This article brings together the perspectives of Borders:None and OCC Greece, two NGOs working towards the integration and inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers respectively in Croatia and Greece. Both…

Culture Without Borders
Culture Without Borders
This article brings together the perspectives of Borders:None and OCC Greece, two NGOs working towards the integration and inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers respectively in Croatia and Greece. Both…
Continuing our series of Insights by OCC, in this second article we explore the relationship that Palestinian displaced youth, born and raised in refugee camps or in diaspora, have with Palestine and their sense of identity. We will retrace how their sense of belonging to Palestine can be constructed through three different voices, while providing an overview of the situation of Palestinian refugees in different Arab countries.
Women are severely underrepresented according to recent statistics in the tech sector. For this reason, it becomes crucial for women to access a safe space for learning and knowledge exchange.
But what is a safe space?
Spain’s current policies are slightly more inclusive than those of other EU countries. As part of the INTEgreat project, OCC conducted research on integration in Spain in the areas of health, employment, training, and social cohesion. The conclusions were clear: findings from the research show that newcomers face several obstacles in accessing essential services.
Hala Riziq (Palestine) and Ghulam Hussein Azimi (Afghanistan) do not know each other. They come from different countries and different generations. Hala is a mother and holds a position of responsibility in the NGO she works for. Hussein is a son and hasn’t finished his studies yet. However, they have a lot in common. Both had to say goodbye to family members for the same reason: seeking a better future.
What made 30 people of different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds spend two weeks in Italy? Their desire to attend the training about Cultural Mediation of the RE.BE.CO project and start their journey as cultural mediators! In this article, participants Favour, Mariia, and Daniel explain to us their experiences.
What is going on in Colombia after the election of a historically leftist government?
Did the peace agreement really bring a stop to violence in the country? Is there hope for the new government? Nelly and Lucía, two Colombian women who migrated to Spain, tell us their stories to help us get closer to the reality of Buenaventura, a port on Colombia’s Pacific coast. A place full of contradictions, that summarises many of the main issues of the country, where prosperity and poverty clash into violence, but where the potential of a future Colombia can already be perceived.
At OCC Greece, Monday is a particular day: we don’t hold classes and the afternoon is entirely dedicated to the Women’s Space, an activity held by the OCC (female) volunteers for the women from the refugee community.
These last days in Polykastro have been full of changes: many families who had been waiting for years to complete their asylum process are getting international protection or refugee status and are leaving Greece. This would therefore seem to be the end of the exhausting migration journey, but actually it is not; it’s just another step on a path full of challenges.
In this blog post, we portray Afghanistan through the words of the Afghan people that are living in the camp of Nea Kavala and in Polykastro as asylum seekers. We just asked interviewees one question: what do you want people to know about your country?