Meeting with migration and faith-based NGOs in Tilburg

The concluding COST Action COREnet Reflective Café was held in Tilburg, the Netherlands, on October 8, 2024. It was organized in collaboration with Tilburg University and a local, formerly faith-based center for informal social support mainly to migrants (MST Keeping People in Focus). The aim was to identify good practices and challenges faced by professionals who work with religiously diverse migrant communities stretching from Ukraine to the Middle East and Africa.

In the morning program, COREnet researchers prof. Kees de Groot (Tilburg School of Catholic Theology), prof. Annette Leis-Peters (VID Specialized University), Dr. Anita Lunić (University of Split), PhD candidates Olena Komisarenko (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas) and Mateus Schweyher (VID Specialized University) and Christel Teekman (Tilburg University) met with professionals from various organizations in the Netherlands who work with refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants or vulnerable labor migrants from EU countries. In two focus groups, a total of seven professionals were asked about the interaction between worldview and religious background of the workers on the one hand and those of the people with and for whom they work on the other. After lunch, a meeting was organized with four intermediaries from MST Keeping People in the Focus, also known as Steppingstones. Steppingstones are trained volunteers connecting the lifeworld of their communities with the system of Dutch institutions.

The program ended with a seminar entitled: Faith-based organizations and migration Local encounters. Here, COREnet researchers reported the results of their reflective cafes in Oslo, Zagreb and Rome. Afterwards, drinks were served and the lively  conversations continued.

In the Reflective Café participants shared their experiences with the services they provide such as immediate humanitarian assistance (food and shelter), language courses and legal support. They also discussed innovative practices and challenges they face when working with religiously diverse migrant communities such as building trust, dealing with diverse languages, and financing. Tensions between values and services asked for also came to the fore, for example when it came to supporting actions that are legal but not in line with the values ​​of the organization.

The COREnet researchers are currently working on the outcomes of all Reflective Cafés held in four countries. Key findings of good practices and challenges faced by professionals working with religiously diverse migrant communities are expected in the next calendar year.