About Project & Activities

Project Details

Project Title: Civil Society for social inclusion of unaccompanied minors in transition to adulthood – learning communities for shaping transition interfaces (CiSoTRA)

Agreement Number: 2017-2920/001-001

Project Number: 592154-EPP-1-2017-1-SI-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN

Programme: Erasmus+, KA3

Key Action: Social inclusion through education, training, and youth

3-Year Project: 31 December 2017 – 31 March 2021

Project countries: Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey

Project Aims

The aim of the project CiSoTRA is to develop and implement an innovative methodology to foster social inclusion (including inclusion through education) of unaccompanied minor migrants in transition to early adulthood through holistic support networks, which would facilitate the transition from the youth support and education system to the adult education and employment system.

The project aims to be achieved through:

IDENTIFICATION OF CURRENT GOOD PRACTICES, based on mapping various pathways for migrants from arrival to “end” (integration in the country – further education or/and labour market, a transition to a country of origin or another one) and identification of gaps, shortcomings, gaps, and traps on that pathway.
PERSONAL CAPACITY BUILDING OF KEY PROFESSIONALS (professionals from educational institutions, labour market, social care, local/regional/national authorities) – identification of needs and required competences for productive work in the field.
IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS OF UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AND YOUNG ADULTS (needs analysis through workshops including empowerment activities).
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING
IMPROVED COOPERATION OF INSTITUTIONS / ORGANIZATIONSI IN THE REGION / COUNTRY. To contribute to this improvement, a model for better social inclusion will be prepared.

Project Outcomes

Initial study – collection of relevant insights from national literature and good practices as a basis for future developments in the area.
General trainings for key actors at national/regional level – general knowledge for working with migrants – unaccompanied minors.
Specialised trainings for key actors at international level focusing on specific topics.
Workshops for unaccompanied minor migrants (up to 18) – to identify their needs at various stages of the pathway to integration & empowerment topics.
Workshops for unaccompanied young adult migrants (age 18 – 25) – to determine their needs at different stages of the path to integration & empowerment topics.
E-Learning classrooms (for general and specialised trainings & workshops).
National seminars for different stakeholders.
The “model CiSoTRA” for better social inclusion – an inclusive approach to support young migrants and to strengthen the links between various interfaces/organisations that are involved in the support for young migrants (learning communities among different actors).
An international conference at the final phase of the project will be organized, to disseminate project results at a larger scale.

Envisaged impact

Improved knowledge and skills of professionals who work with unaccompanied minor migrants and unaccompanied young adult migrants; allow stakeholders to be more aware of what kind of skills and expertise professionals need, and where improvements are needed to ensure better work by professionals with target groups.
Better capacity of schools and other institutions that work with unaccompanied minor migrants and unaccompanied young adult migrants.
Through workshops, unaccompanied minor migrants and unaccompanied young adult migrants will be better empowered, and professionals and other stakeholders will be more aware of their needs.
Substantive material will be produced by the project and available in e–classrooms.
The most demanding issues regarding social inclusion of unaccompanied minor migrants and unaccompanied young adult migrants will be exposed via national seminars.
An initial study will give insights on the current situations of each country and on how further policies in the area should be developed.
A “model” for better social inclusion will be prepared. Such a model could contribute to a better operation of organisations dealing with minor migrants and young adult migrants: on the one hand, by working more efficiently and avoiding overlaps in their work, and, on the other hand, by filling possible gaps with the view to cover all essential needs of target groups and to ensure a better transition to early adulthood.
Policy makers will have more information on how to develop further policies in the area.
Results of the project will be published to allow for future research in the area.

Project Activities

WP 1: Management

Lead Partner: ISSBS, Celje, Slovenia

The main objective of WP 1 is to set up the Management structure and to establish adequate mechanisms to coordinate the project from a technical, pedagogical and administrative-financial point of view. In the framework of WP 1, six F2F project meetings will be organised:

1st meeting: 15 – 16 May 2018 in Naples, Italy (synergy with RoMigSc project)

2nd meeting: 8 – 10 October 2018 in Taranto, Italy

3rd meeting: 22 – 24 May 2019 in Regensburg, Germany (synergy with RoMigSc project)

4th meeting: 8 – 10 October 2019 in Celje, Slovenia (international conference RoMigSc)

5th meeting: 18 – 19 May 2020 in Athens, Greece

6th meeting: 15 – 17 October 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey (international conference CiSoTRA)

WP 2: Initial study

Lead Partner: ISOB, Regensburg, Germany

Collection of relevant insights from international and national literatures and good practices. Reviews of the current states of the art in partner countries and validations of good practices are needed to successfully perform all the other steps of the project. Data collection methodologies will include document analysis, interviews and focus groups.

WP3: National seminars for different stakeholders

Lead Partner: CSIG, Taranto, Italy

It is expected that 50 stakeholders will attend a single seminar, to discuss the most difficult issues on social inclusion of unaccompanied minors & young adults. The topics of the seminar will we adopted according to the current needs of each country.

One national seminar will be organised each year in all project countries:

June to September 2018: Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey
June to September 2019: Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey
June to September 2020: Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey.

WP4: General trainings (basic and advanced level)

Lead partner: POU, Naples, Italy

We aim to train (general knowledge and skills) key professionals working with unaccompanied minors and/or young adults. Trainings will consist of two courses (basic, advanced), each equivalent to 6 ECTS, which will be implemented in a combination of face-to-face tuition (3 days per class) and on-line activities.

Topics:

non-discrimination and intercultural dialogue;
multicultural society;
ethics of key professionals;
human rights;
international & national legislation and protocols around the care and support of migrant children and young migrants;
national migration procedures;
harmonising the protection of unaccompanied minors in Europe;
migrants and the right to education;
young migrants on the labour market;
the vulnerability of young migrants: socio-psychological aspects; friendly techniques for interviewing migrant children and young migrants.

General trainings will be organised in 2018, as piloting version (international participants, F2F in Naples, Italy) in 2019 the general trainings will be delivered in each of the project country with national participants:

November 2018 to January 2019 in Italy (piloting training); 15 participants – 3 from each partner country, 3 month on-line and 2 x 3 days of face-to-face tuition in Naples, language: EN;
April to June 2019 in Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey; 15 participants per country, 3 month on-line and 2 x 3 days of face-to-face tuition in each project country; languages: SI, IT, DE, GR, TR.

WP5: Specialised trainings

Lead partner: POU, Naples, Italy

We want to equip key professionals with specialised knowledge and skills. Four courses will be developed within specialised trainings, each equivalent to 6 ECTS :

Reception, service standards and health standards for unaccompanied minors
Harmonising the protection of unaccompanied minors in Europe
Migrants right to education and work
Social inclusion as a dynamic two-way process

Specialised trainings will be organised in 2019 as four online courses.

October to December 2019 online: 15 participants per course/training from partner countries – presumably 3 from each partner country in each course; 3 months of on-line activities; language: EN.

WP 6: Workshops for unaccompanied minor migrants (up to 18 years)

Lead partner: AS, Athens, Greece

These workshops will also be attended by guardians to minors and professionals who work with minors. Their main purposes are:

getting the feedback on the needs of minors and their guardians (satisfaction with services offered, and possible gaps detected);
capacity building activities for minors to inspire them to ‘follow’ their life projects.

Deliveries of the workshop for migrants – minors; 15 participants in each workshop:

September 2018 in Greece (piloting workshop)
March 2019 in Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey
March 2020 in Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey.

WP 7: Workshops for young adult migrants (in transition from minors; 18 – 25 years)

Lead partner: IBU, Istanbul, Turkey

These workshops will also be attended by professionals who work with young adults. Their main purposes are:

getting feedback on the needs of young adults (satisfaction with services offered, and possible gaps detected);
capacity building activities for young adults, to empower/inspire them to ‘follow’ their life projects.

Deliveries of the workshop for migrants – young adults; 15 participants in each workshop:

September 2018 in Turkey (piloting workshop)
March 2019 in Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey
March 2020 in Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey.

WP 8: The “model CiSoTRA.”

Lead Partner: ISSBS, Celje, Slovenia

It is a model of cooperation and co-dependency between organisations that deal with unaccompanied migrants minors and young adults, and their interrelations regarding supporting minors in the system. The model will explain what organisations can expect from each other, what each organisation should change in its functioning, in order to improve its work. The model will be a scheme of connectivity. The model will be prepared from August 2019 to October 2020. The model will be evaluated by all partners, by the project Advisory Board, and presented at the International conference (October 2020).

WP 9: Quality assurance

Lead Partner: ISOB, Regensburg, Germany

A complete data collection will be developed about the value of the project developments, its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks to be revealed through the implementation and the achievements of the project vs. indicators, which will contribute to the evaluability of the project by third parties. This will enable support for further dissemination and exploitation.

WP 10: Dissemination of the project

Lead partner: ISSBS, Celje, Slovenia

The results of the project will be disseminated in the project lifetime and beyond. The primary dissemination activities are:

Dissemination via the CiSoTRA website, social media, leaflet, newsletters, and other dissemination channels.
Members of the consortium will present the results and activities at conferences in countries outside the consortium.
An international conference will be organized in October 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey.