During the week 7-14 May, Inter Alia hosted 18 professionals and postgraduate students in the field of migration from the UK and Italy. Together with experts, professors, artists and vulnerable groups, they explored the role of employment and education in the path to integration, acquiring new knowledge and fostering critical thinking towards finding new solutions.
Day 1: Lefteris Papagiannakis and Integration Challenges in Greece
The professional training course kicked off with a compelling presentation by Lefteris Papagiannakis, director of the Greek Council for Refugees, who shed light on key challenges to integrating new populations in Greece. Discussions centred around crucial aspects such as education, employment, and housing for refugees, as well as the role of the State and municipalities in facilitating integration.
Day 2: Kostis Karpozilos and Historical Perspectives on Refugee Integration
Kostis Karpozilos offered a historical perspective on refugee integration, challenging the notion of an “unprecedented crisis.” Participants engaged in thought-provoking discussions, highlighting the importance of historical context in shaping narratives and exploring the responsibility of the State to find viable solutions.
Day 3: Study Visits and Vibrant Discussions
Participants embarked on an explorative experience in Athens, visiting the Youth Center, an intercultural space, which hosts the “Migratory Birds” newspaper a teamwork of teenage refugees and migrants run by the Network for Children’s Rights and having a discussion with the Director of Senegalese Community in Greece about the goals they have achieved as a community through the years but also the struggles they faced. These study visits provided firsthand insights into the challenges that migrant communities face in the field of employment and education. The day started with the participants becoming the speakers and presenting their work followed by fruitful discussions, further enriching the collective knowledge on migration-related topics.
Day 4: Human Stories and Cultural Experiences
Dedicated to human stories, the fourth day of CURVE was marked by creativity, action, interviews, and new experiences. Participants had the opportunity to interact with migrant shop owners, engaging in meaningful conversations about their journeys and sampling delicious food from around the world. Additionally, cultural mediators shared their personal stories and the obstacles they encountered in their pursuit of employment in Greece. The day concluded with a delightful group dinner at a Congolese restaurant, immersing participants in the vibrant flavours of the country’s cuisine and meeting the representative of the Congolese community.
Day 5: Climate Justice, Media Perspectives, and Film Screening
The most intense day began with an insightful presentation on climate justice and climate displacement, followed by a participatory activity led by Amerissa Giannouli. Participants then visited the University of Athens and attended a lecture by Professor George Pleios on framing discourses related to refugees and employment in Greece, with a particular focus on media coverage during the 2015 refugee flows. The day ended on a captivating note with the screening of the short film “I woke up 18” by Vera Iona Papadopoulou, accompanied by a thought-provoking Q&A session with the director of the movie. The screening took place at the Palestinian Community – a new space in Exarchia which opened its doors for the first time with us being their first guests!
Day 6: Solidarity with Migrants Festival
During the last day of the training, we attended the Solidarity with Migrants Festival, with the opportunity to participate in a key debate about a criminal situation that refugees face in the Greek borders: pushbacks.
The CURVE training course organised by Inter Alia proved to be a remarkable journey of increased knowledge and awareness. By placing migrant and refugee integration within an intersectional, transnational, and value-based framework, participants gained a deeper understanding of the complex challenges and potential solutions in the field.
Evaluation Summary
