Welcome to Europe

The Youth Exchange “Welcome to Europe”, is a project organized by European Wave (Association) has as its main topic the inclusion through refugees, funded by the Erasmus + program which will take place between 11th to 18th May 2023. 80 million people are forcibly displaced today due to war, climate change and huge inequalities, and there are 26 million refugees in the world, the largest number on record, with the majority (85%) living in low- and middle- income country. Amnesty International has over the years denounced the many obstacles that people face in entering Spain. We condemn the Spanish government’s commitment to relocate 15,888 people and resettle 1,449 people, despite having received only 2,782 people as of 28 February 2018.

In December 2018, the Spanish government signed in Marrakesh the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which, although not legally binding, is based on international human rights treaties and obliges states to respect, protect and safeguard these rights, without any discrimination and to promote safe immigration routes. Spain’s asylum applications have collapsed: Spain has more than 100,000 applications for international protection pending, according to Eurostat data from March 2019.

Amnesty International called on the government to abandon ambiguous migration policies, stop illegal returns at the border and make a clear commitment to protecting the rights of these people, and recalled the need for safe and legal channels where migrants and refugees do not risk their lives. In a dangerous journey, the importance of fighting against the demonised discourse and the urgency of a European solidarity that is not left to the free decision of States and that has been unambitious with the recent European Commission Plan on Migration presented in September 2020.
The situation being experienced on the Andalusian coasts is a cause for great concern, where the arrivals of migrants have increased considerably over the years, despite the dangers of the sea route on their way to a better life.

In this sense, the “Welcome to Europe” project proposes something innovative, inspiring and different in which we intend to give young refugees a future of hope,
in the field of non-formal education, considered as an area for the development of skills, abilities and innovation.