HELLO SPAIN: SPREADING PROVEN MIGRANT SOLUTIONS ACROSS THE REGION
The Hello Spain Festival took place on April 9th and 10th at Media Lab in Madrid. 8 social entrepreneurs presented their solutions to more than 120 attendees.
Social entrepreneurs such as David Lubell, founder of 'Welcoming America' and 'Welcoming International' (US); Camille Ramani, head of 'Migration Ventures and Upwardly Global' and Gonzalo Fanjul and Lucía Rodríguez, promoters of the Fundación porCausa, were among those presenting their solutions with the aim to create demand and strategy for their work to be replicated by local partners across Spain.
Other speakers included Estrella Rodríguez, from the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Social Security of Spain, and Pedro Calado, The High Commissioner for Migration in Portugal.
Each one of the entrepreneurs addressed the main economic, social, legal and cultural challenges of migration and how to face them with a focus on the activation of the people themselves: how to awaken not only the empathy but the solving capacity of both those who welcome, and those who arrive. - Compromiso Empresarial, Apr 11, 2019.
In addition to the experience of entrepreneurs, attendees heard the stories of migrants who have become agents of change in their communities.
Throughout the working sessions, 6 key points of intervention were identified as critical in order to improve integration and coexistence:
Formal and informal support networks.
Places of living.
Legal support (Identity documentation, employment contracts, etc.).
Access to employment opportunities.
Education and training opportunities and,
Financial and savings capacity.