”NiCER – Innovative Methods for the Integration of Young Refugees”

The “NiCER – Innovative Methods of Integration of Young Refugees” project started in December 2015, had a duration of 24 months and aimed to empower young refugees by organizing art workshops as well as promoting a welcoming culture and the concept of education intercultural by carrying out awareness campaigns in the cities where they live.

The project took place in Timisoara and was replicated in 6 European partner cities: Rome, Brussels, Seville, Liverpool, Nicosia, and Berlin. 30 young refugees and locals came together to create and perform a play based on the stories of the participants. In addition to the theater creation workshop, linguistic and transcultural training was offered to the young refugees in order to provide them with the necessary tools for efficient integration in Romania.

Target group: in each partner city, 15 refugees and 15 non-refugees between the ages of 9 and 25.

Project objectives:

1. To strengthen the participation of young refugees in cultural and social life at the local level
2. To develop creativity, self-esteem, and level of socialization
3. To strengthen and give voice to young refugees
4. To promote exchanges and social relations between refugees and locals
5. To promote tolerance and mutual respect
6. To develop creative and language skills
7. To eliminate stereotypes

Activities within the project:

In Timisoara, the project was implemented in 5 stages:

1. Art winter camp, at the foot of Mount Mic, Caransebes county, between February 4 and 8, for 5 days the 30 young people (15 young refugees and 15 young non-refugees) participated in 10 art workshops (theatre forum, music, film, and painting) with art teachers.
2. Art workshops, between February and April (3 months) the workshops started in the camp continue. Together with a team of professionals (director, music teacher, painter, and film teacher), young people created artistic moments based on the theme of refugees and correlated with the theme of Identity.
3. TRAF0 – Timisoara Refugee Art Fest, the title under which in May 2017 all artistic moments (forum theater, music, film, art installations, and painting) were exposed to the public in Timisoara. Also within the festival dedicated to migration, a film festival took place, during which video films received by film producers from Europe were screened. Learn more about TRAF0 here. 
4. The production of a documentary film at the level of the 7 European countries where the theater workshops are held.
5. An awareness campaign on migration issues in schools and high schools in Timisoara.

Calendar:
Stage 1: January – September 2016 – During 4 transnational meetings, the European partner organizations elaborate on the methodology, prepare the workshops, and define the monitoring and evaluation tools. Selection of local teams: coordinators, theater instructors, and foreign language teachers. Collaborative relationships are established with local partners: schools, refugee centers, NGOs, regional cultural and social centers, and local authorities;

Stage 2: September – December 2016 – Selection of young participants recruited in partnership with schools, refugee centers, NGOs, and regional cultural and social centers;

Stage 3: January-May 2017 – Implementation of creative workshops and language and trans-cultural courses. Transnational meeting of European partner organizations. Documentary filming: workshops, interviews with participants final performance: musical presentation in each partner city;

Stage 4: June – November 2017 – Final Project Evaluation: Final Report. Editing of the video documentary and the transnational meeting of the European partner organizations: the final press conference in Rome, Italy.

Partner organizations:

CIOFS – Lead Partner (IT)

Alfea Cinematografica Pisa (IT)

MCCS Commune de Molenbeek (BE)

Citizens for Europe (GER)

IIT Bucharest (RO)

RARe Studio Liverpool (UK)

Citizens for Europe (DE)

KISA Cyprus (CY)

Pluralis ASBL (BE)

Youth and Culture Foundation (ES)

Project financed by the European Commission