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Mediation, One for All!

2024-3-ES02-KA152-YOU-0002608902024Mobility of young peopleongoing
Countries: ES|BE|RO|PT|CZ|IT · Grant: €34,388
Inclusion of marginalised young peopleInternational relations and development cooperationPreventing racism and discrimination

Objectives

The number of irregular arrivals in Europe last year reached its highest level since 2016. Again, there was a marked increase in unauthorised immigration: Frontex, the European border agency, recorded 330,000 unauthorised crossings of EU borders in 2022, the highest figure since 2016. Spain was one of the main entry points for more than 200,000 irregular entries into Europe in 2019, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Economic, political and social problems in migrants' countries of origin, such as poverty, inequality and violence, are the main culprits behind this increase in illegal immigration. In addition, this trend has been influenced by the need for labour in Europe and the absence of effective immigration laws. However, this has many detrimental effects on society. Moreover, because they often travel in dangerous conditions and are subject to abuse and exploitation by human traffickers and other criminal organisations, the safety of migrants is threatened by illegal immigration. One of the issues that continues to cause the most controversy is that of unaccompanied foreign minors (UFM), due to the legal, institutional and social challenge they represent, which, when they fail to be properly integrated into our societies, often cause problems that end up affecting all of us as a social group. In 2020, there were more than 9,000 registered MENAS in Spain. In light of this problem, which has been detected by the young people of Young Travelers, it is essential to address this problem in a responsible and appropriate manner, avoiding patches that will simply worsen the situation. In order to establish lasting solutions that meet the demands of all parties involved and to resolve conflicts amicably, the young people found mediation to be a useful tool in the fight against illegal immigration. Mediation can be used to resolve conflicts between illegal immigrants and authorities, improve mutual understanding and promote fair and durable solutions in the context of illegal immigration. Thus, thanks to these young people who identified a problem as well as a possible solution, the initiative has been taken to develop this project called "Mediation, One for All!", with the objectives in mind of: *Promote knowledge and exchange of good practices between the different actors involved in the integration process, including people of migrant origin, host communities, and political and social decision-makers thanks to mediation. *Mediation between countries of origin, transit and final destination of illegal immigration can improve communication. This will stimulate the creation of intercultural community projects that foster integration and cooperation. *Establish a network of support and cooperation between young people from different countries and cultures to foster inclusion and mutual respect. The project falls within one of the priorities of this phase of the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme (Inclusion and Diversity), being the project directly related to the problems related to illegal immigration and the use of mediation as a tool for dialogue and integration. After the young members of the associations had identified the common problem occurring, which is mentioned above, we contacted different members of the associations, connections made in the past through previous youth exchanges, who agreed on the problem at hand. After careful reflection, the associations decided that setting up the initiative would be a great opportunity to help young people acquire new interpersonal and communication skills, as well as a method to strengthen the links between associations. In order for this partnership to be successful, it was decided to establish a series of filters to try to match the profiles of the participants to the requirements of the project. In this collaboration, the partnerships share the objective and the intention to address the needs that the project aims to cover. This project is written and developed by young people from 6 associations from the countries of Spain, Cech Rep, Belgium, Portugal, Romania and Italy.

Project partners (6)