+Portfolio of Solutions

―Youth Education and Training

ARGENTINA

Austria

Belgium

Germany

Greece

Italy

Poland

Portugal

Spain

The Nordics

#MeWe International Inc

Mohsin Mohu Ud Din

The Problem

Each young person is a carrier of innovation, hope and changemaking, but not everyone gets the opportunity to discover and exercise this as a power. One of the biggest threats to peace and development are generations of youth who are not being activated as communicators, creative leaders, and changemakers. Consequently, many young people become victims of alienation, depression, and sometimes violence or extremism.  

The Solution

#MeWe International Inc. uses the processes of strategic communications and storytelling as tools for healing, empowerment and community building. While grounded in a social entrepreneurship framework, the #MeWe storytelling programme for young changemakers intentionally integrates therapeutic frameworks. These are borrowed from narrative therapy and logotherapy, and help focus more specifically on self-awareness, trauma recovery, restoration of control and agency in a context of perceived powerlessness. In the process of collaborative storytelling, the #MeWe methodology enhances spaces for internal, interpersonal, and community communication. These are the ingredients for sustainable peace and development that youth and young refugees are not able to exercise and live out in traditional education programs and status-quo youth engagement. 

The Impact

The project trained Syrian refugees to replicate the storytelling and changemaker programme to youth and parents, reaching out to 1,500 people by August 2018. Its partners include Questscope, which is hosting Me/We inside the Zaatari refugee camp, and the NGO DARB-Syr, which is leading #MeWeSyria in Turkey. Previous phases of MeWe were supported by the German Government and Ashoka’s Youth Venture. The programme has received awards and recognition from SOLVE MIT, UNHCR Innovation and Open IDEO. 

The Problem

In Southeast Anatolia, over a million people have had to relocate due to armed conflicts in the past. As a result, many large families face extreme poverty, violence and lack of social services, and cannot take care of their children. Children who cannot attend school are often seen as an economic asset and are forced to work, exposing them to all kinds of exploitation. 

The Solution

The Association of Saints and Children Under the Same Roof (ÇAÇA) helps children gain confidence through social development of individuals. The organisation supports them to refrain from work on the streets and to continue their education. Through regular household visits to children's homes, families are provided with help from different non-governmental organisations and government agencies. This support network helps families and children cope with poverty and escape violence. 

The Impact

ÇAÇA's holistic approach and efforts had a significant impact on the decrease in the number of children, dropped from 3,000 to 700 in five years, working on the streets in Diyarbakır. Engaging with 1,500 children and 200 families in Benusen each year, the organisation has established a support network of over 50 people in NGOs working with young people and children in all four provinces of the region. 

GAME

Morten Bo Andersen + Emily Ronek

The Problem

Disadvantaged areas lack opporunities for children to engage in sport and after-school activities. Such activities can help foster a sense of societal belonging, and its lack in children that grow up in deprived areas decreases their chances of employment. The increased negative effect of segregation in communities and schools, based on people’s socio-economic or ethnic background, contributes to reduced self-efficacy in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.  

The Solution

GAME is a non-profit street sports organisation which creates lasting social change in disadvantaged areas. The organisation educates young volunteers to become  leaders and role models in street sports and street culture. These ‘playmakers’ offer free and inclusive street sports activities in their own communities to help bridge differences. The programme brings together different urban sports, dance and urban culture. 

The Impact

GAME works in 9 countries so far and engage 118,000 children in their activities yearly. With a total of over 15,000 beneficiaries and multiple activities, the project has played a prominent role in 30 local neighbourhoods in Denmark.

ICE HEARTs

Ville Turkka

The Problem

Children end up in foster care as a result of poverty, addiction or crime. The affected children often face social exclusion and gain limited social skills as a result.  

The Solution

Icehearts aims to prevent social exclusion by enhancing social skills and promoting the well-being of children in a vulnerable position. The organisation provides consistent long-term support for vulnerable children, when they are often met by numerous professionals and difficulties. The organisation uses team sports as a tool to engage children in social work. Each team is led by a mentor that supports children at school, after school and at home for twelve years. Older team players introduce the children to various educational paths and career opportunities. 

The Impact

Over 600 children and young people are involved in the activities of Icehearts, together forming 37 teams. With this approach, the organisation has helped save approximately 9 million euros from public institutions. 

IDROTT UTAN GRÄNSER

Admir Lukacevic

The Problem

In Sweden, more than 40% of children with an immigrant background live in majority immigrant areas while 55% of all children with a Swedish background live in majority native Swedish neighbourhoods. Diverse immigrant communities are increasingly segregated from local citizens; a problem that begins upon arrival of a migrant. This segregation is reflected in the schools and their students.  

The Solution

Idrott utan gränser (IUG) wants to give children the opportunity to shape their own future. Through positive role models and meaningful sports activities, IUG empowers children and young people to be seen and confirmed. The project engages a network of municipalities, schools and sports associations to run sports activities during and after school hours as well as during holidays. The concept is based on seeing, praising and confirming the actions of each child, encouraging them to participate actively, to build social relationships, to fail and to feel free to say ‘no’. 

The Impact

IUG reaches 26,000 children weekly in 97 schools across 6 municipalities in Sweden. After 12 months of participation in the programme, 42% more children dare to speak up when bullying occurs. 

Kiron Higher Education

Markus Kressler and Vincent Zimmer

The Problem

Not everyone has equal rights and access to education. Refugees and other migrants often do not have access to education in their home countries, and therefore struggle to find suitable jobs in their new places of residence.  

The Solution

Kiron Campus is an online learning platform for underserved communities in the Middle East and refugees worldwide. The organisation empowers learners worldwide and equips them with the skills, tools and networks needed for future success. Kiron supports the fourth UN Sustainable Development Goal by enabling access to inclusive and quality education. Additionally, the platform is leading the way to find EdTech solutions for underserved communities. By providing opportunities for education and language learning, Kiron offers students the chance to thrive in their home and/or their host communities. 

The Impact

There are more than 150 partners worldwide and over 6000 students enrolled in courses through Kiron. The platform has developed many digital tools for online learning and has played a large role in the lobby for the official recognition of online education.  

Mezze

Francisca Gorjão Henriques

The Problem

Due to general ignorance around the culture of the countries where refugees come from, the job integration in Portugal is difficult for coming refugees, especially for women. 

The Solution

Mezze is a leading project for integration in Portugal that serves as a meeting point providing tools for women and youth to help value their work, competencies, and identity. Mezze creates sustainable employment solutions and contributes to inclusion using a model that will be replicated throughout the country. In addition, Mezze organises workshops and debates that help dismantle stereotypes and reduce prejudice. 

The Problem

Unemployment amongst minority groups is much higher than the national average in Sweden. According to national statistics, the time it takes for newcomers that arrive in Sweden to secure a job is 5 to 7 years. Due to discrimination and the hosting society’s lack of awareness, people with a migration background are being excluded from the labour market. This exclusion creates frustration and segregation, resulting in enormous costs for the society 

The Solution

Mitt Liv works towards an inclusive society and a labour market that values diversity. It does this by connecting Swedish businesses and competent work force with a migration background. Through mentorship programmes, Mitt Liv helps people improve their language skills, increase their knowledge of the labour market and expand their professional networks in Sweden. At the same time, through seminars, training sessions and networking events, companies obtain a greater understanding of strategic challenges and questions around diversity within the organisation.  

The Impact

Every year, Mitt Liv works with approximately 500 people with a migration background. After participating in their mentorship programme, 51% of the participants secure a job that matches their competences within 5 months after finishing the programme (while only 1 out of 20 people achieve the same in the government’s employment agency integration programme).  

Right to Play

Jonathan Koss

The Problem

Refugee youth, just as their parents, are struggling with integration into the local population. Engagement with locals of the same age can be difficult and the lack of interaction can foster a disinterest in contributing to their new ‘home’ society.  

The Solution

The Right to Play programmes support the social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of children. Its interventions focus on three main areas: enhancing qualitative education, transforming health practices and building peaceful communities. Sport and play sit at the core of all related project activities. Right to Play can turn a race into a lesson about mathematics, or a football match into a lesson on communication. The applied learning methodology can further integration and engagement of refugee youth through fun and interactive games intentionally designed to teach critical life lessons.  

The Impact

The organisation engages with children in 20 countries around the world, mainly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Through over 16,000 trained coaches and teachers, Right to Play supports playful learning of over one million children and youth to create better futures and lasting social change.

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. 

University of the People

Shai Reshef

The Problem

Refugees and other migrants, as well as other groups identified as vulnerable, face great challenges, but through education, it is possible for their lives to resume and improve.  

The Solution

The University of the People is the world’s first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited online university dedicated to open access higher education. Using open-source technology and Open Educational Resources, UoPeople is designed to provide access to university studies for qualified high school graduates, regardless of financial, geographic, societal or personal constraints. UoPeople offers Associate and bachelor's degree programmes in Business Administration and Computer Science. The institution has gained the widespread support of leading academics from top universities around the world, e.g. New York University President John Sexton and Nobel Laureate Torsten N. Wiesel. UoPeople has created a special scholarship programme for refugees and asylum seekers who have recently arrived in Europe, in order to help them enrol in higher education. This programme, open to at least 500 students this year to enrol in Business Administration or Computer Science, will enable students to continue their studies and qualify for their chosen degree whilst they remain in their host countries, relocate or return to their home countries. 

The Impact

The University has enrolled students from 170 different countries and is supported by a network of over 4,000 dedicated volunteers worldwide. It has partnered with Yale ISP Law School for research; New York University (NYU) to accept students; Microsoft for scholarships and employment opportunities and Hewlett-Packard for general support and scholarships for women. UoPeople is currently creating a scholarship programme for 500 refugees. 

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). 

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. 

HeterArt

Founded by Anna Vafiadou and Anastasia Karoussi

The problem

There are over 1.000 unaccompanied minors are hosted in shelters in Greece. ‘Gifted underachievers’ aged 16 -18 are unable to perform and develop skills.

There’s a gap in both mainstream education and the integration system regarding alternative practices.

Both local and refugee kids are marginalized and the loss of trust causes fragmentation.

The approaches in place fail to find a common language and ways to bring together these communities in a meaningful way.

The solution

Art, as a social buffer, eliminates shocks and crashes, smooths out the edges and blends paces.

HeterArt re-invents routes of communication, building bridges between people and cultures by using existing affordable resources, flexible and scalable tools, co-designed by youth and based in their common narratives and their need to express without words. 

HeterArt’s educational program awarded at Hack the Camp (Dec.2016):

• Merge science and art perspectives and the transition of the society.

• Suggest innovative methods to help increase soft skills development

• Propose workshops which drive critical thinking, creativity and adaptability

• Identify solutions to ensure equal access and inclusion to quality education

The Impact

Drawing a framework of intercultural communication, HeterArt focuses on strategies used to bring together a diverse range of stakeholders to work on solutions.

• Created Art2Tech, an R&D youth team, 30 case studies and more than 10 workshops Most of the beneficiaries managed to have at least a relevant part time job within three years.

• Launched Lost in Jazz, an audience development project and Piano4all a kin-aesthetic approach of using piano as a communication tool.

• Initiated a Cultural dialogue between Nordic countries and Greece.

• Co-created Small Buddies a CSR-SDGs advocacy game.

Embark Project

Nuha Boğa and Serra Titiz

The Problem

Turkey hosts the world’s largest refugee population with 3.6 million Syrians, who are likely to stay in the country permanently. These refugees, many of whom are young, bring important talents and potential contributions to Turkish society. However, this opportunity is generally lost due to lack of spaces and initiatives to connect refugees with key local stakeholders who can provide support and guidance, while also better understanding and getting excited about the skills they can contribute to their new context.

The Solution

Embark is a unique initiative in Turkey that connects talented Syrian, Turkish and migrant youth with successful business leaders to exchange ideas, develop understanding, increase their employability, and build meaningful connections.

The Impact

Embark project has reached 20 youth mentors, 20 business leaders and more than 50 youth through trainings since 2018. New project editions have been launched with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to increase the employability of Syrian, Turkish, and migrant youth and to boost efforts in economic inclusion, integration, and social cohesion.