transnational empowerment education with migrant and refugee women*

As two migrant women's organisations dedicated to empowerment, political education and support of refugee and migrant communities, in particular refugee women with multiple vulnerabilities, such as being single mothers, victims of trafficking, queer, traumatised, we decided to embark in this joint project to learn from each other and create a sustainable relationship of collaboration. Beyond grwoing our network and enabling mutual support, which both organisations rely on, the project enabled the target groups of both organisations to learn about the conditions for refugees in the other country, share experiences and empower each other.

This partnership aimed at respectively geting to know the partner organisation's work better, exchange ideas and strategies with the aim of developing an EU project of larger scale, creating a transnational exchange to empower refugees and facilitate the integration of refugees in civil society and the job market. The long-term goal of the project was threefold: to improve social cohesion and foster common values; to positively influence the adult education sector to include more migrant and refugee perspectives and knowledge and thus become more accessible for this target group; finally to contribute to empowerment of marginalised refugees and promote equality. We expected to create meeting and empowerment spaces by and for different refugees and people with biographies of flight in order to fight prejudices and promote self-help within and outside the community, both in Palermo and Berlin. Further, the project aimed at developing and strengthening the networking and cooperation amongst the parntner organisations, as well as different actors and network partners, including local authorities and institutions.

The main activities comprised four meetings in Palermo and Berlin between the partners and further interested parties. In the course of these activities several meetings and events took place. Trixiewiz and ADBCP met with the mayor of Palermo and the local council member for social policy, ADBCP met with the Integration Officer of Berlin, as well as the district mayor of Pankow, Berlin. Workshops were held in both cities, in which the partners presented their work and the political and legal situation concerning migration and humanitarian protection of their respective country (Italy and Germany). Workshop participants came from both Berlin and Palermo, as well as neighbouring cities in both countries. The final meeting was a future lab to discuss how to work together further.

The project enabled to strengthen the relationship between the partner organisations, which travelled to each others' cities, visited the offices and met with the communities both organisations work with and with other network partners. Through these several encounters, many further activities were planned, held or proposed, such as the meeting between ADBCP and the senator for equality of Berlin, and an art therapy project in Palermo. Furthermore, the partners developed ideas for a conference on migration, flight, and gender, to be organised beginning in 2023.