+Solutions in Belgium
SINGA
Nathanael Molle (Fellow)/ Alexandra Alden (Singa Spain)
Founded by Ashoka Fellow Nathanael Molle
The Problem
Every year, thousands of people are forced to flee their homes, cities, friends and countries to seek refuge in other countries. After a long and often dangerous journey, these men and women apply for the protection of other states. Unfortunately, even though they had no choice but to leave their homeland, they are rarely welcomed in the countries where they settle. The incoming flight migrants are often perceived as a cost to local taxpayers and as a potential source of social tension or unrest.
The Solution
SINGA is a community of professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, dancers, singers, students, or in short, a community of human beings. It brings together people who want to get to know and understand each other better and build a better society for themselves. The project develops a sense of community with migrants and local citizens, and as such helps further integration and change perspectives. The various SINGA programmes across Europe aim to organise and facilitate opportunities to meet others within the SINGA community.
The Impact
SINGA operates in France, Morocco, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Quebec and recently started in Barcelona. It has connected many people to facilitate change in the perspective of a population that mainly views refugees as a problem.
Speak
Hugo Menino Aguiar
Founded by Ashoka Fellow Hugo Menino Aguiar
The Problem
There are 258 million international migrants globally. Almost half of non-EU citizens (48.6%) living in the EU are at risk of social exclusion, resulting in difficulties of finding employment, housing and participation in local culture and social life. Local citizens are often informed by stereotypes and prejudice, leaving them to feel unsafe upon the encounter of ‘different’ people. There is a lack of opportunities to integrate, understand and empathise with migrants and this has sparked tensions between migrants and local communities.
The Solution
SPEAK promotes the organic emergence of communities in which diversity is valued and cultures are shared in a safe space through peer-to-peer meetings. Locals, refugees and other migrants meet through an online platform and are invited to share cultural experiences and develop meaningful bonds. The project brings together locals and newcomers with the aim of creating a sense of belonging. It allows participants to facilitate informal language learning environments and host community events that engage beyond local migrant groups. Through this network, newcomers obtain access to informal recommendations as well as guidance with specific needs and integration challenges.
The Impact
Up to date, over 5,700 people have participated in SPEAK events and more than 6,100 people have attended language sharing groups. Nearly 50% of the participants were internationals. SPEAK’s latest impact assessment reported a 15% increase in the sense of belonging of participants after 12 weeks. The report also noted that language was seen as less of a barrier in the integration process for 30% of those that took part in events and language groups during this time period.
Violence Prevention Network
Judy Korn
The Problem
There is an increase of hate crime from right-wing extremists, but these are often left unaddressed. The conflicts are the result of a limited understanding of migrants and their circumstances.
The Solution
The Violence Prevention Network supports many different projects of counselling, training and outreach across Germany as well as internationally. The project addresses approaches by advice centres, counselling for school projects and training, one-to-one outreach and online outreach for and to possible extremists. The network is leading in bringing together a pan-European network for the prevention of extremism and deradicalization at the European Commission Level.
The Impact
In 2016, the Violence Prevention Network had 68 staff members, who provided workshops, counselling and training courses to thousands of people. The network advised 123 institutions on topics of extremism – including those motivated by religion – and it has implemented adapted Violence Prevention Models to address conflicts in Northern Ireland.
Solentra
Geertrui Serneels
Founded by Ashoka Fellow, Geertrui Serneels
The Problem
The 21st century has been identified as the ‘migration century’ due to the increased global movement of people. Since 2015, Europe has experienced a heavy influx of refugees and migrants after which many European cities have become ‘super-diverse’. Places are defined by the differences in ethnicity, religion and culture, but often migrants do not feel like local services – such as support with mental health – are available to them. Additionally, local services are not often equipped to understand and help cope with cultural differences and mental health issues related to migration and (lack of) integration.
The Solution
Solentra stands for solidarity and trauma. The organisation aims to transform the mental healthcare system by training professionals who work closely with refugees and applying its PACCT-Methodology (Psychiatry Assisting the Culturally diverse Community in creating healing Ties) of community-based and culturally sensitive psychology for refugees and other migrants. The method acknowledges the importance of equal and open dialogue. To ensure the support of children in different stages of integration, Solentra mobilises a community of actors involved in their lives. Its method removes cultural and language barriers to make mental healthcare accessible for migrants.
The Impact
Solentra has reached over 3,000 migrant and refugee children with its PACCT method. The method was awarded the 2016 Maselis prize for innovation and efficiency. It has been appointed one of the top 3 practices across the 27 EU member states by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The organisation’s founder – Geertrui Serneels – has been invited by the Flemish Minister of Welfare to present the PACCT methodology as best practice of community-based approach in the youth sector.
Mobile School/StreewiZe
Arnoud Raskin
Founded by Ashoka Fellow, Arnoud Raskin
The Problem
An estimated 150 million children and youth grow up in harsh conditions without a safe and caretaking environment. They live and work on the streets of big cities, are on the move from conflict or natural disasters or run away from socio-economic problems at home. For these children, the streets become their main learning environment, where they develop essential survival skills and build their identity. Non-formal education and outreach work are crucial to help them grow into positive contributors to society.
The Solution
Mobile School has developed an integrated outreach methodology to support street educators worldwide in unlocking the potential of these children in the environment where they feel most comfortable, the streets. Mobile School has developed innovative streetproof tools and methodologies to make education available anywhere. Initiated as part of StreetwiZe, the programme valorises talents and survival skills of street-connected children in 29 countries worldwide. Its pioneering outreach strategy shifts children’s attitudes away from assistance and towards empowerment.
The Impact
StreetwiZe invests 100% of their profit in Mobile School, co-creates the educational materials and relentlessly supports Mobile School by increasing its social impact. There are currently 56 mobile schools in 29 countries, through which the project has facilitated 76,209 contacts with street-connected children in 2018. That same year, the project reached the number of 190 trained street educators and facilitated a total of 163 workshops. These numbers are only expected to increase further.
Touché/RESCALE
Marjan Gryson
Founded by Ashoka Fellow, Marjan Gryson
The Problem
In Belgium, as most prisons in Europe, prisoners live in poor conditions: cells are overcrowded, infrastructure is dilapidated, and prisoners are mingled with more dangerous inmates or inmates who have psychiatric issues.
The Solution
Touché is a non-profit organization offering psychological support to all prisoners facing aggression issues. Based on solution-focused therapy, Marjan has developed an arsenal of tools in collaboration with diverse therapists - group sessions, individual therapy, family sessions and exercises. All of them have the same goal: help prisoners set positive goals and develop a specific plan for success outside of the prison walls.
The Impact
Using a method to re-channel aggression in inmates throughout the Belgium prison system, opportunities are created for inmates to set positive goals, chart a course for a more constructive life outside of prison, and reintegration into society as full citizens. Focusing on transforming destructive and debilitating anger into positive activities, Touché educates a wider public to empathy and creates the conditions for more successful reintegration in society and reduction in recidivism and violence.
DUO for a JOB
Matthieu Le Grelle & Frédéric Simonart
Founded by Ashoka Fellows, Matthieu Le Grelle & Frédéric Simonart
The Problem
Belgium currently has the second-largest gap between unemployment of local citizens and non-European migrants. This gap remains in place as a result of discrimination, complicated employment networks that cater to existing Belgian networks, a lack of cultural contexts and institutional frameworks, foreign certifications not being recognised and infrastructural limitations faced by non-EU migrants.
The Solution
DUO for a JOB is redesigning the traditional structures of mentoring to facilitate support for unemployed migrants in Belgium. The organisation encourages successful Belgian pensioners to become formal coaches for non-European unemployed youth entering the job market. By uniting these two populations, the project unlocks social and cultural capital that can enrich the job market and fosters empathy between local communities and migrants settling in Belgium. This human yet professional approach fosters real empathy between Belgians and migrants and is breaking down prejudice, fear and stereotypes.
The Impact
Participants have had transformative experiences and the partnerships have resulted in a 74% positive outcome. Over a thousand unemployed youths entered the programme and ended up doing internships, jobs, training and further education. The outcome is twice as successful as those of public employment agencies and is one of the highest in Europe.
Muslinked
Illias Marraha
The Problem
Muslims are often discriminated against in education and professional opportunities. Especially in Belgium, the rates of discrimination against minorities are extremely high, which hinders many talented and knowledgeable individuals to become or remain unemployed. Minorities are four times more likely to be unemployed in Belgium.
The Solution
Muslinked is a network for Muslims with great potential. The organisation brings talents together and draws connections within entrepeneurship, education and social profit. The network stimulates social engagement within all these domains. It hosts networking events within companies to help these diversify their teams. It engages with children in school to presenting different role models and setting up workshops and peer-to-peer-coaching. Through a toolbox, schools will become able to address issues and opportunities themselves. The youth forum of Muslinked provides a platform for discussion of related issues, which eventually may feed back into new proposals and activities provided by the organisation.
The Impact
Muslinked has successfully guided over 140 people into jobs in companies through their events. Through the organisation’s coaching, several people have felt empowered and equipped to set up their own businesses. Currently, more than 1,300 people are part of the Muslinked network (in Belgium).
RefuInterim
Farah Laporte
The Problem
Flight migrants face diverse challenges upon arrival in a new country, including learning a new language, finding a place to live and waiting for a positive decision on their refugee status. Additionally, the labour market requires proof of education, a certain level of spoken and written language and other (valid) documents and skills such as a driver’s licence. Such thresholds appear to be great obstacles for those newly arrived in a country.
The Solution
Refu Interim supports refugees to find a volunteer job, in which they can develop, explore and demonstrate their talents, learn about the different organisations and roles, practice the language and expand their social network. Refu Interim is a social project which aims to enhance social integration and professional self-reliance. The project reaches out to engage people in orientation, after which they are supported in the process of finding work and brought together for different activities. The volunteer work serves as an initial step towards paid opportunities as well as social and cultural integration.
The Impact
Since 2016, the project has expanded to 4 Belgian cities (Ghent, Ostend, Kortrijk, Sint-Niklaas). The project has supported 1049 refugees to further develop professional and language skills as volunteers within 60 different organisations.
The Good Lobby
Alberto Alemanno
Founded by Ashoka Fellow Alberto Alemanno
The Problem
Many people feel secluded from politics and powerless in the process of the policymaking. Despite European countries aspiring a democratic model, many people living within the EU are not allowed to vote on local issues or Europe-wide processes that affect them directly.
The Solution
The Good Lobby is a civic start-up committed to equalizing political power and influence in Europe and beyond. The project fosters bottom-up civic capacity via cross-societal forms of collaboration, such as through skill-sharing and skill-based workshops. The Good Lobby emerged from eLabEurope, which addressed the expanding crises in European citizenship, civil society and social movement. The organisation is devoted to popularising and democratising the various channels of participatory democracy both on a national and an EU level.
The Impact
Since its foundation in 2015, The Good Lobby has trained thousands of people and developed a community of over 10,000 people across numerous countries. Being the first organisation dedicated to popularising and democratising the different channels of democracy, it provides legal and strategic assistance to a continuously growing number of NGOs and a large network of European citizens.
Bibliothèques Sans Frontières
Jérémy Lachal
Founded by Ashoka Fellow Jérémy Lachal
The Problem
Social inequality immediately affects the education system, as it often struggles to support the most vulnerable students. In Belgium, 11% of young people between 18 and 24 years old drop out of school prematurely.
The Solution
Bibliothèques Sans Frontières aims to change the guidelines for human rights in education to acknowledge the different cultural and educational dimensions. Digital technology provides the opportunity to learn remotely, through free access to qualitative education from all over the world. The courses offered by Bibliothèques Sans Frontières allow for professional integration and inspire innovation.
The Impact
Bibliothèques Sans Frontières has mobilsed over 100 international intellectuals – amongst whom 9 Nobel Prize winners – to put together content for the course. The course content is accessible in 21 different languages.