MAX – MAXIMIZING MIGRANTS’ CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY
UNITEE coordinates MAX (Maximizing Migrants’ Contribution to Society), a European project that aims at changing public attitudes to migrants not only by seeking to convince rationally on the basis of facts and figures, but also acting on emotion through personal stories and face-to-face encounters between local citizens and newcomers.
Funded through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), MAX is bringing together 20 partners, that is 15 local organisations from 12 EU Member States (BE, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FR, SI, IT, NL, PL and SE) and five EU-level partners, with the aim of strengthening – with innovative means and techniques – the existing fabric of networks and parties involved in providing a fairer and more accurate portrayal of migrants, focusing on the contribution they make to society, and providing the tools and guidelines to do so, in a flexible manner that can change over time according to needs.
The project fosters links between migrants and local citizens through models of local fora. Those are grassroots activities connecting third-countries nationals, local residents, public administration, organisations involved in migrant integration, local newspapers, and other stakeholders, to work on overcoming stereotypes and misconceptions and to analyse the evidence-based findings on the positive contribution of migrants to society in the European Union.
An award will be organised that will celebrate achievements by migrants and local citizens in various fields.
Research into the triggers of public opinion shifting in relations to migration, and the development of a frame for journalist training on solutions journalism in relations to reporting on migration will be two of the main axes of this initiative.
The project will be geared towards designing and implementing sustainable processes and tools, inspired by the concepts of social innovation and solutions journalism.
