What We Do

Al Itisal Project was launched to assist the professional integration process for beneficiaries of ANKAA Project in Athens, Greece. We implement a three-part initiative comprised of (1) donations, (2) volunteer work, and (3) strategic development. 

Our first three focuses (donations, volunteer work and partnership) are purposed to assist the organizational and operational needs of our partner, ANKAA Project. ANKAA Project is a Luxembourgish-Greek NGO based in Athens with continually expanding initiatives in professional development and sustainability. For more details on ANKAA Project's mission, look at our blog post "About Our Partner: ANKAA Project". 

(1) DONATIONS

Our donation based activities are focused on supplying materials that improve the English language workshops, the bike repair workshop, and that facilitate administrative cohesion and capacity. To support our donation activities, we are implementing a series of digital fundraising initiatives and touching base regularly with our primary contact at ANKAA to ensure that we deliver cost-effective and beneficial donations. 

(2) VOLUNTEER WORK

Volunteer activities will be carried out in response to ANKAA's needs on site. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing lockdown restrictions, our volunteer work will be mostly organizational in nature and will focus on preparing ANKAA for a gradual reopening. 

(3) STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

The largest of our activities, strategic development, is a culmination of three sub-projects including the development of an apprenticeship network in Athens, creation of digital professional workshops, and the collection of research on the integration process for beneficiaries of NGO assistance.   

• An apprenticeship network would allow local enterprises to expand their corporate social responsibility while also providing opportunities for ANKAA's volunteers to gain experience in Greek enterprises. Our objective is to develop a proposal that ANKAA can distribute to enterprises to facilitate the launch of an apprenticeship program. 
• Our aim in creating digital professional workshops is to provide accessible, concise and useful information to ANKAA's students looking to secure employment. The workshops will focus on intercultural management in the hiring process, providing tips and guidelines to successfully create a resume and cover letter as well as conduct interviews.
• We have developed a survey for ANKAA's beneficiaries (available in English, French, Arabic and Farsi) to gauge perception and experience of the professional integration process in Athens, Greece. This survey is designed to contribute to existing research on aid effectiveness and should provide valuable insight for organizations large and small in the effort to improve outcomes for non-economic migrants.

TIMELINE 

Al Itisal Project was initially developed by a team of four graduate students in August 2020 with the vision to complete on site tasks with ANKAA during the month of March 2021. The submission of our apprenticeship proposal and professional workshop materials is scheduled for the end of April 2021, and the final results from the survey will be compiled into a comprehensive report by mid-May 2021. 

We will follow up with updates on our proposal, workshops, and final report here on our blog as well as our Facebook and LinkedIn pages as information becomes available.