Ghent
Comprehensive policies and unusual collaborations
Key Takeaways
- 1
The particularly high level of collaboration between the city and civil society organisations makes Ghent’s local migration and integration policies unique in Belgium.
- 2
Individual and long-term support of migrants soon after their arrival is part of an overall comprehensive approach to inclusion.
What is unique about the city?
Civic engagement supported by the city: Ghent has an active civil society and values its varied initiatives. This allows the city to support civil society projects to a high degree, in some cases even in the form of official cooperations. These cooperations allow for a more holistic, individual and socially-oriented (instead of merely results-oriented) approach to supporting and including newcomers in Ghent.Ghent has received various solidarity awards for its collaborative approach.
“Various initiatives and organisations emerge through bottom-up approaches. The city of Ghent recognises and supports these initiatives and organisations, without taking them over.”
Rudy Coddens, City Councillor for Social Policy and Finance
What is the focus of local migration policies?
Bringing proactive inclusion and solidarity together: Ghent’s Migration Forum, which brings together different actors working on migration, has the aim of bringing both asylum seekers and members of civil society on board, a strategy that simultaneously fosters solidarity amongst the city’s residents. The city’s most prominent initiatives focus on refugee reception, (voluntary) work and social inclusion.
Political activities and advocacy beyond the city level
Believing in the power of these local approaches, both local politicians and citizens have campaigned for a more open approach to migration at the national level. After the Moria fire, the city of Ghent pledged to receive more refugees than the federal government set out to do, only to see the federal government block it. In response, Ghent Mayor Mathias De Clercq proclaimed that “cooperation and solidarity across borders is more relevant than ever, especially for the most vulnerable in our global society. The coronavirus doesn’t know any borders.”
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Download the full city report
The city report contains more information about the city’s migration and inclusion policies and selected local approaches. Report from 2021, updated in 2023.