Youth Exchange on Refugee crisis and Social Integration.
Cosenza, Italy.
The project proposed art as a tool for social integration of refugees. By providing youth with new tools for solving social problems by using visual arts, we aimed at reducing intolerance and discrimination towards refugees and other minorities.
Background
In the context of large inflows of refugees, European societies are currently experiencing a crisis of values, especially about intolerance to other cultures, religious discrimination and inhumane actions towards people simply looking for a safer place to live. Naturally, when a person feels safe and respected, he/she can then effectively work for the common benefit. Therefore it is necessary to address the integration of ethnic minorities and refugees.
Project Objectives
- To strengthen the participants’ knowledge of the significance of visual arts and the way to use them to influence particular social issues, such as integration of refugees, as well as religious and ethnic discrimination
- To provide the participants with means to share this knowledge with others
- To encourage youth to take on more social art initiatives
- To generate fresh ideas for future projects and activities that would use visual arts for reaching social aims within the local communities in the participating countries.
The project helped the participants grow professionally, develop their skills and competences and create new partnerships across Europe. The trainers employed a range of non-formal education methods.
Project title: Social Change St’ART from You
Programme: Erasmus+
Key Action: Learning Mobility of Individuals
Action Type: Youth mobility
Youth Exchange
Project identification/ contract number: 2017-1-IT03-KA105-010709
Dates of the activity: 09- 16 October 2017
Place: Cosenza, ITALY
Coordinator: ASSOCIAZIONE DI VOLONTARIATO BE EQUAL
Number of participants from SEAL CYPRUS: 5