O CONTEXT Camini
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o CONTEXT Camini: history and recent developments Camini is a small hillside village located in the Locride area (Calabria, Southern Italy), which until recent times was characterised by poverty and chronic depopulation. Calabria has long been recognised as one of the most economically- deprived and under-developed regions, not only of Italy, but of western Europe as a whole. By way of example, the income per capita and local government resources of Calabria are both among the very lowest in Europe. For decades, Locride – and Southern Italy in general – suffered mass emigration, a direct result of the extreme poverty and lack of job opportunities. Over this same period, the area was also blighted by the activities of organised crime groups, which had a negative impact on the wider region and beyond. Nowadays, thanks to the activities of civil society organisations and growing community resilience, the situation is changing. While the overall pattern remains uneven across the region, the village of Camini itself is undergoing something of a renaissance. Camini has experienced real and meaningful social and economic growth as a result of its reception and integration of third-country nationals programme, which it developed broadly following the model of change initiated by its globally renowned neighbouring villages of Riace and Badolato. For the past twenty years, southern Italian villages such as there which have embraced refugee resettlement programmes have experienced economic growth and expansion, as the local municipalities implemented long-term goals with their new migrant communities. Working together, migrants and local Italians have rejuvenated these former ‘ghost towns’ – which have now become global symbols of internationalism, humanitarian aid and solidarity. The local Italians have distinguished themselves through their hospitality and in the leadership that they have shown in making their new residents feel welcome - providing them with housing (in the newly restored houses previously abandoned by emigration), training and job opportunities, as well as entrepreneurial education programmes specifically designed for asylum seekers and refugees. Like Riace, Badolato and other small towns and villages, Camini was on the verge of extinction before the refugees arrived. The success of the reception system and the widespread migrants’ reception centres, designed to combat social exclusion and promote integration, led to the village itself undergoing a significant change process. The locaI Italian population, though small in number, began to shape its own destiny, as they recognised the migrants’ struggle to survive. In the first year, more than 80 new residents arrived in Camini from the Middle East and Africa. Indeed, a significant number of the new migrant population were refugees who had fled from the Syrian conflict. A distinguishing feature that sets Camini apart from its neighbours is its total commitment to leadership, from the bottom up. Unlike the situation in some neighbouring villages, a citizen-led initiative and local entrepreneurship have long been the driving force behind the change process in Camini. 1 EUROCOOP Servizi Società Cooperativa Sociale: Background information about the organisation EUROCOOP Servizi Società Cooperativa Sociale (henceforth “EUROCOOP”) is a social cooperative providing a fully validated reception service to migrants, which has as its primary focus ensuring the independence and integration of asylum seekers and refugees. In this, it has the support of a team with complementary professional skills, starting with those that are mandatory within the framework of the SPRAR (Sistema di protezione per richiedenti asilo e rifugiati - Italian Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) programme. In addition, there are qualified external experts, ranging from international lawyers to professional social inclusion managers, from youth workers active at the EU level, to anti-discrimination policy advisors. The organisation offers a compelling 20-year history of social inclusion of people from various vulnerable categories. From 2011, it started to focus increasingly on welcoming asylum seekers, refugees and unaccompanied minors. The organisation’s staff took the initiative in greeting the newcomers with open arms and open homes from the very beginning. As a result of all this hard work, the mixed and varied population of Camini now focuses on inclusion and repopulation, while the village is thriving - relatively, at least – and a positive outlook again thanks to its refugees. In focusing on a range of social, architectural, and artistic initiatives, the transnational cooperation typified by the refugees’ activities has also paved the way for a programme of youth activities often led by the young people themselves. The village and surrounding area have indeed become a protagonist of their own future and are experiencing harmonious and sustainable growth. 2 o YOUTH ACTIVITIES Youth participation and the European dimension In the past two years, EUROCOOP has consciously promoted a process that has the direct involvement of its staff, of the beneficiaries of the projects already underway and, last but not least, of the entire local community. A carefully thought-out youth participation strategy has been designed and is now implemented. The first phase of this strategy involved intensive training on the Erasmus+ programme, particularly covering its youth strand and mainstreaming inclusion activities. The first two training sessions on the Key Actions 1 and KA3 (Youth section) of the Erasmus+ programme and the EU Youth Strategy were held on August 12th, 2017, within the framework of the local celebrations organised in Camini for “International Youth Day - Youth Building Peace”. Qualified trainers and youth project managers active at the European and international levels ensured that professional expertise was present throughout. During the summer of 2018, two further sessions also covering labour and migrant inclusion - through the Erasmus+ programme and other EU new initiatives such as DiscoverEU and the coming (at the time) European Solidarity Corps - were organised in partnership with the international organisation “Projects Abroad”, the transmediterranean association “Maydan”, the local units of the Europe Direct offices based in the Region, and the Erasmus+ EPALE Platform’s Ambassador for the Calabria Region. An initial report in Italian about the training activities is here available: https://ec.europa.eu/epale/it/content/formazione-e-lavoro-nei-contesti-dellaccoglienza- calabrese. As a direct outcome of these activities, several partnerships have already been formed, supporting initiatives and consistent activities in Camini in key areas relevant to the transnational mobility activities. Among the main organisations are: - the international organisation “Projects Abroad” organising youth projects and hosting volunteers coming from more than 35 countries to support solidarity projects jointly run by locally recruited “Projects Abroad” staff and EUROCOOP specialised staff and social workers; - the Italian Section of Amnesty international, for two workcamps on anti-racism and human rights education for 26 (in 2018) + 40 (in 2019) young people from across Europe, who gathered in Camini in August 2018 and 2019; - RE.CO.SOL Association – Rete dei Comuni Solidali, a network of Italian municipalities working on the promotion of the democratic participation of migrant communities and solidarity activities, for some of the activities of the “SOLIDA” project funded by the European Commission within the framework of the “Europe for Citizens 2014 – 2020” programme; - JIMUEL - Internet Medics For Life for medical assistance directly targeted at those migrants who are beneficiaries of the organisations’ projects; - Italian Unit of the French NGO Médécins du Monde for the medical and psychological assistance to those migrants who are beneficiaries of our projects; - transmediterranean association “MAYDAN” for the organisation of the “International Youth Day 2018” and the international event “La Siria vista da qui - Syria seen from here” including book presentations, testimonies by Syrian refugees, video screenings and a Debate for Young People (so-called “Junior Debate” format); - Europe Direct local desks for infodays, dissemination activities and publications on EU initiatives; - the Florence-based NGO "COSPE - Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti / Co-operation for the Development of Emerging Countries" for the field visits as part of the Summer School “La Cooperazione nel Mediterraneo: Progettare nel Mediterraneo per uno 3 sviluppo equo e sostenibile - Cooperation in the Mediterranean Area: Project development in the Mediterranean area for a fair and sustainable development”; - Sabir Fest for the international event “La Siria e la Calabria: due mondi si incontrano” held in October 2018 as part of the “SABIR FEST - Mediterranean Culture and Citizenship Festival”; - Open Calabria for the Regional Tourism Forum which took place in 2018; - the Municipality of Cremona for a partnership with its Department for Social Affairs which focused on one of their beneficiaries of the UNHCR’s resettlement programme within the framework SPRAR Project 2017-2019 (Italian Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) being accepted on an internship programme of intercultural mediation, in which he received training by the senior staff of EUROCOOP; - the National Geographic Channel for the