Federatia Young Men`s Christian Associations Romania (YMCA ROMANIA), as coordinator, together with Alliance Europeenne des YMCA (YMCA EUROPE), YMCA na SLOVENSKU (YMCA SLOVAKIA), CVJM-Gesamtverband in Deutschland e. V. (YMCA GERMANY), as partners, announce the start of the project “eDU Hubs and Mobile Centres”, co-financed by the European Union through European Social Fund +Social Innovation + Initiative.
The “eDU Hubs and Mobile Centres” model offers a holistic way to address the needs of Ukrainian refugees and hosting communities as it facilitates the integration through offering personalised support tailored to individual and community needs and interests. It actively involves the Ukrainian community and key stakeholders in developing and implementing activities, fostering ownership and responsibility. The hubs provide integrated services for all age groups, creating a safe space for connection, learning and growth. Services include legal and educational support, child care, employment assistance, medical and mental health services, character development, leadership programmes, and efforts to enhance self-esteem and autonomy.
To best develop this next iteration of the model, leading to up-scaling in the location currently employing the model (Romania and Slovakia) and the desire to transfer it to another context (Germany), the project will utilize social innovation scaling methodology. Through this process, the project will directly contribute to the desired outputs of the call such as producing an up-to-date comprehensive needs assessment, stakeholder mapping, stakeholder capacity building, piloting roll-out plan, contributing to mutual learning events, and finally the development of a sustainability and advocacy plan which will contribute to larger systematic change desired by the project and call.
To continue refining and upscale this social innovation, the project objectives are as follows:
- To support the project implementation through high-quality management and coordination of existing and new partners involved.
- To facilitate the co-creation, communication, and mutual learning of project partners and a wider community of practitioners.
- To explore, conceptualise and institutionalise an innovative approach to the matter of upskilling and community integration of Ukrainian refugees through the model of “eDU Hubs and Mobile Centres”.
- To provide space for community stakeholders to interact for joint analysis, planning and solutions’ implementation in the sphere of integration and social inclusion of Ukrainian refugees.
- To train, mentor, and implement the innovative approach of integration and social inclusion of Ukrainian refugees through the “eDU Hubs and Mobile Centres” model.
- To ensure wide dissemination of the designed and tested model’s findings and best practices of integration and social inclusion of Ukrainian refugees as well as advocate for higher level change to support the further scaling of results.
The “eDU Hubs and Mobile Centres” model offers a holistic solution for Ukrainian refugees, fostering sustainable social integration that can be scaled and adapted to other contexts for systemic change. It provides educational support, employment assistance, legal guidance, medical and mental health services, character development, leadership programs, and efforts to boost self-esteem and autonomy through tailored support.
Our project methodology is user-centric and co-creative, connecting like-minded actors to form transnational communities of practice. We aim to invite new actors from relevant fields to leverage their expertise in integrating refugees and newcomers while preparing receiving communities with the goal of lowering barriers for young refugees and newcomers to access quality services and support programs by fostering strong civil societies.
We follow a social innovation development model, which involves identifying needs, creating partnerships, refining the model, piloting for upscaling and transfer, and sharing knowledge through dissemination and advocacy.
Short-term Results (Outcomes):
- Increased access to educational support, employment assistance, legal and administration guidance, medical and mental health services, character development, and leadership programs for Ukrainian refugees.
- Enhanced self-esteem and autonomy through personalized support tailored to individual and community needs.
- Formation of transnational communities of practice to facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration among stakeholders.
- Establishment of partnerships with like-minded actors and stakeholders to leverage expertise in integration efforts.
- Development and implementation of pilot projects to test innovative solutions and approaches in real-world settings.
The project aims to reach at least 6,000 Ukrainian refugees and receiving community members and improve the lives of at least 1,500 of them. Additionally, the project aims to train 15 youth workers, engage 30 stakeholders from the private, public, academic, receiving communities, and civil spheres, as well as reach 18,000 people indirectly and over 1 million persons through communication and dissemination activities.
Duration: 18 months, 10.04.2025-10.10.2026
Call: ‘Innovative Approaches to Mitigate the Societal Consequences of Russia’s War of Aggression Against Ukraine within EU Countries’
Co – Funder – European Social Fund Agency – 434.337 EUR
Co – funder – Accenture Foundation – 133.628 USD (aprox 122.022 EUR)
Total cost of the project: 556.359 EUR
The Project Consortium:
- YMCA Romania: project coordinator and grassroots implementor; experienced in managing EU-funded projects and community-based activities, ensuring effective project management and successful local impact – www.ymca.ro
- YMCA Europe: transnational knowledge exchange and development; experienced in aggregating results, sharing best practices, and conducting multi-cultural events and training sessions, ensuring insights and successful strategies are disseminated across the network to promote cohesive integration efforts – www.ymcaeurope.com
- YMCA Slovakia: researcher and grassroots implementor; experienced in youth and community-based research and material development, ensuring the project is evidence-based and addresses the real needs of the target population – www.ymca.sk
- YMCA Germany: partnerships and grassroots implementor; experienced in developing community partnerships and executing activities, enhancing the project’s capacity to leverage diverse resources and provide comprehensive support for Ukrainian refugees – www.cvjm.de
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