REINTEGRATE II – FURTHER SUPPORT FOR THE SUSTAINABLE (RE)INTEGRATION OF RETURNEES IN SERBIA
Project duration: 33.5 months (July 15, 2022 – April 30, 2025)
Project goal:
Contribute to the sustainable (re)integration of returnees and the locally vulnerable population in central and southern Serbia.
Support measures within the project are:
- Economical support
- Psychosocial support
- Institutional support
Support measures will result in:
- 400 beneficiaries will improve their business and business knowledge through business training
- 90 beneficiaries acquire work qualifications through training
- 90 beneficiaries are trained to start their business through grants in the form of equipment and machines
- Local companies are developing the capacity to employ 120 project beneficiaries
- 2,000 returnees and members of other vulnerable families (especially children and young people) strengthen their psychosocial capacities and prepare for participation in the educational system and active participation in community life through 1,000 inclusive workshops
- Representatives of civil society (30 representatives), public sector (15 representatives) and business (15 representatives) strengthen capacities for the development of inclusive mechanisms and improvement of existing social services in their local community through trainings, meetings and study visits
- 2 (two) newly established Good Neighbor Clubs provide support to the community through work with returnees and the local population
- 5 (five) social initiatives in local communities create additional capacities for the development and implementation of local social services for returnees and the local vulnerable population.
- At least 20,000 citizens were informed about the consequences and challenges of illegal migration
Expected result:
2,250 returnees and local vulnerable residents in at least 5 local communities use the capacities created through the project (professional skills, newly opened or expanded businesses, psychosocial skills, and improved social services) to strengthen their economic and social position and improve their integration into communities.
The project “Reintegration II – further support for the sustainable (re)integration of returnees in Serbia” is a continuation of the project that was implemented in 2020 and 2021 in the territory of Novi Pazar, Sjenica and Tutin – “Reintegration – support for the sustainable (re)integration of returnees in Serbia”.
Both projects are financed by the Federal Ministry for Development and Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Germany BMZ.
The project holder is ASB Serbia, and the main implementing agency is Initiative for Development and Cooperation IDC.
Beneficiaries regions are:
- Pirot district
- Rasina district and
- Raška district
The target groups covered by the project, which lasts from July 2022 to April 2025, are:
1)Beneficiaries of economic measures (returnees, Roma, local vulnerable population);
2)Beneficiaries of psychosocial support
3)Local associations
4)Representatives of local self-governments
5)Enterprises, beneficiaries of measures to create new jobs
6)Local governments
At least 40% of all beneficiaries will be women.
Indirect target beneficiaries groups:
1) Local civil sector – primarily Roma associations
2) Municipal Roma coordinator and Roma health mediators
3) National Employment Service, city departments for economy and social affairs
4) Centers for social work
5) Relevant ministries – primarily the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs and the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia
6) LOCAL community (about 20,000 inhabitants)
7) Local businesses and non-governmental organizations
REINTEGRATION – PHASE I
During 2020 and 2021, the previous project – “Reintegration – support for sustainable (re)integration of returnees in Serbia” was implemented in the territory of Novi Pazar, Sjenica and Tutin.
In each of the three cities, Gook neighborhood clubs were opened, which were a place for socializing, realization of workshops and business training, but also a place for exchange and education and strengthening of the institutional capacities of all parties involved.
The impressive results are more than 900 workshops for over 1,900 children in Novi Pazar, Tutin and Sjenica, 98 grants for self-employment that were distributed in these three cities, along with 270 business trainings and 50 VETs.
The project was aimed both at strengthening the returnee population and at supporting local self-governments, and thus the city of Novi Pazar was supported in the adoption of the Local Action Plan on Social Protection, the municipality of Sjenica was supported in the development of the “Counseling Center for Children and Parents” service, and together with the municipality Tutin project team worked on the Social Protection Strategy and the Action Plan for the Development of Social Services.
The excellent cooperation of all partners in this project has contributed to the improvement of living conditions for beneficiaries from the returnee population, as well as the domicile population.
The project was implemented by ASB Serbia and IDC in partnership with the Regional Development Agency of Sandžak – SEDA and the Muslim Humanitarian Society Merhamet – Sandžak, with the support of the City of Novi Pazar, the Municipality of Tutin and the Municipality of Sjenica, and was financed by the funds of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) within the Engagement Global program.
