3rd Transnational Workshop Thessaloniki

On the 23rd to 26th of May the Arrival Cities Network partners met in Thessaloniki for the 3rd Transnational Workshop and 5^th SGM. The theme of this 3^rd Transnational Workshop was the “Reception Services for migrants”

On the 23^rd of May a delegation of over 30 people met in the Thessaloniki City Hall where it was received with a welcome speech by the Mayor, the President of the Municipal Council, the Deputy Mayor for Social Policy and the Responsible for Refugees in Thessaloniki. During the reception evening a short documentary named "My name is not refugee" realised by the Municipal TV has been shown and commented by the participants.

On the 24^th of May the delegates were divided in 4 groups and visited 8 different reception centres for refugees (Diavata refugee camp, Policlinic of PRAKSIS, Lagadika refugee camp, REACT offices, PRAKSIS housing for unaccompanied minors, Filoksenio reception centre for asylum applicants, Oraiokastro hosting facilities for unaccompanied minors and YMCA centre for non-formal education for children). During the visits the delegates met very committed and professional staff, who introduced them the network of reception services and facilities for migrants realized by the Municipality of Thessaloniki in collaboration with the UNCHR in the framework of the REACT programme. In the afternoon, the 4 group continued the discussion and systematised the information to enable each group to present the results of their visits. A group of students, directed by Prof. Cremaschi from the Masters programme of Paros Sciences Po University joined the delegates from Arrival Cities for the visits in the reception centres, bringing an added value to the exchange and the group discussions.

On the 25^th of May the workshop started with the presentation of Prof. Tsitselikis, from the University of Macedonia, who spoke about the impact of EU and National policies on the migrants fluxes. Later each of the 4 groups, that on the previous day visited the reception centres, presented its feedback to the audience. In the afternoon 4 Case Studies (Messina, Roquetas de Mar, University of Dresden, Riga) were presented using the peer review methodology in parallel sessions.

After the Case Studies presentations the Local Coordinators met to held the 5th Steering Group Meeting. During the Steering Group Meeting the Mid Term Review report and reprogramming state of play have been discussed along with the schedule of the online meetings for the Integrated Action Plan, the state of play of communication deliverables and the outline programme for the next workshop in Oldenburg. During the workshop Dr. Laura Colini, URBACT Programme Expert gave to the participants some insight on EU Urban Agenda Action Plan for the inclusion of migrants and other European initiatives.