A route to connect
January – December 2017
The idea
A Route To Connect project focused on spreading awareness about the refugee situation in the Balkan route, giving a voice to the stories of refugees and empowering youngsters to take action.
The project was part of the Building Bridges campaign of SCI.
The project aimed at building bridges between European society and refugees, as to promote a more inclusive and peaceful society. In particular:
1
raising awareness about the conditions of refugees
2
spreading and disseminating stories of refugees
3
activating and empowering youngsters
4
giving visibility to local associations and actions run by refugees
5
reaching various components of European society with a realistic image of refugees
Explore our tools, activities and methods through the specially created Building Bridges portal
The activities
The main activities of the project are an inspirational preparatory seminar in Spain, a field trip to the Balkans and local follow up events around Europe.
Seminar: Learn and Get Inspired from the Past
Alt Empordà (Catalonia, Spain), 10 – 15 March 2017
Participants had the opportunity to explore the history of the Spanish civil war and to revisit the topic of forced migration. The participants followed the refugee route and got introduced to great historical spots: Elna Maternity Hospital, the venue of the concentration camp Argeles, Exile Memorial Museum etc. Local witnesses, experts and activists were invited to share their knowledge. Participants were encouraged to create a short video which contributed to a final video: PATH stories behind borders.
A Route To Connect field study trip
Slovenia – Croatia – Serbia – Macedonia – Greece, 15 May – 2 June 2016
The participants travelled along the Balkan route and met refugees, locals, local governments, NGOs and volunteers. The aim of the journey was to give a voice to the refugees by collecting and distributing their stories and activate the refugees in the camps by setting an example of youth and volunteer work. After the study trip the participants followed up on the experience and created local projects with a team back home during the summer of 2017.
Awareness Raising Campaign
June – December 2017
Participants of the field study trip implemented local public events in their home countries concentrated around three key dates: World Refugee Day (20 June), International Youth Day (12 August) and International Day Of Peace (21 September).
Resources
The Building Bridges Toolkit
It is a toolkit, as well as a web platform, designed to share the know-how on voluntary projects that involve asylum seekers and refugees, or that raise awareness on forced migration. It includes case studies, guidelines and methods you can use.
Partners and supporters
The team
The A Route To Connect Trainer Team was responsible for the implementation of the project. The members of the team organized key activities and ensured the quality of projects outputs.
The team comprised of the following members:
Sabine
“I am a clown and storyteller. I have been working with refugees and disadvantaged communities for over 10 years using art as a vehicle for psycho-social support. I believe in the power of laughter and play and I am super excited that we will have them all during the A Route to Connect project.”
Aleksandra
“I am an activist that stumbled upon humanitarian work in 2015, with the influx of refugees in need of aid and services through the Balkans. During the peak of the crisis, I organised volunteers and allocated aid, and found creative ways to support the refugees in their movement as well as communicate and coordinate with fellow volunteers and organisations providing aid on different points on the route.”
Yahu
“I am a yoga teacher and I study traditional medicine. Being concerned with our beautiful planet and humanity, I was studying war and peace in this world for a long time. Today the human values of people on this planet are in a critical state. Through projects like this we can show more and more to people what is happening at the borders, and create solidarity networks with people that are being criminalised and forgotten.”
Sonja
“Since joining the organisation Volunteers’ Centre of Vojvodina in 2015 (Serbian branch of SCI), I started learning about the current refugee situation in Europe. We in VCV did a lot of benefit actions in order to collect funds and aid for volunteers and refugees in Serbia. Since November 2016, I became active in field work, mostly in the northern part of Serbia. I look forward to taking a step further in this experience through A Route to Connect project.”
Suvi
I am currently carrying out an EVS project at the International Secretariat of SCI in Antwerp, Belgium. I coordinate the Building Bridges Campaign, which aims to raise awareness on the issues facing those seeking refuge and asylum. I have several years of experience volunteering with immigrant children in Finland. I look forward to learning more and face new challenges during A Route to Connect project.
Project partners
The A Route to Connect project was realized thanks to the collaboration of all project partners:
- The Association of Service Civil International, Belgium
- Interculturele Uitwissling via Vrijvilligerswerk, Belgium
- Refugees Got Talent, Belgium
- Kansainvälinen Vapaaehtoistyö ry (KVT), Finland
- Kinisi Ethenonton Service Civil International – Hellas, Greece
- Servizio Civile Internazionale, Italy
- GAIA Kosovo, Kosovo
- Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID), Macedonia
- MEDesTU, Portugal
- Para Onde? Portugal
- Volonterski Centar Vojvodine (VCV), Serbia
- Service Civil International – Schweiz, Switzerland
- Clowns Without Borders
- Clown Me In
Supporters
The A Route to Connect project was supported by the European Youth Foundation and the Council of Europe.
Seminar: Learn and Get Inspired from the Past
Alt Empordà (Catalonia, Spain), 10 – 15 March 2017
The seminar “Learn and get inspired from the past” was held in La Jonquera and Girona in Catalonia, Spain, 10 – 15 March 2017. It was the first official seminar of PATH and A Route to Connect projects, which were both part of the Building Bridges campaign of SCI. Participants from 9 different countries gathered to learn about the Spanish Civil War and analyzed its similarities to current conflicts and forced migration nowadays. The seminar was hosted by SCI Catalunya and co-funded by the European Youth Foundation and the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union.
During the seminar the participants visited the Exile Memorial Museum (MUME), had a day hike through the routes of the end of the Spanish Civil War, organized a human library with a Spanish Civil War veteran Ramon Brugués Serra and Syrian refugees Eyad Ibrahim and Khaled Al-Mousa and participated in different workshops and lectures on the topic. Throughout the seminar the participants were divided into three working groups: video, exhibition and final event. The video group made interviews and filmed events during the seminar and uploaded material online to be edited as part of a larger video by Laura Basta. The exhibition group prepared photos and texts for the final event of the PATH project, which was held in January 2018 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The final event working group prepared speeches for the final event of the seminar, which happened in Girona 14 March 2017.
One of the organizers of the seminar, Marta Palau Alba describes her thoughts during the seminar:
“Looking back at the Spanish Civil War we recognized so many patterns that are being repeated nowadays: the incapability of governments to act efficiently in front of an humanitarian crisis, the misuse of information and the manipulation of the reality, the polarization of societies and the rise of racism… The nonsense of war when those who cause it say it’s done to achieve peace. Sharing thoughts with other participants, we could not help but feel frustrated. But most of all, we felt the urgent need of finding a way to push things in the opposite direction.”
The participants of the seminar described the experience as inspiring and empowering. A common agreement seemed to be that it is time to learn from the past and stop making the same mistakes. The seminar in Spain planted a steady ground for the following activities of PATH and A Route to Connect projects.
