Since the start of the project the following activities have been conducted:

 

  • Kick-off meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria on 30-31 March 2017. The meeting addressed the aims, activities, deliverables and partner responsibilities of project. For more information here.

 

  • A study visit in Rome, Italy, on 16-19 May 2017. ELIAMEP participated with a team of 8 representatives covering a wide range of interested parties: Dr Rosa Vasilaki from ELIAMEP as project manager of the INTEGRA project; Dr Nadina Christopoulou and doctoral candidate Ms F. Dilara Demir from MELISSA, Network of migrant women; Dr Eleni Zachou, education coordinator at the Elaionas Open Hospitality Structure; Dr Efcharis Mascha, case worker at the Asylum Service; doctoral candidate Ms Anastasia Papakonstantinou, case worker the UNHCR; doctoral candidate Mr Panagiotis Syriopoulos, senior policy advisor at the Labour Research Institute; and Ms Aya Burweila, senior policy advisor at the NGO SOLIDARITY NOW.

                 

At the beginning of the visit, an international seminar presenting the national reception and integration system for asylum seekers and refugees. Visits to four distinct locations provided a view of the Italian system, both with regards to reception and to integration of refugees and asylum seekers:

 

  1. CAS, Centre for Temporary Reception, Via Staderini, where a guided visit gave an insight of the First Reception Centres in Italy. Along with the presentation of the facilities, the groups had the opportunity to discuss with the staff with regards to the reception and integration services provided in the CAS structures.

 

  1. SPRAR, Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees Service, a guided visit to two centres under the SPRAR system, Casa Giorgia and S. Bernardo, along with the opportunity to discuss the architecture of SPRAR as a network of local institutions that implement reception projects for forced migrants. Within the framework of SPRAR, the local institutions, in cooperation with voluntary sector organizations, undertake ‘integrated reception’ interventions beyond covering basic needs such as food and housing, by also providing complementary services such as legal and social guidance and support, and the development of individual programs to promote socioeconomic inclusion and integration.

 

  1. Programma Integra, the City Centre for migration, asylum, and social integration. Programma Integra is a cooperative aiming at developing social integration of migrants and refugees by providing services of legal assistance, counseling and cultural mediation, courses of Italian language and vocational training.
  2. Ciofs – Fp Lazio: a Salesian training body, whose educational model is inspired by the pedagogy of Don Bosco. Along with the visit of the facilities, the teams had the opportunity to discuss the project O.R.F.E.O. Occupazione per Rifugiati: Formazione, Empowerment, Opportunità (Occupation for refugees: Training, Empowerment, Opportunities) and to meet a beneficiary of the training course.

 

The team found that a number of good practices could be transferred to the Greek context:

 

  • Greece should examine the Italian monitoring system of educational needs and plan and develop vocational training actions for both refugees and asylum seekers, while they await the outcome of their application.
  • The relationships developed by the SPRAR and CAS centres with the neighbourhood –as explained during the study visit – could be a good practice to consider, with respect to the Greek sites’ relations with the nearby communities and in view of future refugee integration.
  • Language and training programmes and programmes such as “Programma Integra’ form good practices that the Greek state should adopt and implement the soonest possible.
  • Language integration programmes should be provided at the earliest stage possible after arrival and should be coordinated by the State. Following the CAS system in Italy, a small but organised school class within camps and hotspots providing basic language skills would be beneficial.

 

  • A study visit in Barcelona, Spain on 12-14 July 2017. ELIAMEP participated with a team of 5 representatives covering a wide range of interested parties: Dr Rosa Vasilaki from ELIAMEP as project manager of the INTEGRA project; Dr Nadina Christopoulou and doctoral candidate Ms F. Dilara Demir from MELISSA, Network of migrant women; Dr Eleni Zachou, education coordinator at the Elaionas Open Hospitality Structure; Dr Efcharis Mascha, case worker at the Asylum Service.

                                  

On the first day, an international seminar presented the national asylum reception and integration system along with the involvement of the different levels of administration, that is the Spanish Government Representative’s Office, the General Direction for Immigration of the Catalan Government and city councils. A second seminar at the Autonomous University of Barcelona presented the system of first orientation, the trainings offered for refugees and asylum seekers at the first phase, that is language learning, knowing the environment, group sessions about first orientation on the city and host society, domestic economy, as well as the trainings for socio-labour inclusion, such as the professional trainings, group sessions, internships and enrolment facilities offered by the different stakeholders. Visits to three different structures gave an insight of the infrastructure as well as the reception and integration activities taking place in this framework:

 

  1. Casa Bloc, a reception structure managed by the three main NGOs implementing the national reception program for refugees and asylum seekers (Red Cross, Accem and CEAR-CCAR).

 

  1. ‘Peu del Funicular’, a reception centre managed by the Catalan Commission for Refugees covering basic needs as well as comprehensive assistance to asylum seekers together with trainings and orientation.

 

  1. Reception apartments in the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, a scheme which along with accommodation offers the possibility of enrolling for university degree as well as giving the community the opportunity to participate in supporting the refugees via volunteering programmes.

 

The team found that a number of good practices could be transferred to the Greek context:

  • Anti-rumour campaigns and strategies: this practice is excellent in dispelling myths about refugees and generally cultural difference and diversity in the country and in providing counter-arguments to the smearing campaigns of far-right and xenophobic groups and political formations. It could be also excellent in dispelling myths among the refugee community, especially with regards to applying for asylum, encouraging children to attend the Greek school or learn Greek. Many refugees were led to believe that the above would impede their efforts to achieve their aim in settling in a different, Western European country, thus not allowing themselves to enjoy the full rights of asylum seekers, circumventing the effort for universal application of the children’s right to education and impeding their own integration into the Greek society.
  • Mentoring is an excellent practice as it allows the refugee to familiarize with the local society and culture, offers orientation about everyday life but also allows the local community – via the mentors and their social interaction with members of the host society – to develop ties and gain a deeper understanding of the refugee cultures.
  • Pairing refugees with volunteers in the neighbourhood for language practice. Besides the obvious benefit of practicing language skills, such practice allows the refugees to develop ties with the host society, mitigates the effects of institutionalization occurring when one lives in a state of dependency, but also familiarises the locals with the refugees and their cultures.

 

  • A train-the trainers seminar (agenda – LINK – name of archive – SOFIA) in Sofia, Bulgaria on 29 November-1 December 2017. Dr Rosa Vasilaki from ELIAMEP as project manager of the INTEGRA project and Dr Eleni Zachou, education coordinator at the Elaionas Open Hospitality Structure participated in the seminar on behalf of Greece. The seminar providing training by way of transferring the experience and expertise from Italy and Spain to the participants from Greece, Bulgaria and Malta. For more information here.