Adult Education Center Jesenice

The project

The selected practice is a good example of a successful multi-stakeholder and multi-level partnerships in the area of access to basic services, in particular health care of migrants; it represents a social innovation practice piloted at local level that takes into consideration the migrants’ cultural background, gender and age. The employment of the cultural mediator is financed by the Municipality of Jesenice which contributes to the sustainability of the program. The transferability of this practice is possible as it can be applied to any other context and municipality or region facing challenges related to an increase in the number of migrants. Direct participation and engagement from the beneficiaries are crucial and central to this practice. The practice showcases a two-way communication and how it can contribute towards building communities where solidarity and understanding of a multicultural background is something that is considered as a positive attribute. 

The main solutions that the practice brought are: 

• The importance of trust that has been established between the institutions and migrants, which has evolved by overcoming the initial negative reactions of the local community. Continuous trainings on the topic of multiculturalism and intercultural competencies for their staff have also played a key role in fostering a trusting environment. 
• Migrants are also themselves encouraged to undertake the role of mentors to the newly arrived. The municipality has furthermore published several multilingual brochures on key topics of interest, such as how to enroll children in kindergartens or to apply for a job.

The impact of the good practice

This program is an example of good practice as it results in an increased social inclusion of migrants. Intercultural mediator enables direct communication with the majority of migrants (especially Albanian speakers). As a result, they have built trust in the University and its projects and are regularly involved in various activities. Intercultural mediators enable easier reach to different migrant groups and their further referral to different programs and activities not only carried out by the University, but also by other organizations. In the past year, the University has also been contacted by potential employers searching for employees. 

The program has sparked interest in other municipalities facing similar challenges, who seek assistance from cultural mediators. Apart from improving the availability of public services to migrants, the work of cultural mediators supports the integration of migrants, due to the established trust in the work of public institutions. Moreover, employees in public sector (teachers, social workers, medical staff, etc.) benefit from the availability of cultural mediation.