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Description
Our activist experience and participation in social research confirm that between the bottom-up groups and formalised entities there appear prejudice and tensions. On top of those differences, there is a social distrust related to the issue of migration and refuge in Poland. There are no publications referring to those tensions and recommending the mode of cooperation.Our target is to investigate into the mechanisms of cooperation between the bottom-up initiatives functioning in the field of migration and refuge and various organisations and institutions. We will also identify the motivations to take up cooperation as well as obstacles and barriers that occur in the course of cooperation.We address our activities to current bottom-up initiatives which are engaged in terms of support, education and information in the issues related to refuge and migration and to formalised entities cooperating with them or wishing to establish such a cooperation (local government institutions, business entities, media, social organisations).The research results and activist activities will assume a form of recommendations for people supporting migrants and refugees from both types of organisations. We will make them popular with the use of interactive forms of communication, scientific and popular-scientific releases, a series of workshops and hybrid conference. We will help establish cooperation between pro-emigration groups and organisations and institutions. We do believe that they will increase efficiency, frequency and scope of cooperation and as a result they will support refugees and migrants in Poland more efficiently.We cooperate with partners with complimentary competence and perspectives: a research institution (Centre for Migration Research at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), pro-refuge group (Salam Lab), a team of journalists (Outriders) and activists. The location of the team in Poznań, Cracow and Warsaw will help us implement the project.
Summary of project results
Pro-Migration Alliances: Collaboration Between Grassroots Initiatives and Formal Entities in Poland is an activist-research project aimed at examining the mechanisms of collaboration between grassroots initiatives operating in the fields of migration and asylum and formal entities. We explored the motivations driving such cooperation, as well as the obstacles and barriers that emerge during the process.
Our efforts targeted grassroots initiatives engaged in aid, education, and informational activities related to migration and asylum. These included groups active currently or since 2015, as well as formal entities collaborating with them or interested in doing so, such as local government institutions, companies, media organizations, and social entities.
Within the project, we conducted interviews with informal groups, formal entities, case studies, and in-depth focus group discussions
The results of the research and activist activities were compiled into recommendations for both grassroots initiatives and formal organizations supporting people with migration and asylum experience. This work resulted in two key publications: "Pro-Migration Alliances – Research Report" and "Vademecum of Best Practices for Collaboration". These publications were disseminated using various communication channels, scientific and popular-scientific publications, a series of workshops, and a hybrid conference. We also facilitated networking between pro-migration groups and formal entities. We believe this has enhanced their effectiveness, frequency, and scope of collaboration, ultimately enabling better support for migrants and refugees in Poland.
Given the ongoing situation on the Polish-Belarusian border and the war in Ukraine, the materials developed as part of this project are particularly relevant for groups and entities supporting people with refugee experience. Both the report and the vademecum are available free of charge for download on the project’s website.
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the project, we collaborated with partners possessing complementary competencies and perspectives: a research institution (Migration Research Centre at Adam Mickiewicz University), a pro-refugee group (Laboratory of Peace Action Association), and individual activists. Our activities were carried out in cities such as Poznań, Kraków, and Warsaw.