Community Matching 2024
Continuing the experience gained since 2021, implemented in 10 cities: Turin, Milan, Parma, Padua, Bergamo, Bologna, Rome, Naples, Bari, Palermo.
Starting date
1 January 2024Duration
12 monthsRealized by:
UNHCR ItalyObjectives
Promote matches between individuals with international and temporary protection status and volunteers, both Italian and foreign residents in Italy, to support their full autonomy and active participation in the social, economic, and cultural life of local communities.
Enhance cultural and social understanding of the host country among refugees, and support their ability to access local welfare, national services, and community resources.
Influence public opinion by challenging the perception that refugees are only bearers of needs and have little to offer to the community, while fostering mutual understanding, overcoming stereotypes, and breaking down barriers in the host society.
Contribute to building local communities based on values of diversity, inclusion, and solidarity by creating opportunities for interaction and exchange between Italian citizens and refugees.
The Community Matching program aims to consolidate the work of establishing local roots and actively involving various local actors, continuing the activities carried out in 2023 in Rome, Milan, Turin, Bari, Naples, Parma, Palermo, Padua, Bologna, and Bergamo.
The goal of the Community Matching program is to develop a comprehensive methodology for implementing protection and social integration measures. Through matching refugees with citizens, the program can contribute to building more cohesive societies and creating more effective and sustainable integration pathways over time. By fostering relationships between refugees and volunteers, the project seeks to address the challenges of refugee integration through mutual understanding and support. Relationships built on trust and friendship contribute to the creation of more open, welcoming, and inclusive communities, thus combating racism and xenophobia.
The program faces two main challenges: first, the need to produce and disseminate significant evidence to inform policymakers and shape public opinion on the importance of social relationships as catalysts for integration and social cohesion. Second, efforts will be made to ensure that the program is adopted as an available measure for all interested refugees. To this end, extensive awareness-raising, promotion, and training activities will be directed at other civil society organizations involved in reception and integration, aiming to “export” the Community Matching methodology and establish a community of practice that ensures the scalability of the initiative.
The project is managed by UNHCR in collaboration with partners Refugees Welcome Italia Onlus and Centro Immigrazione Asilo Cooperazione Internazionale (CIAC), which have qualified staff and cultural mediators who will oversee the matching process between refugees and volunteers.
