ColibriSupport for students and researchers in exile

Twenty-four refugees applied to participate in the AGORA project. Aged between 21 and 52, they were interviewed in March 2023, and 16 of them were selected. Five of them are enrolled in the Passerelle University Diploma program at the Centre Universitaire d'Etudes Françaises (CUEF) in Grenoble (UGA).

The objectives of this AGORA project are as follows:
- Evaluate existing metropolitan services for the reception and integration of refugees. This evaluation will focus on communication about these services and the support offered within the metropolitan area.
- To imagine how to better communicate existing mechanisms and services to new arrivals.
- To consider a location, a Maison de l'Hospitalité (House of Hospitality), to offer better reception and support for refugees.

Their initial work began in early April 2023. For the moment, the focus is on evaluating existing metropolitan programs and access to information. Their work will continue with the identification of priority themes in terms of reception, in order to consider the most appropriate communication methods, and then with the specification of the needs of the target audiences. Finally, time will be set aside to work on the Maison de l'Hospitalité (House of Hospitality) project in Grenoble, which is currently undergoing a feasibility study.

The final phase of work on the Maison de l'Hospitalité will be carried out as part of MUST-A-LAB, a European Eurocities project that aims to experiment with the participation of migrants and asylum seekers in the development of public policy. This multi-stakeholder working laboratory will bring together members of AGORA, exiles from the Grenoble area, and those involved in welcoming migrants (associations, public institutions, elected officials).
An initial assessment of AGORA's work will be presented on June 20, 2023, as part of Refugee Day, and a second public assessment will be presented on December 18, 2023, International Migrants Day.