Voices of Change

About the Project

“Voices of Change (VOC): enhancing girls with migration background to cooperate in women policies in the European Consultative Body for Migrant Girls Civic Engagement” is CERV-2023-CITIZENS-CIV project. Duration: 1.11.2024 – 30.06.2026.

The project supports democratic participation of migrant youth girls by stimulating and organising reflection, debates, and developing a practical link with the policymaking process. VOC is also meant to provide, through close cooperation between girls with a migrant background and European girls, the design of recommendations that develop concrete awareness for the Member States that host migrant and refugee girls.

A collective writing process for a bottom-up policy recommendation for local authorities and EU decision makers on inclusion of young girls with a migratory background in the decision-making process will be set up, stressing the importance of considering intersectionality. Citizens,residents, migrants, associations, and social and political forces will be involved in the activities.

Specifically, the project addresses priority 3 of the call: Engaging citizens and communities in discussions and action related to solidarity. The target group of the project is young girls with an immigrant background from outside Europe, but also girls coming from European partner countries (19-30 years old). Every partner will involve 4 girls (2 migrants and 2 locals for a total of 84 girls in more than 15 countries), who will become part of the partner organisations' staff for the duration of the project through an Internship. It is considered important for the consortium to involve both migrant and local girls, bringing diverse perspectives to the project, which can help to promote understanding and respect between different cultures.

The formal link with the partner organisation will ensure the girls' involvement in all phases of the project, and will give them the opportunity to gain new expertise and skills. Moreover, the internship opportunity will enable the girls to enhance their professional and personal development, which can benefit their future career prospects. By involving the girls in all phases of the project, they will have a lasting impact on the project outcomes. Their contributions can help to shape the project's direction and ensure that it is relevant and effective in addressing the issues at hand. Local authorities, citizens, relevant associations, and stakeholders will also be involved in the activities.

VOC general objective:

To foster migrant and refugee girls' understanding of the policymaking process, showing in practice how to engage in the democratic life of the EU, and enabling them to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action.

Specific objectives:

1. To increase migrant and refugee girls’ awareness of their rights and EU values and increase their engagement in society and within the EU;
2. To strengthen the democratic participation of migrant and refugee girls and bring them closer to European institutions, communicating their views and concerns to policymakers at all levels and including intersectional dimensions;
3. To make the new consultative body operational and enhance its capabilities.
4. To build partners' capacity to operate jointly, share good practices, and reinforce their network at the EU level, boosting internationalization of their activities

Project Partners

• Tia Formazione (Italy) - Coordinator
• Università Roma Tre (Italy)
• Differenza Donna (Italy)
• CULTURAL FOUNDATION 1948 (Cyprus)
• Belgian-Italian Chamber of Commerce (Belgium)
• The Association Local Action Group NAPOCA POROLISSUM (Romania)
• Regional Volunteer Center (Poland)
• IKIGAI Institute (Spain)
• Association Mundus Bulgaria (Bulgaria)
• INNOVATION HIVE (Greece)
• Stichting Platform INS (The Netherlands)
• Welcome Home International ASBL (Belgium)
• Fachhochschule des Mittelstandes (Germany)
• NEST Berlin NGO (Germany)
• PLACE Netwok (France)
• D'Antilles & D'Ailleurs (France)
• Eesti People to People NGO (Estonia)
• MITR (Slovenia)
• SOSU Østjylland (Denmark)
• ART + INN (Lithuania)
• Right Challenge (Portugal)
• AICCRE VENICE (Italy) - associated partner