Description
Since 2017, this project supports migrant youth in Cork who are residents of 6 Direct Provision Centres spread across Cork City and County. The CMC YGP has been developed to support the children’s educational needs; to foster confidence and develop skills that lay the foundation for engagement and integration. It consists of five key elements: homework club, dance and creative arts, girls in STEM programme, summer camps, transition year work placement. The project comprises a ‘safe space’ for children and youth to engage in wellbeing promoting activities and a ‘material space’ whereby the children meet. The key objective is to create an enabling environment to create opportunities for enhancing the capacities (emotional, cognitive, physical, knowledge and skills) of asylum seeking/refugee/migrant children and youth, and facilitating their social integration. CMC utilises a strength-based approach whereby migrant children and youth’s knowledge, skills and experience are acknowledged through participatory working methods. CMC’s programmes and activities are conceptualized within a psychosocial framework which pays attention to migrant children/youth collective risk and resilience processes. The project has received governmental funds from TUSLA through CYPSC, a key structure identified by Government to plan and co-ordinate services for children and young people in every county in Ireland. Funds have been also provided by Cork City Council, Community Arts office, UCC, the Glucksman, and Nano Nagle Place Company.
- Children maintain their cultural identity while adopting new cultural values and intercultural competences
- Children remain in (formal) education beyond compulsory levels / Access to (formal) non-compulsory education
- Children's academic skills
- Children's competence in host language
- Children's life satisfaction / happiness
- Children's sense of belonging
- Friends and peers (bridges)
- Friends and peers (support)
Evaluation ex post
Information not available
Projects’ deliverables
Information not available
Reproducibility
The project has not been replicated.
As a contextually situated initiative its replicability potential necessarily speaks to local contexts. Aspects of this project could be replicated through review/analysis of the Cork Migrant Centre's approach and information - available on their website and engagement with local migrant youth/youth support groups in working towards providing space for dialogue/education/social supports.
Specific materials on transferability are not available. Information on the initiative and contact details are available at the following link.
https://cmc-youth-initiative-against-racism.ie/
Motivation for the submission
The motivation for this entry is because of its focus on the psycho-social support of migrant children, especially those who are going through the International Protection System. This group of children and young people encounter several barriers to their integration and obstacles to full equality of participation in education which this intervention seeks to address. Capacity and empowerment foci are embedded in its thinking.
