ICMC Europe / The Share Network: The Refugee Advisor Programme

Working in collaboration with different partners in seven European countries currently implementing community sponsorship schemes, the Share sponsorship programme uses a multi-stakeholder, grassroots and bottom-up strategy to build strong and sustainable sponsorship programmes.

The Share Network developed a Refugee Sponsorship Mobilisation Platform which gathers a wide variety of actors, including civil society organisations, cities and regions, faith communities, volunteer groups, diaspora organisations, universities, private business, philanthropy, and refugee themselves. The platform builds strategies and joint advocacy initiatives to expand and develop different types of sponsorship programmes adapted to national contexts. It is in this context that the Share Network set up a Refugee Advisor Programme for Community Sponsorship to ensure refugee voices are represented in advocacy at the local, national and EU level.

The Refugee Advisor Programme provides an international platform for refugees to share and learn from each other, inform the development & implementation of community sponsorship and engage in joint advocacy actions at EU-level to support safe pathways to Europe. Specifically, the programme:

• Promotes refugee participation as a tool for the creation of more welcoming and inclusive societies, and advocates for more resettlement and complementary pathways, and the expansion of community sponsorship.
• Enables the participation of refugees and raises awareness about sponsorship, bringing their lived experience and concerns to the local, national and particularly the EU level. 
• Enhances refugee participation in the design, implementation, and evaluation of sponsorship programmes and policies.
• Offers a platform for refugees to network and exchange with a variety of actors in the sector in the context of the Refugee Sponsorship Mobilisation Platform and beyond. 
• Develops recommendations and influence policies and practices through advocacy.

Webpage of the Refugee Advisor Programme: https://www.share-network.eu/articles-and-resources/tag/Refugee+Advisor+Programme