This warm message from a Ukrainian family, who were welcomed to a German municipality a few days ago, shows that Re:Match works successfully. With Re:Match we piloted the relocation via matching of protection seekers in municipalities and then further developed the procedures and the algorithm based on the experience gained. In the second phase of the project, 7 German municipalities have now once again welcomed 59 Ukrainian asylum seekers after our algorithm calculated the best available matches between cities and asylum seekers.

Innovative and solidarity-based relocation – Re:Match shows the way

For the second year now, we are working with participating German cities to demonstrate that there is an innovative and functioning alternative to the conventional practice of distributing and receiving people seeking protection. A total of 137 Ukrainian asylum seekers have now been matched and relocated in five cohorts to eight German municipalities according to their needs, capacities and preferences. In contrast to the pilot phase, this time there were more children and more people with special protection needs. Five of the seven municipalities were already project partners last year, while two new municipalities have joined Re:Match – convinced by our results from the pilot phase.

Cooperation for more transparency

This year, Re:Match collaborated with the Warsaw office of Right2Protection, a leading human rights organisation in Ukraine (more info on R2P and our collaboration here). Together, we informed people seeking protection from the Russian war of aggression about the opportunity we offer for direct relocation to German municipalities. Our experience from the 2023 pilot phase has shown us how important it is to provide comprehensive information about the entire process, including detailed explanations of the algorithm and the matching process. This is why we once again placed great emphasis on transparency and information this year and were thus able to further strengthen the trust and commitment of people seeking protection.

The foundation for inclusion and integration has been laid

The message mentioned at the beginning was followed by other similar messages from participating asylum seekers. All of them have now arrived safely in their communities and are being welcomed there. Our team is very pleased to receive such feedback – it proves that our matching works and that the information provided can actually support the first steps of reception and integration.
We are proud of what we have achieved and would like to thank everyone involved – local authorities, partners and people seeking protection – for their support and cooperation. With the aim of enabling scaling, the evaluation of the second year will flow into the further development of the matching process. Together, we are creating a better future for people seeking protection and innovative opportunities for European municipalities.