The SUCRE project focuses on the response of the Universities to the academic needs of immigrant/refugees students and to the formation of Manuals of Field Testing (Handbook of Good Practices), through the development of training modules addressed to voluntary sector working in the field with the specific population. The negative effects of immigrants/refugees' status on the well-being of children and families are well delineated in the empirical and clinical literature (Hodes et al, 2008; Bronstein & Montgomery, 2011) and appear to accrue over time, partly in relation to experiences in their countries of origin, partly associated with the stresses of a difficult and dangerous journey to a country of refuge, and finally in relation to the uncertainties of waiting for an asylum claim to be settled, and finding ways of surviving in a new environment (Block et al.,2012). With regard to higher education, Article VII of the Lisbon Convention obliges State Parties “to take all feasible and reasonable steps to develop procedures designed to assess fairly and expeditiously whether refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situation fulfil the relevant requirements for access to higher education, further higher education programmes or employment activities, even in cases in which the qualifications obtained in one of the Parties cannot be proven through documentary evidence.” The participating Universities are called to respond adequately and to the migrants' /refugees' academic needs and training leading to adequate legal/health and psychosocial support. The Universities will explore in depth the level of provision and appropriateness of their academic services to immigrant/refugee students and their strengths and barriers for developing collaborative support services with voluntary sectors/municipalities working in the field, already presenting high levels of solidarity and humanitarian values, with specific reference to legal/health and psychosocial support. The objectives of the SUCRE project is twofold: a) it investigates how Higher Education can work with communities to facilitate tertiary pathways for refugee students/scholars. The universities need to develop specific policies regarding support for refugee background students/scholars, establishing a repository of best practice strategies for this specific cohort of them in transitioning from community to university. This objective will be led by the Universities of Cologne and Amsterdam due to their expertise and will be tested out in all participant Universities b) it will explore the role played by Higher Education Institutions in collaboration with municipal authorities and voluntary sector organizations for providing training opportunities for advocacy support and for front-line services to immigrant/refugee children/young people and families where there are safeguarding concerns in the field of legal, health and psychosocial framework. The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece will be responsible in collaboration with the Greek Council for Refugees for the current objective, given the fact that they are in the front line of refugees’ reception. In sum, the project will seek to identify the challenges and barriers facing the Universities, in terms of facilitating immigrants/refugees’ access to the Tertiary Education and developing, and testing out adequate and culturally aware legal, health and psychosocial training services to immigrant/refugee children/young people and their families. In terms of the activities proposed, the Universities will a) map out the needs and resources of all involved, through the use of participatory methods b) develop appropriate modules c) lead a training workshop for testing out modules d) carry out ongoing evaluation and quality control e) develop Manuals of Field Testing (Handbooks of Good Practices).The integration of comparative concepts in the development of module, the training and the supervision of community outreach workers and volunteers will lead to European best policies and practices. In terms of the methodology to be used, Rights-based, Community-based and Participatory Approaches (according to the UNHCR) will ensure that refugees and other persons of concern, are involved in all stages of design and implementation of the SUCRE project activities. The participatory approach will link refugee participation to program design and feedback and a community-based approach recognizes the resilience, capacities, and resources of the refugees. The rights-based approach will be embedded seeking to redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede development progress. In terms of the expected results and short and long term benefits, both immigrants’ and community's resources will build resilience, provide/enhance knowledge of existing resources of reception communities and will raise awareness of all involved of the needs of immigrants/refugees.
The S.U.C.RE. Project is a two-year KA2 Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership in the field of Higher Education granted by the Hellenic National Agency via the European Commission. It was Coordinated by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the consortium also consisted of the University of Cologne, Vrije Universeteit Amsterdam and the Greek Council for Refugees. It has produced three extensive free online publications and four free digital courses which answer two main objectives 1) They establish how universities can facilitate tertiary pathways and the successful completion of an academic curriculum for refugee students and scholars. 2) They analytically explore the role played by Higher Education Institutions, in collaboration with stakeholders in order to provide support and training opportunities for practitioners helping the general refugee population. In more detail, the first two publications identify the main challenges that stand in the way for refugee students trying to access higher education and for those refugee students after admittance. These publications subsequently develop tools to overcome them establishing a repository of best practice strategies to support refugee students in transitioning from community to university. Those publications, were built using a plethora of approaches including, a desk study with research on 120 European Universities, a more focused European University online survey on 39 of them, round table discussions with University representatives and interviews with university advisors as well as refugee students. The third publication successfully sets the path for identifying the needs of scholars and their hosts for their proper integration into HEIs. Through three extended surveys, challenges and potential solutions for improving the placement of refugee scholars/scholars at risk at universities across Europe have been mapped out and substantiated. and a number of good practices were identified and documented. All three above publications constitute valuable assets for European Universities and Institutions for policy and decision making. As regards the digital courses, the first one is on Psychosocial Support of refugee population and 1) includes a brief presentation of the main thematic categories identified in practitioner’s interviews. 2) analyses some important assumptions and considerations from the relevant literature, such as debates on the conceptualization of ‘crisis’ and the rhetoric of emergency, models of integration, and perspectives of psychosocial interventions. and 3) proposes examples of ‘good practices’. The course on the role of Sport in refugees’ social integration identifies a number of difficulties that may hinder the effective implementation of sport activities in camps and proposes a set of non competitive games to overcome such problems. The course concerned with Health includes sections on First Aid, common emergency occurrences, alongside with emphasis on CPR, sexually transmitted disease prevention, basic hygiene rules, and national vaccination programs. The course on Legal issues consists of parts on: 1) Useful Definitions on Asylum Law, 2) The Refugee Status Determination, 3) Asylum Procedures, 4) Reception Conditions, 5) Administrative Detention of Asylum seekers and 6) Extended chapters dedicated to issues of social security. In all cases, field staff will also find practical advice in the form of dedicated manuals of good practices for field testing. All the above online course were built after extensive working with focus groups and based on feedback from events attended by professionals and volunteers working in the field and having direct contact with the everyday challenges the immigrants and their caretakers face in camps. The material provides trainers with needed extended information filling a gap in organized training material on supporting refugees on health and legal issues. S.U.C.RE. has throughout paid a lot of attention on disseminating its activities and deliverables around Europe and beyond using its database of more than 500 local, national and international stakeholders (including European Universities, relevant NGOs, municipal authorities, EU policy contact persons, refugee welcoming centers’ staff). It has organised four highly successful multiplier events. Its members have participated in 72 different dissemination activities (in many cases as invited speakers) spreading the word for the importance of refugee student and scholar integration as well as for the need of support of general refugee population through constantly informed and well educated practitioners. It has provided hope, empowerment and a sense of security for refugees, guidance for University staff, and support for practitioners in the field. It has also created new and strengthened existing ties among Universities and Stakeholders paving the way for future effective inclusion of refugees in Europe.