The 'Chez nous' project promoting legal migration to Italy wrapped up on June 30. The initiative aims to help people in Tunisia find employment, access professional training and join family members.
The "Chez nou" project wrapped up on June 30. It was funded in 2019 through the EU's asylum, migration and integration fund (AMIF) in an effort to promote inclusion and legal migration.
The initiative included language and professional training courses held in Tunisia for people who wanted to migrate to Italy to find employment, enrol in education or join family members.
680 Tunisian citizens trained in over 24 months
Speaking at a councillor's meeting held on June 30 in Palermo, Sicily's regional councillor for the family and social policies, Nuccia Albano, said the event was being held "on a day in which, for the umpteenth time, we have to register several migrant landings in just a few hours in Sicily."
"It is not possible to stop and think about this problem only in days like this. We have to work on many fronts, starting with projects like the one we discussed today which promotes inclusion, also through initiatives in the countries of origin" of migrants.
The councillor said it was necessary to plan new initiatives in that direction, which favor "limited and qualified entries for a type of migration that is advantageous to all, characterized by controlled migration flows, reduced incentives to irregular migration, inclusivity and reciprocal benefits."
The project -- implemented by social cooperative IntegrOrienta, which manages a center in Ragusa together with the local department for the family as part of the project Su.pr.eme.Italia -- was held in the Tunisian cities of Tunis and Mahdia and lasted 24 months.
It included language and professional courses and trained more than 680 Tunisian citizens, including 400 who will soon travel to Italy with a regular work permit, organizers said.
Pre-departure courses in Tunis, Mahdia
The initiative in general vied to improve the professional training of Tunisians enrolled in the courses to help them qualify for jobs that are most in demand in Italy. The project organized courses on the Italian language, local society and professional training in Tunis and Mahdia to help students prepare for the move and contribute to their integration within society and the labour market while promoting the positive impact of migration in Italy.
The activities involved adult and underage migrant students, addressing personal needs and expectations regarding their upcoming move to Italy to help boost their chances of finding employment while reducing the cost of integration.