A meeting of the Diversity, Migration and Integration Interest Group (DMIIG) meeting took place in Brussels on 23 November.  The all day meeting addressed the topic of ‘New Challenges for the European Union’ and was chaired by Sara Llewellin of the Barrow Cadbury Trust.

The event was divided into two sessions, taking place before and after a networking lunch:

Morning:  ‘The new EU Agenda for the Integration of Migrants’

Speakers:

Eva Schultz, Unit Immigration and Integration, DG Home Affairs, European Commission

Yves Pascouau, Head of programme, European Migration and Diversity, European Policy Centre (EPC)

Jan Niessen, Director, Diversity and Migration programmes, Migration Policy Group (MPG)

Afternoon: Session II - The Rise of Populist Parties in Europe - Special Session in cooperation with Open Society Institute – Brussels

Moderator:

Heather Grabbe, OSI-Brussels Director

Speakers:

Jamie Bartlett, Head of the Violence and Extremism programme, Demos, presenting the findings of a large scale online poll of supporters of populist parties in Europe.

Michael Privot, Director, European Network Against Racism (ENAR), Brussels

Philipp Offergeld, Centre for International Affairs, Mercator Stiftung, on ‘Understanding and dealing with the spread of populist extremism in Europe’.

About DMIIG

The Diversity, Migration and Integration Interest Group (DMIIG) gathers foundations to promote best practice by fostering networking, exchanging and collecting information on promising practices, enhancing knowledge and building intelligence on the sector, and communicating and coordinating foundations interested in the field. The DMIIG acts as a platform for knowledge-sharing on common areas of interest and is a contact point with key external actors, including the European Commission.