€80,000 for Cork projects which promote integration of immigrants

28 October 2020
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie

Community groups in Cork will benefit from funding to support integration projects during the pandemic, a Cork North Central Fine Gael Deputy said.

Deputy Burke said: “I am delighted that 17 organisations in Cork will benefit from €80,239 through the 2020 Communities Integration Fund to support their activities which are more important than ever.

“People in Cork have come together like never before for the betterment of their communities, and in these challenging times it is vital that we ensure that everyone in our society feels included and that they belong.

 “It is so welcome that almost every county in Ireland will benefit from funding for locally run projects to support the integration of migrants.

“As the Fund is intended to support the integration of migrant and host communities, all applications had to demonstrate how they will involve both migrant and host communities in the activities proposed.

“A total of almost €500,000 in grant funding has been provided to 113 groups nationwide this year. This is the fourth year of the Communities Integration Fund, bringing the total amount made available to date to over €2.0 million.

“The projects granted funding are small community-based projects.  A maximum grant amount of €5,000 and a minimum grant amount of €1,000 is allocated to any single project.

The Communities Integration Fund was first established in 2017 to implement the commitment under Action 51 of the Migrant Integration Strategy to support actions by local communities throughout Ireland to promote the integration of migrants and refugees.

“Community groups received funding for activities such as intercultural awareness, combatting racism and xenophobia, sport and community games and education.”

Colm Burke is a Cork North Central TD

Purpose of projects/activities

This call was open to local community based groups carrying out the following projects/activities:

• Intercultural Awareness – Projects and events that bring host communities and migrant communities together to learn about and celebrate each other’s cultures and customs;
• Combating Racism and Xenophobia – Interventions aimed at preventing racism and xenophobia among local communities;
• Sport & Community Games– Projects that seek to facilitate local migrant integration and improve the mental and physical well-being of migrants by encouraging them to get involved in sport;
• Arts – Projects that encourage migrants and local host communities to interact with each other through arts and crafts, music, dance, theatre and literature;
• Other Community Events – Projects involving a more broad-based community event adapted to be more inclusive of migrants, e.g. a pre-existing Annual Fair to which migrant specific stalls, entertainment, etc., has been added;
• Capacity Building – Projects with a social inclusion focus that seek to help particularly vulnerable groups of migrants overcome specific difficulties (e.g. parenting classes for young migrant parents);
• Employment – Projects that offer advice on seeking employment and offer employment opportunities through training, sponsorship by local businesses and skills assessment;
• Integration Research – Projects that identify local knowledge gaps and carry out local needs assessments so that local community resources for migrant integration can be utilised to the maximum benefit;
• Food/Cuisine – Projects that promote interculturalism and integration through the sharing of different cuisines and cooking methods;
• Education – Projects focused on the educational needs of migrants through provision of additional supports to help migrant children to maximise the benefit of their school attendance (e.g. homework clubs) and older migrants to develop their language skills and better orient themselves in Irish society;
• Transportation – Projects that target immobility and social isolation among the migrant population due to an inability to drive or difficulties accessing public and private transport.