Partner meeting with representatives of Center for Peace Studies and City of Rijeka mayor
MMSU / 15.7.2016
Partner meeting with representatives
of Center for Peace Studies and City of Rijeka mayor
15. 7.2016
MMSU
On Friday, July 15th, 2016 we held our first partner meeting at Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art with colleagues from Center for Peace Studies (CPS / CMS), Iva Zenzerović and Julija Kranjec. At the meeting we have presented RISK CHANGE project through timeline of activities, and we discussed mutual cooperation in terms of integration of migrants in the local communities. Besides, we discussed about the definition of the term ‘migrant’, and ethical codes that are important within the research part of the project – it is consisted of direct interviews with migrants / asylum seekers. In fact, there could appear certain obstacles while trying to reach towards migrant communities, like linguistic barriers, gatekeepers (persons that could be in the function of limiting of access towards the community in which he/she is the leader), closed communities, etc. We also discussed those terms at the kick-off meeting in Maribor.
Coleagues from Center for Peace Studies presented their preliminary program for Integrated Intercultural Center (IIC) as a central place for social and socio-economic empowerment of migrants, and a place for intercultural meetings of local communities and newcomers. IIC is represented as a place for meetings, dialogue, cooperation, and a place for connecting of various community participants (informing, gathering, motivating, and including people from belove).
The center is going to operate on several levels: socio-economic integration of migrants, acquiring of rights and civil integration, cultural integration. In this context we have discussed about the possibilities of starting IIC in Rijeka, within the program line Kitchen – Center for Creative Migrations, as a part of the pogram Rijeka 2020: Port of Diversity. This is the way that leads us toward opening of Rijeka as a meeting point, and the city opened for acceptance of various migrant groups, and due to the fact that Rijeka already showed up with exceptional facility and willingness to find a solution for migrants who live for several years in the city. It is important to point out that RISK CHANGE is, in cooperation with the program Rijeka 2020: Port of Diversity, and numerous partners on national and local levels (with whom the cooperation is yet to come) opportunity for Rijeka to become first city in Croatia that will join the network of cities focused on the welcoming of migrants, said Julija Kranjec.
After the MMSU meeting, with colleagues from Center for Peace Studies, we met the Rijeka City major, Vojko Obersnel to whom we’ve presented RISK CHANGE project, and activities of CPS. With the city major we discussed about city acommodation for reception of migrants. He pointed out he will meet the representatives of City Departments with issues of the project, and reception of migrants in the local community. He will also send us contacts of persons in charge for finding adequate acommodation units. Besides, we discussed about Rijeka Shipyard, and quotas for foreign workers employed in Rijeka. In this context, the city major will give us the information about existing quotas, he will send the contacts of people already employed according to the quota, and contacts of persons in charge for employment of foreign workers within the Shipyard.
Given the openness of the city structures and representatives of local authorities in the direction of positive partner cooperation within the project RISK CHANGE, we are expecting succesfull period of mutual work on integration policies and opening of Rijeka (but also of Zagreb) for reception of various migrant groups.