Reception and Labour Market Integration of Ukrainian Displaced People with Disabilities: Diagnosing the Situation and Exploring Solutions, International seminar
9/11/2023
On 9 November 2023 in Warsaw, Poland, ICMPD, in collaboration with the Polish Migration Forum Foundation (PFM) and the Association for Legal Intervention (SIP), organised the third international seminar as part of the ICMPD-led project “Comprehensive Support for People in a Vulnerable Situation in the Polish Migration Management System (KOMPLEKS).”
Currently, in Poland there are around one million displaced people from Ukraine, many of them with disabilities. Although there are several solutions and programmes aimed specifically at this group, not all of them are adequate to meet their needs. Unlike in other cases, such solutions require new synergies at the cross-section of migration management and specific social services. During the seminar, experts and practitioners discussed the specific challenges faced by this group, as well as current legal regulations, the forms of available support for people displaced from Ukraine with disabilities (both pre-existing and as a result of the war) and monitoring measures to evaluate their effectiveness. Participants from governmental, municipal, and non-governmental institutions looked at diverse possible solutions in the area of support for this group, including a review of existing best practices that most often combine providing legal assistance, housing, and support for entering the labour market. According to experts, the number of people with disabilities from Ukraine is likely to grow, as well as the overall number of people planning to stay in Poland for longer. Introducing well-tailored long-term solutions is therefore crucial.