Our Projects

About the project:

The “Social Integration through Informal Dialogue” project is based on one of INPRO’s local initiatives called Open Cafe which was realized under the scope of the Open Rzeszow project in 2016 which was financed by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. It was initially created in response to the increasing number of immigrants moving to Rzeszow, Poland to study or work.
Open Cafe is an informal and comfortable space open for all. It is a space where people meet, break stereotypes about each other and debate different issues. They also learn how to actively listen, be respectful and express their opinions in a clear manner. Therefore the aim of this project is to create new cultural spaces for people to meet on equal terms, and where the rules of interaction are more flexible. This creates a mutual understanding between participants which can then filter into larger community-level interactions.

Consequently, this project does not simply mean to engage newcomers, refugees and migrants, but also to foster interaction and dialogue with the wider European society. And as the far right gains traction in many European societies, it is important for all of us to build open and accessible cultural spaces, where migrants, refugees and the local European community are in dialogue with each other.

The project foresees the following activities:

1. Training Course for Open Cafe Hosts (April 2019)
2. Implementation of Open Cafe in 5 cities in Europe (May – October 2019)
3. Training Course for Open Cafe Hosts (September 2019)
4. Study Visit for Open Cafe Hosts (December 2019)
5. Open Cafe 2.0 (December 2019 – May 2020)      

Direct results of the project are:

1. Trained staff of 20 youth workers from 5 countries in organizing, delivering and promoting the concept of the Open Cafe activity.
2. Realization of 200 editions of Open Cafe events delivered in 5 countries
3. Manual on How to Run Open Cafe
4. Short film and mini-series

Partners:

• Poland
• Greece
• Italy
• Holland
• Sweden