From 2010 úntil 2017 I worked for Social Platform, a civil society alliance of almost 50 pan-European networks of NGOs working for social justice and participatory democracy in the European Union. Below you will find the blog posts I wrote as a Policy & Advocacy Adviser on human rights, equality and migration.

Attention! Social Platform has a new website and the links no longer work, some of the blog posts can be found here.

2017

• 1 Dec: “If you are not around the table, you are on the menu”
• 2 Nov: Speeding up snail’s pace on gender equality
• 19 Oct: What are social inclusion and solidarity? A simple question, complex answer
• 3 Oct: Will the next EU budget fund Welcoming Europe or Fortress Europe?
• 11 Sep: What EU budget would we like to see in 2020?
• 10 Jul: An opportunity to influence the EU to ensure safe and legal ways to Europe
• 3 Jul: The EU must lead by example in protecting civil society
• 12 Jun: European Social Fund – for people, with people
• 15 May: Open the front door to migration, before closing the back door
• 8 May: Preventing shrinking space for civil society organisations and actors in the EU
• 21 Apr: Freedom of movement – free choice or last resort? 
• 14 Apr: A missed opportunity to listen to citizens and promote solidarity with migrants
• 10 Apr: The cost of migrant integration pays off
• 3 Apr: Why citizens and civil society should lobby the EU
• 25 Mar: Europe for Citizens programme – a direct line between citizens and the EU institutions
• 25 Mar: We need to break silos between migration and labour legislation
• 20 Mar: Digital exclusion – the unintended consequences of technology
• 3 Mar: More and safer passages to the EU, for all migrants and refugees
• 24 Feb: Looking for the magic formula to generate new ideas
• 20 Feb: Two ways digital inclusion can tackle homelessness
• 20 Feb: Digital inclusion for people with disabilities benefits all
• 3 Feb: The EU Facilitation Directive is not aligned with human rights standards
• 30 Jan: Vice-President Timmermans – we are on the verge of a feminist revolution
• 30 Jan: Gender equality through intersecting inequalities is the way forward
• 26 Jan: Visiting South Sweden – building bridges between EU civil society and the grassroots level

2016

• 5 Dec: The timeliness of combating violence against women in Europe, and beyond
• 5 Dec: Social service providers – key actors for inclusion
• 5 Dec: Fighting discrimination, hate and bias violence offline and online
• 21 Nov: Making accessibility the norm
• 21 Nov: Round table meeting in the European Parliament on the EU Facilitation Directive
• 21 Nov: For whom the civic space is shrinking
• 14 Nov: The European Parliament calls for a Union Pact for human rights
• 14 Nov: Access to services key to labour market integration
• 28 Oct: Opportunities and challenges for NGOs to follow the EU agenda on migration and asylum
• 28 Oct: European Commission work programme – defending borders over people’s human rights?
• 24 Oct: Meeting Commissioner Avramopoulos, on behalf of 132,386 Europeans
• 11 Oct: Topical issues for the next European Migration Forum
• 3 Oct: Safe passages to the EU
• 23 Sep: Examples of EU integration
• 19 Sep: More cooperation between civil society and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights
• 7 Sep: Listening to the concerns of people often left behind
• 15 Jul: ‘Europeans fear wave of refugees will mean more terrorism, fewer jobs’
• 11 Jul: How to influence Vice-President Timmermans
• 23 Jun: Reflections about rights holders and rights compliance
• 21 Jun: Fundamental rights based governance
• 20 Jun: At the Fundamental Rights Forum
• 15 Jun: ‘Change comes from fighting the others battle’
• 13 Jun: Integration high on the agenda
• 13 Jun: Social Platform discusses integration, social tension and political trade-offs
• 7 Jun: Debating migration, radicalisation and inclusive societies
• 23 May: Accessible digital services are means to social inclusion
• 20 May: How gender equality counts
• 8 Apr: Impressions from the European Migration Forum
• 4 Apr: Cities and civil society on the frontline of reception and integration
• 23 Mar: Towards an EU Action Plan on Integration of Third-Country Nationals
• 19 Mar: Advocacy – the sum of our work
• 19 Mar: Members of the European Parliament develop a proposal for a Fundamental Rights Pact
• 14 Mar: Individuals and volunteers arrested and fined for acts of solidarity
• 29 Feb: Unknown territory of civil society cooperation with the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights
• 23 Feb: The Fundamental Rights Charter, Article 51: The Power of EU or Member States?
• 19 Feb: Tackling discrimination and hatred against Roma, Jews and Muslims
• 19 Feb: Meeting European Commission Vice-President Timmermans on migration integration
• 12 Feb: National equality bodies hold the key to protecting social and economic rights
• 8 Feb: Civil dialogue – are we agenda-setters or any other business?
• 8 Feb: EU decision-makers – target smugglers, not humanitarian NGOs
• 28 Jan: European Parliament study on the Facilitation Directive – an unfit law criminalising solidarity
• 25 Jan: Meeting the new Director of the Fundamental Rights Agency

2015

• 7 Dec: Agents of Change for Roma Rights
• 26 Nov: Friends of Bulgarian NGOs: The National and Local Ombudswoman
• 26 Nov: Civil Dialogue in Bulgaria: two versions of the same story
• 22 Nov: Bringing human right actors together in ordered chaos
• 10 Nov: SOLIDAR discusses migration & rights in South Eastern Europe
• 9 Nov: Making EU migration & integration funding easier
• 2 Nov: A civil dialogue on migration, social protection & funding
• 22 Oct: Eradicating Poverty: Fighting Indifference & Ignorance
• 16 Oct: Countering Euroscepticism & Populism
• 9 Oct: Smugglers today, heroes tomorrow?
• 30 Sep: The EU should lead by example in Diversity Management
• 25 Sep: NGOs and State view on the Social Charter Collective Complaints
• 15 Sep: The EU’s (in)consistency and (in)coherence
• 7 Sep: ‘I don’t want to be a women. I just don’t want to be a man’
• 7 Sep: Eurosceptics vs. Europhiles
• 13 Jul: Vice-President Timmermans commits to more consistent & coherent European Semester
• 30 Jun: Don’t let extremists hijack the debate about anti-Semitism & Islamophobia
• 26 Jun: Halfway through Gender Equality: 200 more years?
• 18 Jun: Politics of fear shapes laws on homelessness
• 11 Jun: EU Fundamental Rights Agency joins actors to improve national impact
• 5 Jun: In a perfect world…
• 5 Jun: Learn how to tackle social rights violations at our training session!
• 7 May: Equality for All: A Directive known by many names
• 17 Apr: Right to health: the discrepancy between law, theory & practice
• 17 Apr: In Vienna for a “reality check”
• 9 Apr: ‘We are landlords – not immigration officials’
• 9 Apr: Female poverty trap: a gender gap from pay to pension
• 31 Mar: LIBE hearing on fundamental rights: listen to the talk rather than face the walk?
• 27 Mar: Catching big fish or avoiding the elephant in the room?
• 9 Mar: A fond farewell to FRA Director: Morten Kjaerum