From September 18 to 22, 2023, Foundation employees, who are also associated with the Refugee Section of the Law Clinic of the Catholic University of Lublin, took part in a week-long job shadowing workshop that took place in Berlin as part of the “Erasmus+” program.
During our visit to Berlin we had the pleasure of meeting many interesting people, including: representatives of associations, foundations, church and university authorities, thanks to whom we could participate in various events related to migration law.
Meetings with the Chairmen of the Berlin Refugee Law Clinic (RLC), operating at the Humboldt University, were an opportunity to present the areas of both their and our activities. The topics discussed concerned legal protection and assistance for migrants, with particular emphasis on refugees, as well as the way of organizing work, training members and future projects. The meetings were presentations and workshops ending with a discussion.
We met with many students associated with RLC Berlin, including migration advisors, people involved in administration, translators and participants of courses preparing to become a member of RLC. During the meeting, we were presented with the functioning of the RLC, including educating its members and other students in the street law convention, through education in the field of migration and international law relating to foreigners. The event took the form of a presentation ending with an exchange of observations and views on the functioning of our organizations.
The meeting with specialists in the field of the Dublin procedure allowed us to better understand the Western perspective of the implemented Dublin system. During the meeting, we exchanged experiences of working on the Polish-Belarusian border. The meeting took the form of a discussion moderated by a representative of RLC Berlin.
The organization “Wir Packen’s an” was also involved in the workshops, whose representative is an expert in the field of migration law who also coordinates advice on deportation detention. Among the participants was also a representative of the Berlin Church for Foreigners, who introduced us to the institution of church asylum typical of German culture. The meeting took the form of a presentation ending with a discussion.
During the meeting with the Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Humboldt University, we had the opportunity to talk about our activities and prospects for cooperation at the foundation and university levels. The Dean shared his experiences of cooperation between university centers in Poland and their clinics. The meeting took the form of a discussion ending with conclusions regarding the essence of the problem.
While visiting the department and the university, we considered the possibility of organizing a seminar on migration law that could take advantage of the availability of educational resources.
The meeting with the founders of RLC Berlin and RLC Deutschland allowed us to learn about the history of these organizations and understand their contribution to the field of migration law. Thanks to this meeting, we learned better about the organization’s structures and how they function, which inspired us to present their functioning model to the members of our Foundation.
Our visit to Berlin was fruitful and inspiring. We are considering the possibility of cooperation with RLC Berlin and the other organizations presented above. Meeting with so many experts in the field of migration law, including representatives of NGOs and university authorities, helped broaden our perspective and gain new contacts with institutions working for human rights.
