The project "Muslim youth forges bridges in Europe: for inclusion, European values and cultural diversity" is a project that continues the work made in the meeting of 2016 within the KA1 project "Building bridges being forged". Based on the exchange of good practices and the proposals made by more than 60 young Muslims from five entities across Europe, the need to take a further step was concluded in order to build a stable European network of young muslim organizations actively working with their neighbours for the promotion of inclusion, diversity, intercultural dialogue and interreligious exchange, common values of freedom, tolerance and respect for human rights and the prevention of violence. With this new project we want to allow the Young Muslim Associations from all over Europe to have a great impact not only in European, but also inclusion of refugees awareness in order to end the rise of Islamophobia and xenophobic behaviour. To achieve this, a sustainable strategic partnership will be established over time, whit young muslim organizations from Spain, Italy, Germany and UK the capacity of these entities for networking will be increased at transnational level and the involvement of these entities in the social problems of the neighbourhoods of several European cities will be increased. This project will work directly on two complementary but different areas. On one side, the young muslims trained as intercultural mediators in the previous project will begin to promote social projects of inclusion and social awareness in their neighbourhoods in collaboration with indigenous entities. Fostering cultural diversity as a European value and promoting tolerance through joint work on an equal basis with the social entities of the territories of the partner entities. On the other hand, this project aims to encourage the inclusion of refugees who arrive in Europe from Syria and other countries in conflict, teaching them the culture of the country that will host them, showing them the values of European citizenship and informing them about the European resources to promote their integration. During 20 months there will be 3 transnational meetings, several virtual meetings, some materials will be created and many dissemination activities will be made. In addition, a learning activity will be created where 28 participants will test the results, helping to finish some of the parts of them and will promote the participation of the neighbours of Orriols in the creation of the same ones. Thanks to all this will be created: for an inclusive Europe, a multicultural Europe - The Audiovisual Guide "FOR AN INCLUSIVE EUROPE" aimed at refugees and migrants to facilitate their inclusion. To achieve that, a guide will be created to gather information on European culture. Also this guide will inform the refugees about the resources available to newcomers and it will have some testimonies from refugees who have already been able to call home to their host country, as well as testimonies from neighbours with useful tips for inclusion. They will also have specific materials for their training. - The Audiovisual Guide "FOR A MULTICULTURAL EUROPE" aimed to the neighbours of European cities where the partners have done some social projects. It will have living testimonials from people who have had to leave their home and they come to a unknown place with a strange language. Also this guide will include migrant testimonies where they will tell things about their food and culture (how to make a typical dish, curiosities of their countries, experiences ...) - A solidarity network where migrants and european people will carry out projects of social awareness and inclusion to improve their neighbourhoods. Non-formal and informal methodologies will be used to promote the close relations between young participants and the neighbors, especially in the learning activity. This project will have the collaboration of expert technicians (Possible examples: University of Valencia , Ayuntamiento de Valencia, Orriols Convive, Movement against Intolerance, SOS Racisme, CEIMIGRA ...). We want this project, will become the seed of a great tree that shelters people regardless of their religion or ethnicity in tolerance and equity. A tree whose roots are the sincere work to build a better Europe and to improve the living conditions of all the people who live in Europe, no matter if we were born here or have come fleeing from fear, war and hatred.
When we requested this project in 2017, the great number of barriers and obstacles that both refugees and neighbors of European cities had to live together in harmony, jointly building a diverse and tolerant society capable of achieving a better future was already clear. It was necessary to build bridges between the two groups to avoid hate speech and foster the collaboration and friendship that lead to real inclusion and mutual help... this was the goal of the project “Muslim youth forges bridges in Europe: for inclusion, European values and cultural diversity”. To this end, we have worked for 20 months to create an exchange of good practices and experiences among dozens of young Muslims from five European countries to have an impact both on European awareness and on the inclusion of refugees to put an end to the rise of Islamophobia and xenophobic behaviors. For this purpose, a strategic association formed by Muslim youth associations of Spain, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom was created, which on the one hand actively worked with its neighbors to promote inclusion, diversity, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, the common values of freedom, tolerance and respect for human rights, and the prevention of violence; and on the other, contributed effectively to improve our networking abilities at the transnational level, increasing the international capabilities of our projects and the impact of our work to help alleviate the social problems of the neighborhoods of several European cities. Thus, this project has worked directly on two complementary but different areas: - On the one hand, promoting cultural diversity as a European value, and promoting tolerance through joint work on an equal footing with social entities in the areas of partner organizations, supported by young Muslims trained as intercultural mediators in a previous mobility of youth technicians carried out in a 2016 project. - On the other hand, this project has promoted the inclusion of refugees arriving in Europe from Syria and other countries in conflict, teaching them the culture of their new host country, showing them the values of European citizenship, and providing advice on the resources they have for integration. Three transnational meetings have been carried out during these months, plus several virtual meetings and multiple national activities for the development of results and their dissemination. A learning activity was also conducted in Valencia from November 1st to the 7th 2018, in which 30 participants tested the project’s results, finished recording certain parts of the audiovisual guides, and promoted ties with the residents of the neighborhood of Orriols during their creation. This allowed the creation of high-quality tangible results: - The Audiovisual Guide "FOR A MULTICULTURAL AND INCLUSIVE EUROPE", that compiles information aimed both at migrants and local neighbors so they know each others' realities. It includes testimonies of refugees, plus testimonies of neighbors with useful tips for their inclusion. It also has specific materials for their training and a guide of resources to help migrants in their reception. - The Audiovisual Guide “FOR A MULTICULTURAL EUROPE”, aimed at raising awareness among neighbors by showing a positive image of migration that carries out positive social projects for the whole community, through images about the activities they carry out. - A network of solidarity and work in which migrants and locals have started to carry out awareness and social inclusion projects together to improve their neighborhoods. This whole project was carried out through non-formal and informal methodologies that promoted the approach of the young participants to the local neighbors, especially in the learning activity, with the help of experts and prestigious expert entities in mediation (such as: Orriols Convive, Movimiento contra la Intolerancia, CEIMIGRA, etc.). We believe that we have sowed the seed of a large tree that will shelter people regardless of their religion and ethnicity, in tolerance and equity. A tree whose roots are the sincere work to build a better Europe and to improve the living conditions of all its residents, not matter if we were born here or we have arrived escaping from fear, war, and hatred.