The event, titled “Mir sind die Hände gebunden!? – Handlungskompetenz and der Schnittstelle Flucht, Migration und Behinderung” [My Hands Are Tied!? – Competence for Action at the Intersection of Flight, Migration, and Disability]”, took place on September 18-19, 2025, in Bielefeld. As part of the programme, we conducted an interactive workshop with Nicolay Büttner from the Berlin Network for Vulnerable Refugees.

The workshop focused on the situation of refugees with disabilities and addressed the central guiding question: “What is needed for the structured identification and adequate care of refugees with special (protection) needs?”

Two input presentations addressed the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and its implications, together with research findings from the PROTECT.ING project concerning the implementation of the EU Reception Conditions Directive and current responses to refugees’ special protection needs.
Together with fourteen participants from various fields of practice – including representatives of civil society organizations as well as staff from different authorities – both solutions and challenges in the identification, referral, and addressing of special protection needs, particularly among refugees with disabilities, were discussed in a World Café session. The documentation prepared after the workshop serves as a basis for the development of policy recommendations.