Comhlámh is delighted to be part of a new Erasmus+ funded project that will link our work on international volunteering with the creation of a more inclusive and equitable society in Ireland. Entitled ‘International Citizens for Local Perspectives’ (IC4LOP), the project will help us create innovative ways of promoting civic participation and combating social exclusion by linking newly arrived young migrants with young Irish people who have volunteered in the Global South. We’ll be working with France Volontaires, Zavod Voluntariat and CESIE, which will give us the opportunity to learn from what’s happening at the moment in France, Italy and Slovenia.
During the two years of the project, we’re planning to:
- Create a map of organisations and projects working with newly arrived young migrants, which will help to document good practice and establish new networks;
- Develop and roll out a training manual for organisations, which will upskill them to support young migrants and international volunteers to develop action projects on global justice issues;
- Run training courses in four countries, to build organisational and individual capacity to develop action projects – this will include mentoring small groups of young migrants and volunteers to plan and deliver action projects that examine and address the structural causes of injustice and inequality.
The project builds on our recently completed ‘Volunteering for the Future’ initiative, which supported returned development workers and volunteers to continue their action for global justice on their return from an international placement. We’re delighted to have the opportunity to continue this work and create exciting new spaces for young people to come together, examine the linkages between local and global inequalities, and collaborate on responses to the underlying causes of social exclusion. By supporting both groups of young people to become active in their communities, we hope that the project will assist young participants to develop the necessary skills to bring about bottom-up approaches for integration and change.