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RISING
A Mentoring Project to Raise Motivated Migrants
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Migration powers economic growth, reduces inequalities, and connects diverse societies. Yet, it is also a source of political tensions and human tragedies.
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General
The number of migrants has been largely increasing in recent years which poses new challenges to host societies all over Europe. Member States (EU) are in need of facilitating and coordinating smooth integration processes of the newcomers.
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When entering a new EU country, migrants need assistance in developing a set of skills enabling them to become easily blended in the host society.
Nonetheless, it happens that migrants struggle to capitalize on the benefits of the educational and training paths they are involved in.
In partners’ opinion, the main cause for this lack of commitment is the traumatic past they might carry, working as a barrier for their full commitment in new socio-cultural settings found within the EU. |
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There is already a strong awareness of host countries in empowering migrants, with projects and programs of various objectives, assisting them in finding housing, applying for higher education, becoming employed, etc. (e.g. Portugal has a “Mentoring Program for Migrants” with volunteer mentors helping migrants with various life goals).
Nevertheless, some professionals feel a lack of motivation and proactivity on migrants' side. We find mentoring, the ultimate solution for addressing this problem.
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The overall objective of RISING is to address the lack of motivation of migrants in taking part in further education and training, through an innovative mentoring model that seeks ways of increasing learners’ motivation and thus complement the development of successful integration processes.
The RISING mentoring method will promote a change in the local community among attitudes and behaviours, by implementing a system in which the locals can help migrants in their societal inclusion.
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In this project, partners from 6 countries are involved:
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The RISING consortium is eager to achieve:
- an increased awareness on the importance of continuous education for migrants and their cultural integration;
- an improvement of the mentors skills for migrants;
- better prepared mentors by creating a handbook of resources for mentoring sessions;
- better relationships between mentors and mentees;
- improved skills among local communities for a better integration of migrants through mentoring.
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12 success stories shared by migrants from different European countries… |
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The partners have created a booklet that presents 12 success stories about the integration of migrants in local communities, through the aid of mentors. These stories were collected through interviews realized in all the partnering countries (Portugal, Poland, Greece, Turkey, Romania and Italy) with individuals who have successfully been integrated into the host countries.
This consultation process with the interviewees presents the importance of offering support in the integration journey of migrants which is often provided by NGOs.
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In many countries, the state fails to do so and therefore the civil society has to fill this gap.
One remarkable story is from a woman who moved from Cape Verde in 2008 to Portugal to continue her university studies.
This participant highlighted that
"mentorship is essential for newcomers". She adds that
"no access to information is problematic, and a mentor is crucial to guide newcomers and support them".
She carries on by highlighting that,
"mentors must think <out of the box> to show a 'new world' to mentees".
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If we aroused your curiosity, we invite you to follow us on social media and check the RISING Handbook which will be published soon.
You will find it available in 7 European languages.
Don't miss our next announcements!
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RISING partners are planning the next two activities:
- Development of interactive tools for mentees’ uptake, as a way to better attract migrants into mentoring programmes
- Development of tools for mentoring providers in order to support them in assessing the impact
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More to share on this topic... |
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An international network succeeds to implement a mentoring programme for refugees worldwide. Mentor International is a non-profit organization that has in charge of the process of adaptation of thousands of refugees.
Their research shows that the help of a mentor can increase the level of:
- their well-being
- their self-confidence, communication skills, and motivation
- their self-esteem
- their continuos education
Check more on Mentor International’s programs
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This newsletter has been designed within the RISING
- Mentoring to raise motivated migrants project, Grant Agreement no
. 2020-1-PL01-KA204-081815, implemented with the financial support of the European Commission by the Erasmus + Programme.
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