This project had the following objectives: 1. educational preparation (course attendance) of trainers and volunteers to work with refugees in a refugee centre abroad. 2. to gain practical experience for trainers and volunteers in conducting education in a refugee centre abroad. 3. for the managers to learn about the management of education for refugees. The implementation of this project was also intended to allow the development of a programme to prepare volunteer educators to conduct education in refugee centres in Europe. It was to be a programme taking into account the recruitment of volunteers in Poland and Europe, offering training preparation and gaining practical experience before starting to provide volunteer services, as well as support for volunteers during their work and a further qualification system.
The Ad Meritum Foundation was founded in 2013 in Warsaw by people with experience in entrepreneurship to support the development of entrepreneurial competences of young people and adults in Europe, including migrants and people with special needs and fewer opportunities. As a result of the Ad Meritum Foundation's participation in educational projects for migrants and refugees, the foundation's board decided to develop its activities related to running programmes for working with refugees, at a European level. When applying for the 'At the side of refugees' project, the assumption was that volunteers, educators and trainers working with the foundation would be prepared for educational work with refugees in refugee accommodation centres in Europe, in order to support the implementation of migration policies in Europe by providing assistance in the field of education.