What it is
This brochure is the main output of Stepping Beyond Tents, a 16-month Erasmus+ partnership led by CIFIR with partners in Spain and Turkey. It distils research, field experience and expert dialogue into a flexible tool for municipalities, schools, NGOs and youth workers. The guide brings together key challenges and solutions, best practices, concrete tools for inclusive youth work, and policy recommendations.
How it’s organised
The publication is structured as a clear, navigable playbook. Core sections include: an Introduction, A landscape shaped by Syria and Ukraine, EU frameworks, Obstacles to integration, Effective integration models, Methods & tools for inclusion, Best practices and principles, Examples of successful initiatives, Tools and methodologies for evaluating programmes, Integrating young refugees: Inclusive & Safe Policy Guide, and Policy proposals – Action plan created during the seminar A World Without Borders, followed by the Conclusion.
What practitioners will find inside
- Ready-to-use approaches: practical methods to include refugee youth (toolkits, language support ideas, non-formal learning formats, anti-discrimination routines, and how to recognise learning through Youthpass/EPALE).
- Evaluation made simple: a mixed-methods template (light indicators + participatory feedback) and a “theory of change” spine you can copy into any project.
- Sector guidance and safeguards: a concise Inclusive & Safe Policy Guide with sectoral recommendations on legal protection (e.g., guardianship for unaccompanied minors, family reunification, fair procedures).
- Policy ideas you can localise: an action plan co-created during the Valencia seminar covering housing & employment supports, civic participation, legal aid, healthcare and education (e.g., legal clinics at entry points; cultural mediators in health; diploma recognition; bridging courses).
How we built it
The brochure sits on a documented method: online surveys and focus groups with refugee youth and frontline professionals in France, Spain and Turkey; desk research of laws and initiatives; transnational peer review; and guideline drafting validated in a multi-day seminar with practitioners.
Why it matters now
The guide frames today’s context — from the Syrian and Ukrainian displacement waves to the EU’s 2021–2027 Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion and youth-field priorities — and turns big frameworks into do-able steps for local teams.
Where to start
- Use the evaluation chapter to set two or three light indicators (e.g., time to first appointment; interpreter availability; warm referrals) before you launch activities.
- Lift a policy or practice from the action plan and pilot it with your municipality (for instance, a monthly civic participation forum or a legal-aid drop-in in partnership with a law faculty).
Availability: The final brochure, All united for refugees — A Guideline for Inclusive Refugee Support in Europe, is published in EN, TR, FR and ES.
Credits: Produced under Work Package 3 – Guideline creation (SBT / KA210 Small-scale partnerships).
Closing note: The conclusion is explicit: this is a working tool and an invitation to keep adapting, testing and