According to the 2011 National Census, 6% of all migrants in Poland were resident in the Pomeranian voivodship. The group had not been visible to voivodship authorities before; consequently, no system solutions had been designed to address specific migrant needs.
The purpose of the project was to engage migrants and various local entities in activities supporting migrant integration and preventing their exclusion in the Pomeranian voivodship through tasks selected jointly in response to needs and problems diagnosed.
As a result of the project, the Gdańsk City Hall began implementing a local Migrant Integration Model; the local government of Gdynia showed an interest as well, and joined the effort. Five immigrants completed 13 activities to foster integration in the Tri-City area.
Activities successfully implemented included the following, among others: educational activities (debates, seminars, workshops for young people, film screenings – approximately 150 attendants); training evolutions (3 training sessions for migrants – 40 persons); integration events (multicultural picnic, karaoke evening, Tower of Babel event, a Ramadan dinner, Children’s Day celebration at the refugee centre – 350 beneficiaries in total); and assistance work (multicultural family assistant work provided to 5 persons). A dynamically developing refugee mentor network (with a membership in excess of 100) was formed. Regardless of activities addressing migrants in particular, the project team has been active in developing a Migrant Integration Model for the City of Gdańsk since April 2015. Related work chiefly comprised migrant community consultations concerning obstacles in service access and communication with institutions, and the design of appropriate recommendations and solutions.
Direct project beneficiaries included 5 female migrants and in excess of 350 persons (migrants and Poles) project participants. The entire population of Gdańsk/the Tri-City area benefitted from the project.