Berlin
Bologna
Ljubljana
Parma
Vienna

Innovative Best Practices

Berlin
Bologna
Ljubljana
Parma
Vienna

Introduction to the Best Practices:

In each of our Cities are magnitudes of initiatives or project that are working extremly well and impact driven for refugee integration. Their approaches and methods add value locally and may inspire interest to be replicated elsewhere.

Through transnational exchanges of experience and peer reviews of relevant initiatives or projects the SIforREF team has choosen Best Practices in regard to refugee integration within each of the cities/ territories of our partnership.

Download the Best Practices fact sheets for a comprehensive overview here:

Vienna | Ljubljana | Bologna | Parma | Berlin

Or browse through the innovative Best Practices individually:

Berlin

Berlin

EVEREST

Everest was developed by SOS Kinderdorf Berlin, a youth oriented NGO, and BSR, the state funded Berlin City Cleaning Service. Three more employers partnered with the initiative: Vivantes (healthcare), Charité CFM (healthcare logistics), and Rewe (retail). Volkshochschule (VHS), a state funded language and adult education school, supports language acquisition. In 2019 Everest was integrated into labour-market integration supports offered by the Berlin Senate’s Dept of Education, Youth and Family.

Berlin

Bridge

Bridge itself is a partnership between private sector organisations working with refugees (NGOs) and the Commissioner for Integration and Migration of the Berlin Senate. This composition of different actors is very effective in advising refugees, but also in political lobbying. Bridge offers assistance in relation to obtaining qualifications and finding employment and training opportunities, as well as general advice about questions regarding the access to the labour market.

Berlin

Frauen-loop

The organisation Frauenloop places its focus on immigrant/refugee women women identified persons due to the fact that this group is most likely to face obstacles in finding employment in tech industry sector.

The organisation currently employs 4 employees and also hosts a meet-up group, which offers support to 634 members in Berlin.

Berlin

ISI e.V

ISI empowers immigrant and “refugee” women, strengthens their skills in economic and technical German, educates them about the German economy, including the specific legal conditions for starting a business in Germany, as well as other skills needed for starting a business: market analysis, feasibility studies, business plan development, IT skills, internet business, specializations in the uses of social media, business via youtube, webpage design, photographic techniques for internet, office skills, sales skills among units that strengthen the entrepreneurial personality.

Berlin

Work for Refugees

The main objective is to assess, advise and to support in the process of integration of new arrivals in berlin with a legal status of protected of possibly tolerated into the regular labour market. The main objective is to assess, advise and to support in the process of integration of new arrivals in berlin with a legal status of protected of possibly tolerated into the regular labour market. To this aim WfR provides a quality assessment of the applicants with respect to previous skills learned on the job and their talents and abilities to fit into the jobs available.

Bologna

Bologna

S.A.L.U.S W SPACE

Sustainable Accessible Livable Usable Social space for intercultural Wellbeing, Welfare and Welcoming in the metropolitan City of Bologna.

The overall objective of project is to build a center for hospitality and work as well as intercultural welfare and wellness: Salus Space.

Bologna

SCHOOL4JOB

The initiative carried out by the cooperative Arca di Noè, in partnership with ASP Città di Bologna, two local high schools (M. Minghetti in Bologna and ISS Archimede in San Giovanni in Persiceto), the Department of Psychology of the University of Bologna, AICIS, and with the support of the Carisbo Foundation.

Bologna

VESTA

Vesta wants to contribute to the protection, welcome and integration of unaccompanied foreign minors and young refugees who are beneficiaries of the SPRAR project. It involves families, couples and individual residents who voluntary choose to host them in their own home and actively accompany them in their integration process.

Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA

SKUHNA

Skuhna is a social enterprise that runs a restaurant providing authentic food from Africa, Asia and South America. Skuhna’s goals are two-fold: to increase the employability of migrants through culinary work and to bridge the understanding gap between migrants and locals who live in Slovenia.

LJUBLJANA

THE HUMAN LIBRARY

The ‘books’ in human library are actual representatives of different minorities, socially deprived groups or people that are facing prejudices in their lives, and are willing to speak about their experiences and share them with the visitors (readers) of the library.

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Parma

Parma

„Altante dell’ora di cena“ - Atlas At Dinner Time

These two best practices are included in a larger documentary made by Ciac and are called "Atlas at dinner time". The documentary recounts 10 dinners, 10 types of foods, 45 protagonists from 21 different countries, through the institutional reception projects of asylum seekers and refugees (Sprar and Siproimi). It encourages and supports co-housing between young Italians and young refugees, passing through communities of women and occupied houses. During all of the group dinners, existing and possible cohabitations are discussed.

Parma

“Wonderful World”

Another interesting initiative concerns the "Wonderful World", a house dedicated to the reception of people excluded from the security decree, many of whom - despite the documents - lived on the streets. Today, they not only have a roof over their heads, but a set of services available to them that will allow them to follow the path to true integration. The project started in December 2019.

Parma

Tandem

Tandem, co-housing and social networking project between young Italians between 18 and 29 years old and young holders of protection leaving the SPRAR and CAS reception projects. And "Rifugiati in famiglia", a project of coexistence and intercultural exchange between Italian families and refugees from all backgrounds.

More information here.

PARMA

COMMUNITY ORIENTED INITIATIVES

In the context of the SPRAR institutional reception system CIAC initiated the reception of 31 adult refugees with 7 minors to be hosted in Italian families into small communities and/or co-housing.

Vienna

VIENNA

Werkstart

is an accessible, gender-sensitive project for educationally disadvantaged women (migrants, asylum seekers, women granted asylum and Austrian citizens). The project includes basic education, German language courses, mathematics, computer-and learning-skills as well as manual work.

VIENNA

magdas hotel

magdas HOTEL is Austria’s first social business hotel. For many refugees it is still difficult to access the Austrian labour market. There are initial difficulties with the German language, resentment from many employers and the fact that you are only allowed to work in Austria after your asylum application has been approved.

Vienna

Haus awat

Haus AWAT (Kurdish name for “hope/whish”) provides sheltered housing for asylum seekers in the national programme of provision with basic supplies as well as dwelling places for recognized refugees. Temporary residents in Haus AWAT incorporate single male, female, LGBTQI as well as families. In addition to housing, the ground floor is used as a business zone that opens up to the public/neighbourhood.

Vienna

Stand 129 - Caritas Vienna

Stand 129 is a former vegetable shop (40 sqm + 20 sqm for toilet and storage room) in a small building right in the centre of a market site in the 10th district (Favoriten), Vienna. The market is known for its cultural diversity and as such, Stand 129 provides room for events and workshops in a transparent and inviting (large windows) manner.