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4OneAnother

Training for Better Integration of Unaccompanied Minors

Support for the social, educational, and professional integration of unaccompanied minors.

For underage refugees, the migration process is often particularly challenging, especially if they are unaccompanied. They have left their caregivers and their familiar surroundings and must cope in a foreign environment with less social support. The project 4OneAnother is dedicated to investigating measures and opportunities for the protection and social integration of this specific target group in order to better understand and support them during their adolescence.

Migration is a complex collective and individual experience owing to a multitude of challenges, among them psychosocial and culture-specific aspects (differences between the country of origin and the host country), as well as national and European legal frameworks. In order to provide unaccompanied minor refugees (UMRs) with useful tools and competences for their personal development, it is of particular importance to support the professionals working with UMRs in their professional development, allowing them to act as persons of reference and trust, as well as purveyors of competence.

A key project objective is to develop appropriate tools to support professionals in their care and counseling activities in dealing with unaccompanied minors. This includes elements such as administrative challenges; providing psychosocial support in a successful acculturation and development process; providing support in the transition to adulthood and on their way to independence (housing, work, education); support in finding and choosing educational pathways and learning opportunities; ways to reduce prejudices and fears that exist in the wider society around refugees and ways to promote their acceptance within society.

Project support: Laura Haubenhofer

Project milestones

IO1: Scientific stock-taking and evaluation of the challenges and opportunities related to the strategic development of the training program
IO2: Development of a training program for professionals working with UMRs
IO3: Development of e-learning tools, specifically an open access online training platform

Potential target groups

With a view to the particular national structure of social services, the project intends to address a wide variety of professionals across the sector, among them social workers, psychologists, managers in the social services, legal advisors, and other relevant professionals.