Case Studies
Finland
Tatu Iisakkila works as an instructor in a family group home for refugee minors arriving in Finland without a guardian in the city of Turku, Finland. Tatu`s professional education name is Community Educator. Tatu has been working with immigrant young people for ten years and he is well known in the field of migration.
Inga has studied in Turku University of Applied Sciences and has a Bachelor degree in Social Services. Inga has also graduated from University of Turku and holds an MA in history.
Italy
Giulia Di Carlo is a cultural mediator, sociologist and expert on migration. During this interview, you will discover the reality of reception centres in Palermo and the type of relationship between youth worker and migrants.
Lucia Pepe is a mediator in a SPRAR located in Palermo. Lucia will provide advise to youth worker that want to be engaged with migrants.
Malta
Dr. Maria Pisani holds a BA and MA in Youth & Community Studies, and a PhD in Adult Education from the University of Malta. She previously held the post of Head of Office (Malta) for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). During this time she was responsible for a number of key projects related to refugee resettlement, AVR, and human trafficking, amongst others.
Maria is also a practitioner and an activist, and the co-founder and director of the NGO Integra Foundation. Her ongoing involvement in the field provides an opportunity to keep the dialectic relationship between theory and practice alive, providing the space for critical knowledge production towards social transformation.
Ms Danielle Van Rooyen has been in the teaching profession for over 8 years, spending three of them in South Africa, then in Cambodia and another year at a school in Khartoum, Sudan. In 2015, she was considering a change and she was offered a teaching job in Malta. She works in the Verdala International School (VIS) and she is responsible for the Creativity Activity Service (CAS) programme.
Within the CAS programme, she has started collaborating with “Peace Lab”, a voluntary organisation that offers, among other services, shelter for adult migrants and refugees. Once a week, the students organize a meal with people living there, sharing traditional food from different parts of the world.
Serbia
Mehdija Medović is youth worker from the town of Tutin. By vocation, he is a Security manager and soon will become Master engineer of forensics. He is chairing Tutin Youth Initiative which is an organization that deals with all youth-related issues in Tutin. As regards the work with the refugees he has started his engagement in 2015 as a coordinator of Divac Foundation project “Support to local communities’ response to the migrant crisis” in Tutin. This was his first encounter with the refugees. The project dealt with the integration of migrants into the local community.
”The statements delivered by an interviewee in this video, present a personal statement and are the sole responsibility of an interviewee, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of Oxfam Italia or any other donor or implementing partner.”
Ersin Džigal (25) is a youth worker from Sjenica. He has spent the last 4 years in working with the migrants on the project funded by the Divac Foundation and USAID ‘Support for the local communities in responding to the migrant crises’ in the scope of which he has been working on the integration of migrants with the local community. He has also worked on similar projects funded by UNICEF, Red Cross, and Group 484 where he has been engaged in the education of the migrants, and inclusion of young migrants into the educational system.
”The statements delivered by an interviewee in this video, present a personal statement and are the sole responsibility of an interviewee, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of Oxfam Italia or any other donor or implementing partner.”
United Kingdom
“Gulwali is a dedicated advocate and spokesperson for refugees and asylum seekers across the U.K and is the Co-Founder of not-for-profit organisation “My Bright Kite CIC”.
Since arriving in the UK in 2007 after being forced to leave Afghanistan as a 12 year old boy, Gulwali has achieved beyond all odds to become a well-respected and sought after public speaker, influencer and political campaigner for refugee’s rights, social justice and education. The experience of his journey to the UK shaped his future and inspired an insatiable determination and commitment to raise awareness and make a difference for other refugees.
Among his many achievements, Gulwali graduated with a Politics degree from The University of Manchester and he is now studying for his MPA at Coventry. Gulwali is the esteemed author of his autobiography, “The Lightless Sky: A Twelve-Year-Old Refugee’s Harrowing Escape from Afghanistan and His Extraordinary Journey Across Half The World”.
In his talks, Gulwali shares his captivating story of struggle, danger and resilience and how he miraculously survived the harrowing year long journey from Afghanistan to the UK, on his own, after being separated from his brother. Through his talks, audience’s young and old, are able to achieve an understanding of the extent of adversity that refugees face and thus be inspired to instigate positive change in their environments.”
Rojin Mohammadi - Podcast
Rojin Mohammadi is currently a third year student at MMU in the subject of Youth and Community Work. She is responsible for two different projects in a community centre as a part of her third year placement. One of these projects is focused on working with people from refugee background. The project is called “Community Farm Shop” which a shop in front of the setting which offers an extensive range of goods and services such as: organic vegetables from the centre’s garden, eggs from the centre’s chickens, jams and pickles from the donated fruits and vegetables, honey, cakes, barista coffee and some donation from generous organizations. The project’s coordinators are enthusiastic to pursue the project with volunteers who come to the centre to get help e.g. to pay a water bill but then continue to come and participate in the centre’s projects. This is a great opportunity for them to gain knowledge, build up their confidence, fulfil their potential and even broaden their horizons into getting a job around the areas of their interests. Rojin has a refugee background too which motivated her to work with this group to improve their lives and make changes by themselves.
Within the CAS programme, she has started collaborating with “Peace Lab”, a voluntary organisation that offers, among other services, shelter for adult migrants and refugees. Once a week, the students organize a meal with people living there, sharing traditional food from different parts of the world.