News

Caritas Europa is one of 12 Caritas organisations from 11 European countries taking part in a three-year project to raise awareness about the links between migration and development. Each year, Caritas will focus on a specific topic that covers the “migratory journey”, including root causes of forced migration, integration and steps for creating welcoming societies, and migrants’ contributions to their communities in their new countries and in the countries of origin.

Entitled “Migration. INterconnectedness. Development” (MIND), the project is co-financed by the European Commission Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). This financial support from the European Union enables to bridge the gap between the immense outreach potential that Caritas has via its work on the ground and the limited means that many civil society organisations are facing.

Caritas sees this project as an opportunity to contribute to the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are vital for protecting our common home and the common good. . Caritas is convinced that building progressive societies based on humanity, solidarity and concern for the common good is key to reaching the SDGs and leaving a better world to future generations.

“With the aim of bringing about global social justice, we seek with this project to contribute to developing policies on migration and development that put the person at the center. At a time with rising anti-migrant sentiment, we also hope this collaboration will contribute to changing the negative narrative on migration,” says Shannon Pfohman, Caritas Europa’s Policy and Advocacy Director.

As of today, Caritas staff and volunteers in Austria, Bavaria (Germany), Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the secretariat of Caritas Europa in Brussels will engage with residents, enterprises, academics, civil society organisations, diasporas, media outlets, and decision-makers to start building the Europe of the future. We want a Europe that welcomes, protects, promotes, integrates and leaves no one behind.