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Description
As part of the project, we will provide legal and organisational assistance to people with experience of migration in the Oława and Oleśnica counties of the Lower Silesia Province and the City of Wrocław. Since 2015, the number of migrants in Lower Silesia has been growing, the largest group of which are people from Ukraine. Only in the first quarter of 2021, the number of foreigners with valid residence permits in Poland increased by almost 5% compared to previous years. Our experience in working with migrants shows that their main problems include: low knowledge of the law, prolonged official procedures related to obtaining a residence permit in Poland, systemic discrimination in workplaces, offices and schools and insufficient competences of the teaching staff regarding work in a culturally diverse environment. We will conduct training for min. 540 people: activists, teachers and representatives of local government units. The topics of the training courses will concern project management, NGO management, civic activity, equality policies, civil rights, the functioning of local government units, the basics of migration law, prejudice motivated violence, and working with children with migration experience. We will provide legal assistance to min. 200 people with migration experience. We will implement a social campaign and elaborate a report on migrant-friendly solutions that can be used by institutions and local governments. The direct beneficiaries of the project will be: migrants, local activists, representatives of local government units from the Lower Silesia region, and teaching staff of Lower Silesian schools. The indirect recipients will be: local communities of the Lower Silesia region, local media, people observing the social profiles of our organisation.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to solve several important social problems, focusing mainly on supporting migrants in Lower Silesia. The key challenge was the social integration of this group, which often encountered language barriers, discrimination and ignorance of local legal regulations. The project also responded to the need to raise civic awareness and counteract social exclusion of migrants through educational and legal activities.
An important problem that we wanted to solve was the limited availability of institutional support in smaller towns in the region. NOMADA and the Lower Silesian Women''s Congress Association sought to expand their activities to the Oława, Oleśnica and Dzierżoniów counties and the city of Wałbrzych, where previously there were no organizations offering free legal assistance and organizational support. Systemic discrimination in workplaces, schools and offices, which often affected migrants, was also a challenge.
The project also aimed to increase the intercultural competences of local communities, including teachers and officials, to create a more friendly integration environment. Activities included training in the field of migration law, counteracting discrimination and violence motivated by prejudice. The project also tried to build long-term support mechanisms, such as the appointment of migrant plenipotentiaries in local government units.
Thanks to cooperation with local leaders and the partner, the Lower Silesian Women''s Congress, the project aimed to promote good practices and increase social awareness of migrants'' rights and their contribution to the life of local communities. In this way, the project aimed to contribute to a more just, democratic and sustainable society.
As part of the NOMADA project, a number of activities were carried out to support migrants and local communities in Lower Silesia. The project included:
1. Expansion of the NOMADA counseling point - Free legal and organizational advice was provided, reaching migrant communities in Oława, Oleśnica and Dzierżoniów counties, as well as in Wrocław and Wałbrzych.
2. Conducting training - 54 training sessions were organized for teachers, activists and representatives of local governments on topics such as project management, migration law, counteracting discrimination, civic activism and the functioning of NGOs.
3. Work of Polish-migrant duos - Duos of local leaders cooperated with migrants, organizing integration activities, helping in contacts with offices and facilitating access to project initiatives and information.
4. Social campaign – An information campaign on migrants'' rights was conducted in local and social media, reaching over 5,000 people. The campaign also promoted the project''s activities and results.
5. Creating the final report – A report analyzing good practices and barriers in the migrant support system was prepared, presented to local authorities and made available more widely in the form of a brochure.
6. Communication component – The project website was regularly updated, social media profiles were maintained and information meetings were organized, involving both migrants and local activists.
These activities contributed to increasing public awareness of migration, improving intercultural competences and creating a more inclusive environment for migrants in Lower Silesia.
The project produced a number of tangible results addressed to various groups of beneficiaries, including migrants, local leaders and the communities of Lower Silesia. Key results include:
1. Increased civic and legal awareness of migrants - Thanks to 200 legal advice provided, migrants better understood their rights and had greater opportunities to enforce them.
2. Increasing the competences of training participants - 540 people were trained, including teachers, activists and representatives of local government units, in the field of project management, counteracting discrimination and migration law. This improved their ability to work in multicultural environments.
3. Support for migrants in smaller towns - Thanks to the Polka-immigrantka duo, contacts were established with local institutions, which facilitated migrants'' access to legal and organizational assistance in the poviats of Oława, Oleśnica and Dzierżoniów, Wałbrzych and Wrocław.
4. Social campaign – Reached over 5,000 people, increasing awareness of migrants'' rights and their contribution to the development of local communities.
5. Report of good practices - A report was prepared and submitted to the local governments of Lower Silesia with proposals for systemic solutions supporting migrants, such as the creation of positions of representatives for migrants. The report was sent to local governments and posted on the website.
6. Long-term impact on local policies – The project contributed to increasing awareness among local authorities about the needs of migrants, supporting their integration into society.
These activities had a direct impact on migrants, local communities and local governments, contributing to building a more inclusive and sustainable environment in Lower Silesia. 846 people took advantage of various types of project support, most of whom were women (647). 113 volunteers of organizations implementing the project were also trained.