Over the past decade, community sponsorship has emerged as an innovative and impactful tool for refugee protection in Europe.
Across Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom, resettlement-based programmes and humanitarian corridors have opened safe and legal pathways for more than 12,000 refugees, backed by hundreds of volunteer groups, civil society organisations, and local authorities working hand in hand with governments.
This model, which aligns with UNHCR’s Global Compact on Refugees, has proven to be a powerful driver of integration and social cohesion. What began as pilots across Europe has become a dynamic European movement grounded in solidarity and cooperation, as emphasised in the EUAA guidelines on community sponsorship.
The broader landscape of resettlement and complementary pathways has experienced both expansion and contraction over the past decade. Following 2015, legal pathways entered a phase of creativity and growth, with new countries engaging in resettlement and innovative models emerging across Europe, culminating in the European Commission’s Recommendation on Safe and Legal Pathways in 2020, which called on Member States to expand safe pathways, including community sponsorship.
In recent years, however, the road has not always been smooth. Heightened politicisation of migration, rising anti-immigrant sentiment, housing shortages, inflation, and budgetary pressures have constrained the capacity of governments and communities alike. Cuts to humanitarian aid and mounting geopolitical instability have further strained the global refugee protection system at a time when needs are higher than ever.
Yet the spirit of welcome has endured, and community sponsorship has evolved, increasingly supporting complementary pathways in education and labour mobility alongside traditional resettlement.
The Convention
To mark ten years of this movement, the Share Network will convene the QSN+ European Refugee Sponsorship Convention in Brussels on 2 July 2026, bringing together 100+ participants from across Europe and beyond, including government officials, local authorities, civil society organisations, foundations, universities, volunteers, and refugees themselves, the Convention will offer a unique opportunity to exchange experiences, celebrate achievements, and look ahead to the coming decade.
The programme will combine:
Keynote presentations and high-level policy dialogue on the present and future of safe and legal pathways in Europe
Interactive peer learning grounded in good practices from across the continent
Dynamic exchanges and artistic expressions celebrating the human stories behind the numbers
Ten years on, this Convention is both a celebration and a commitment. It will reaffirm that citizens, civil society, and governments can work together, and demonstrate what that looks like in practice, at scale, across Europe.