Migration is high on the political agenda and is stirring emotions at the local, regional, national and European levels. Policymakers, opinion makers, social groups, sometimes concerned sometimes concerned citizens … hover between openness and restrictions to migration.

Just recently, the Netherlands published the report Moderate Growth, where controlled migration is once again the issue. On the other hand, feeling at home has (become) important for everyone. Almost daily we are confronted with it on television. TV series are only too happy to play on this. Governments also make policies to promote the feeling of home.

However, statistics at various levels indicate that people feel less connected to a place. But what do the concepts of “home” and “feeling at home” mean? Is it merely a place where one feels good. Or do we make a house a home? Or is more needed? Can we really define it only from a homesick thought? In conversations, people often do know immediately where they do not feel at home. Familiarity in other words seems to be a central guiding principle: surrounded by people one knows, clear structures, safe and accessible public spaces….

For this edition, the Decentralized Forum 2024 is committed to deepening these questions. Old recipes are alternated with innovative paths with the ultimate goal of strengthening the cooperation between Southeastern Europe and Belgium. But equally, the creation of inclusive projects in the various countries involved ensures a sustainable Europe of citizens. 

On May 30, 2024, the forum will start plenary with a brief history of migration and underlying processes of inclusion and feeling at home. This will help form the basis for in-depth work stores. Friday, May 31, 2024 is entirely devoted to site visits to villages with which the University of Suceava has a long-term project to preserve historic buildings and especially (re)appreciate the past. The goal is not history for history’s sake but the past as an engine of community development. The Forum 2024 again provides additional baggage to work with “at home.