Between the 3rd and the 9th of December, Mila Josifovska and Elena Ceban attended the training course ”Young Migrant Voices”, organised by DYPALL in partnership with Migrafica in Lisbon, Portugal. The training brought over 30 participants – activists in the field of youth – to explore together positive models of integration of youth with migrant background.
For 5 days the group worked together to build a common understanding of the concepts migrant / refugee / second generation migrant / asylum seeker, and shared from personal working experience positive practices focused on the cooperation between local authorities and civil society organisations for the inclusion of young migrants in decision-making processes. The methodology of the training allowed the participants to share in small groups, in plenaries, to use the world cafe method to interact with local experts in the field, etc.
One of the most memorable moments of the training was the field visit to the High Commission for Migration. After learning about the programme CHOICES, supported by the Portuguese government and implemented by consortia of stakeholders (schools, local authorities, NGOs, etc.), the group visited 2 neighborhoods in Lisbon where CHOICES projects are being implemented. It was a great experience to learn more about how the multilevel governance can be applied in addressing the integration of migrants into local communities.
Mila Josifovska, who was working on a long-term project aiming to raise awareness regarding the need to integrate refugees into the European community, told us the following about the training:
It was an eye-opening experience to see how such processes are being dealt with in other countries, where refugees have complete freedom of movement, which does not happen in Macedonia. We managed to exchange a lot of good practices, which theoretically can be multiplied in our reality, but we will definitely need the support of local and national authorities for it.”