EUROCOOP Camini | Jungi Mundu

EUROCOOP Servizi Società Cooperativa Sociale (henceforth “EUROCOOP”) is a non-profit social cooperative based in Camini, a small hillside village in Calabria, southern Italy. This region is often referred to as the “toe of the boot” of Italy. More precisely, Camini is in the Locride area, which was, until the very recent past, characterised by poverty and chronic depopulation. For decades, Locride – and Camini itself – had suffered from mass emigration, a direct result of the extreme poverty and lack of job opportunities. Over this same period, the area was also blighted by the activities of organised crime groups, which had a negative impact on the wider region and beyond.
Nowadays, thanks to the activities of civil society organisations and growing community resilience, the situation is changing. While the overall pattern remains uneven across the region, the village of Camini itself is undergoing something of a renaissance and experiencing genuine social and economic growth. This is primarily due to its programme of reception and integration of third-country nationals, which it developed broadly in line with the model initiated in some neighbouring villages.
Over the past 20 years, such southern Italian villages, which have embraced refugee resettlement programmes, have experienced economic growth and expansion, as the local municipalities and civil society organisations have started to implement long-term goals with their new migrant communities. Working together, migrants and local people have rejuvenated these former ‘ghost towns’ – which have now become global symbols of internationalism, humanitarian aid and solidarity.
In 2011, EUROCOOP launched its comprehensive refugee project in Camini, which paved the way for the current operations centre “Jungi Mundu” – which means “Join the World” in the Calabrese dialect. The project facilitates asylum seekers’ reception and integration, adopting a ‘scattered hospitality’ approach in contrast to the transitory way of life that typifies the crowded migration centres in many larger cities. The “Jungi Mundu” centre – which is open 24/7 – is acknowledged as a safe haven for the new residents, especially families and minors, who in turn have actively contributed to community development. In the past few years, EUROCOOP has been ever more successful in delivering real and meaningful community outreach, through social inclusion programmes implemented at the local, regional and international level. Local people and the new migrant population collaborate and bond through activities such as the ceramic workshop, after-school homework club, tending the local didactic farm and fruit and vegetable plots, sports, housing and other building reconstruction.
The reopening of a primary school, which had been closed for some 20 years, is significant in many different ways. Beyond its clear educational role, it is important as regards social cohesion and also frees times for parents to work. Moreover, the school and nursery complement each other with regard to their wider social role, as, indeed, does the afterschool homework club, which supports the older school students, especially as they start to prepare for public examinations. All of this is ultimately traceable to the work of EUROCOOP.
In 2016, EUROCOOP initiated a working relationship with international volunteers. These people of all ages and backgrounds support the local staff, within a well-established, yet adaptable, framework. Camini’s first wave of volunteers comprised 26 young people, which grew to 87 the following year and then 102 in 2018. The international volunteers have taken on many different tasks and challenges, including the re-design and reopening of the artisan shops, which now represent a significant resumption of commercial activity.
This is just one example of the community revitalisation programme that the local population, international volunteers and refugees have developed together in an intergenerational and sustainable perspective, thereby providing a new lease of life to a rural village which had slowly atrophied over two centuries. This is a virtuous circle, now framed into long-term strategies and policies, which sees migration and transnational youth mobility as positive factors enhancing the whole society economically, socially and culturally.
Two new developments have already marked 2019, paving the way to yet further growth along these lines. First, the inclusion of EUROCOOP in the National Register of Italy-based associations working to fight racial discrimination under the aegis of the National Office against Discrimination (UNAR); secondly, being awarded the ‘Quality Label for European Solidarity Corps’ to lead and participate in ‘volunteering’ (both hosting and supporting roles), ‘traineeships’ and ‘job activities’ at the EU level.
EUROCOOP immediately took advantage of its accreditation by submitting project proposals to host volunteers through the European Solidarity Corps in Camini. This led to an initial project (ESC11: “Camini Corps: Chance - Creativity - Community for Solidarity Actions”), within just four months of the launch of the “C-CORPS”. The programme comprises five individual volunteering opportunities, developed in collaboration with accredited partner organisations in Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Serbia and Sweden, and takes the form of both short- and long-term perspectives between summer 2019 and spring 2020. Priority to participate in this volunteering programme is given to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may have had little or no transnational mobility opportunities to date. Many are from rural areas or the periphery of a town or city and may be at risk of social exclusion. There is also a commitment to enable the participation of young people with a migrant background who are already part of our community, and of others from disadvantaged backgrounds. Wider numbers of disadvantaged young people, including newly-arrived migrants and refugees, will also become indirect beneficiaries of the project, through their own engagement – in whatever way, shape or form - with our solidarity activities, in particular those targeting “Inclusion”, “Community development” and the “Reception and integration of refugees and migrants”. Within this perspective, the Erasmus+ “Inclusion and Diversity Strategy”, the new “EU Youth Strategy (2019-2027)”, and the “EU Work Plan for Youth” provide both an important framework and practical guidelines to help the community achieve its sustainable development goals.
One of the main strategic focuses of this first Solidarity Corps project is to help people improve their health and well-being. Poor quality of life and a lack of services and opportunities can hold a community back. Working together with all our partners, including the young volunteers, EUROCOOP is committed to helping communities struggling with these challenges by connecting them with what they need, promoting healthy lifestyles and well-being across age groups.
These key priorities and values are further promoted by our first Erasmus+ project entitled “GOOD PRACTICES FOR A BETTER YOU(th): Empowering youth well-being - GOOD4YOU(th)”, whose primary aim is to create a shared culture of youth wellbeing at the transnational. The project focuses on supporting youth workers, by raising awareness of youth wellbeing overall and healthy eating in teenage years, and by encouraging the youngest participants (15 – 19 age group) to take an active role in managing their own health, including through improved self-care and nutrition habits.
The “GOOD4YOU(th)” project achieves all this by offering practical tools to the youth workers and practitioners from the various programme countries - and whether from cities or rural areas - to further highlight the positive impact of improved health and food literacy at the community level. The overall concept for the project also drew on recognition of specific emerging needs of adolescents and young people from all backgrounds, especially those with fewer opportunities at different levels - as advised by youth workers and other professionals. In the past few years, healthcare professionals and youth workers directly involved at the grassroots level in Camini or in the partner organisations' home countries have become aware of the need for these young people to converge around a shared culture of “wellness” associated with a healthy lifestyle. They have become increasingly aware of the importance of a holistic sense of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being, and now have the opportunity to put it all into practice.
In addition to these two projects, we currently have underway four other Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps transnational mobility initiatives.
To date, participation in these programmes, including those currently in preparation, has focused on transforming the lives of socially disadvantaged young people from across the EU. Camini is proud that its achievements were formally recognised this summer, with the award of the Premio Mediterraneo (Mediterranean Prize).
Over the past two years, EUROCOOP has consciously worked towards a process that has the direct involvement of its staff, of the beneficiaries of the projects already underway and, last but not least, of the entire local community as it gravitates towards the organisation. The key to the success of its migration-related projects is the transformation of informal altruistic approaches into motors of change at the collective level, through structured solidarity and intercultural awareness activities.
A carefully thought-out youth participation strategy has been designed and is now being implemented. The first phase of this strategy involved intensive training on the Erasmus+ programme, particularly covering its youth strand and mainstreaming inclusion activities.
Accordingly, the organisation coherently works in the field of social inclusion, in particular in favour of the most vulnerable sections of the population. It works to promote social cohesion, integrated development, active community engagement, and socio-professional development, combating discrimination and promoting youth participation. Its work embraces transnational initiatives and integrated projects at the local, regional, European and international level.
Among the main activities of the organisation is the refugee resettlement programme “Jungi Mundu - A Solo Colore”, which is located in Camini (RC). This project has been the focus of attention of a wide range of social, cultural, media, academic and research organisations and institutions, both nationally and internationally, and Camini is regularly hosting multiple visits of groups and individuals. Although a small community, Camini can indeed boast relevant international relations with public and private entities, including media outlets, based in 20 different European and extra-European countries thanks to the projects and multiple transnational events and initiatives developed from 2016 onwards.