Regional multi-stakeholder cooperation platform for migrant and refugee integration launched in Karditsa
The regional platform is set up in the framework of the Share SIRA project, our European project co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, which aims at strengthening and expanding the social orientation and overall integration of newcomers in rural territories in Europe. Besides Karditsa, regional multi-stakeholder cooperation platforms have also been set up in 9 other rural regions in Europe. Click here to find out more about these regions!
“Integration of newcomers is a matter of joint forces. All participants’ contribution, no matter how phenomenically diverse, is of vital importance”
Courtesy of the Development Agency of Karditsa AN.KA SA
On 12 April 2021, the Development Agency of Karditsa AN.KA SA (ANKA) and ICMC Europe, lead of the SHARE Network, organized the first roundtable of the regional multi-stakeholder cooperation platform for migrant and refugee integration of Karditsa, a prefectural unit in Greece located in the region of Thessaly.
The two-hour event took place online and gathered 30 participants representing 21 different stakeholders active in the reception andintegration of refugees and migrants in the region. This included regional authorities and agencies, local authorities, mainstream service providers (focused on education), numerous civil society organisations and international non-governmental organizations, as well as refugee-led organizations, sports clubs and migrants from the community. Although this was probably the first time at a local level that so many diverse entities gathered to discuss the issue of newcomers’ integration, the initiative was welcome by the participants who expressed their alignment with the purposes of the project and confirmed their availability in contributing to its success.
Adopting a multi-stakeholder approach, the regional platform aims at fostering cooperation, coordination and knowledge sharing between stakeholders involved in refugee and migrant integration in the region, as well as pilot innovative inclusive territorial approaches for social orientation and integration to foster social cohesion.
During the first roundtable, participants exchanged inputs on the main integration needs - among which language learning, training, employment, housing, networking, getting familiar with the new surroundings, rights’ protection, access to services, rapid bureaucratic procedures - and obstacles faced by newcomer refugees and migrants during their integration in the local society in terms of linguistic and vocational skills, existence of a concrete national strategic plan, cultural barriers, potential bias within the host community, someone’s intention to be integrated. The roundtable participants went on to discuss the major training needs of stakeholders and identified areas where this needed training is most vital. The conclusions from the first roundtable contributed to creating a strong evidence-base on social orientation and integration in the region, which will help shape upcoming activities.
The stakeholders involved in the regional platforms will gather on three more occasions over the course of 2021/2022. You can find more information on the activities in Karditsa on the regional webpage.