FATIMA has been a collaborative project between five NGOs supporting the empowerment and social integration of migrant women through a personalised and holistic approach.

FATIMA project was co-designed with the purpose of supporting the economic, social-cultural and political integration of 210 female Third-Country Nationals (non-European citizens), with a particular focus on local-language-learning. Each woman enrolled has received one-to-one support through language classes, mentoring, personalised development programmes, civic engagement and cultural activities, as well as volunteering and work experience.

There have been numerous challenges to the programme’s implementation, but we are immensely proud of how our project partners have taken a flexible approach and succeeded in achieving all of our goals.

FATIMA and EU Policies

The FATIMA project has supported the EU policy on integration whilst developing models of good practice across the EU, learning from each other and disseminating the results among national governments, EU institutions and networks and transnational organisations. The FATIMA project has supported the achievement of the following EU policies:

The European Handbook for Integration (3rd ed) states

“..basic knowledge of the host society’s language, history and institutions are indispensable to integration; enabling immigrants to acquire this …is essential”. The FATIMA project will use language and civic learning as a central tool for integration, combined with mentoring and volunteering for women across four EU countries.

The European Social Fund, and the Situation of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the EU (2015/2325(INI))

Highlight the need for greater efforts to involve women in the labour markets through language classes, literacy programmes and lifelong learning. However, these identify migrant women solely as workers. The FATIMA project builds upon existing measures to economically integrate migrant women, whilst also recognising their role not only as economic actors but also as social actors who are critical in supporting the integration of their children, families and wider communities.

The Europe 2020 strategy agenda for growth and jobs for the current decade

Current social policy will affect migrant women and their children for years to come. Migrant children, who are identified as a key target group within EU policy, are twice as likely to leave school early than EU born students. However, given proper resources and support, as the FATIMA project aims to do, migrant women can promote their children’s educational attainment and employment.

The project has been managed by our Project Manager, Paola Delmonaco. You can stay up to date, by subscribing to our monthly newsletters below or getting in touch via email paola@wonderfoundation.org.uk.

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