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Growing Roots
Start date: Aug 1, 2016, End date: Jul 31, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

According to the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are an estimated 2,000,000 of Bosnians living outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many of them have left their country in the past two decades due to the Bosnian war of the early 1990s and the political problems and economic crisis in later years. Recent studies show that most Bosnian migrants settled in countries of the European Union at an average age of 37 and either took their families with them or started their family in their chosen country.On the one hand, in general, populations of European countries are finding it difficult to embrace other cultures and everything that feels stranger to them. This attitude is becoming stronger nowadays, with the recent refugee crises worsening every day. On the other hand, the situation makes it difficult for immigrant families to integrate into a new society and adhere to its culture while keeping their own culture and traditions at the same time.As a consequence, young people with a migrant background might find it extremely difficult to fit in with the society of their new country, even if their family had been living there for generations, as they are faced with the challenge of developing a bi-cultural and multicultural identity. In such cases it might happen that measuring up to societal expectations goes against the cultural traditions of the family or the other way around. Balancing between two sets of expectations and negotiating multiple cultures can have enormous pressure on young people while they are still in the stage of developing their own identities.Therefore, the aim of the project is to foster the multicultural identities of young people of immigrant backgrounds and to enhance the cultural awareness and understanding in Europe.The aim will be reached through the following objectives:- provide youth organizations in Europe with tools and methods in helping young people balancing between two cultures;- provide youth organizations in Europe with tools and methods in helping their local communities towards the acceptance of other cultures;- provide young people with a positive cultural awareness;- help young people develop a healthy self-identity.Participants of the training course are going to be youth leaders and youth workers involved at organizations working with young people of immigrant backgrounds. These youth leaders and youth workers are expected to have a certain amount of experience with the target group, however, they are in need of the tools and methods for working with them on a more efficient level. The participants of the training course, and their organizations, need tools and methods in, on the one hand, helping young people to fit into society while maintaining the ethnic culture and traditions of their family. On the other hand, they are in need of tools and methods for being able to educate their local community towards accepting young people with different cultural backgrounds as equal members.Participants of the youth exchange are going to be young people with Bosnian ethnicity permanently living in countries of the European Union. These young people need to develop a strong ability for maintaining a healthy balance between their Bosnian culture and the culture of the country they live in. They also need to learn how to deal with the expectations coming from both these backgrounds, therefore, need to acquire the ability to develop a strong self-identity and cultural awareness.First and foremost, participants will gain a deeper understanding of Europe’s multiculturalism and diversity, as well as migrating to other countries. As a consequence, on the one hand, they will gain a better understanding on why it is important to support young people of immigrant backgrounds. On the other hand, they will have a better understanding upon why it is important to support the local communities in accepting other cultures and integrating young people of immigrant backgrounds. Through the workshops and discussions, participants will reflect upon the fact that the different cultures coming together enrich the local communities and the European Union.Participants of the youth exchange will have a better understanding of multiculturalism and how people are able to live while balancing between multiple cultures. This will give them a stronger identity, as they will reflect upon how the multiple cultures are making them stronger and giving them more layers. Gaining an understanding upon this will provide them with a positive self-awareness and give them self-confidence.

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