IOM is committed to ensure equal chances for third country nationals (TCNs) and people with migratory background in accessing quality learning opportunities at all levels of education, particularly higher education, in a lifelong perspective. With a specific focus on engaging youth as drivers of social inclusion, the Organization aims at promoting inclusive education to target and overcome social, economic and political barriers to integration and civil involvement, and at enhancing communication to counter various forms of discrimination and stereotyping. Such a process is key to encourage both local and migrant youth to actively contributing in shaping more cohesive plural societies as political actors, innovators, entrepreneurs and peace builders. The pilot phase of the Mentorship initiative –Towards a Network of Inclusive Italian Universities – saw the creation of students committees in 3 Italian universities, followed by a needs assessment and a mapping exercise aimed at outline gaps and strengths of services offered to foreign students. Activities to present the project and individual support activities were also organized. In 2018 IOM launched also the EU funded project TandEM – Towards Empowered Migrant Youth in Southern Europe – which, starting from the lessons learned during the pilot phase, activated new mentorship schemes in 3 other Italian universities. On the basis of previous project experiences, useful materials and guidelines have been developed to support the creation of mentorship schemes in academic contexts.
First step for the creation of mentorship schemes within universities contexts
Intercultural communication
