The Project

SOFIE is a 30 months project which aims to face the actual European need of social integration of refugee families, as one of the most vulnerable targets to the host societies. In SOFIE, Verein Multikulturell from Austria, CESIE from Italy, Cardet from Cyprus, Mozaik from Turkey and Folksuniveristetet from Sweden come together to empower and support the integration of refugee families.

Background

The project is important for the partner countries and there is a good mix of different national situations. In Austria in 2016 there were 42073 requests for asylum and according to IOM data from 01 January to 29 May 2016, an estimated 46856 migrants and asylum seekers were registered arriving in Italy. The latest data according to the Asylum Service in Cyprus show that 2936 people have applied for asylum in Cyprus in 2016.  Sweden has having the most severe refugee crisis since World War II. More people than ever before are seeking asylum in Sweden.  Turkey now hosts the world’s largest community of Syrians displaced by the ongoing conflict in their country.  According to United Nations estimates, Turkey’s Syrian refugee population was more than 1.7 million as of mid-March 2015 and still more and more refugees are crossing into Turkey.

Objectives of  the Project

• To promote professional, social and cultural integration of migrants and refugees.
• To create a holistic set of tools, guides of best practice and curricula for trainings to support the inclusion process of migrants and refugees the most effectively.
• To support mother and child interaction for the learning process of second language (L2, the host country language) and important host society knowledge acquisition.
• To increase the training of trainers and volunteers working with refugees.