The growing number of people seeking refuge in Europe makes it increasingly difficult to match the labour supply of this target with the actual demand for professionals by European enterprises. In the absence of more targeted measures, after the first phases of reception, the new refugees risk being marginalized by the social and production community, falling victims to criminal activities.The MILAR project fosters the learning and testing of a new route towards the employability of refugees, adopting the model of Social Community Enterprise (SCE), at transnational level and in local communities in Italy, Sweden, Germany, and England.SCEs, innovative but still relatively unexplored experiences, consist of a set of economic and social activities which are defined as ‘hybrid’, i.e. not supported by a single stakeholder/body but rather by multi-stakeholder networks (public and private, profit and no-profit stakeholders), sharing the same collective need, such as for example providing jobs for unemployed people. This results in multisector (agriculture, tourism, environment, etc.) micro-projects which are mutually functional, and of both volunteer and commercial/productive nature.The partnership aims to experiment ‘bottom-up’ projects integrating social and production-oriented enterprises, with a view to promoting the labour integration of a heterogeneous target, such as the refugee population in Europe.The project is promoted by training agencies, social organizations, and institutions, all of which are equally involved in the phases of:• RESEARCH: collection and analysis of successful community welfare experiences and preparation of a transnational research framework • MODELLING: transnational peer-to-peer training pathway for learning and sharing experiences, with a view to developing the Guidelines for a common model of Social Community Enterprise• TESTING: in each partner country, testing of Social Community Enterprise projects and of learning pathways for refugees, gathered in a Compendium of experimentations and Toolkits for refugees• COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION The METHODOLOGY used in MILAR, precisely because it is focused on the community model of social community enterprise, promotes the constant participation and sharing among the partners, towards territorial networks and institutional stakeholders. The multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder development of new learnings - of trainers, refugees, profit and no-profit stakeholders, and local communities involved in experimentation projects, in a dimension which is always set in operational contexts - is promoted on two levels, transnational and local.The DIRECT BENEFICIARIES are:- 11 operators of vocational training in the TRANSNATIONAL MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM;- 30 operators of the partnership and of local networks in the LOCAL MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMS; - 90 public and private, profit and no-profit stakeholders, in COMMUNITY BUILDING SITES;- 45 REFUGEES. The INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES, reached by communication campaign and multiplier events, are:- 300 ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES;- 2,500 LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS in fields close to the project topics and to the issue of refugees’ inclusion; - 10,000 CITIZENS. The EXPECTED RESULT is a methodological and operational contribution to the increase in the employability of refugees, also through the combined growth, between ‘specialist’ operators and the economic/productive world, of capabilities and entrepreneurial spirit applied to social inclusion processes.In particular:- Transnational mapping of SCE experiences, fostering an understanding of the purposes of SCE and its possible use on a European scale;- Definition of a model of Social Community Enterprise oriented to the inclusion of refugees, allowing for the translation into ESF/ERDF management regulations and providing tools for the management of SCEs able to generate employment;- Definition of innovative methods (Building sites and Business Canvas) for the executive management of: o Local multi-stakeholder actions of social community enterprises, in socio-economic sectors peculiar for the integration and employability of refugees;o Learning pathways for refugees in informal contexts/on the job. The IMPACT force on the territories is ensured by the fact that the project objectives are ingrained in the mission of the partners that are deeply rooted in said territories and connected by stable and strategic relations to institutions and policy-makers. At the end of the project the partners therefore sign a Memorandum of Understanding.The project results are brought forward by the partners and institutions of every country, in their regular activities of training and social development, as well as by the institutions in regulatory frameworks (ESF/ERDF management) that in turn ensure a long-term impact on other territories, local and regional bodies of partner countries and EU member states in general.
Milar perceived the objective to analyse and test new European paths aiming to promote the inclusion of refugees. The italian communities of Bologna, Forlì and Milan togheter with the london district of Ealing (UK) and the municipalities of Kristianstadt (Sweden) and Hannover (Germany), within Milar Initiative, tested on the field the opportunity to promote Community Social Enterprises (CSE) able to include refugees and promote the access to the labour market. The aim of the project was to demonstrate that for a real local develop there is the need to include and integrate socially and professionaly people looking for asylum, both in Italy as well as in Europe. This will allow to these person to make themselves useful and, to local communities, to plan togheter a fundamental part of our future. To face with such challenge, some key steps have been implemented during the biennium 2017/2018. Such steps were closeli linked and functional to each other. • the first step was to draft a Transnational Research Framework aiming to identify practices/methodologies, the welfare and the CSE experiences within parter countries. • Given this, we organised a transnational training event (short training week - duration 5 days) managed by the partnership and aiming to: analyse the data emerged by the Research Framework; exchange significative experiences; exchange with relevant stakeholders and witnesses; debate; identify and share the key elements leading to a CSE able to include refugees. • After the short training week, a first draft of Guidelines was realized useful to support the subsequent steps related to pilots and provide some usefult tips and suggestions to those intending to start an initiative of this kind within his/her community. The following activities have been then implemented: • Pilot in each involved Country (Italy (Bologna-Forlì-Milan), Germany, United Kingdom and Sweden) 1. co-creating from the bottom, with local communities (local authorities, neighborhoods, citizens and refugees, association, profit and no profit enterprises, foundations and so on) a project/proposal inspired to CSE. 2. providing an ad hoc training to a group of refugees to asses the transversal and professional skills needed to be included in a CSE. • last but not the least, Guidelines have been revised and integrated in light of local pilot outcomes in each involved country and shared with the general public and European authorities. Guidelines (IO2) are the key output of the project as we think it could be an useful tool to promote similar experiences within the European context. The partnership of the project was composed as follow: • Consorzio Open (IT): project coordinator. The consortium worked in close cooperation with its associates operating in the field of vocational training in 11 italian regions with specific focus on: training and support to job search for migrants/refugees; training targeted to social operators; promotion of local networks and promotion new startup related to social enterprises. • Emilia Romagna region (IT): project partner participating throught the Department for funding refugees' training and the promotion of worlkfare active policies. the cultural and normative approach adopted is oriented to employability in close connection with economical and productive economic and production development policy. • Ealing Equality Council (UK): humanitarian organisation of the London Borough of Ealing operating on a permanent basis with the West London University and 13 association of/addressed to foreigners with the aim to face with the social change and build positive relation with ethnic minorities. It promotes integrated services targeted to refugees/migrants such as accompainment to job search, socio-educational animation, housing and legal counselling. • Folkuniversitetet (SE): Swedish association emanation of the University strongly present on the whole national territory providing training paths targeted to adults and migrants. During the years, it matured strong experiences in the field of mentoring, coaching, skills validation, job shadowing (learning by working) and active orientation. It cooperates closely with migrant associations, Immigration offices and employment offices and so on (networking). • VHS Hannover (DE): training centre of the Municipality of Hannover, it represents an added value and an excellence in the field of research of innovative methodologies aiming to develop social entrepreneurship and employability. It adopts an holistic approach in order to improve the efficacy of the training offer and the skills enhancement of refugees/migrants. It implement validated intervention related to Business Training supporting the management and social entrepreneurs. As regards the impact on involved territories, Milar allowed to take a first step towards the definition and regulation of a Community Social Enterprise (CSE) despite still undefined also at European level.