Senior Volunteers for Migrant Integration
Background and target groups
Europe is facing the biggest migrant crisis since the end of World War II: never before have so many people fled political persecution and war as today. At the same time, EU countries encounter the challenge of an aging population, with the number of elderly people growing steadily in relation to the working-age population.
However, many of the retired Europeans still have potential if not to stay in the workforce, then to contribute to the society in many other ways, such as active citizenship and volunteering.
To solve these critical challenges the project addresses two main target groups:
- Elderly people and
- Migrants and refugees.
The project is aimed at fostering the development of social, civic, intercultural, volunteering competences by providing representatives of both target groups with unique opportunities to integrate and reintegrate into the society, and at the same time providing mutual support to each other and to the society.
Main goals of the project
- to contribute to the successful integration of migrants and/or refugees into the host societies with the help of seniors;
- to tackle the social exclusion of older people through volunteering services to migrants.
To accomplish the project goals the partners will undertake the following objectives
- strengthening senior volunteers’ active citizenship and volunteering skills through training based on the training programme developed by the partnership;
- enhancing host country language learning and the orientation process of migrants/refugees through the provision of a developed social and civic integration tool–guide for migrants (App) as well as offering teaching/ mentoring support by the trained senior volunteers;
- raising public awareness on the issues related to migration and aging societies.
Project results
- Project website.
- Methodology and a 20 hour training programme consisting of 5 modules for senior volunteers providing support for migrant and refugee integration.
- Training material for teaching senior volunteers.
- Social and civic integration tool – guide for migrants and refugees in App format available for free download: helping them to acquire basic knowledge and understanding about the host country's sociocultural life; containing a basic conversation kit with animation in partner languages and English.
- Exploitation – contact seminars in each partner country to demonstrate the practical use of a Mobile application (App) and the senior volunteers’ training program to relevant stakeholders and to establish a connection between service providers - trained senior volunteers and potential "clients"- migrants and/or refugees as well as representatives of organizations providing services for migrants.
- Final international conference for representatives of the organisations working in the field of refugee and migrant integration, civic society, active aging, education:
- The keynote speakers will be invited to share their experience on the situation related to volunteering and migrant integration on EU level.
- The trainers involved in the testing of the programme and the material will run practical workshops for representatives from education institutions.
- Senior volunteers will be invited to reflect upon their experience in establishing contacts with migrants and refugees in their countries.
