“Migrant Youth Friendly Cities: A Scale of Reference” Training Course

The International Training Course “Migrant Youth Friendly Cities: A Scale of Reference,” which is an integral component of the broader “Migrant Youth Friendly Cities” project, took place from 24th – 30th September 2023 in Fundão, Portugal.

The training course brought together youth workers, municipality officers, and young individuals with migrant backgrounds from Sweden, Spain, Greece, and Portugal. The primary objective of this Training Course was to raise awareness regarding the importance of fostering intercultural communities at the local level. It aimed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of how integration strategies and policies profoundly influence the daily lives of migrant and refugee youth.

Participants explored how they can actively contribute to the formulation and implementation of these strategies and policies, recognizing that their active involvement in decision-making processes plays a pivotal role in shaping the communities in which they reside.

During the course, participants explored who is a migrant, who are the stakeholders involved and what a migrant-friendly city should look like. In addition, they were introduced to the Assessment Tool (IO2) and the Guidelines (IO3), both of which have been developed as intellectual outputs within the framework of the “Migrant Youth Friendly Cities” project. Through non-formal educational methods, the participants used the Assessment Tool to evaluate the friendliness of their municipalities and formulated action plans for improvement. Finally, they had the opportunity to visit the Migration Center in Fundão and witness the
implementation of good practices at the local level.

The training course facilitated the establishment of networking connections among municipal workers, youth workers, non-governmental organizations, and migrant and refugee youth. These connections will foster collaborative efforts in the sphere of migrant youth-friendly cities, extending the potential impact of this initiative across local, regional, national, and international levels.

The financial support for this training course was provided through the co-funding of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The coordination of this initiative was overseen by the DYPALL Network, with the support of the Fundão Municipality. This Erasmus+ KA2 project is coordinated by DYPALL Network in partnership with Novisi Elkartea (Spain), ΔΗΜΟΣ ΦΥΛΗΣ Municipality of Fyli (Greece), Ινστιτούτο Έρευνας & Κατάρτισης Ευρωπαϊκών Θεμάτων (Greece), African Empowerment Centre (Sweden).