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Description
This is an orientation and adaptation project in which we would like to make it easier for people with migration experience to live independently in Poland, especially in the city of Poznan and the Greater Poland Province. Our goal is to provide equal opportunities and empowerment to the group of migrants and to integrate them into the host society. For people with migration experience we will provide Polish language learning combined with information and orientation workshops explaining functioning of the state and local environment. We will implement a mentoring programme in schools. We will develop materials and conduct workshops for pedagogical staff, employers, people working for local government and public service institutions. With those workshops we would like to teach the participants how to support people with migration experience and how to transfer the essential ‘know-how’ of living in Poland to them. As a result, migrants will gain knowledge about the realities of life in Poland, especially in the city of Poznan and the Greater Poland Province, and representatives of Polish society will gain knowledge about the situation of migrants and how to help them. Within the project we will cooperate with schools, an association of employers, local authorities and public service institutions. We plan to reach new groups of people, both among migrants and Polish society. The activities are mainly addressed to people with migration experience, who find themselves in a difficult situation after arriving in Poland. In addition, some activities are addressed to selected professional groups of the host society that can provide important support to migrants, e.g. employers, pedagogical staff, representatives of local self-government and public service institutions.
Summary of project results
The aim of the project was to make it easier for migrants to function independently in a new place - in Poland, and locally in Poznań and Wielkopolska, to equalise their opportunities and empower this group. At the same time, the project activities also included support for public institutions that also participate in the process of mutual integration.
After arriving in Poland, migrants find themselves in a more difficult situation than Poles. The research and experience of Migrant Info Point (MIP) shows that they apply for formal and legal consultations and Polish language courses, and there were too few of them in relation to their needs. Additionally, our experience showed that migrants find it more difficult to find the time and energy to participate in training courses and workshops with a strictly adaptation and orientation profile. For these reasons, in the project we wanted to offer courses that combine these elements: language learning and information and orientation modules using the tools/materials created.
The project was to provide the possibility of directing language and orientation courses also to young people, because the experience and data collected so far clearly encouraged us to expand our offer to this age group. Since integration concerns not only migrants themselves, but also Polish society, we also wanted to support its representatives in providing the best possible support to new residents. We wanted to show local residents how they could introduce migrants to their spaces, what is worth paying attention to, what to talk about, what might be new, useful and surprising for a person from another country. Therefore, we planned to carry out activities to raise awareness and knowledge of representatives of selected institutions regarding the specific situation of new residents and ways to support them effectively.
As part of the project, we provided several forms of support for migrants through several activities: learning Polish combined with information and orientation workshops explaining the functioning of the state and the local environment and showing the practical importance of the topics discussed in everyday life; conducting a "mentoring" program in schools; preparing materials and conducting pilot workshops among representatives of local institutions, raising awareness of how they can support migrants, providing them with important ''know-how'' of life in Poland. As part of the project, we carried out the following activities:
- we conducted language and orientation courses for adults and youth (23)
- we developed information and orientation materials for migrants (40)
- we implemented the "mentoring" program in 3 schools (3)
- we developed material on "mentoring" (1)
- we conducted workshops for the host society (8)
- we developed educational materials for the host (4)
As a result of our activities, support was provided to:
- 336 people as part of courses
- as part of the mentoring program, which we conducted in 3 schools - a total of 21 children with migration experience and 19 Polish children
- as part of workshops for representatives of Polish society - 124 people
- through free access to information and orientation materials 720 people
- 6 people working with migrant students from 3 schools trained as part of the "mentoring" program
- we entered into a project partnership with three schools
- over 200 people took advantage of free access to materials for the Polish society.
- cooperation was established and is being developed with four entities: public institutions working to support children and families, libraries, schools, non-governmental organizations starting cooperation with migrants.
The project was focused on supporting the integration process of migrants and the host society and in this area it brought the planned results. The implemented activities contributed to making it easier for migrants to function independently in a new place - in Poland, in Poznań and Wielkopolska, to equalize their opportunities and to empower this group. At the same time, the project activities also included support for public institutions that also participated in the process of mutual integration.
The indirect recipients were all those who came into contact with information about the project, as well as those who used the information and orientation materials that will be prepared as part of the project and made available under free access: both migrants and representatives of Polish society.
The developed information and orientation materials for migrants (40) are also useful outside the project activities. We also use them when organizing other training courses and promote them among other institutions and initiatives.
The developed "mentoring" material allows us to share our experience regarding this integration idea with various institutions that undertake or want to undertake activities for the integration of migrants and other residents. We talk about this, for example, with cultural centers and libraries in the municipalities of the Poznań district. The workshops conducted for the host society (8) and the developed educational materials (4) allowed us to develop cooperation with those entities that are just starting to work with migrants or are planning to do so. Some institutions began to deal with such initiatives after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and are currently at the stage of deciding whether to continue this topic or not. The experience of the pilot workshops and the prepared materials allow us to develop this element of our activity.