In 2016, under the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU, the ‘Urban Agenda for the EU’ was launched to give European cities a greater say in shaping EU legislation, funding, and instruments for knowledge exchange. The initiative brought together cities, Member States and EU policymakers around 12 priority areas key to cities’ future—each area covered by a dedicated Partnership.
Young Generations as Change Agents (YGCA) is a mobility scheme between Morocco and Spain for studying purposes, enabling Moroccan post-graduates to enhance and strengthen their skills through a master’s degree in Spain. A selection of students has the opportunity to subsequently launch tailored projects upon their return to Morocco, through which they will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of specific key social and economic sectors and positively affect their communities of origin.
The project seeks to boost youth employability and overcome skill mismatches by mobilising cooperation between local authorities, private sector, universities and other stakeholders in France, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt to offer mobility placements for 6-month internships in French companies of various sectors.
The "One Million by 2021 Initiative" was launched in April 2019 to catalyze action for youth development in Africa. The African Union Commission does this by facilitating connections between AU Member States, corporate sponsors and development partners to inspire investment in African youth. It aims to create 1 million new opportunities for Young Africans in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and engagement across the continent and in the diaspora.
Germany – ‘Kosovo Skills Partnership for Mobility’ a BMZ-funded Migration & Diaspora Programme (PMD) strengthens international cooperation and the standards of selected vocations in Kosovo. Through vocational training based on German standards carried out in Kosovo and Germany, young professionals have better employment possibilities in both countries and on return can support the “brain-gain” of Kosovo, making an enhanced use of migration pathways.
The STARTwien Das Jugend Youth College operates in two locations in Vienna by nine partner networks offers around 200 places to young asylum seekers within the age group of 15- 21. It is a fast-track skills training programme that is delivered within a span of nine months, around 20 hours per week of education and mentoring focusing on German and vocational subjects. The prospective candidates are selected and enrolled after their evaluation of language skills and basic competencies in mathematics, English and IT.
Solidarity Cities is an initiative on the management of the refugee crisis proposed by the Mayor of Athens and launched in the framework of the EUROCITIES network. It aims to constitute the framework under which all cities actions and initiatives are presented highlighting the political leadership of cities in addressing this challenge.
In Italy, the System for the Protection of Refugees and Unaccompanied Minors (SIPROMI) is a publicly funded network of local authorities and NGOs, which accommodates unaccompanied children and provides them access to the Italian social protection system, including legal support, legal guardianship, access to health, including psychological counselling, access to Italian language classes and to mainstream education programmes. In some contexts, opportunities for vocational training and job opportunities through partnerships with social cooperatives and the private sector.
The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) is an inter-governmental organization of the countries in the African Great Lakes Region. Its establishment was based on the recognition that political instability and conflicts in these countries have a considerable regional dimension and thus require a concerted effort in order to promote sustainable peace and development.
Among the main divisions we find one concerning humanitarian social and environmental issues and one related to gender, women and children.
In February 2021, the Colombian government launched the Temporary Protection Status (Estatuto Temporal de Protección para Migrantes Venezolanos, or ETPV), a legal mechanism which facilitates the transition of migrants from an emergency migratory regime to a regularization status, granting access to formal employment, education, healthcare, and financial services for almost two million Venezuelan migrants and refugees.