Invited to the Montecatini event for the ERASMUS project “From Home to Europe“, Fondazione Toscana Sostenibile (FTS) participated to a week full of interesting workshops, with many young international participants, including post-doc students, academics, volunteers, and businesspeople interested in sustainability, digitalization, and social issues.
Among the participants, were also representatives of organizations such as the Worker’s Education Association – WEA (Dublin, Ireland), Fundacion Sieneva (Granada, Spain), the International Business and Economic Development Center – IBEDC (Tblisi Georgia), INternational Council for Education and Management – ICEM (Switzerland), the University of Florence (Italy), and Liverpool Hope University (UK).
During the week-long event in Montecatini Terme, the FTS team, represented by Manuella Walker and Grazia Chiarini, had the opportunity to present several of its projects and engage participants in interactive workshops. Yesterday morning (June 11th, 2024) FTS gave a short presentation on the objectives and activities of their most recent project ESCAPE2EU (Empowering, engaging and connecting Youth Workers and Young People (from hosting communities and with migrant background) for an inclusive, cohesive and solid Europe.
The project, which was launched in April 2024, was born from a partnership involving three competent actors with a longstanding history and experience in the field of social inclusion, life-long learning and active citizenship, namely the coordinating partner ASPES (Asociata Petru Promovarea Sustinerea Economiei Social) from Romania, and Citizen-ACT (Centre of Active Citizens for Sustainable Development) from Cyprus and FTS (Fondazione Toscana Sostenibile) from Italy.
The partnership is setting off to explore the field of social inclusion among youth with migrant or disadvantaged background and develop tools that can tangibly contribute to cultural inclusion. In particular, it will be developing
- a physical escape-room game, based on real stories shared between native youth and youth with migrant background collected during the world storytelling cafes,
- an online interactive mapping tool, and
- a blended capacity training for youth workers.
The presentation continued with a workshop to analyse the phenomenon of migration through multiple perspectives, reflecting on the aspects of criticalities, benefits, feelings, and creative solutions using the technique of “wearing different hats”, described by the renowned physician Edward De Bono.
The activity stimulated a wealth of feedback and reflections on the migrant’s journey to arrive to Europe, the daily obstacles they face once they arrive to the continent, and the experience (feelings, attitude, support) of their hosts at level of local communities.
The participants showed a true interest in the topic and contributed to the group discussions with experiences from their communities and local associations.
The exploration of the migration phenomenon was further enriched by participants who gave direct insight from the migrants’ perspectives, in their role of foreign students coming from a developing country and pursuing a degree in political sciences at European universities.
At the end of the activity, the groups summarized key areas of future research and aspects to consider, whether one is the “host” welcoming migrants, or the “guest” seeking hospitality in a moment of extreme distress. All these contributions will be treasured by the speakers as material for developing the Escape2EU activities.
With many ideas on the table and material for developing the Escape2EU activities, the event was a success and set the basis for future collaborations and the will to continue soon remotely, after participants have returned to their destinations.
FTS wishes to thank the skillman network and Valentina De Vivo (CSCS) for organizing the event and hosting us.
