzaak onderstrepen van een actievere en betekenisvollere bijdrage van vluchtelingen aan beleidsvorming. Een voorbeeld is de oproep in de Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)[1] om wereldwijd de stem van vluchtelingen en vluchtelingenorganisaties door te laten klinken in beleidsvorming over zaken die hen aangaan. Deze oproep kwam tot stand mede dankzij de belangenbehartiging van vluchtelingenorganisaties. Het biedt een uitgelezen kans om ook op nationaal beleidsniveau meer ruimte te geven aan de stem van ‘advocates’[2] met een vluchtelingenachtergrond.
Daarom heeft VluchtelingenWerk Nederland de Refugee Academy gevraagd om een advies uit te brengen over hoe ‘refugee-led advocacy’ (door vluchtelingen geleide belangenbehartiging) in Nederland verder inhoud en vorm kan krijgen. Het voorliggende advies bevat een visie op hoe in de huidige beleidscontext refugee-led advocacy begrepen kan worden en wat de uitdagingen en kansen hiervan zijn. Momenteel bestaat er een gebrek aan duidelijkheid over de meerwaarde van de ervaringskennis van refugee advocates. In ons adviesrapport doen wij daarom een voorstel voor een nieuwe invulling van advocacy. Deze invulling neemt afstand van de oude structuur van inspraakorganen met de bijbehorende verwachting dat advocates grote groepen vertegenwoordigen. We bepleiten juist de noodzaak en het vermogen van refugee advocates om het perspectief van beleidsmakers te verruimen via individuele en ‘gedragen verhalen’ en mee te denken over hoe inclusief beleid vorm kan krijgen.
We verduidelijken in dit rapport het idee, het belang en de meerwaarde van refugeeled advocacy en formuleren voorwaarden om deze een structurele plek binnen beleidsvorming te geven. We hopen hiermee een basis te geven voor het formuleren van acties op verschillende niveaus en voor verschillende actoren (rijksoverheid, gemeente, ngo’s, door vluchtelingen geleide organisaties). -
Artikel
Art for change
In the Netherlands, one of our researchers (Master student Fabian Holle, supported by PhD researcher Maria Rast) is conducting research on the role of art practices in the lives of 10 LGBTQ+ artists with a forced migration background. Due to COVID-19 (and measures taken to contain it), these artists are dealing with uncertainties, anxieties and separation from their communities and loved ones. Additionally, seeing that most artistic assignments and events have been cancelled, some experience a loss of income. Through Art for Change, we try to find a way (and learn more about how) to show solidarity through engaged scholarship in times of a pandemic. We began by connecting with these artists (online), engaging in conversations and interviews, and inviting them to develop remunerated artistic works (using creative writing, music, graphic design and film) about (their) experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through processes of (knowledge) co-creation, collaboration, and curation, we documented stories of these artists’ challenges and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking into consideration that arts-based research methods bear the potential of creating a novel space for alternative narratives, critical voices, emotions, hope, and creative ideas, our aim was also to establish a space for stories that challenge and unsettle dominant negative images of refugees.
The stories and artistic works are moving, unsettling, and profound, as the artists express their experiences and feelings at the intersection of gender, sexuality and (forced) migration. At times, the artists challenge, call out and resist exclusion in their stories and works with anger and defiance: “We are tired and not going to shut up about it” (Sadiqa). While at the same time, they express beauty, humor and vulnerability in collectivity: “A hurricane of queer voices, coming together in solidarity” (Mamakil). The works break down stereotypes concerning refugees, queers, gender norms, sexuality and sexual practices. Unquestionably, COVID-19 and its physical distancing measures have brought real challenges for these artists and their communities. However, the stories reveal that it has also been a time for reflection and inspiration. In fact, most artists have (re)connected with their art practices, (re)considered what they found important and/or explored new paths…
Together with these artists, we have decided on how to share their stories (based on their artistic works and interviews/conversations) on our website. They are free to share their stories in their own name, anonymously or via a pseudonym, and they have co-ownership of the final products and may use them for purposes other than Art for Change. The stories will be published here in the coming month.
Bron: https://engagedscholarshipnarrativesofchange.org/scholarship-for-change/art-for-change
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Project
Research on the European Migrant Advisory Board
Samenwerking VU, UvA en gemeente Amsterdam in een onderzoek naar de Europese Adviesraad van Vluchtelingen en Migranten. De VU heeft gekeken naar de interne structuur van de board en de UvA naar het politiek speelveld en de invloed die de board kan hebben.
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Artikel
European Migrant Advisory Board
In the context of the European Migrant Advisory Board (EMAB)1, which is an initiative of the Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees2 and Open Society Foundations3, the Refugee Academy, part of the Institute for Societal Resilience of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, together with a master student from the department of Organization Sciences, have conducted research in the period January - May 2018. The City of Amsterdam has asked the Refugee Academy to provide a research report based on the data collected during this period. This serves as the initial input for the interim evaluation during the first year of the European Migrant Advisory Board (in June 20184). For this report the Refugee Academy investigated, evaluated and reported5 how the Board initially functioned in the multilevel governance context of Europe during this time frame. Specifically, we focused on finding out what conditions are conductive or hamper the work of the Board in the context in which it operates. We wanted to understand which elements are required for the Board members being able to use their own (migrant/refugee) experiences and those of their peers in a way that their contributions can make the necessary impact on EU policy and programs relating to migrant integration in the cities where the Board’s member operate. For this we developed the following research questions:
- Which external and internal conditions constrain and/or enable the work of the European Migrant Advisory Board during its formation period (January –May)?
- How do the Board members engage with their activities during this period through their identity, migrant experiences and social capital? -
Artikel
Negotiating belonging beyond rootedness
In the era of late or “liquid modernity”, we can observe the re-emergence of solid categories in the form of nationalistic sentiments and cultural contrasts. The growing culturalist discourse in most European societies is an example of the reification of cultural difference. Within this discourse, it is posited that the
most “natural” link for migrants is to their countries of origin. This discourse suggests that generations of migrants living inside the nation are constructed as not belonging to it. This “sedentary bias” produces dichotomies of rootedness in the places of origin and uprootedness in countries where generations of migrants presently live. When normalized, this positioning limits differentiated, multilayered,
and multi-sited possibilities of belonging. By comparing two sets of empirical data on diverse women in the Netherlands, this article shows how the inclusion of interpretations and negotiations of everyday interactions can enable alternative forms of positioning and belonging. -
Artikel
Grootse dromen, uitgekomen?
Big dreams, did they come true? Opportunities and obstacles in the school trajectories of unaccompanied refugee minors While many unaccompanied minors deal with their precarious situation by focusing on school success, there is a lack of knowledge about the diversity of factors that hinder and stimulate their life trajectories, including their school career. This article focuses on the long term school trajectories
of unaccompanied minors who were highly motivated to have a successful school career when they arrived in the Netherlands. We show that in spite of their eagerness and qualities, institutional factors in education and discursive exclusion are obstacles in their school career. Nonetheless, these ambitious young people are largely able to overcome these obstacles by mobilizing different kinds of social support. However, some of them are confronted with a legal obstacle when they turn eighteen and did not obtain a residence
permit. This makes them unable to continue their school career for several years. Therefore, the school careers of these highly motivated young people vary greatly: some people were still able to make their dreams partly come true, others got marginalized.