EUROCOOP SERVIZI Società Cooperativa Sociale

description of organisation

EUROCOOP Servizi Società Cooperativa Sociale (henceforth “EUROCOOP”) is a social cooperative based in a small hillside village in Calabria, southern Italy. Camini, the village where the cooperative is based, is located in the Locride area, which until recent times was characterised by poverty and on-going depopulation. For decades, Locride – and Camini – was hollowed out by emigration, a direct result of the extreme poverty and lack of job opportunities. Over this same period, the area was also blighted by the activities of organised crime groups, which had a negative impact both on the wider region and beyond. Nowadays, thanks to the activities of civil society organisations and growing community resilience, the situation is changing. While the overall pattern remains uneven across the region, the village of Camini itself is undergoing something of a renaissance. Camini has experienced authentic social and economic growth as a result of its reception and integration of third-country nationals programme, which it developed broadly following the model of change initiated by its globally renown neighbouring villages of Riace and Badolato.
For the past twenty years, these southern Italian villages which have embraced refugee resettlement programmes have experienced economic growth and expansion, as the local municipalities implemented long-term goals with their new migrant communities. Working together, migrants and local Italians have rejuvenated these former ‘ghost towns’ together – which have now become global symbols of internationalism, humanitarian aid and solidarity.
In this context, the organisation EUROCOOP launched in 2011 a comprehensive migration project in Camini, which paved the way for the current operations centre “Jungi Mundu” – which means “Join the World” in the local dialect. The project facilitates asylum seekers’ reception and integration, adopting a scattered hospitality approach in contrast to the transitory way of life that typifies the crowded migration centres in many larger cities. The “Jungi Mundu” centre - open 24/7 - is acknowledged as a safe haven for the new residents, especially families and minors, who in turn have actively contributed to community development since their arrival.
In the past few years, the organisation EUROCOOP has been ever more successful in delivering real and meaningful community outreach, through social inclusion programmes implemented at the local, regional and international level. Local Italians and the new migrant population collaborate and bond through activities such as the daily crèche, cooking, arts, reconstruction, and ceramic laboratories. Activities include a homework club, tending the local didactic farm and fruit and vegetable plots, helping vulnerable people with medical visits, Italian lessons, women’s club, computer literacy, and supporting local entrepreneurship. Jungi Mundu’s plans for the future include sharing of results at the international level, starting with cooperation between beneficiaries (and their communities of origin) and the local population, and highlighting the wide range of real and practical social benefits to all residents (health, education, employment, and housing).
In 2016, EUROCOOP also began a long-term partnership with the international organisation “Projects Abroad”, one of the world’s largest international volunteering and internship providers, which opened an office in Camini to support local staff in hosting the always eager cadre of international volunteers. Camini’s first wave of volunteers comprised 26 young people, which number grew to 87 the following year and then 102 in 2018. Most volunteers are in the age range 18 to 30, and come from the following countries: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA. The volunteers support many activities, including: language classes, building restoration, child care, educational events, intergenerational leisure activities, sport, women’s empowerment, homework assistance, local food production, and the foundation of a new library.
The international volunteers who devote their time and commitment to the projects implemented in Camini have also helped with the re-design and re-opening of the artisan shops which represent a significant resumption of commercial activity. This is a further example of the community revitalisation programme that non-migrant local population, international volunteers and migrants have worked together on in an intergenerational and sustainable perspective providing a new lease of life to rural villages which had been abandoned over two centuries. This is a virtuous circle which is now framed into long-term strategies and policies, and which sees migration together with transnational youth mobility as positive factors enhancing the whole society economically, socially and culturally.