May 2008
7-9 May 2008 Resettlement as a Durable Solution. More »
The final report of the MOST Project is published here: http://www.mostproject.fi/english/
March 2008
Resettlement as a Durable Solution, DSIP Dissemination Conference, Bucharest, May 7-9, 2008
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February 2008
BELGIAN EXPERIENCES DURING CO-TRAINING THAILAND
ARGO project “Durable Solutions in Practice”, Article on the Cultural Orientation training in Tham Hin, Thailand, February 2008, by Marie Huberlant
I participated in the cultural orientation mission organised in February by COA in Thailand, in the framework of the ARGO project. These few days in Thailand were an amazing time for me and, I think, for the people that would very soon be resettled. We were both discovering something important: I, how to welcome future resettled refugees, them, what kind of life they could expect to live in the Netherlands. Giving them the most realistic perspective, the cultural orientation training enabled them to become more and more conscious of what would be expected from them in this new culture. With them, I felt sometimes anxious and sometimes impatient while learning the main features of our European society. More »
CO-training Thailand 1-9 February 2008. By Patrick Meers, FEDASIL Belgium
On the 31st of February I stood all ready to go, on the airport of Zaventem, with my colleague Marie Huberlant. We knew that it would become a long nocturnal excursion, but we looked forward to the period of training and experiences ahead of us. More »
Marie, Patrick, Chantal and Peter preparing programme next day
Marie watching CO-trainer Chantal
Children waiting for DVD about the Netherlands
Group picture CO-training Peter and Patrick
December 2007
20 Dec 2007
Czechs at the arrival of the invited refugees
17/12/07 – Casemanagers and Trainers of COA were accompanied by their Czech colleagues last season on the selection and cultural orientation mission to Kenya. Thursday, the 13th of December the Czechs were ready at Schiphol airport for welcoming a group of twenty-one invited refugees with the Ethiopian and Eritrea nationality.
The Czechs Kateřina Sýkorová and Kateřina Stehlikova from the Ministry of Interior, Department for Asylum and Migration Policy and Evžen Diviš of the Refugee facilities Administration followed all the steps in the process of resettlement in the Netherlands of the invited refugees. They participated in the pre arrival activities at the reception centre in Amersfoort, and in the selection and cultural orientation missions in in Kenya last autumn.
The welcome of the invited refugees was a special experience for the refugees as well for their guides. "It was touching to see these people set foot on Dutch ground", said Kateřina Sýkorová from the Ministry of Interior.
The Czech colleagues were impressed by the programmes in the reception centre of Amersfoort and by the public interest for the arrival and further guidance of the invited refugees. They also admired the partnership between COA, the IND, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Refugee Council.
The Czech Republic is contemplating participation in the resettlement programme of the UNHCR. If they choose to join the programme the Czech' colleagues would like to continue the partnership with COA. COA could help with the development of training and programmes or with a specific exchange programme in the field of resettlement.
Program: Czech Studyvisit
22 Nov 2007
Czech participation in a Cultural Orientation Training in Kenya Nairobi
A few weeks after joining a Dutch team at a selection mission to Kenya, Kateřina Sýkorová (Ministry of Interior, Department for Asylum and Migration Policy, Czech Republic) returned to Nairobi, for a Cultural Orientation Training. She travelled together with COA-trainers Joock Steenbakker, Mieke Renkers (trainers COA reception centre Amersfoort) and Nicolien Rengers (COA, coordinator pre-arrival activities). Also Evžen Diviš (Ministry of Interior, Czech Republic), who is responsible for five integration centres in his country took part in this ‘look and learn mission’.
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Evžen assisting COA-trainer Mieke Kateřina listening during
during Dutch lesson the cultural orientation
November 2007
16-25 Nov 2007
Dutch Cultural Orientation in Kenya
October 2007
22-30 Oct 2007
From 22 to 30 October two colleagues of the Czech organisation went with the COA mission to Kenia. "It was a very worthy experience in Kenya. I brought back home many important experiences. The entire mission was very well organized" told Katerina Sykorova after the mission. Half november the Czechs will go together with the COA colleagues to Kenia for the cultural orientation mission."
4 Oct 2007
Czech colleauges will come to the Netherlands for preparing mission.
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30 june 2007
Delegations enthousiastic about introduction on Dutch resettlement policy