Welcome to Switzerland  

Every year more than 10'000 people come to Switzerland searching refuge from violence, persecution and poverty. In more than 70% of the cases, Swiss authorities recognize their need for protection despite our restrictive legislation.

But how do we welcome refugees to our country, which is so famous for its hospitality?

What living conditions are offered to people after their long and weary journey, not to mention the hardships they suffered in their home countries before departure?

And how do we interact with them, even once they have been accepted as definite or provisional citizens?

This workshop aims to broach these increasingly controversial subjects by giving a general introduction to the legal and social challenges created by the movement and clash of civilizations. It will focus particularly on instruments to promote the longer-term process of integration in a new society, questioning our prejudices as to who should adapt to whom. Other problematic areas specific to this field, such as the registration centres, where asylum seekers are kept for up to sixty days in what can best be described as prison conditions, will be broached. The workshop is practice oriented and, accordingly, the organizational aspects of youth projects in the immigration field will be highlighted.

The main leaders of this workshop will be Ethnopoly, who developed a game for integration with the city of Bern as a board to play on, and the Swiss Relief for Refugees Organization, who coordinate and supervise all action in support of refugees in Switzerland.