The international consortium Welcoming Spaces investigates new ways to merge two policy challenges: how to contribute to the revitalisation of shrinking areas in Europe, while also offering space for the successful integration of non-EU migrants. For this purpose the researchers have selected fifty examples of ‘Welcoming Spaces’ across Europe. A Welcoming Space is a local initiative to attract migrants and revitalize the region.

The aim of ‘Welcoming Spaces’ is to create a platform that makes these examples visible and allows practitioners and researchers to learn from successful and unsuccessful approaches in a wide variety of geographical, political and social contexts. The selected examples will be analysed from different perspectives, varying from representations of the public discourse and media, geographic and institutional contexts and the local-migrant capacity to act.

Welcoming Spaces is coordinated by Prof. Annelies Zoomers (principal investigator) and Dr Karin Geuijen

• Jana Finke MSc
• dr. Bianca Szytniewski
• dr. ir. Marlies Meijer MSc
• prof. dr. Annelies Zoomers
• dr. Karin Geuijen
• prof. dr. Maggi Leung