The purpose of the Mapping key migrant-led organisations across the EU analysis is to provide a look into the major migrant-led structures which, where possible, are consulted and involved in policymaking within the EU-27, or have otherwise been identified by experts on the ground as very active. The EWSI Editorial Team thus limited the study to a maximum of ten examples per country. Due to the very different on-the-ground realities across the EU-27, however, the number of structures included vary from country to country. The information was collected through the review of publicly available data on migrant structures across the EU-27 gathered through the organisations’ online presence.

Identifying migrant-led structures

To define which structures classify as migrant-led, the Mapping key migrant-led organisations across the EU analysis borrows from and builds upon the LOCALMULTIDEM study (Kucaba, Katarzyna and Laura Morales, LOCALMULTIDEM and MDE Organisational Survey (WP3): Questionnaires. Version 1. Leicester: University of Leicester, 2016.). The matrix of the study conceives an association as ‘a formally-organised named group most of whose members – whether persons or organisations – are not financially recompensated for their participation.’ However, the structures included in the current study are more varied in order to better reflect the different modes of migrant self-organisation across the union. As EWSI strives to provide an overview of the most active migrant-led structures, the dataset has been expanded beyond the strict definition of association, with notable examples of other migrant organisations added, including ones that do recompensate their teams. This expansion allows EWSI to accommodate the different legal realities faced by third-country nationals across the EU, as some countries limit the types of entities under which non-citizens may organise. As an example, in Poland, migrants seem more likely to organise through foundations which appear easier to establish. EWSI followed the matrix presented below.

Table 1. Which organisations are classified as migrant? Note: The table is adapted from Katarzyna and Laura Morales, LOCALMULTIDEM and MDE Organisational Survey (WP3): Questionnaires. Version 1. Table 2, p. 10. Leicester: University of Leicester, 2016.

A = autochthonous, M = migrant

Type of organisations

The following organisations were identified:

• Refugee-led
• Migrant-led
• Migrant women-led
• Second generation/youth-led
• Other migration-related diversity

Included under ‘other migration-related diversity’ are organisations formed by mixed members (first- and second-generation migrants, refugees, as well as possibly members of the local society) who have come together rather because of their commitment to a specific issue (workers’ or LGBTIQ+ rights, for example, as well as belonging to a specific religion). In some cases, structures may fall into two categories: for example, an organisation may be led by second-generation Muslim migrants; in this case, the structure is classified as ‘second generation/youth led’. When possible, precedence is thus given to features related to migration status, age and gender (or the first four categories).

In some cases, organisations may be able to fit under both the ‘migrant-led’ and ‘second-generation’ categories in cases where large diasporas and ongoing migration flows coexist; in such instances, precedence is given to ‘migrant-led’ and the label ‘second-generation’ is only used if the organisation stresses on this aspect.

Table 2. Example of the classification of organisations by type.

Composition of the communities served by the work of the organisation

• One ethnic/religious group
• Small number of ethnic/religious groups
• Multi-ethnic group but only one migrant group (e.g. refugees only, women only, family migrants only)
• Many multi-ethnic and multi-migrant groups
• Migrant-led but many non-migrant members

Membership size

Following the LOCALMULTIDEM study, the current analysis divided individual membership sizes as:

• unknown
• 1 to 9
• 10 to 29
• 30 to 99
• 100 to 499
• ≥500

Membership in EU and international organisations

The migrant structures were checked for their possible membership to one of the following main EU or international organisations:

• African Diaspora Youth Forum in Europe (ADYFE)
• European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
• European Network against Racism (ENAR)
• European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW)
• European Youth Forum (EYF)
• Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO)
• Global Refugee-led Network (GRN)
• Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migration (PICUM)
• SIRIUS Migrant Education Policy Network
• Other

Regional comparison

• Northern and Western countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden
• Central, Eastern and Baltic countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia
• Southern countries: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain