On the 25th and 26th of November successfully took place the MAX project final event “Building New Narratives: Migration and its contribution to European society”. The two days event was composed of a European conference and a multicultural evening, both held in Brussels. We would like to warmly thank all the ones that attended, one, two or all the events!

Diesis Network co-organised this great event and was in charge of all the communication activities and of animating some of the sessions.

On the 25th the first day of the event, a great conference attended by more than 100 participants was held. During the plenary and the parallel sessions, the audience had the possibility to hear and debate the findings of the MAX project and, most importantly, the voices and experiences of the migrants, as well as all those actors working on social inclusion and migration policies at local, national and EU levels, to continue working together for real inclusive societies. You can find here the agenda of the event and the speakers who attended: in total more than 40 speakers, including members of the EU institutions, United Nations, migrant-led organisations, local authorities, civil society, etc. joined the event!

In particular Diesis Network organized two sessions:

The role of Social Economy in supporting diverse ecosystems and migrants’ integration. The social economy enterprises respond to the needs of communities and societies. Therefore, they have always been involved in the assistance and support to the integration of migrants in Europe. They do so by providing many different services: social and legal assistance, housing, training and education, job integration, etc. This workshop showcased a variety of good examples of how social economy enterprises contribute to migrant integration in EU countries, in particular Italy, Germany and Czech Republic. To this session, moderated by Eleonora Lamio, project manager and policy officer at Diesis Network, participated:

  • Gianluca Pastorelli, Executive President at Diesis Network
  • Chiara Ginanni, project manager at Consorzio Communitas
  • Marco Visintin, educator, and Camilla Giannetti, educator, Agenzia Duemilauno
  • Hans-Gerd Nottenbohm, netz.NRW
  • Denis Sabanadze, Lecturer of Youth Included

ICT and digitisation: towards the integration of migrants and refugees. Stories around Europe. The link between social and digital exclusion can be a challenge for migrants, who usually enter a new country with few local resources, less knowledge of how to access these resources, and cultural and linguistic barriers to understanding how to access help and engage in the digital economy. Digital technology can play a positive role in building social capital and hence social inclusion among refugee and migrant groups. This workshop shed a light on initiatives supporting digital inclusion and therefore benefit migrants’ integration to society, wellbeing, and their potential to contribute to the digital economy. To this session, moderated by Vesa Latifit, project assistant at Diesis Network, participated:

  • Frohar Poya, Project Officer at European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW)
  • Liudmila Gasina, project manager at Youth Included
  • Iffat Rose Gill, Founder of the Code To Change

The second day of the MAX final event was a cultural evening where the role of art, culture and creativity in changing the narrative was highlighted through a film screening, music, food, literature and art exhibitions. The event started with an opening and a panel discussion with two of the jurors of the MAX Diversity Film festival: César Diaz and Lidija Zelovic. Later on, the audience could enjoy a film screening of two films winners from the Festival (Sanako and Samos. The Face of Our Border), art exhibitions and food from a migrant background and about different religious festivities. The evening ended with two concerts from multicultural bands: Tatryos ensemble and In C. The evening was also attended by more than 100 people!