Invited by the European Commission, JRS Europe presented project CHANGE at the 8th European Migration Forum. At the meeting, the CHANGE project was highlighted as a successful multi-stakeholder awareness-raising project, co-funded by the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).

Participating in representation of the organization, Mariza Koronioti, JRS Europe’s Project Officer, stressed “the importance of direct interaction between migrants and local communities to overcome prejudices”.

She also underlined “the crucial role of education to shift discriminatory and divisive narratives against migrant and refugee population into inclusive, diverse ones that foster critical thinking based on positive and fact-based information”.

In addition to presenting the results of CHANGE, the meeting offered the opportunity to dialogue and exchange ideas with 250 participants from NGOs, Civil Society Organizations, local authorities, the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee.

Under the title “Migrants in Europe today: specific needs, skills and communication for stronger inclusion”, this year’s edition of the Forum hosted roundtable discussions on changing narratives on migration in an age of polarization and disinformation, the need for a more sustainable labour market integration as well as Gender Equality and woman migration and integration, among others.

The CHANGE Project, led by JRS Europe, started in 2019 and funded by the AMIF and after two years of implementation, it engaged over 40.000 students in nine European countries.

The goal of the project was to educate young people on the positive contributions of refugees to society through three main components: an educational course, encounters with forcibly displaced people and encouraging students to act to make a change in their schools and local communities.

You can find out more about our CHANGE project and our newest raising awareness project CHANGE Environment here.