The critical role of the third sector in the Ukraine crisis across Europe

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territories on 24 February 2022 has triggered rapid, large‐scale migration of Ukrainian residents, both within Ukraine and to the European Union, leading to the displacement of nearly one third of all Ukrainians. The magnitude and rapidity of this inflow into Europe is unprecedented, making Ukraine’s war‐related forced migration Europe’s largest displacement crisis in decades.
As a response to this situation, the European Commission invoked the so‐called Temporary Protection Directive for the first time, automatically entitling Ukrainians fleeing war to a temporary protection status and guaranteeing access to shelter, the labour market, medical care, education for minors and social assistance in the cities, towns and rural areas to which they fled.
Across Europe, governments faced the task of mobilising resources to meet the housing and welfare needs of Ukrainian refugees. Social workers – and the third sector in general – were challenged to adapt their functioning to provide displaced Ukrainians with the support they are entitled to. In numerous countries, welfare providers encountered various obstacles in this support provision, including legal, practical and ethical ones. At the same time, this novel situation also lead to innovative practices in housing and support provision, often including the mobilisation of informal civil society. Exemplary are the private accommodation of people fleeing Ukraine in several countries across Europe and the many small social initiatives that try to meet their needs, often using social media and crowdsourcing platforms. The vast mobilisation of volunteers underlines the capacity and great willingness of local populations to help Ukrainian refugees.
Both the joint act of solidarity from the European Union and the scale of citizen‐based solidarity are unprecedented in migration‐related issues in the EU. This panel critically explores these acts of solidarity, as well as the role of the third sector in the reception, support and integration of displaced Ukrainians across European countries. First, Kata Fredheim (Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia) explores how the plans of Ukrainian refugees in Latvia evolved over time and how support from the third sector changed accordingly, evolving to a sophisticated support infrastructure. The second presentation, by Karina Melnyk and Hubert Kaszyński (Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland), examines the factors that played a role in the unprecedented hospitality in Poland for people fleeing Ukraine, presenting the findings from a mixed‐methods study. Also from Poland, Ryszard Necel investigates how Polish social workers perceived the cooperation with the local community during the Ukrainian crisis. In the final article, Tony Mickelsson Blomqvist (Södertörn University in Stockholm, Sweden) addresses the question raised by many – not in the least by many third sector actors – as to how Ukrainians are treated differently from other refugee groups at various levels.

References

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Sub Unit

• The role and position of the Third Sector during crises and conflicts

Moderator

• Mieke Schrooten, University of Antwerp, Center for Research on Environmental and Social Change

Individual Presentations

• Plans of Ukrainian war displaced people after arrival in Latvia - Kata Fredheim, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga

• Cooperation in times of crisis - Social welfare institutions in the face of war refugees from Ukraine - Ryszard Necel, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

• Ukrainian refugees’ differentiated treatment: A critical and systematic review - Tony Blomqvist Mickelsson, Sodertorns hogskola