Dear readers,

Welcome to the 8th and last newsletter of the LIME project - Labour Integration for Migrants’ Employment. Here we are: the end of the LIME project! But what a long way it has gone! We would like to thank all of you who have followed this great journey.

Have a look at this newsletter to learn more about the last activities as well as the achievements of this 2-year project; and to discover the new toolkit and materials developed in order to make the LIME project’s results sustainable.

Enjoy your reading,
LIME Consortium

LIME’s latest news

The pilot actions’ results in Rome and in Madrid

The core of the LIME project are the two pilot actions which have been implemented in two relevant local contexts: in Rome, Italy and in Madrid, Spain. These two pilot projects allowed migrants and refugees to access several courses and training such as catering training, languages courses, workshops on self-entrepreneurship, etc.

What are the results of these pilot actions? How did they manage to foster migrant’s labour inclusion? Have a look at the two following infographics we produced to showcase these achievements:

The results of the actions developed in Rome and Madrid have also been highlighted in a comic which tells the story of a beneficiary: her journey, how the LIME project helped her and how it led to her independence and integration into the society!

The comic will be available very soon in the beginning of July on LIME website; stay tuned and ready to use it as a great tool to raise awareness on the topic of migrants’ labour inclusion.

The last events of the LIME project

After the three national capacity building workshops, the LIME project held an International Capacity Building Workshop “Migrants’ Labour inclusion: Networks, Cluster Activation and Consolidation” on the 9th of June. The aim was to reflect and discuss how to foster the swift integration of young third country nationals at the European level thanks to cluster networks. In order to do so, we welcomed various speakers from Italy, Spain, France and Belgium to talk about two main topics:

• the vocation training for migrants’ labour inclusion into the labour market;
• self-entrepreneurship and how to set-up a business.

Afterwards, the LIME project was also presented and represented by Dolinda Cavallo, Project Manager of ALDA (on the partners of LIME), at the BUK festival in Mondena, Italy on the 19th of June. She tackled the following subject “Roles and responsibilities in the labour inclusion of migrants” by insisting on the fact that an effective inclusion can only be achieved through the cooperation and collaboration of several key socio-economic actors such as civil society organisations, the private sector, the institutions, etc.

Last but not least, on the 21st of June it was finally the occasion to celebrate the great results of the project and look how far it has come, during the final online event “Final Conference of the LIME project”. The online event occurred during the General Assembly of ALDA, thus we had the chance to be welcomed by Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA. Her speech insisted on the fact that migration is not only an issue, and should also be considered as a great resource. She also affirmed that this concern should be tackled by local authorities and communities, as the LIME project is a relevant example of it. The Final Conference was also obviously the opportunity to showcase the achievements of the project, and presented the last results of their research on the MEIC methodology and the “Toolkit for designing cluster interventions”.

We also heard the voice of the beneficiaries themselves, with stories from the two pilot actions in Madrid, with Pinardi, and in Rome, with CIES Onlus. Gudnar Zapata, one of the migrants and beneficiaries of the LIME project, concluded: “These types of projects are very important for newcomers”; so let’s keep going and spread the results of the LIME project!

What’s next?

The LIME project is soon over but the spirit of it will keep on being disseminated. How? During these two years, the project and its partners worked on several materials and research in order to make the results of LIME sustainables.

The LUMSA University has designed a “Toolkit for designing cluster interventions” in order to share the MEIC methodology they have developed. The aim is to spread it all over Europe and make it applicable in other local contexts and projects.

The LIME project also produced two videos that will be soon available on our website:

• A video to explain and make the MEIC methodology accessible for any kind of stakeholders.
• A video showcasing the experiences of the pilot actions’ participants and the overall 2-year project.

In the end, and thanks to all the research done and the feedback collected during these two years, the LIME project will also soon release an EU recommendation paper on how to apply the MEIC methodology around Europe, to be sent to the European commission.

Last but not least, the LIME project has published a report entitled “Employers Together for Integration - Territorial analysis and best practices mapping of employers who stood up for migrant’s labour inclusion”. Within the report, you can discover the stories of employers’ current and future actions to promote the inclusion of migrants into the labour market, with initiatives from restaurants to fashion design!

What is ALDA - European Association for Local Democracy

ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy, is a French-registered association dedicated to the promotion of good governance and citizen participation at the local level in the European Union, its Neighbourhood and beyond.

ALDA is a global alliance of associations, civil society organizations and local governments supporting local democracy and citizens engagement in Europe, the Neighborhood and beyond. It works with members and partners to develop projects supporting its mission so as to reach the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030.

During its 20 years of activities ALDA has developed more than 450 projects and reached almost 25 million citizens. Today, ALDA is a wide, consolidated network, counting over 350 members from 45 countries, 15 Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs) and 3 Operational Partners (OPs).

What is the added value of ALDA?

Our core:

• The value of decentralisation and strong and empowered local and regional authorities as outlines in the European Charter;
• The value of a strong and independent civil society also, ALDA believes in particular in the active and responsible citizenship, with a specific focus on supporting actions of young people and women;
• The value of respect for the rights, for tolerance, and for the solidarity, the essential basic principles of "living together";
• The value of dialogue between the local authorities and the citizens;
• The value to stand against the speeches of hatred, against the intolerance and promoting so a very diversified society;
• The value of cross-border cooperation and free movement as one of the universal human values based on European standards;
• The value of links and exchanges between countries at the local level by promoting the sharing of the knowledge;
• The value of Europe as a peaceful and constructive space of cooperation among citizens respecting their diversities.

News

The LIME project held its FINAL CONFERENCE on the 21st of June!

The LIME project will soon come to an end: do not miss its FINAL CONFERENCE!

How to promote at the European level the swift integration of young third country nationals through cluster networks? This was the topic discussed during the last International Capacity Building Workshop of the LIME project!

From national contexts to international ones: the 4th INTERNATIONAL Capacity Building Workshop of the LIME project

LIME CONSORTIUM MEETING: the 4th coordination meeting was held online on the 27th of May

Get inspired!

Paths to Inclusion: Training for Community Mentors - Communication, Intercultural and Social Skills

As the LIME project has highlighted, welcoming migrants and refugees in our countries is a first good step, but improving and promoting their successful inclusion into our societies is better. In order to do so, it is important that migrant people can have access to training courses and support, as it was implemented in Rome and Madrid through the two pilot actions of the LIME project. The work of trainers, teachers and mentors in these pilot projects has been paramount, as they are an important bridge for migrants to integrate into society.

Considering this, the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean together with the project COMMIT - Facilitating the integration of resettled refugees in Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Spain, developed and published recently a training curriculum “Paths to Inclusion: Training for Community Mentors - Communication, Intercultural and Social Skills”. The aim is to build the capacity of community mentors in supporting resettled refugees in their integration process by improving the mentors' communications skills and intercultural competencies, and helping them to reflect on their role as a source of encouragement and support.

Download it and read it here!

World Refugee Day and new initiative from the EU

On the 20th of June, for World Refugee Day, the European Commission and the High Representative released a Joint Statement. The EU and its Member States first reminded their commitment to the full implementation of the Geneva Convention and to the respect of the fundamental right to asylum.

Most of all, the EU announced a new initiative: the “Lives in Dignity Grant Facility”. This initiative seeks new forms of collaboration between humanitarian, development and peace actors; and will focus on challenging situations of forced displacement in the world. The first 12 million euros of the 24 million euros will focus on regions in Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

Read more here.