Saatja: Urvi Kaljas - JUSTDIGI Saatmisaeg: kolmapäev, 23. aprill 2025 12:49 Adressaat: 'Heijden, Marcel van der' Teema: RE: Exchange Event: Self-reliance through Digitalization in Asylum Reception Dear Mr. van der Heijden, Thank you for reaching out and sharing information about the international exchange event and COA’s ambitions to increase self-reliance through digitalization in asylum reception. The proposed theme is both timely and important. In Estonia, there have been initiatives related to digitalization and social inclusion, though the context may differ. Organizations such as the Estonian Human Rights Centre and the Baltic Institute of Social Sciences have worked on projects involving the integration and support of asylum seekers and migrants. Their experiences could offer valuable insights or best practices for your roadmap. Additionally, Estonia’s expertise as a leader in e-governance and digital solutions might be inspiring. For example, the use of digital identification systems and personalized digital platforms for public services aligns well with COA’s vision of creating accessible and user-friendly environments. A notable advantage in Estonia is that when a refugee receives an identity—namely, a personal identification code—from the Police and Border Guard Board, they are entered into our systems, enabling them to access our e- services using the assigned eID tool. I suggest reaching out to experts such as: * Margarita Källo from the Ministry of Culture, who is responsible for the Settling-in Estonia service: https://www.eesti.ee/syndmusteenused/en/settling-in-estonia. Her contact is margarita.kallo@kul.ee. * Laura Aabel from the Police and Border Guard Board, who is a development expert. Her contact is laura.aaben@politsei.ee. If needed, I would be happy to assist in facilitating connections or identifying additional resources. Best regards, Urvi Kaljas Services Strategy Service Department Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs From: Heijden, Marcel van der Sent: Friday, February 28, 2025 4:38 PM To: info@justdigi.ee Subject: Exchange Event: Self-reliance through Digitalization in Asylum Reception Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada. Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada. Dear Madam, Sir, Let me first introduce myself. My name is Marcel van der Heijden. I am responsible for international knowledge sharing in the Dutch Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). We are planning to organize an international exchange event in The Netherlands in Mid-May 2025 on the following theme: Self-reliance through Digitalization in Asylum Reception: How to enable residents of asylum reception centres to increase their self-reliance and active involvement through digitalization of accommodation and guidance processes. Please find attached the concept note. COA has developed a digitalization roadmap, which includes more participation and self- reliance of the residents of COA’s reception centres. In short, COA’s ambition with regards to the residents of its reception centres is to promote the resident’s self-reliance and involvement in his/her own asylum process, and to facilitate that the resident has influence on how his/her process runs. This should take place in a digital environment which is user-friendly, accessible and available in different languages. Examples of this self-reliance, active involvement and influence, as mentioned in the digitalization road map: 24/7 access to relevant information (my file, my wallet, links), 24/7 digital support (advice on health care, incident reports), guidance in a digital environment, identification and location selection in a digital manner, so that the asylum seeker can indicate preferences for a next location him/herself and arrange the registration for it digitally. If the resident still needs help, he/she can go to a physical location at specific times to ask for help. We have not yet reached the stage of realizing these steps, except for a personalized digital environment (MyCOA) and some other small steps. COA is therefore keen to learn from initiatives and experiences in other countries and other sectors, as well as from research from knowledge institutes. It wants to exchange ideas on how to effectively enable residents of asylum reception centres to increase their self-reliance, involvement, and influence through digitalization of processes targeting accommodation and guidance. Do you have best practices or inspiring examples from Estonia that you could share? We would be interested to explore this with you. Alternatively, could you refer me to other experts in your country? Thanks in advance. Best regards, Marcel van der Heijden Marcel van der Heijden Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) Project Manager International Knowledge Platform Mobile: +31 (0)6 2965 5092 Website: www. coa.n l | ikp- asylu m.nl Visiting address: Rijnst raat 8, 2515 XP The Hagu e, The Neth erlan ds Postal address: P.O. B. 3020 3, 2500 GE, The Hagu e, The Neth erlan ds ********************************************************************** Dit bericht kan informatie bevatten die niet voor u is bestemd. 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