02
Mar
Lublin: Debate on the Labor Market Integration of Immigrants and Refugees
A European seminar on migrants and refugees was held in Lublin, Poland. Participants analyzed labor market opportunities and shared personal experiences.
The seminar took place from February 12 to 15, 2026, and was titled “Supporting Migrants and Refugees in the European Labour Market – Challenges for Workers’ Organizations.”
The opening remarks were delivered by Aneta Szczykutowicz, Vice President of PICM-IPCM, psychologist, and trainer at EDS-FNS (Europejski Dom Spotkań - Fundacja Nowy Staw); Agata Dziubińska-Gawlik, President of EDS-FNS; and Piergiorgio Sciacqua, Co-President of EZA and Vice President of IPCM.
The seminar proceeded according to the program. Two members of the IPCM Board of Directors also participated: Ignacio Argote (Spain) and Vittorino Rodaro (Italy).
The integration of immigrants and refugees, as well as the labor market and the role of workers' organizations, were the central themes of the seminar's discussions.
Poland has received three million refugees as a result of the war in Ukraine. The EDS-FNS Foundation organized a reception center for Ukrainian families in Nasutow, with support from IPCM. IPCM official visited this center in October 2022.
Supporting Migrants and Refugees in the European Labour Market – Challenges for Workers' Organisations
12-15.02.2026 Lublin, Poland
PROGRAMME
12.02.2026 THURSDAY
Greeting and Registration of Participants
13.02.2026 FRIDAY
08.30 – 09.00 PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION
09.00 – 09.30 OFFICIAL OPENING SESSION
Moderator:
• Aneta Szczykutowicz, Psychologist, trainer – European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Vice-President of IPCM, Poland
Speakers:
• Agata Dziubińska – Gawlik, President of the European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
• Piergiorgio Sciacqua, Co-President of EZA, Italy
Project funded by the European Union
09.30 – 10.30 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE SEMINAR
Speakers:
• Agata Dziubińska – Gawlik, President of the European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
• Rev. Marek Stawski, Phd, Co-worker of the Social Cooperative of San Giuseppe, Italy
• Beata Romejko, Project Coordinator, European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
11.00 – 12.30 THE SITUATION OF LABOUR MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN THE EUROPEAN LABOUR MARKET
Moderator:
• Tomasz Osiecki, Business Advisor and Key Advisor in Social Economy Support Center, European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
Speakers:
• Vittorino Rodaro, Vice chairman UNAIE, Włochy
• Carien Neven, Secretary of beweging.net Limburg, Belgium
• José Ignacio Argote Vea-Murguía, Secretary of CEAT/IPCM, Spain
• Taras Kuzma, Koordynator Wyjazdów Mobilnych / Pracownik Punktu Informacyjnego, Stowarzyszenie Homo Faber, Lublin
14.15 – 16.00 STRATEGIES FOR THE INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES INTO THE LABOUR MARKET ON THE EXAMPLE OF SELECTED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
Moderator:
• Eliza Potocka, Animator & Coach in Social Economy Support Center, European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
Speakers:
• Prof. Luigi Perrone, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Sociology, University of Lecce, Italy (online)
Project funded by the European Union
• Paolo Ragusa Phd, President of the MCL Foreign Workers Association, Italy
• Maria Carmona, Project Coordinator, CRESCER, Portugal
• Radosław Osiński, acting. Deputy Director for European Funds, Voivodeship Labour Office in Lublin, Poland
16.30 – 17.00 SUMMARY OF THE DAY
• Moderator: Beata Romejko, Project Coordinator, European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
14.02.2026 SATURDAY
09.00 – 10.45 THE PATH TO ACTIVATION AND PROFESSIONAL STABILISATION – GOOD EUROPEAN PRACTICES AND THE PERSPECTIVE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
• Moderator: Aneta Szczykutowicz, Psychologist, trainer – European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Vice-President of IPCM, Poland
Speakers:
• Maria Mazur, PhD, Professor at the University of Entrepreneurship and Administration in Lublin, Representative of the Lublin Province Governor for Migration and Integration Processes, Poland
• Dimitra Skempi, Youth Centre Coordinator at the Network for Children's Rights Organisation, Greece
• Sergiej Piddubnyj – Participant in the ‘Together We Can Do More’ Project, Ukraine
• Adriana Życińska, Key Advisor at the EDS-FNS Social Economy Support Centre, Poland
• Nnaemeka Prince Akano, Founder of Lead Learn Volunteer Foundation, Educator and early years teaching Assistant, Nigeria (online)
11.15 – 12.40 THE ROLE OF WORKERS' ORGANISATIONS IN THE INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES AND THE PROTECTION OF THEIR RIGHTS
Project funded by the European Union
Moderator:
• Paulina Haratym - Niścior, Project Coordinator, European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
Speakers:
• Doc. Ing. Ľubica Černá, President of NKOS, Slovakia
• Yuriy Kurylo, President of VOST VOLYA, Ukraine
• Joseph Thouvenel, Vice-President of EZA and former CFTC Chairman, France
• Florije Marini, Chairman of Woman Forum and memeber of National Council of SAUATT, Albania
• Aldo Montanaro, President of Cooperativa di San Giuseppe, Italy (online)
14.10 – 15.10 SUPPORTING MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN THE LIGHT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES: PSYCHOLOGY AND CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
Moderator: Adriana Życińska, Chief Advisor at the EDS-FNS Social Economy Support Centre, Poland
Speakers:
• Rev. Marek Stawski, PhD, Co-worker of the Social Cooperative of San Giuseppe, Italy
• Barbara Cholewa, Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Psychotraumatologist, Long-term Collaborator at the Volunteer Centre in Lublin and the ‘Emaus’ Association, Poland
15.30 – 16.30 JOINT DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS AT NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LEVEL – WORKSHOPS
Moderator:
• Aneta Szczykutowicz, Psychologist, trainer – European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Vice-President of IPCM, Poland
16.30 – 17.00 SEMINAR SUMMARY, CLOSING SESSION
Moderator:
• Beata Romejko, Project Coordinator, European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Poland
• Aneta Szczykutowicz, Aneta Szczykutowicz, Psychologist, trainer – European Meeting Centre – Nowy Staw Foundation, Vice-President of IPCM, Poland.
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