'Darfat' (Opportunity) is a new project designed to provide vocational training and facilitate access to the labour market for the most vulnerable people due to war and displacement in Iraq. It contributes to the creation of decent and sustainable job opportunities in Iraqi Kurdistan, especially for those people experiencing the most difficulties: women victims of violence, Syrian refugees, Iraqi internally displaced persons, unemployed young people from the Kurdish host community.
During 10 months of work in Sulaymaniyah (Iraqi Kurdistan), technical and vocational training will be organised in four areas: humanitarian, multimedia/visual arts, textile and industrial.
Vocational training courses in the humanitarian sector will be organised in the Syrian refugee camp in Barika, providing 40 paid internships in local and international non-governmental organisations for young refugees.
In the youth centre that UPP runs in the camp, as well as at the Deir Maryam Aladhra monastery in Suleymaiyah, vocational training courses in the media and visual arts - radio production, sound technology, web designing and video editing - as well as language and IT courses will also be offered.
In the shelter for women victims of violence in Sulaymaniyah and in the camp in Barika, women will be involved in technical and vocational training courses in the textile sector.
This will be complemented by awareness-raising and social cohesion activities as usual, aimed at bringing together refugee, displaced and host communities and creating opportunities for dialogue and mutual understanding.
Feelings of hatred and intolerance towards Muslim and Islamic communities in Europe are reinforced by what are technically termed 'structural drivers': policies, laws, political debates, media messages, which contribute to normalising AMHI (Anti-Muslim Hatred and Intolerance). The objective of this multi-annual project, which will have Italy, the Netherlands, France, Spain and the United Kingdom as operational sites, is to provide analyses on the impact of these drivers in different contexts, suggesting good practices to be adopted by national and European authorities focused on the respect of human rights.
Raising civil societies' awareness of their ability to resist hate messages and encouraging their mobilisation are further aims of this intervention, which aims to create transnational networks at European level to increase cooperation with Islamic communities in the different countries of intervention, and to encourage the creation of online platforms for the dissemination of correct information.
An analysis and research team will reach over 200 national and European policy makers; 225 teachers and civil servants; 50 journalists; 153 members of civil society; 57 members of national Islamic communities; and a total of 300,000 people.
Through the production of analyses, reports and strategy papers, key actors and actors in policy making will be trained and involved in the adoption of recommendations and good practices to counter hate and Islamophobia. Cross-country comparative analyses of existing extra-parliamentary groups and movements that promote hate messages will be carried out; laws and regulations on counter-terrorism, security and migration will be evaluated; interactive online tools for legislators and policy makers will be developed; and workshops and seminars for journalists and influencers will be organised.
Training and exchange between members of the Islamic communities and teachers, lecturers, civil servants from the countries involved will be organised.
A second front of work will focus instead on civil societies, for which seminars, meetings, and university debate cycles will be organised in numerous Italian and European universities, which will focus on the exchange of suggestions and good practices in which the Islamic communities of the countries involved in the project will be involved.
Visit the project website: https://stop-islamophobia.eu/
Improving access to quality health services in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, by reducing the mortality rate among women and children affected by the conflict in the cities of Ain al-Arab (Kobane) and Mebij. This is the goal of a new intervention, supported by UNICEF, that will continue throughout 2019.
The main beneficiaries will be children under five, women of reproductive age, people in need of psychosocial support, patients suffering from malnutrition or communicable and non-communicable diseases.
The main activities include the rehabilitation of two clinics, in Membij and Kobane, together with the drafting of primary care guidelines and procedures. The project also includes the development and implementation of a mortality monitoring and evaluation system and training courses for health workers on health logic management, mental health, maternal and child health care.
The project also aims to increase the number of births attended by specialised personnel, and to ensure prenatal and postnatal care. Finally, health promotion campaigns and interventions to improve infant and young child feeding practices will be implemented.
Strengthening the mental health system and access to services for the Syrian refugee and vulnerable Jordanian population, with a focus on vulnerable women and men from the Jordanian and refugee community living in the Governorates of Irbid, Amman, Zarqa and Karak. This is the objective of a new intervention launched in Jordan, and funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).
In cooperation with the local partner 'Our Step', the intervention aims at increasing knowledge on mental health issues, promoting better identification and reporting and preventing cases of discrimination and marginalisation of people with mental disabilities.
The main activities, targeting 1,000 women and 1,000 men of the Syrian refugee and Jordanian community, will focus on organising 30 support groups targeting young people between 18 and 24 years old, and women in the governorates of Irbid, Zarqa, Amman and Karak. In parallel, mental health awareness campaigns and a nationwide radio campaign are also being carried out to increase the population's awareness of mental health.
With the idea that the right to health must be guaranteed every day and in every place, peer-to-peer initiatives for vulnerable young people in Zarqa and Tot trainings (Training of Trainers) for Syrian and Jordanian community workers and educators in urban settings are carried out as part of the WHO Mental Health in Schools package.
From October 2018 to December 2019, Un Ponte Per initiated the Italian project 'YA Monza - Youth in Action Monza', in cooperation with local partners ARCI Scuotivento and Fondazione Parada. "YA Monza" is a project of active and multicultural youth participation, of mutual acquaintance and elimination of barriers and walls given by prejudices, of strengthening of social ties and removal of fears and extremisms. It is the creation, through the use of different artistic disciplines, of a series of communicative bridges between young people coming from different backgrounds and living in the Brianza area, under the banner of peaceful and respectful coexistence.
The aim of the project is to stimulate and raise awareness among young people in the Monza area (with a focus on the suburban district of San Rocco) to social and cultural participation and active volunteering, reducing the risk of the emergence of violent extremism, using the tool of art as a reading of the social context and a vehicle for peer comparison.
The project is aimed at about 100 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 and plans to encourage participation in activities by young people from the different communities in the Monza area. The planned activities are:
Activities will be proposed to address issues of particular relevance to young people: starting from their experiences, they will reflect on their relationship with their peers and their vision of the city of Monza. Artistic and creative disciplines, catalysers of emotions, will be the tool through which the young people will convey their emotions and experiences.
The overall objective of the project is to promote access to protection services for the refugee population from Syria in Jordan and the most vulnerable host communities in the Governorates of Amman, Zarqa, Karak and Ma'an.
The intervention aims to provide legal assistance and empowerment of women with a focus on gender equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Lawyers from the Jordanian partner organisation ARDD will provide legal advice to more than 1,000 people, both in terms of regularisation for the refugee population and protection for women victims of violence. A hotline will also be set up to deal with emergencies and provide assistance to women.
With respect to the disabled population, training and vocational training courses will be organised to facilitate their inclusion in the world of work.
The activities implemented during the project reached 2,033 people, including 1,256 women and girls, providing legal support, guidance and accompaniment in regularisation processes for the refugee population, up to the protection of victims of violence through the establishment of a hotline to deal with emergencies and provide immediate assistance to women.
Countering the causes of xenophobia and intolerance with the tools of a 'bottom-up' culture, favouring educational and information paths that contribute to the growth of 'global' citizens for whom 'diversity' is a resource.
Promoting and supporting with appropriate tools for the population a better knowledge and experience of the themes of migration, reception and integration starting from self-telling as a tool for knowledge and encounter with the Other.
These are some of the objectives of the 'DIMMI di Storie Migranti' project, financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), and implemented by Un Ponte Per together with 46 partner organisations throughout Italy, Iraq and Lebanon.
The project will particularly target students in Italy (over 5,000), secondary schools and universities; teachers and lecturers (over 450); migrants (over 400) and local communities in Campania, Lazio, Lombardy, Tuscany, Veneto and Sicily.
In fact, numerous workshop activities dedicated to migrants are planned, as well as specific school and university training on the topics of countering xenophobia and storytelling techniques.
The collection, preservation and valorisation of migrant stories that can directly show the complexity of migratory phenomena, integration and reception pathways underway, through the development of expressive channels and tools that enhance the telling of migrants' personal stories, will be fostered at the national level.
The collaboration with communication and information realities will allow the creation of a narrative web platform on which to collect and disseminate the stories collected: DIMMI
At the same time, activities will be carried out to raise awareness and provide information to citizens on the issues of reception and migration.
Thanks to the contribution of the many partner organisations, school and university twinning will also be set up between schools in Italy and community centres or classrooms in both Iraq and Lebanon, where Un Ponte Per has been working for years.
Our contribution to the development of the younger generation in Lebanon does not stop: the coming months will see us active in an intervention that continues to focus on education and children's rights.
'Madrasati Ahla'(My Most Beautiful School) is a project designed to contribute to the improvement and access opportunities to school services for the most vulnerable among the Syrian refugee population and the host community in Lebanon.
Specifically, it will seek to strengthen opportunities for access to curricular and extra-curricular services in the governorate of el-Nabatieh and Mount Lebanon, increasing the quality and accessibility of school spaces, and improving the educational offer.
The project will involve at least 225 vulnerable minors (Syrianə and Lebaneseə), at least 1,420 minors who will benefit from the psychosocial support service, at least 96 members of the teaching staff of the Choukine school.
The rehabilitation of the school building in Choukine will enable the expansion of classrooms, improved sanitary conditions, accessibility for students with disabilities, the provision of books for the library and specific training for teaching staff.
Existing architectural barriers will be removed to allow and guarantee access to the school for children with disabilities, and transport services to the school and the non-formal education centre in Ain el-Remmaneh will be provided.
In addition, an awareness-raising campaign will be carried out to combat school drop-outs by organising four events aimed at the Syrian and Lebanese communities, and sports equipment will be provided to participate in recreational activities.
Fostering inclusion and mutual understanding with migrants and refugees, supporting and expanding the network of active citizens, building a counter narrative that strengthens intercultural dialogue, developing a broad network of volunteers in the field of solidarity and social inclusion.
These are the objectives of 'The route of Solidarity' project, which will start next January and will involve activists, volunteers and social workers, totalling 600 participants, men and women aged between 30 and 65.
In order to strengthen volunteers' knowledge of EU migration policies on the situation in border countries, and to exchange best volunteering practices developed in the field, 8 international meetings on migration issues will be organised.
Public debates on migration and European policies, field visits and volunteer work days with associations in the area.
Practical activities include 4 workshops: 3 workshops on migration policies and the development of messages for a web action aimed at EU policy-makers, and 1 workshop on the topic of preparing a story-telling performance.
The entire project will then be narrated, through the recording of photographic and audiovisual material, and through the production of a web doc.
The ambition is to contribute to an increase in the number of citizens active in this area, improving capacities to offer voluntary reception services to migrants and refugees, and reaching at least 1,000 migration policy promoters at both European and national levels.
A one-year intervention to enhance the governance capacities of Kurdish municipalities in Iraq and Syria, and thus foster a better management of territories and local realities, thanks to the strengthening of the direct dialogue between Italian and Kurdish civil society, and through the interlocution and shared planning between the respective municipalities.
This is the aim of the project Support for Kurdish Municipalities in North-East Syria and the Iraqi Kurdistan Area: to increase skills and know-how in the different areas concerning the management of public services.
From civil protection and education to waste collection and sustainable development.
These themes will be the focus of training courses and study visits, following which micro-projects will be implemented to strengthen public services in the identified municipalities.
At least 5 territorial meetings are planned to be held in Iraq and the same number in Syria, as well as at least 2 meetings to be held in Italy, which will aim to foster the exchange of information between representatives of Italian municipalities and representatives of Kurdish-Syrian and Kurdish-Iraqi municipalities.
Three meetings will then be organised in Iraqi Kurdistan between experts in the field, in order to define a detailed work plan for the implementation of training cycles.
Governance, decentralisation, local capacity building: these are some of the topics that will be addressed during the meetings.
But also environment and sustainable development, social and health services, gender policies, education, social inclusion and emergency management.
