Migrants and refugees living for years in Greece are not prepared on basic civic values by the state. Citizenship beneficiaries have to prove sterile knowledge on history, geography, civilization and institutions and civic learning is on the margins of the naturalization process. G2RED will develop a holistic civic education program to prepare migrants and refugees to get through the naturalization process as well as to develop durable values relevant to their essential social integration.

Athens, Greece

According to the Ministry of Interior, the naturalization process must assess whether applicants have "the knowledge of our country, our culture, our institutions and our history to the extent that will enable them to exercise their rights and obligations of the Greek citizen ". The current system however is more a test of skills than a way of determining integration and civic values. Citizenship beneficiaries, this pool of new citizens, are neither educated and supported to fully understand and trust in democratic institutions and political authorities nor to be engaged within the wider community. This project addresses this challenge and need to empower and motivate citizens with migrant backgrounds to develop an active citizenship culture and practice.

The reached key target groups are migrants and refugees that are living in Greece and they fulfill the naturalization process preconditions. According to the Greek law refugees and migrants have to live minimum 7 or 12 years depending on their residence permit type in Greece in order to access citizenship. Because of the lack of integration and civic education programs, people are not prepared to see themselves as citizens and contribute to the wider Greek community as full members.

1.Outreach of migrant communities: information on the activities, motivation to participate. 3 sessions during the first 2 months.
2.Needs assessment of migrant communities: 3 focus groups during the first 2 months to record needs regarding civic education to include inputs in the finalization of the civic education program.
3.Civic education: civic education workshops and classes for the naturalization exams, visits to cultural sites, other citizens’ associations. The program will be implanted from the 3rd until the 12th month of the project. In total, 50 people will participate.
4.Open dialogue: 1 session during the 9th month of the project with political bodies representatives and communities to exchange different perspectives.
5.Dissemination to public bodies: the results will be drafted as a report and disseminated on the 12th month of the project to relevant authorities to raise awareness on the benefits of a holistic approach for the preparation of people with migrant backgrounds to become active citizens. The key points of the open dialogue space will be also included.
6.Dissemination: the approach and civic education project process will be filmed to create a short documentary on integration success stories and the route towards active citizenship (end of the project). The documentary will inform and raise awareness of stakeholders and the audience.

As inclusion is a process that also affects the local population in the frame of social cohesion, by this project G2RED intends to create the conditions for the meaningful participation of people with migrant backgrounds, so that they become active citizens who will contribute substantially to the social development of the country. Through this project, 50 migrants and refugees that are entitled to acquire the Greek citizenship will be empowered by civic education programs in order to multiply the benefits from their civic engagement. Participants are expected to have a multiplied role within their communities and increase the impact. The short documentary may reach 30000 people in order to achieve a wider social impact of the project.

G2RED as a grassroots organization is an example of claiming to be active part of the main national issues and successful engagement. According to our approach, knowledge about institutions, policies, history, etc constitute the half way to participation. To motivate people to be engaged, knowledge should be connected with the social, political, economic, cultural everyday experience of migrants and refugees living in Greece. By the means of civic education, they will not only learn about institutions and their function but also how an active citizen can make good use and be involved with them. To achieve social and political engagement people should feel that their experience and participation may produce social change. The documentary will disseminate that aspect to the whole society.

Generation 2.0 for Rights, Equality and Diversity is founded in Athens by people with migrant backgrounds born and raised in this city. The team knows the naturalization legal system and its gaps from personal experience and from professional know-how. The difficulty of people with migrant backgrounds to be recognized and act as active members of the Greek social and political life, because of the lack of any relevant policy, is the reason why this G2RED was created. Thus, the interdisciplinary team that will implement the project has a deep knowledge not only of the challenge’s migrant populations are facing but also the importance of the organised collective action to address them. G2RED has 15 years of experience in social action, research, cultural events and educational programs.

Personnel: 22.858
Focus groups: 800
Report Design/Editing: 800
Documentary film production: 6014
Promotion/Communication: 910
Printing/Consumables: 600
Travel and subsistence: 300
Overheads: 2.443

We would like to receive feedback and ideas on communication and visibility activities, especially for audience that it is not familiar with the concepts we are working for, the communication of our project in other countries, ways of interactive learning, civic education best practices.