FIER project partners gathered for the last time in the context of this ambitious project to share their lessons learnt, analyse project results so far and discuss further opportunities of cooperation and scaling up the pilot activities that have been developed during the past two years. The meeting took place in Brussels on 18 November 2019, and was hosted by GO! onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap.
In the morning, project partners visited different spots in the city in relation to the arrival process of third-country nationals. Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen (Flemish Refugee Action) was the organisation in charge of explaining the path that all new arrivals have to follow from the moment they step in Belgium. Thus, partner representatives had the chance to experience first-hand how the integration process works in the country.
Visit by Flemish Refugee Action 
Visit by Flemish Refugee Action
After the study visits, a project meeting took place at Campus Comenius. Project partner representatives were welcomed by Ms. Therese Ydrén (FIER project coordinator), who congratulated the almost 600 people in total who had taken part in FIER (workers, volunteers, managers) for having reached more than 2,700 refugees whilst the initial target was of just 1,000. Afterwards, each partner presented their outcomes and expectations for the future of FIER activities. More information about FIER partner activities can be found below:
- AWW-Pädagogische Hochschule Weingarten focused on language learning and the need of more research on language mentoring on the job, having developed a mentor training programme.
- Dalsland Folk High School has developed a course to educate integration coordinators, which will be continued after the FIER project is ended.
- Gothenburg Folk High School offers a course for those wanting to become cleaners and kitchen assistants. Participants are given both the practical knowledge for managing the job, as well as gaining knowledge about the Swedish society and language. 80% of participants have got some type of job after the course’s conclusion. The course will continue after FIER.
- Mölndal Municipality offers nursing courses and internships, as well as courses in child attending.
- In Baden-Württemberg, multiple efforts are made towards fast-track training and integration. Work on empowerment is made through by Stuttgart Jobcenter and the folk high schools (fast-track training is to become a formal part of Jobcenter Stuttgart’s practice).
- The activities under the umbrella of Land Salzburg are divided among five partners: Caritas, Diakoniewerk, fairMATCHING, Frau & Arbeit, and Lungauerinnen für Menschen together with Lungauer Frauen Netzwerk. More information is available at www.journey-integral.at.
- FIER is seen in Oslo VO Rosenhof as an implementation strategy focused around work-oriented language training. FIER has helped the school adapt and change their work-culture to be able to help all students to be able to enter the labour market, regardless of their background.
- GO! onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap has developed a learning pathway for active citizenship in reception education, which has already been implemented in pilot sessions and will serve as a framework for curriculum development within the organisation. The pathway is available at www.gofier.be.
- FIER has proved useful in improving vocational support for teachers and trainers at YUVA Association. A women initiative has been created based out of YUVA centres. This has been done by twenty refugee women and has contributed to increased empowerment among the refugees. These women have also received help by companies in marketing their initiative to reach larger audiences.
- EARLALL has contributed to the dissemination of FIER best practices among other European regions and stakeholders.
Presentations were followed by a gallery walk to discuss specific topics and concerns, and working group sessions dealing with fast-track language acquisition, guidance and cooperation with companies and training of company mentors. Finally, all participants agreed on the success of the project and looked forward to keep on implementing their activities.
FIER - Fast-track Integration in European Regions 