Subscribe to RSS | Advertise with us

ROOTS
  • ABOUT
    • OUR PROJECT
    • NEWS
    • SPECIAL STORYLINES
    • QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERS
    • DONORS
    • BLOGS
  • OUR COHORT
    • OUR STAFF
    • OUR EXTERNAL EXPERTS
    • OUR PEACE WORK INSTITUTE ALUMNI
  • OUR ACTIVITY
    • PEACE WORK INSTITUTE
      • Tandem Projects
    • PEACE PROGRAMME FESTIVALS
    • LOCAL CAPACITIES FOR PEACE AWARD
    • MEDIA SUPPORT GROUP
      • heal the smile
      • rootsmade
  • OUR LEGACY
    • ROOTS FOR RECONCILIATION 2016 – 2019
    • ROOTS FOR RECONCILIATION 2012 -2015
    • ROOTS FOR RECONCILIATION 2007 -2010
  • OUR KNOW-HOW
    • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK
      • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK IN ENGLISH
      • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK IN CROATIAN
      • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK IN RUSSIAN
    • PACEWORK GUIDEBOOK UNPACKED
    • DO NO HARM IN BRIEF
  • DONATE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
    • OUR PROJECT
    • NEWS
    • SPECIAL STORYLINES
    • QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERS
    • DONORS
    • BLOGS
  • OUR COHORT
    • OUR STAFF
    • OUR EXTERNAL EXPERTS
    • OUR PEACE WORK INSTITUTE ALUMNI
  • OUR ACTIVITY
    • PEACE WORK INSTITUTE
      • Tandem Projects
    • PEACE PROGRAMME FESTIVALS
    • LOCAL CAPACITIES FOR PEACE AWARD
    • MEDIA SUPPORT GROUP
      • heal the smile
      • rootsmade
  • OUR LEGACY
    • ROOTS FOR RECONCILIATION 2016 – 2019
    • ROOTS FOR RECONCILIATION 2012 -2015
    • ROOTS FOR RECONCILIATION 2007 -2010
  • OUR KNOW-HOW
    • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK
      • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK IN ENGLISH
      • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK IN CROATIAN
      • PEACEWORK GUIDEBOOK IN RUSSIAN
    • PACEWORK GUIDEBOOK UNPACKED
    • DO NO HARM IN BRIEF
  • DONATE
  • CONTACT
In Blogs, News

Working Conference “YMCA Work with Refugees”

YMCA Europe Roots for Peace had an honor to be present at the YMCA Work with Refugees working conference, organized by the YMCA Europe working group on Refugees, on 9-12 February 2023. 37 practitioners from Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Northern Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine  came together to learn and share about refugee work and create connections in Gdynia, Poland.

During the conference, six parallel workshops offered participants a chance to enrich their knowledge and skills in refugee work, as it is crucial now more than ever. The sessions included: Working with children, Education, Employment, Conflict Resolution, Housing, and Mental Health. Sessions were led by practitioners from YMCAs from all corners of Europe.  Facilitators shared highly relevant information based on their experience. Every workshop was balanced with valuable information and practical exercises.

Participants had a discussion on most prominent issues in their refugee works areas and exchanged ideas on how to address them. It is important to highlight that all the YMCAs present at the conference had an experience in working with refugees from different countries. Some YMCAs had been working on refugee projects for decades, while the others were relatively new in the field; however, the differences in participants’ approaches and methods to address various issues created a great atmosphere for discussions, introducing new perspectives and adopting the best practices from old experiences.

As mentioned above, YMCA Europe Roots for Peace also had the opportunity to attend the conference and to present best practices for Mental Health for refugees. The workshop was based on experience gained while working on Heal the Smile project. Based on the feedback, the work done by Roots was highly relevant and the shared know-how was helpful. In addition to that, several YMCAs expressed their interest in the project and offered a partnership in case further collaboration is needed.

Apart from the workshops, participants had a chance to visit FLY Foundation in Gdynia and learn more about the YMCA Europe mission in Poland and all the outstanding work they have accomplished with great dedication to the cause.

YMCA Europe Roots for Peace and Refugee Work

Shortly after the war broke out in Ukraine, YMCA Europe Roots for Peace initiated a mental health support campaign which provided professional psychological help for more than a dozen of Ukrainians. The project was one of the first international Refugee Mental Health projects implemented within the YMCA.

It is important to highlight that Roots’ peacework initiatives include not only mental health support programs, but also various projects and campaigns for refugees from Ukrainian, Syria and IDPs from Artsakh on daily bases. Learn more about Rootsmade and summer camps for peace; highly successful projects facilitating integration and trauma recovery processes for those in need.

We would like to express our gratitude to the conference organizers for the opportunity and to the facilitators for sharing their knowledge with us. We wish productive work and good luck to each participant in their exceptional work.

Previous StoryPeacework Institute | Yerevan Session Report
Next StoryRoots PWI Preparatory Visit to the Holy Land

Related Articles

  • 333981151_1290406408485267_765765381510166447_n
    Roots at the “Campacity” - A Capacity building through camps
  • 52443641615_235fca623e_o-compressed
    I am Roots: Max Danner

Leave your comment Cancel Reply

(will not be shared)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

ROOTS for me is…

https://youtu.be/JYhK_o3U4wo

Be the PEACE you want

https://youtu.be/DWrFZQYKGIY

Art4Peace

https://youtu.be/3-QH_ZjsEos

Be a piece of PEACE

https://youtu.be/tsiLQZbJ2Mo

Music for PEACE – Way of life

https://youtu.be/-uO4W_qYdCA

Peace Work Institute – First cohort

https://youtu.be/QU1m6g5viZA

Latest Posts

  • 333981151_1290406408485267_765765381510166447_n
    Roots at the “Campacity” – A Capacity building through camps
  • 52443641615_235fca623e_o-compressed
    I am Roots: Max Danner
  • 335525811_2223162027892529_3044886861269600109_n
    Roots PWI Preparatory Visit to the Holy Land
  • 331317342_3448477592049369_7489500651884427386_n
    Working Conference “YMCA Work with Refugees”
  • PWI Yerevan Report – 2
    Peacework Institute | Yerevan Session Report
  • Quarterly covers
    THE 12th ROOTS & NEXT QUARTERLY IS ISSUED
  • Black Modern Elegant Award Certificate-compressed 2
    YMCA Europe Roots
    Peace Award 2023
    Call For Nominations
  • 277763373_151372987359501_3631535971242017996_n-compressed
    Rootsmade Initiative Report 2022
  • E2AB7D8F-61F9-4C26-9F67-98FF3DDCD691
    Season’s Message of the Roots Staff Team
  • 313482198_641826150746222_1354369865531159143_n
    Roots at the European YMCA Mission Network Conference 2022

OUR IMPACT

  • BLOG
  • GALLERY
  • MAKE A DONATION
  • PRIVACY AND COOKIES

ABOUT YMCA

  • YMCA EUROPE
  • WORLD YMCA
  • LINKS
  • NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBE

MISSION

Roots for Peace is a YMCA Europe initiative for stronger youth activism towards peaceful transformation of conflicts in Europe.
Roots for Peace
All rights reserved © YMCA Europe