The goal of the project is to create methods that would help refugees and migrants with their integration in the new environment and help them to develop tools to be able to participate on the public life and to be able to change the World around them and improve their livelihoods. The output of the project would be to create a tool with the innovative approaches to help newly arrived with their new start. Target group of this project are young people 14-30 from migrant, refugee and majority background and the organizations and youth workers working with young migrants. The principles of the project is to have people-centered approach, not the attitude “for you, but without you”. During the project participants will be sharing good practice, identifying the needs of the communities and trying to develop new ways to empower the people in the migrant and refugee community and connect them with the majority, but in the way it is natural and interesting for them. The project will be international collaboration of partners from Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden and Slovakia that are working with refugees in different areas (skill-sharing, intercultural dialogue, community building, peer2peer learning, environmental protection and education) This project aims to fill in the gap in the know-how of the organizations working with young people from migrant and majority background, how to involve them in civic participation to be active creators of what is happening around them. The aim of the project is to develop innovative approaches how these two target groups can be involved in the active citizenship; and thus increase young people’s understanding of democracy. New Beginnings should be a unique personal experience for the participants which fosters their role in the question of integration of new Europeans and actively involve refugees and migrants in civil participation using methods of nonformal education and environmental education.
During the project, we have created a series of methods how to work with young people from migrant and refugee background to support their integration, develop their skills and enable them to fully participate in the societies of their hosting countries. These methods were developed during the study visits based on the individual know-how of different organizations and playtested in the local context (either as a single new activity or as a new approach to activities already organized by the organizations) and summarized in the booklet that was printed in four languages. In order to support the dissemination of these methods and the booklet, an introductory teaser video was created in three languages (Czech-Slovak, German and English) that promoted the booklet and the Project. Target group of this project are young people 14-30 from migrant, refugee and majority background and the organizations and youth workers working with young migrants. Each mobility was attended by at least 12 people from the target group. The principles of the project was to have people-centered approach, not the attitude “for you, but without you”. That is why, each mobility was attended by at least one person of refugee/migrant background per organization that was actively involved in the design of the methods and was present/participated/organized playtesting of the methods in the countries of their sending organization (depending on the level of their previous involvement, knowledge, skills and motivation). The project was an international collaboration of partners from the Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden and Slovakia that are working with refugees in different areas. Two organizations (Sweden - Jordens Vanner, Austria - Global 200) were from countries with substantial migrant experience; thus, the organizations were also very experienced and were connecting the issues of climate change and climate justice with migration; whereas, the other two (Syreczech - Czech Republic, Mareena - Slovakia) were from countries with little migrant experience; thus, these organizations had more bottom-up approach. New Beginnings project was for many participants unique learning opportunity not only to sensitize oneselves with issues, such as climate change, climate justice, environmental education, non-formal education, civic engagement etc, but also a possibility to shape the methods that were created, provide their input regarding the design of the methods and co-create these new strategies of involvement of young refugees and migrants.