In the context of the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis in Europe and the risk of marginalization of the newly arrived refugees and migrants, 4 organizations from Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria and Germany developed the Erasmus+ KA2 project “Short Stories - Big Changes”. It has the objective to contribute to the integration and social inclusion of young refugees, migrants and other marginalized young people, to promote fundamental European values such as tolerance, solidarity, understanding of diversity, and, hence, to combat discrimination, racism and xenophobia. The main aims of this project are to contribute to the social inclusion, integration and empowerment of young refugees and migrants in the participating countries and beyond, as well as to build the capacity of the participating organizations and other civil society organizations in the field of social inclusion, integration and empowerment of young refugees and migrants. These aims will be reached through the planned activities which are: -A kick-off meeting of the representatives/coordinators of the partner NGOs, which will take place in Sweden and will provide a space for coordination and tasks assignment, clarification of practical and organizational issues -Development of guidelines (training methodology) for youth workers on the use of non-formal education methods, specifically storytelling, creating powerful messages and audiovisual products for empowering young refugees and migrants through showcasing positive examples of integration. The guidelines will also include methodologies for involving celebrities for advocacy and for using the storytelling techniques online (through videos) and live (Living Library methodology) -An international training for youth workers based on the developed guidelines which will take place in Sweden, in Södertälje, and will involve 5 youth workers per partner Country -Multiplier event in Germany to disseminate the guidelines and project results of the first part of the project -Mid-term meeting organized in Bulgaria, which will contribute for monitoring and evaluating the progress of the project, the activities implemented by each partner; it will also serve for planning the remaining activities, for clarifying practical aspects of the project management and implementation -Creation of the second intellectual output consisting of two types of short videos: young refugees and migrants sharing their successful stories of integration in the local communities in the partner countries; celebrities (opinion leaders, influencers, policy makers, artists, etc.) from partner countries sharing their positive messages related to the integration of refugees and migrants -Multiplier event in Italy to promote the videos created in each partner country - involving other stakeholders, refugees, migrants, local community - showing selected videos, discussing and presenting the results of the project -Living Library events in each partner country - giving the floor to refugees and migrants who have positive stories to share, as well as to youth workers who work in this field -Final conference in Italy during which representatives of all partners will gather in order to present and discuss the outputs and the results of the project, to plan future steps and follow-up activities The two outputs of the project: the Guidelines for youth workers: A Story Makes a Difference and the Series of Videos: A Story Makes a Difference will include an innovative element and will be widely disseminated in the partner countries using online tools, social and traditional media, contacting other stakeholders. The outputs will be presented during the local multiplying events in each country, as well as during the final conference, and will be available online for anyone, also after the end of the project. Through this project the partners from 4 European Countries will not only to build their capacity as well as the capacities of youth workers who work with young refugees and migrants, but will also encourage the participation of young refugees and migrants in society, will inspire them to make a change and to overcome challenges, will promote constructive dialogue, tolerance and acceptance among the local communities, will contribute to the social integration of refugees, migrants and other marginalized groups
Specific objectives of the project were: - To develop an innovative methodology for youth workers working with young people from a migrant background using storytelling and creating audiovisual materials, and to make these guidelines widely available for other stakeholders. - To build the capacity of youth workers from the participating organizations and to promote active participation in civic life, tolerance, and understanding of diversity. - To empower youth workers from 4 countries to gain skills and knowledge in youth work, civic engagement, and working with young refugees and migrants, through innovative methods. - To give visibility and recognition to young migrants and refugees who have positive stories of integration into the local communities, in order to inspire other refugees and migrants and also members of the local communities. - To raise awareness of cultural diversity and values through intensive intercultural dialogue, to promote the culture of community solidarity towards vulnerable groups. - To engage celebrities (opinion leaders, influencers, policymakers, artists, etc.) from partner countries in order for them to share positive messages related to the integration of refugees and migrants. - To have an impact on the local level through the organization of activities in each of the participating countries, involving young refugees and migrants and other stakeholders, civil society, to promote tolerance, understanding, and appreciation of diversity, to challenge negative attitudes, prejudice and stereotypes and to contribute to a positive change in attitudes and behaviors towards disadvantaged groups, such as young refugees and migrants. - To promote the social inclusion of young refugees and migrants and their integration in society and to empower them to be active members of their local communities, feeling equal and appreciated members of these. - To create a strong partnership between the participating organizations and partners on the local level in each country, creating synergies between the youth field and educational institutions - To build the capacity of the participating organizations and their members for working on international youth projects and engaging disadvantaged young people, such as refugees and migrants. - To provide a strategic outline for ensuring the sustainability of the project cycle.
In the context of the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis in Europe and the risk of marginalization of the newly arrived refugees and migrants, 4 organizations from Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria, and Germany developed the Erasmus+ KA2 project “Short Stories - Big Changes”. It had the objective to contribute to the integration and social inclusion of young refugees, migrants, and other marginalized young people, to promote fundamental European values such as tolerance, solidarity, and understanding of diversity, and, hence, to combat discrimination, racism, and xenophobia. The main aims of this project were to contribute to the social inclusion, integration, and empowerment of young refugees and migrants in the participating countries and beyond, as well as to build the capacity of the participating organizations and other civil society organizations in the field of social inclusion, integration, and empowerment of young refugees and migrants.