“Building Futures, Sharing Good Practices: Migrant Children’s Transition to Adulthood”
The Transnational Workshops for the Unaccompanied Minors by SolidarityNow & The Special Secretariat for the Protection of the Unaccompanied Minors are completed
Two Transnational Workshops were implemented on January 30 and 31st , in Athens, the first by the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors (SSPUAM) of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, through the Integration and Support Unit, and the second by SolidarityNow, partners of the project “Building Futures, Sharing good practices: Migrant Children’s Transition to Adulthood (UACFutures)”.
The workshops were honored with the presence of representatives of the Council of Europe, including Mr. Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the academic field, as well as representatives of international and local organizations that are active in human rights and child protection issues.
The workshops strengthened the fruitful exchange of views and good practices, to promote long-term improvements in the quality of support of unaccompanied minors during their transition to adulthood at the European level, through the experiences and examples of Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Serbia, Cyprus, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Austria, and Luxembourg.
During the workshops, key topics included vocational training and access to labor, the safeguarding of fundamental rights as well as general mental health issues of the unaccompanied children who turn 18. An additional topic was dedicated to the Institution of the Commission by the Institutional Protection Unit of the SSPUAM. A representative of the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) made a presentation on this topic focusing on the developments of guardianship systems in EU countries since 2014. Representatives of the partner organization Stitching NIDOS from the Netherlands presented the guardianship and foster care system in their country.
Discussions highlighted the importance of taking more initiatives for the care of children coming of age in Europe and the need to extend the protection framework after the 18-year-old milestone to make the transition to working life and independent living, smoother.
In the context of the event, the Special Secretary for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors, Mr. Heracles Moskoff, in his speech underlined “It is a top priority for us to ensure the continuation of support, services, and rights for unaccompanied children entering adulthood. But the most important thing is to create opportunities in education and the labor market, so that unaccompanied minors as young adults enjoy their rights equally.”
The Deputy Head of Division and Secretary to the Council of Europe, Mrs. Lilja Grétarsdóttir stressed that “Based on international and European treaties specific fundamental rights are linked to the right to life and dignity and should be enjoyed by all people who are under the jurisdiction of the Member States of the Council of Europe, irrespective of nationality and legal status.”
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of SolidarityNow, Mr. Stelios Zavvos stated among others: “To date, we have supported with housing, protection, and legal services more than 800 unaccompanied children and we are present to contribute to the provision of the necessary services and supplies to children who grow up in our country, embracing their dream of a better life in Europe”.
*The project is coordinated by the Council of Europe and includes five partners, (Convive – Fundación Cepaim), the Netherlands (NIDOS, the national guardianship institution), the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors and SolidarityNow in Greece, and it is funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Council of Europe.
This press release was funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Council of Europe.
The content of this press release represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the Council of Europe do not accept any responsibility for the use that may be made of the information it contains.