Programme

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Harnessing migrants’ skills in the EU

EESC Jacques Delors building, Rue Belliard 99, 1000 Brussels

27-28 November 2025

10th European Migration Forum

#EUMigrationForum 

Programme, Day 1 - Thursday, 27 November 2025

8.15 a.m. - 9.15 a.m. | Registration and Welcome coffee (Coffee outside JDE62)

9.15 a.m. - 9.20 a.m. | Start of Day 1 - JDE62

  • Ali Al-Jaberi, Master of ceremonies 

9.20 a.m. - 11.00 a.m. | Opening the 10th European Migration Forum - Harnessing skills, enriching the EU: positive models of integration  - JDE62

Moderator: Ali Al-Jaberi

  • Saber Kordestanchi, Co-founder at Hostaway
  • Tim Versnel, Vice-Mayor, Rotterdam
  • Mette Skautrup, Member of the Aarhus City Council, Denmark
  • Caroline Gastaud, Global Social Impact Lead at Ingka Group I IKEA
  • Mercedes Miletti, Senior Policy Adviser on Migration, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
  • Aristide Bandora, Senior Project Officer, JOBROAD (EU funded)

Q&A session

11.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. | Keynote address of the 10th European Migration Forum - JDE62

Moderator: Ali Al-Jaberi

  • Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration
  • Séamus Boland, President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Q&A session

12.30 p.m. - 2.15 p.m. | Lunch break - (Business Card Wall for networking) -
Atrium 6

2.15 p.m. - 3.45 p.m. | Parallel Roundtables

Roundtable 1 - EU Funds for labour market integration: lessons learned & the way forward  

  • Sub-group 1 – JDE 62
  • Sub-group 2 – JDE 63
  • Sub-group 3 – JDE 61

Roundtable 2 - Protecting migrant workers whilst fighting against their illegal employment   

  • Sub-group 1 – Atrium 5
  • Sub-group 2 – JDE60

Roundtable 3 - Combatting trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation 

  • Sub-group 1 – JDE 3252
  • Sub-group 2 – JDE 3210

4.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. | Know the European Migration Forum Bureau  - JDE62

Moderator: Ali Al-Jaberi

Interview with EMF bureau member Abdourahamane Diaby, Maria Rosa Foundation, Portugal

Moderator: Anna Coulibaly, EMF bureau member

Presenting the candidates standing for the bureau elections

Information on how and when the participants can vote: start of the EMF bureau elections

5.00 p.m. - 5.05 p.m. | Wrap up of the first day and information on the second day - JDE62

5.15 p.m. - 6.15 p.m. | Damast Duo: musical interlude - Atrium 5

A blend of Arabic and European folk music, arranged and composed by the violinist Shalan Alhamwy and the accordionist Jonas Malfliet.

6.15 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. | Networking reception - Atrium 6

Voting in the EMF bureau elections will take place in parallel with the musical interlude and networking reception 

Harnessing migrants’ skills in the EU

10th European Migration Forum

Programme, Day 2 - Friday, 28 November 2025

8.15 a.m. - 9.00 a.m. | Registration and coffee - (Coffee outside JDE62)

9.00 a.m. - 9.15 a.m. | Start of Day 2 and announcement of the results of the EMF bureau elections  - JDE62

Moderator: Anna Coulibaly, Member of the Forum Bureau

9.15 a.m. - 10.45 a.m. | From skills to success:  what helps migrants to enter the job market - JDE62

Moderator: Ali Al-Jaberi

  • Octavio Caraballo, Deputy Minister of the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands
  • Jai Mexis, CEO, non-profit organisation Odyssea
  • Adnan Abdul Ghani, Migration thematic expert, Member of the EC Expert Group on the views of migrants in the field of migration, asylum and integration, Save the Children.
  • Clara Piras, Civil Servant, Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, General Directorate for migration policies and for social and labour inclusion of migrants, Su.Pr.Eme program (EU funded)
  • Elisabeth Verniers, Head of Public Partnerships & Advocacy, DUO for a JOB (EU funded)

Side by Side - video testimonials about integrating into EU labour market, Tina Zournatzi, Deputy Director and Head of Communication, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs

10.45 a.m. - 11.15 a.m. | Coffee break (Coffee outside JDE62)

11.15 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. | The floor is yours - participants suggest further topics to be discussed in parallel break-out rooms - Atrium 5, Atrium 6, Foyer 6, JDE60, JDE61, JDE62 & JDE63

12.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. | Lunch break - Atrium 6 (Business Card Wall for networking)

2.00 p.m. - 2.45 p.m. | Plenary Harvest from the roundtables - JDE62

Moderator: Ali Al-Jaberi

2.45 p.m. - 3.10 p.m. | Concluding session: looking forward - JDE62

Moderator: Ali Al-Jaberi

  • Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Member of the European parliament
  • Arnoldas Abramavičius, Councillor of Zarasai District Municipality Council, Lithuania, and member of the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX), Committee of the Regions
  • Beate Gminder, Director General, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs

3.10 p.m. - 3.15 p.m. | Closing address - JDE62

  • Carlos Trindade, President of the EESC Permanent Group on Immigration and Integration

Web streaming: The sessions taking place in the plenary room JDE 62 are web streamed (except roundtable sessions, the parallel sub-groups and "The floor is yours")

Languages: The roundtables, parallel break-out sessions and the session "The floor is yours" are held in English. All other sessions are interpreted from/into EN, FR, IT, ES and PT