The Shape Academy is born: a school of civic activism designed for people with a migratory background
The Shape Academy is born: a school of civic activism designed for people with a migratory background
The Shape Academy – Training Sessions for Migrant Communities in the SHAPE project (SHaring Actions for the Participation and Empowerment of migrant communities and Local Authorities) - consists of a capacity-building training course for people with a migratory background to actively participate in the design of integration policies through training sessions at the local level; to increase migrant citizens' knowledge of the functioning of the democratic system in EU member states and of useful resources and initiatives at the European level through local orientation events.
This school of civic activism is part of a broader pathway involving participants in different stages:
1. Training sessions for migrant communities (5, 11, 12 November 2022)
2. Public Orientation Events (February to September 2023)
3. International Online Meeting (17 February 2023)
4. Study Visits to Italy, Germany, and Portugal (March, and April 2023)
Regarding the selection of participants, the intention is to create a group as diversified as possible made up of people of different ages, areas of residence, countries of origin, migration history, and legal status. These characteristics are integrated by the possibility of being active in the local life, or being part of associations that represent migrant communities.
To apply: https://forms.gle/ZPeaUBGh3rh9QsNs5
The Shape Academy will be organized in Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Germany, and Portugal to empower migrant communities and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and to enhance their impact on integration policies. The aim, specifically, is to empower participants on how grass-roots movements and CSOs can influence public opinion and the institutional agenda on integration policies, with an intersectional perspective with referral to Health care, Education, Housing, Employment, and Gender Equality.
The Shape Academy is part of the activities envisaged by the SHAPE project (SHaring Actions for the Participation and Empowerment of migrant communities and Local Authorities), which responds to the European call for proposals AMIF (Transnational Actions on Asylum, Migration and Integration) aimed at promoting the participation of migrant communities in democratic processes and in the design and implementation of integration policies.
The project has a duration of 24 months (from January 2022 to December 2023) and sees the participation as partners of: Municipalities of Lousada and Stuttgart; ALDA (international network); 5 NGOs: WeWorld, Artemisszio Foundation (Hungary), RightChallenge (Portugal), Jesuit Refugee Service (Croatia), LAKA (Germany); The association CONNGI - National Coordination of New Italian Generations. Alongside the partners, the Municipalities of Milan and Bologna, the association Cittàmondo (MI) and the Municipality of Budapest (part of the Eurocities network) will also take part in the project.