In Thessaloniki, a different "international" soccer team of minors proves that all you need to cross borders, minds, nationalities, language and age is a black and white ball.

On 16 May 2019, on the occasion of the Roundtable Conference "Child Protection & EU Funding for
migrant populations in Greece: A reality check and the way forward", several child protection experts and migration stakeholders met to discuss the reception system and integration perspectives of children in migration in Greece, from the perspective of EU funding. 

Friendship keeps the world together, they say, and Tdh is showing that by helping migrant children and young people in the resident country connect. In the MINT programme, young volunteer mentors are helping the migrant children integrate by doing activities with them on a regular basis for several months. 

The guide serves as a methodological framework for mentoring activities that will be carried out within the MINT project. The purpose of this Mentoring Methodological Framework is to inform the design of the mentoring component of the programme which is to be designed by project partners of the MINT project. 

Objectives of this call for proposals: To produce a gamified language learning experience that is accessible and engaging for third-country national children (aged 10- 18) in the four targeted countries.

Terre des hommes (Tdh) improves young refugees’ psychosocial well-being by using football as a tool for protection, social inclusion and cohesion. Starting April 2019, Tdh organise weekly football training sessions in and around Thessaloniki, being funded by the European Union. Both locals and refugees over the age of 15 years are invited to play, coach or referee football regularly.

Beginning of April, the 12th European Forum on the rights of the child was organised by the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. As this year marks the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the rights of the child, the aim of the Forum was to look at where Europe stands in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child and to discuss the main challenges. Rania Ali, a young Syrian journalist living in Austria, attended the event on behalf of the Living Together Initiative, which is co-led by Terre des hommes (Tdh).

The European Union's deal with Turkey to control migration and return "irregular" migrants has led to policies and practices in Greece that are short-sighted, unsustainable, ineffective and dangerous, many NGOs – among them Terre des hommes in Greece – say on the deal's third anniversary.

While Balkan countries and Western Europe are facing a high number of asylum-seekers, Romania’s opened doors weren’t walked by many in this regard. With only 2138 asylum requests in 2018, Romania’s population is rarely getting in contact with refugees, making it easy for the public speech to have xenophobic tendencies. Terre des hommes uses sports and games to bring the refugee and host communities together, and strengthen the intercultural dialogue and social connection.

Migrant children and youth are especially vulnerable to social exclusion. Through the MINT project, Terre des hommes and its partners aim at empowering refugee and migrant children as well as European youth to engage in new integration activities. By using an innovative mentoring programme, we will contribute to building more inclusive societies in Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia.