The project focused on engaging and mobilising young migrants, volunteers and others interested in global issues to participate in collective social justice actions. The project planners were aware of the enormous potential of young people with experience of living in different cultures to tackle issues of global justice. Through various activities, they were encouraged to critically evaluate the causes of global inequality.
PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT:
The purpose of our project was to promote civic participation and fight social exclusion by connecting newly arrived young migrants with young Europeans who were volunteering in the Global South. By supporting both groups of young people to develop sustainable and innovative pathways to active global citizenship, the project built shared social, civic and intercultural competences and skills, which ultimately contributed to achieving bottom-up approaches to inclusion.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
- To improve the skills and competences of young migrants and returned international volunteers, drawing on their experiences in the Global South and strengthening their role as active global citizens, and to promote mutual understanding and respect between people with different ethnic or religious backgrounds, beliefs or convictions, including by eliminating stereotypes and promoting intercultural dialogue.
- Improve the quality of non-formal learning activities and train the organisations that support them to learn about outstanding best practices and improve the capacity of youth work to promote inclusion, combat social exclusion, improve civic participation and foster integration into the local community.
- To disseminate the value of the role of volunteering in social inclusion at local, national and EU level and to promote synergies between communities and existing networks working with young people from disadvantaged groups.
TARGET GROUPS OF THE PROJECT:
- young volunteers returning from volunteering projects;
- young migrants who have arrived in the host countries in the last 6 months;
- NGOs working with volunteers and migrants.
PROJECT PERIOD: 15.1.2019 – 14.1.2021
PROJECT RESULTS:
- The “Engagement and Activism of Young People” handbook was created, covering ways to mobilise young people from different backgrounds and ways for organisations to support young people to participate in collective action;
- Workshops on the topis of how to use the manual are created on a national and European level. The workshops also provided an opportunity for deeper reflection on global issues and ways of working that exclude young migrants and ways to address them.
- Youth groups from four countries developed, organised and implemented 23 collective actions, including cooking workshops with refugees, a picnic to raise awareness about the situation of Eritrean asylum seekers in Slovenia, the creation of an Instagram account to report fake news, and a webinar on migration and other social justice issues.
- Recommendations for social inclusion were also developed for two target groups, namely policy makers and organisations.
For more information on the project and the results, visit action4inclusion.eu.
PARTNER ORGANISATIONS: France Volontaires (Francija), Comhlamh (Irska), Zavod Voluntariat (Slovenija), CESIE (Italija)
(CO)FUNDING: European Union (EACEA)
AMOUNT OF (GRANTED) FUNDING: 625.010,00 EUR (Voluntariat’s share EUR 51.911,84)
