JRS Europe is pleased to present the Annual Report 2019, an overview of the work carried out by the Regional Office in Brussels as well as 22 national JRS offices across Europe.

JRS continued to pursue work guided by its mission to accompany, serve and advocate for the rights of refugees and others who are forcibly displaced. Over the course of 2019, JRS Europe mainly focused on awareness raising and the development of tools that reinforce the cooperation throughout the network.

An important event for us was the approval of the “Strategic Framework for JRS in Europe 2019-2021: Growing in Hospitality and Solidarity across the Europe”, that identifies our four areas of common action: access to protection, detention, social inclusion and integration, and awareness raising.

“The drafting of the Strategic Framework was a necessary exercise to internally analyse our capacities, common values, and methods of operation. It has acted as a lens for reality, aiding us to look at our work not with a routine and bureaucratic view, but one that is shaped by enthusiasm and commitment”, reflected Jose Ignacio Garcia SJ, director of JRS Europe.

The Power of Vote

JRS launched its first European campaign in 2019, ‘The Power of Vote’, as a call for European citizens to vote in the European elections while keeping in mind the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. The campaign focused on four areas: access to protection, alternatives to detention, dignified reception, and inclusion.

For each area, JRS provided a fact sheet with recommendations for the European Union and its Member States, and an infographic for social media. The materials were produced in 11 languages and were used by 13 JRS country offices, reaching over three million people.

Change

2019 was also the year that JRS Europe launched CHANGE, a six stage educational project with various activities for teachers to use so students can learn about facts, stories, and experiences of migration.

CHANGE provides a platform for refugees to share their stories directly with students, enabling refugees to speak in classrooms, and to share their experience of living in Europe, as well as their hopes and dreams for the future.

The work of JRS country offices in Europe

The report includes a summary of the work of each of the 20 JRS national offices in Europe and the two JRS partners, in Spain and Luxembourg. The offices provided a variety of services, such as reception of asylum seekers, language classes or employment support. Together we served 67,075 people.

Thanks to you

The Annual Report is an opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and generosity of our donors and supporters, staff and volunteers. Without your generous commitment none of this would ever be possible.