The recent increase in negative attitudes towards immigration in European countries and xenophobia and hate speech enter public discourse has put the fundamental values of the European Union, such as respect for human dignity, equality, solidarity and freedom, on a proof. The challenges of integrating newcomers in local communities and in society are real, however, seeing migrants and refugees as a potential and not a threat is essential to build on their assets, their added value and new opportunities they can be part of. Europe has always been multicultural and it is clear that we will live in an increasing multicultural setting in the future. The policies of how to manage diversity to support the potential of people of all backgrounds, specifically young migrants and refugees, will determine the future of Europe. The project "Welcomeship - Building inclusive communities through community-based entrepreneurship” addresses these questions. The "WELCOME - SHIP” project combines the two concepts of “fostering a WELCOME culture” with “EntrepreneurSHIP Learning”. The main objective of the project is to develop and pilot the "Welcomeship" model of inclusion which closes the gap in collaboration and dialogue between the local residents, local young people, as well as migrants and refugees. The project fosters community spirit and provides young people with specific skills through community-based entrepreneurship learning so that they become active contributors to the society and communities where they live. The “Welcomeship” model along with its working tools will be developed and piloted in 7 communities of 6 European countries in 5 languages, and the results are made available by the Consortium of partners and associate partners to the audience inside as well as outside the European Union. In this project youth workers from Germany, Sweden, Finland, UK, Portugal and Italy are trained to become entrepreneurship trainers. They will deliver a community-based entrepreneurship course of 5 Modules to 150 young migrants and refugees and local young people with fewer opportunities who will directly collaborate with community stakeholders to implement entrepreneurial projects. Furthermore, 400 local stakeholders, policy makers and other young people will participate in project activities, such as Welcomeship Nights, and in projects developed by young people. Other key activities of the project include European-wide peer learning and online exchange of young people, coaching sessions with trainers, as well as international partner meetings, a training of trainers, a blended mobility event for young people, production of 5 Intellectual Outputs and multiplier events in 8 countries and 9 communities. The Intellectual Outputs are the Learning Kit for trainers and for young people, a community-based Entrepreneurship Course delivered online and through local workshops, a video-based Tutorial Programme, a Guidebook for Inclusive Communities and the Welcomeship Channel – project platform for learning, exchange, dissemination and advocacy work. The project strives to involve policy makers in discussion and designing more inclusive policies for young migrants and refugees across Europe, in particular in the field of entrepreneurship. The Welcomeship project is multi-dimensional and based on non-formal learning methods. Project’s target groups are young people with fewer opportunities, including local youth, migrants and refugees; youth workers, community stakeholders and policy makers. In the course of the project, young people will gain entrepreneurial skills, build their confidence and become more integrated and engaged in their communities; youth workers will become competent trainers and community oriented professionals with a high skill level in entrepreneurship teaching for the specific target group; partner organizations become engines of inclusion within their community and community stakeholders and policy makers will be involved in the project activities to design and support more inclusive policies at local as well as regional and international level.
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES The recent increase in negative attitudes towards immigrants and refugees in some European countries put the fundamental values of the European Union, such as respect for human dignity, equality, solidarity and freedom, on a proof. To address these issues, the project "Welcomeship - Building inclusive communities through community-based entrepreneurship” came into place. Project objectives were to build more inclusive communities, change the attitudes of community stakeholders and influence policies; moreover it strived to position young migrants and refugees as potential change makers and not as a threat by focusing on their assets and added value to society, building their capacities and opening new opportunities. To achieve these objectives, the Welcomeship model of inclusion was designed and piloted in 7 communities of 6 European countries in 5 languages. It is multi-dimensional and based on non-formal learning methods. The project closed a gap in collaboration and dialogue between the local residents, local young people, young migrants and refugees, as they worked in one group throughout the project. It fostered community spirit and provided young people with community-based entrepreneurship skills, as well as competences to become active contributors to the society and communities where they live. These objectives have been reached. The project has shown that diversity and multi-culturalism in Europe is a key asset which needs to be fostered, supported and celebrated. TARGET GROUP Young people with fewer opportunities, including local youth, migrants and refugees; youth workers, community stakeholders and policy makers. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS Youth workers in partner communities got trained as trainers of the community-based entrepreneurship (Welcomeship) model. They delivered a community-based entrepreneurship course of 5 Modues to a total of 109 young migrants and refugees and local young people with fewer opportunities in Germany, Sweden, Finland, UK, Portugal and Italy. Local workshops and online learning were combined with local Welcomeship Nights which brought together young people with community stakeholders and policy makers. This multidimensional learning, community events (24 Welcomeship Nights, 9 Multiplier events), the development of entrepreneurial ideas and projects with community stakeholders involved more than 1.000 people. These were other young people, representatives of schools and institutions, private companies, policy makers and other community stakeholders. The project also reached out direclty to almost 29.000 subscribers and followers alone through Facebook and Instagram, and to 4.000 people through direct mailing of results. At an international level, intensive peer exchange and learning took place through two international partner meetings in Berlin, Germany, the Training of Trainers in Solna, Sweden, a blended mobility event for young people in Albenga, Italy, the online learning platform www.welcomeship.org, the Tutorial Programme and online coaching sessions for trainers organised by P1 (GER). These Intellectual Outputs were developed, tested and fine-tuned: O1. Welcomeship Learning Kit: the Guidebook and Exercice Book in English, German, Swedish, Italian and Portuguese. O2. The community-based Entrepreneurship Course piloted with blended learning activities O3. The Welcomeship Tutorial Programme of 18 video tutorials (11 on the 5 Modules and 7 with trainer recommendations) O4. The Welcomeship Channel, an online learning platform, a dissemination tool for the project results and an advocacy tool for policy change. O5. The Guide for Inclusive Communities with analysis of community-based entrepreneurship as a tool for the inclusion of young migrants and refugees, as well as policy recommendations for the local, regional, national and EU level. The Outputs were presented at 9 multiplier events in 6 countries and 7 communities to 363 (228 eligible for funding) potential users and stakeholders. The project had a strong focus on video messages, so there were 73 videos produced (tutorials, voices of young people, trainers and policy makers, videos of events, etc.). Policy makers were involved in discussion about designing more inclusive policies for young migrants and refugees across Europe, in particular in the field of entrepreneurship. IMPACT In the course of the project, young people gained entrepreneurial skills, built their confidence and became more integrated and engaged in their communities; some developed real entrepreneurial projects. Youth workers became competent trainers and community-oriented professionals with a skill set in entrepreneurship teaching for a specific target group. Partner organizations became the engines of inclusion within their community, and community stakeholders and policy makers got involved in the project activities to design and support more inclusive policies at local, regional and international level.