International exchange program on migration with local impact
Step One – The international exchange: ‘Spacing migration, Sizing conflict: The Think Thing’
From 16 till 25 September 32 youth gathered in Kobuleti, Georgia to attend an international exchange on migration and conflict management.
In total 4 partner organisations from different countries were involved. Each sent 8 youth. They came from Spain, Armenia, Belgium and Georgia.
They got to know each other and each others culture and country. Through interactive methods they explored the theme migration by showing what it means for each one of them separately but seeking commonalities within the participants and their countries.
They looked at the consequences of migration and how to deal in non-violent ways with conflicts that might arise from migration.
Each two days they reported what they did, read about their adventures
Read about their adventures @ http://um4pgeorgia.wordpress.com/
And see their activities @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xun-jx1Z7v0 & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttSC3BhreV8
Step 2: Follow-up activities on migration in Belgium, Antwerp
The youth organised two big follow-up events linked to the theme of the exchange. They organised the events using the knowledge and attitudes to learned in the exchange. The both ideas came up in the process where they discussed how they can use with they learned in their own communities
Migration Policy – A mess!?
They organised a meeting between students and young refugees. This ‘dialogue activity had a focus on the broad migration debate, which happened at the premises of UA, in collaboration with the Protestant Social Centre (PSC) and the Antwerp University’s Foundation for Development Cooperation (USOS). The goal of the follow-up activity was to break down parts of the barriers that exist between the world of students at the university and refugees. Students having sometimes theoritical courses on the issue of migration and its policy, and refugees dealing with those issues in daily life, struggling with some problems linked with Belgian migration policy. By bringing them in contact, we tried to make them understand each other better. It took place on November 24th and there were about 35 participants.
The second follow-up activity was organised at Artesis college of Antwerp. We tried to introduce the second central theme of our exchange, identity, in a alternative way by doing a workshop about the impact of migration in general on your cultural identity. This activity took place on December 6th. It was organised in cooperation with the department of social work of the college of Antwerp. In a session some 50 students participated in this workshop.
In February we will organise a cultural evening about the Caucasus region, together with our coordination organisation Pax Christi. We will invite a speaker to introduce the audience about the conflicts in this region and we will give a presentation about the exchange in Georgia.
The project was made possible with the support of the Youth in Action Programme of the EU & the Flemish National Agency Jint
