Creating OpportunitieS for Migrant InClusion
Project Code: 2019-3-DE04-KA205-018532
EU Grant: 86.094.00 EUR
Programme: Erasmus+
Key Action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices
Action Type: Strategic Partnerships for youth
Coordinating Organization: JUGEND, BILDUNG UND KULTUR EV [De]
Participating Countries:
- MV INTERNATIONAL [IT]
- ASOCIACION JUVENIL INTERCAMBIA [ES]
Project dates: Start: 01-02-2020 End: 31-01-2022
Creating OpportunitieS for Migrant InClusion (COSMIC) is a Strategic Partnership lasting 24 months focused on promoting youth volunteering as an instrument to contrast discrimination against migrants and refugees among the youth categories and within the hosting societies at large.
The surge in intolerance, stereotyping and discrimination against migrants and refugees represents one of the most glaring realities influencing political and civil society debate, particularly in the European polities most sensibly hit by the massive migrants and refugee flows from Africa and the Middle Eastern region. Eurostat quantifies in 164.300 the number of extra-EU nationals who sought asylum in the EU-28 during the third quarter of 2017.
In its Report covering the period between 2015 and 2016, the European Network Against Racism highlighted a concerning upward trend in episodes of racism, discrimination and aggression against migrants, in coincidence with the intensification in the migration crisis and the resulting spike in anti-migration political discourse and exclusionary migration policies across the European Union. The Report also identified a statistical increase in direct violence against refugees and asylum seekers in Europe.
This pattern of discrimination, stereotyping and attack (physical as well as verbal) is fuelled by and feeds a sliding of public debate over migrants and migration towards a subalternity to the dichotomic categorizations and confrontational positions expressed by populist, extremist and generally far right movements, which increasingly gain access to the mainstream public debate and realm of policies. Young people are particularly vulnerable to racist and discriminatory propaganda and messages, in particular considering their preferential use of Social Media, wherein this type of aggressive and discriminatory speech is ever more circulated. The necessity of setting the conditions for youth awareness about racism and discrimination as well as of the active contrast thereof in the field of youth is stressed by the European Youth Strategy, which sets the objective of supporting the development of cultural awareness and the contrast of prejudice among the youth. COSMIC pursues these objectives by means of selecting and training a cluster of youth volunteers actively committed to contrasting feelings and practices of discrimination among young people as well as promoting the positive values of tolerance and respect of diversity enshrined in European identity and citizenship.
COSMIC activities are:
- Research and identification of European good practices in contrasting radicalization and prejudice among young people through Storytelling, Art and Sport.
- Selection of a cluster of 10 young people per partner country (5 of local and 5 of migrant origins) to take part in the process of educational empowerment delivered in the project.
- Implementation of 3 Blended Youth Mobilities (1 per partner country) wherein partners will develop the knowledge, skills and competences of selected youngsters in employing unconventional instruments of Non Formal Education (Storytelling, Art and Sport) as tools for contrasting phenomena of racism and xenophobia among their fellow young people, as well as spreading positive values of inclusion and tolerance.
- Implementing a set of local activities delivered by participating youngsters in each partner country towards an audience of their own peers (locals and migrants). The focus of the activities will be to convey the educational message of the project to youngsters in local realities.
- Developing educational resources (Research Reports, Manual and Blog) in multiple languages allowing a wide accessibility and disclosure of project results and thereby producing a direct impact on the audience of youngsters and youth operators in partner countries and in Europe at large.
Events and Project target groups:
Transnational Project Meeting:
N° of participants: Total of 6 (2 per country).
Age: 25+
Profile: Project leaders from each partner organization taking part in project.
Blended Mobility:
N° of participants: 10 participants per each of the 3 Blended, total of 30 participants (5 of local and 5 of migrant origins per country).
Age: 18-25
Profile: Young people playing an active role in contrasting stereotyping and discrimination against migrants and refugees among their fellow youngsters.
Local Phase:
N° of participants: 10 participants per partner, total of 30 participants (5 of local and 5 of migrant origins per country).
Age: 18-25
Profile: Young people playing an active role in contrasting stereotyping and discrimination against migrants and refugees among their fellow youngsters. Activities will be lead by participants of the Blended Mobilities.
Project objectives/is supportive of the identified priorities as follows:
- Promoting youth volunteering as an instrument to contrast discrimination against migrants and refugees among the youth categories and within the hosting societies at large
- Research and identification of European good practices in contrasting radicalization and prejudice among young people through Storytelling, Art and Sport.
- Implementation of 3 Blended Youth Mobilities (1 per partner country) wherein partners will develop the knowledge, skills and competences of
- Selected youngsters in employing unconventional instruments of Non Formal Education (Storytelling, Art and Sport) as tools for contrasting phenomena of racism and xenophobia
- Implementing a set of local activities delivered by participating youngsters in each partner country towards an audience of their own peers (locals and migrants).
- Developing educational resources (Research Reports and Manual) in multiple languages allowing a wide accessibility and disclosure of project results and thereby producing a direct impact on the audience of youngsters and youth operators in partner countries and in Europe at large.
