Good practices in integration of migrants in Portugal

By Anabela Mateus and Ana Cunha from Lusófona University

In this article we would like to inform you about another project that is strongly interconnected to the SeHeMe project, since they share the same thematic. That project is called “ÓNIS_Boleia para a Interculturalidade” (ÓNIS_ A ride to Interculturality) (2019-2022) and is a project that arises from the growing migratory flow in the municipality of Odivelas (greater Lisbon), Portugal. This flow shows a series of procedures, measures and local strategies, which need to be taken care of in order to guarantee the full rights of migrants/third-country nationals and their descendants.

This project was co-financed by the Fund for the Asylum, Migration and Integration – Secretariat General of the Portuguese Ministry of the Internal Administration) and by the EU. The target of the project are third-country nationals in the European Union residing in the municipality of Odivelas and the technicians who work with this population and the general public. The objectives of the project are to improve and intensify the responses and support to these people, to encourage and promote learning contexts that facilitate integration and inclusion, to contribute to a greater knowledge and demystification of the cultures and religions of the migrant population and to stimulate the civic participation of various elements representing migrants.

The project intends to facilitate the inclusion of the municipality’s migrant population and corresponds to the creation of a municipal plan for the integration of migrants in the municipality of Odivelas that has a comprehensive approach, focusing on every aspect of life in society, and also including language as one of the main intervention areas, which are: welcoming, integration and social support; culture and citizenship; education and language; housing; health; gender equality; and labour market.

In terms of education and language, the project intends to:

• offer language courses (Portuguese beginners’ level);
• extend the offer of “Portuguese as a non-native language” courses;
• offer a Guide for welcoming and supporting school integration;
• training of teachers in the field of sports (namely, cricket) to promote inclusion in and between communities.

This project caters, among others, for one of the general objectives of the Erasmus+ Programme, which is the promotion of European values in accordance with the Treaty on European Union (The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.)

This project is a good example of how an integrated response can meet the needs of more vulnerable populations and it is interesting to see that the municipality as taken language as one of the main important factors of social inclusion.