We have been learning about integration in Gelderland for about two years, while at the same time taking action and contributing concrete solutions.
Many people in Gelderland—especially newcomers themselves—are committed to make integration as seamless as possible. In order to deepen, distribute and operationalise the information gathered during the past years, OpenEmbassy organised eleven maker sessions on integration issues with important stakeholders. The sessions focused on different themes such as work, education, health, the 2021 Civil Integration Act, etc. Stakeholders are not only able to share their knowledge, but also to come up with different solutions for problems newcomers may face in the Netherlands. Moreover, we prepared action plans for participants to work on the following year.
Because we conducted these sessions eleven times, we set local actions in motion, but also formed an overall picture of what the most pressing issues are in the region. This helped the province play a solid role as a connector, a facilitator, and—when necessary—a promoter.