PITCH project: It’s all about inclusion

Project PITCH, a model for gender-sensitive, integration strategies based on personalized, participatory, local, and multi-stakeholder approaches, has been kicked-off in Palermo, on 28-29 March 2022. The UBC is a partner in this project.

Project PITCH, a model for gender-sensitive, integration strategies based on personalized, participatory, local, and mulPITCH aims to establish a common European ground to support the design and implementation of local integration strategies specifically targeted to women, based on a personalised, participatory, and multi-stakeholder approach. The project activities include co-designing a model, translating it into 7 local strategies, and pilot-testing with migrant women in Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Spain, Cyprus, Lithuania, and Sweden. The PITCH model will provide a flexible example for the development of integration strategies able to fit the specificities of different local contexts.

In the long term, its adoption is expected to contribute to a better socio-economic integration of migrant women in the involved countries: by offering personalised roadmaps to integration combining upskilling, awareness-raising and social activities tailored to each woman’s specific needs.

The process will address different aspects of the integration and inclusion, women’s autonomy, awareness of existing services, and access to the labour market will be enhanced. Through social activities, migrant women will be offered a safe space to interact with the local community, thus strengthening their sense of belonging to the host society, and bringing a cascade effect on other migrant women, not directly involved in the project.

UBC will contribute to the development of the model by providing an institutional point of view based on the experiences existing within the network of municipalities related to integration of migrants, and especially women. Also, a webinar presenting the PITCH model and a final conference will be organised by the UBC.

PITCH is a 36-month project, co-financed by EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. Total project budget is 1,488,467.37 EUR. Apart from UBC, the partnership include: City of Palermo (Italy), SYMPLEXIS (Greece), Dimos Neapolis Sykeon (Greece), Municipality of Koper (Slovenia), Science and Research Centre Koper (Slovenia), INCOMA (Spain), City of Sevilla (Spain), CSI Center for Social Innovation (Cyprus), Municipality of Ipsonas (Cyprus), Diversity Development Group (Lithuania), SWIDEAS (Sweden).