The 2015 upsurge in refugee arrivals did not only bring a political challenge for EU states, but above all a social one: how can refugees and locals live side-by-side in modern societies?
With a view of showing best practices in the area of refugee integration, the European Migration and Diversity programme and Connecting Europe, screened the documentary film “The Taste of Home” which tells the story of the initiative "Kitchen on the Run". Winner of Advocate Europe’s ideas challenge in 2017, Kitchen on the Run aims to create a space for encounters and exchange between locals and refugees in a social setting. To this purpose, initiative's founders converted a large blue storage container into a community kitchen and took it through 5 EU states (Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden), where they organised cooking events and met different people to hear their stories.
The documentary screening was followed by a panel discussion exploring the most pressing political and social challenges in the context of the integration process.
Speakers included: Jule Schröder, Founder of Kitchen on the Run, Marieke Schöning Project Manager, Kitchen on the Run, Catherine Woollard, Secretary General, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Julian Rappold, Project Leader of ‘Connecting Europe’, European Policy Centre, Katharina Bamberg, Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre