Voltar Welcoming guides

Purpose:

This activity had the purpose of improving the welcoming of people with an international protection status coming from Ukraine. The city wanted to ensure access to information for everyone and promote access to basic information for migrants and refugees arriving in the city.   This Welcome Guide aims to support a better integration in the Vila Verde community, of everyone who chooses this place to live, providing information that we consider essential for those who arrive in Portugal and Vila Verde.

Stimulus/Rationale:

Vila Verde was concerned with the first time the city would receive many people from Ukraine with a short period of time to prepare and wanted to develop tools for a proper welcome. Together with Santa Maria da Feira and Famalicão promoted an intercity grant in 2022 with the aim of improving the welcoming experience of refugees, mostly coming from Ukraine in the past months. The project was developed with the support of RPCI, the city of Famalicão, and the city of Santa Maria da Feira. The guide was based on the one shared by Famalicão and counted with the revision of RPCI.

The stimulus for the creation of this Reception Guide was the high number of people displaced from the war who came to Vila Verde. It was considered important to compile in a single document all the information considered important and necessary for full integration, in a  situation where language is a major barrier.

Process:

After sharing practices with several other cities, the city of Vila Verde promoted several focus groups with people arriving from Ukraine, to better understand their needs and expectations. A survey was made to collect all the information considered relevant to integrate the Guide and meetings were held with some local agents and partners.

When people arrived, each received a welcoming kit with basic products and clothes available to choose from with tags translated into Ukrainian, with an important concern for dignity. Inspired by the city of Famalicão, Vila Verde created its own welcoming guide, useful for anyone arriving in the city, with information about basic services and cultural events and venues. The guide was produced in 3 languages. A poster with QR codes to access the guides is available all around the city, in shops and services, making it easier to access the document (avoiding the need for migrants to search within the city website, which is not in Ukrainian). A final event was also developed, as well as a video with testimonials.

Impact:

The existence of a document that contains the information compiled and that makes it easier to find everything that is important and necessary to live in Vila Verde and navigate the Portuguese system and services.

A flyer was made available to the various local agents, e.g. social security, schools, health, and others, to ensure that it reaches those who need it. The usage of a QRC that forwards directly to the Welcome Guide was an important aspect to ensure accessibility.

Since the guides were made available, several newcomers have read it and reached out to the municipality to request support and also to offer their contributions as volunteers. We believe it is truly a success and will be an important tool for the future.

Key reference documents:

9 months – April to November 2022
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