Asylum & migration: Challenges and good practices during the COVID-19 pandemic Eight civil society organisations are discussing on the occasion of the World Refugee Day

Online event

#EEATalks #WorldRefugeeDay #EEAGrants

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day (June 20), the Fund operator of “Local Development and Poverty Reduction” and “Asylum and Migration” programmes in Greece, SOL Crowe and HumanRights360, organizes the online event “Asylum & migration: Challenges and good practices during the COVID-19 pandemic”, on Tuesday, June 22, at 14:00.

This is the first common event of the Fund Operator and the civil society organisations who have been funded by EEA Grants, establishing a series of activities which will have been taken place by the end of the programmes, in 2024.

 

Programme

14:00-14:10                       Welcome

Maria Fola, EEA Grants Adviser, Royal Norwegian Embassy Athens

Epaminοndas Farmakis, Co-Founder, General Manager of HumanRights360, Director of “Local Development and Poverty Reduction” and “Asylum and Migration” Programs in Greece, EEA Grants, 2014 – 2021

Harilaos Faltsetas, Deputy Director of SOL Crowe, Deputy Director of “Local Development and Poverty Reduction” and “Asylum and Migration” Programs in Greece, EEA Grants, 2014 – 2021

 

14:10- 15:00                      “Asylum & migration: Challenges and good practices during the COVID-19 pandemic”

Τhalia Siopi, Project Manager of DIAPLOUS, ARSIS – Association for the Social Support of Youth

Dimitra Kalogeropoulou, Head of Office, International Rescue Committee Hellas

Koumantataki Christina, Social Worker, “A step forward”, Médecins du Monde Greece

Panagiota Paraskeva-Metheniti, Coordination Department of Transit Accommodation Facilities for unaccompanied minors, METAdrasi

Irene Chazapis, project manager HOUSE2, SMAN – Society for the Care of Minors and Youth

Pepi Marioli, Employability Team Leader, Athens Solidarity Center

Alexandris Vakalidis, Special Site Management Support Adviser, NORCAP

 

15:00-15:20                       “The role of school and the access to refugee children during COVID-19”

Katsamori Dora, Project Coordinator of “Schools for All”

 

Mpogdampeidis Euthimios, School director of the 2nd Gymnasium of Alexandreia

 

 

15:20 – 16:00                    “Open accomondation centers and Supported Independent Living (SIL) apartments of unaccompanied children and vulnerable asylum seeking women”.

Olga Alexiadou, Psychologist & Local Coordinator of Apartments for Vulnerable Women

Elena Giga, Senior Officer, International Rescue Committee Hellas

Papayianni Evi, Social Worker, “A step forward”, Médecins du Monde Greece

Panagiota Paraskeva-Metheniti, Coordination Department of Transit Accommodation Facilities for unaccompanied minors, METAdrasi

Dimitra Adamantidou, Director SMAN – Society for the Care of Minors and Youth

 

16:00 – 16:10                    Beneficiaries’ experiences

16:10 – 16:30                    Closing notes

Event moderator: Ioanna Fotiadi.

 

Follow us on social media: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

#Forhumanrightsineurope #Forabetterfuture #Workingtogether #EEAGrants

Pre-defined Project: Skills on Demand

The “Skills on Demand” project aimed to promote employment among vulnerable unemployed residents of Athens through awareness-raising, training and certification, individualized psychosocial and employability support, and job placement. The primary objective was to increase employment opportunities for recently unemployed individuals.

Open Call Project: Transit Accommodation Facilities for Unaccompanied Minors in Chios and Samos

METAdrasi’s Transit Accommodation Facilities provide unaccompanied minors with a safe, age-appropriate environment, covering daily needs, psychological and social support, healthcare, and legal assistance. The facilities also offered structured activities to foster psychosocial development, skill-building, and social integration through cultural, recreational, and educational events. During the project’s implementation, the transit facilities in Chios and Samos accommodated 114 asylum-seeking minors, primarily aged 16–18, from Sub-Saharan Africa, Syria, and Afghanistan. Additionally, 85 vulnerable individuals, classified as unaccompanied minors, received services, including both undocumented and recognized refugees.

Open call project: HOUSE2

HOUSE2 is a shelter providing safe accommodation for unaccompanied minors, with a capacity of 16 individuals. It primarily supports boys aged 6-11 and underage mothers with their children. Established in 2020, HOUSE2 was founded to address the urgent need for accommodation and care for the most vulnerable. During the implementation period 49 unaccompanied minors received direct support and 17 additional vulnerable individuals -including undocumented persons, recognized refugees, and children- benefited from services. The majority of beneficiaries were aged 5-12 and came from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Open Call Project: DIAPLOUS

The “DIAPLOUS” project offered accommodation to unaccompanied minors and women- single mothers and/or victims of sexual or gender violence, in Northern Greece. During the project 12 SILs apartments (Supported Independent Living) for unaccompanied minors aged 16 years old and older were operated. The apartments were located near the Safe Zones and camps in Lagadikia, Diavata, Agia Eleni, Drama and Kavala. Moreover, the Diaplous project offered some places in the shelter “The House of Arsis” in Thessaloniki, and 4 apartments for single mothers, victims of sexual or gender violence. The project was completed in February 2022. In total, 140 unaccompanied minors and vulnerable women, asylum seekers in Greece, from the Middle East, Asia and Africa were accommodated in places offered by the project.

Open Call Project: A step forward – Housing structure for women asylum seekers and especially for mothers with children

The project aimed to protect and support women and their children during the asylum application process and to quickly find sustainable solutions for their smooth living in the country. The Open Accommodation Center operates by offering all necessary services to women and their children according to their specific needs. It is located in the centre of Athens, offering easy access to important services for the women beneficiaries, such as the Metro and the Open Polyclinic of Doctors of the World. With the capacity of 44 beds, it offers access to people with mobility disabilities, a room for disabled people, as well as specially designed areas for dining and creative activities. In total, 175 vulnerable women asylum seekers and their children were benefited during the implementation period.

Open Call Project: FUTURA – Fostering the Transition of Unaccompanied children to Adulthood

The FUTURA project provided quality accommodation and a holistic package of individualized support services to 104 unaccompanied children, in ten (10) Supported Independent Living (SIL) apartments in Athens, Greece. It supported 25 non-unaccompanied asylum seekers and 82 unaccompanied minors (UAMs), aged between 16 and 18, with the majority coming from Sub-Saharan Africa. Each apartment hosted four children who received a range of services; legal aid, individual and group psychosocial support, non-formal education and skill-building activities, tailored to the needs of each child, by a core team of experienced social workers, caretakers and interpreters, with particular emphasis on empowerment and self-reliance.

Predefined Project: Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration

The IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) project aimed to facilitate the voluntary return of migrants in vulnerable situations, ensuring safe travel and sustainable reintegration in their countries of origin. During the implementation period, a total of 229 beneficiaries (53 men, 114 women, 38 girls and 24 boys) were assisted with their safe and dignified return to their countries of origin. In parallel, a total of 221 beneficiaries received reintegration assistance (49 men, 110 women, 38 girls and 24 boys).

Pre-defined Project: Quality assurance of asylum procedures and free legal aid to vulnerable asylum seekers

The aim of the project was the provision of necessary support to the Asylum Service to set up a quality assurance mechanism (via developing centrally the Asylum Service’s Quality tools and SOPs and by providing continuous support to new and more experienced caseworkers in a very large caseload of complicated cases), as well as the increase of its presence regionally (to Offices across the country). The project was implemented by UNHCR and finished in February 2020.