On the 10th of November, the LDE GMD’s Thea Hilhorst and Simona Vezzoli met with Dutch Parliament to discuss the Opvang in de Regio (Reception in the Region) Factsheet. The factsheet, worked on by a few academics, including both Simona and Thea, explores the various policy options that can be categorised as 'reception in the region', with a focus on offering protection to refugees and displaced persons. It assesses the possible consequences of this policy and puts Dutch initiatives in a comparative perspective.
The meeting gave the members of the Tweede Kamer the opportunity to ask questions on the factsheet or on questions that had that stemmed from their reading of the factsheet. Among their questions, there were inquiries about the role of resettlement in these programs and which countries are more committed to resettlements, and the impact of education programs for children on the educational well-being of children in communities in the region.
Thea and Simona provided additional evidence from the research on protection in the region and wider research on asylum seekers, refugees, and internally displaced people. The members of the Tweede Kamer were very positive about the report and underlined the importance of the topic. Several wanted to have a follow-on meeting.