OPORA Foundation at the State of the Art Conference at the Koninklijke Schouwburg in The Hague

“Post-migration conditions increasingly shape wellbeing.” This applies to both displaced persons in the Netherlands, as well as those who have returned to Ukraine.

Yesterday, OPORA Foundation participated in the State of the Art Conference at the Koninklijke Schouwburg in The Hague, contributing to the session Navigating Uncertainty: Regional Support, Policy Dilemmas, and the Ukrainian Return.

Together with colleagues from Clingendael Institute and Regioplan, we explored the future of displaced Ukrainians in Europe — from post-Temporary Protection policy dilemmas and return trajectories to the role of regional support systems and mental healthcare.

OPORA researchers Jacob Osborne, Daria Delawar-Kasmai, and Yoram Kremers presented research key points on:
🔹 return under temporary protection, reintegration, and mobility;
🔹 regional approaches on the well-being of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands and its impact and current challenges.

A key message from the session, as highlighted by our team's two presentations, was that displacement is not a linear journey. As uncertainty persists, policy responses must move beyond emergency reception and invest in the local and regional systems that shape well-being, participation, and long-term outcomes.

As Osborne noted: “A long-term migration strategy must treat regional coordination capacity as core social infrastructure.”