The NGO East European Cooperation has completed the project “Ways of Successful Community Involvement of IDPs: Promoting Employment and Improvement of Intercultural Competence”

On October 1, 2018, the NGO East European Cooperation completed the project “Ways of Successful Community Involvement of IDPs: Promoting Employment and Improvement of Intercultural Competence”. The organization has implemented a number of activities aimed at achieving the goal of the project.

The work included two components: practical assistance for IDPs from the Eastern Ukraine and Crimea to overcome the consequences of their forced migration and enhance the awareness of the history and current state of one of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine - i.e. Crimean Tatars.

Thus, from May 31 to June 2, Skadovsk city (Kherson region) hosted a three-day training “Path of a Successful Freelancer: Step-by-Step Guidelines”. The training was attended by representatives of the Kherson community – local residents and IDPs from Crimea and from the East of Ukraine. 50% of the participants represented the Crimean Tatar community.

“27 participants were selected on a competitive basis. We received 173 applications. We received 7 applications per one place available, which attests to the high demand on the part of the target group – i.e. internally displaced people from Crimea and the East of Ukraine. Due to their high motivation, the participants managed to use their knowledge to set up and promote their own business, as evidenced by the stories women share in social networks,” said Beatrice Belyavtsiv, Director of the EEC NGO.

The second part of the project was devoted to the enhancement of intercultural competence. The NGO East European Cooperation initiated publication of the Crimean issue of the cultural journal Ї. The publication contains articles by 11 authors – famous Crimean Tatar public figures, historians, and political scientists.

“The history of the Crimean Tatars is a history of a Muslim people peacefully living alongside Christian peoples for hundreds of years. Contrary to Soviet historiography, which always emphasized the existence of conflicts, the true history of the Lithuanian and Polish Tatars attests to the peaceful and comfortable life of the Muslim people in the Christian environment. This is part of the history of Europe, which we tried to emphasize in the Crimean issue of the Ї journal, said Beatrice Belyavtsiv, Director of the EES.

The journal presented the views of the European and Lithuanian expert Adas Jakubauskas, writer and chairman of the community of the Tatars of Lithuania, who commented on the 621-year-long history of the Tatar Diaspora in Lithuania.

According to Gulnara Bekirova, compiler of the issue, historian, member of the Ukrainian PEN-club, in 2018, the 90^th issue of the Ї journal was the only one in Ukraine devoted to the history of Crimean Tatars.

“As part of our project activities, we covered vulnerable groups that need regular support. It is not about humanitarian aid or satisfaction of basic economic needs anymore. Crimean Tatars and IDPs from the East are interested in establishing a normal life sustenance and deepening integration into local communities as full-fledged members of social processes. That is why, in our opinion, the combination of educational and training measures is an effective model. It is practical work aimed to achieve results and long-term effects – because the issues of IDP integration remain relevant in Ukraine, although on another level”, concluded Beatrice Belyavtsiv, Director of the EES.

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The project “Ways of Successful Community Involvement of IDPs: Promoting Employment and Improvement of Intercultural Competence” is carried out in order to facilitate the successful integration of IDPs into the local communities of Ukraine and social adaptation of vulnerable groups.

Within the framework of the project, information campaigns were conducted to create a positive image of IDPs, facilitate further integration processes and help reduce the stigmatization of IDPs from Crimea and the East of Ukraine.

The project is implemented by the NGO East European Cooperation (the Republic of Lithuania) in cooperation with the Information Resource Center Pravovyi Prostir (Kherson city), NGO Independent Cultural Journal Ї (Lviv city), and the State Enterprise Krymskyi Dim (Kyiv city).

The project is funded by the Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania.