From video calls spread across the European Union to sitting together in one room, all 10 partners of the Embrace Project met in person for the first time. The meeting was hosted by Second Tree in the beautiful city of Ioannina.

The first 2 days of the event were focused on digging into the challenges and future pathways of Embrace: a project designed to promote refugees’ participation in decision-making processes and policies that affect their day-to-day lives.

Each partner had chance to explain its activities to be carried out in the framework of the project, but also to address the strengths, the opportunities and the critical aspects that such an ambitious project brings with it.

The second part of the week saw the participation of the local trainers in charge of training, from next September on, the newcomers and the local decision-makers who will cooperate to design new integration policies.

The training of the trainers was focused on unpacking the different activities embodied in the training models, using a participatory approach as well as taking into account the territorial differences.

The meeting provided also the participants with the unique opportunity to know the local community of refugees and engage wit them in a cooking contest! This was an unforgettable moment of sharing and caring.