To learn from best practices about bottom up social integration processes – how to increase sense of initiative and entrepreneurship To learn on a practical basis how European projects can be beneficiary support in local integration processes To learn how systemic power issues are playing role in such bottom up social initiatives and what kind of answers we give - more active participation in democratic life and in society in general How social gardening / agriculture can improve self-empowerment and self-esteem To learn more how to build active and mutual connection, learning channels between the ‘Nord’ and the ‘South’ – not only because a lot of people are migrating to the Netherlands (especially to Amsterdam and the RANDSTAD) from Italy, especially from the south but also to learn how the culture / wisdom / values / traditions can flow between these regions To learn at a practical level how build sustainable societies – through establishing community gardens at local levels and connect them across countries based on the same values - better awareness of the European project and the EU common values; To build a network of exchange
In Touch Amsterdam is the initiator and one of the main facilitator of the Amsterdam based SET Community Garden which aim is social integration in the neighborhood. We work with a diverse community; with refugees (status houders), short term and long term migrants, expats, all social groups from the Dutch society, including highly sensitive groups. The need for this social integration process has evolved during the COVID pandemic, our keywords became: ‘grounding’ and ‘belonging’: to help people migrating all across Europe maintain their connection with their local background, relations, values and build mutually beneficiary and healthy ones in their new countries. We live in a world where we need to reformulate all of our basic concepts that are crucial for human life: where is our home, where do we belong, what is our aim in life. Local values, traditions become more and more important but its getting even more challenging to get access to them, keep them when more and more people need to flee their countries, families, cities, places of birth. We would like to build active connection with other social gardening or initiatives based on similar values not only on a national but an European level.