Push Inclusion Through Youth Work

Background This project was born from the migratory flows that were taking place in the European continent, since millions of people were fleeing to Europe due to the existence of a war in their countries or because they were looking for greater economic and labor opportunities. It was graphically seen in the media, as day by day many immigrants and refugees were arriving to our continent, if they made it. In many cases the potential of these people fell through the cracks and was not taken advantage of. The needs that were taken into account for the approach of this project were: -Need to integrate refugees and immigrants who had come to Europe and who did not have sufficient means to do so. -Need to incorporate a multicultural perspective in youth work, as well as to give the necessary tools to youth workers so that they can deal with inclusion on a daily basis. -Need to raise awareness among local youth about respect, tolerance towards refugees and immigrants. -Need to eliminate racist or xenophobic attitudes that have grown due to the rise of fake news and other movements. Objectives The development and implementation of the project has made it possible to achieve the objectives set out in its approach and after its development. These objectives have been the following: -Improve youth work, at a local level, through the involvement of refugees and immigrants with their skills and experience. -To integrate refugees and immigrants into society, in an accelerated way, through their participation in youth activities that have allowed cultural and intellectual exchange with local youth. -Contributing to their integration by promoting more favorable public opinion and employment opportunities for them. -To improve the skills and competencies of youth workers by providing them with the tools and methods for the integration of multicultural elements in their daily work. -To reduce xenophobia and racism, as well as to promote multilingualism of local youth. Implementation Several activities have been developed and implemented that have made it possible to achieve the objectives set out in the project approach. All these activities have followed the guidelines set out in the initial proposal, being the following: -Social research: It has allowed to know the level of integration in the partner countries, as well as the points that should be worked on to improve it. -Staff training: Training for 10 youth workers from Italy and Spain, where they have worked on the pilot program. -Pilot program: A document dedicated to youth workers in order to improve their skills in the field of integration. -Testing of the pilot program: Realization of more than 65 activities in Italy and Spain, including local youth, youth workers and refugees and migrants. -Refugee-friendly label: A badge for entities and companies that contribute to integration. -Social Idea Business Challenge: A European competition for business ideas that contribute to inclusion. -Multiplier events: Different activities to report on the results obtained during the project. -Dissemination: Different publications to reach a large number of people interested in the project. Achievements After the implementation and development of all the activities of the project, some concrete results have been obtained: -Report: As a result of the research carried out, we have obtained a report detailing all the information obtained, as well as the presentation of the analysis carried out, and its results. -Pilot program: A document where activities and good practices that contribute significantly to improving the integration of refugees and immigrants are collected. Specially dedicated to youth workers so that they can implement these activities in their local environments. -Pilot program experience: A compendium of the results of the pilot program test, so that future youth workers who will use this document can take into account possible improvements in its implementation. -Refugee-friendly label: Physical and digital badge for collaborating entities. -Social idea business challenge: European competition for social proposals. -Web platform: Where all the results and experiences obtained in the implementation of PITYW are collected.