Transnational Work
Transnational Work
The work of the transnational partnership can be broken down into four broad areas:
- Influencing Policy at national and European levels.
- Empowering beneficiaries.
- Identifying good practice in reception service provision.
- Policy recommendations based on experience.
A series of transnational exchanges was programmed during 2005-7, involving partner agencies in all three DPs and following the plans developed through the TCA, covering:
- Orientation/preparation for the labour market, led by ESELY DP.
- Capacity building for refugee community organisation (RCOs) led by EASI DP.
- Language Teaching and Learning, led by FAAR DP.
- The issues of diversity and equality and of empowerment cut across all areas of work.
EASI DP led one area of focus for the work at national and transnational level in support of asylum seekers - the issue of volunteering. This was addressed at a 3-day transnational event in London, November 2005 - "Exchanges for an EQUAL Europe: asylum seekers and volunteering". This event coincided with Year of the Volunteer 2005 and set an agenda for a key element in the transnational partnership. Subsequent meetings and exchanges in UK, France and Hungary took place until the end of 2007.
Volunteering was considered within the broader context of the main themes of the transnational work, which covered:
- Orientation/preparation for the labour market.
- Capacity building for RCOs.
- Language Teaching and Learning.
Apart from the programme of staff visits, exchanges and study visits on these themes, three main events have been included in transnational work:
- 'Exchanges for an EQUAL Europe: Asylum Seekers and Volunteering' London November 2005.
- 'Empowerment Through Voice' Paris October 2006.
- 'Labour Market Integration of Asylum Seekers: Transforming Policy into Practice' Budapest October 2007.
The EQUAL activities on Asylum Seekers aimed to identify and disseminate good practice and policy recommendations to help asylum seekers integrate into the host society. The lessons learned from EQUAL activities are used to promote horizontal Mainstreaming (promoting changes at local or regional level and focusing on good practice) and vertical mainstreaming (promoting changes at political and administrative level).
EXCHANGES Transnational Partnership publications can be viewed here