Regional Integrations Centre Foyer Brussels

Regional Integrations Centre Foyer Brussels
Analysis Parameters
Action Name
Description
Start year
The Regional Integration Centre Foyer Brussels (Regionaal
Integratiecentrum Foyer)
“Foyer”, a non-profit organization that was founded in 1969. Situated in
Molenbeek. It is active on the municipal, regional and international levels,
focusing on the global integration problems of ethnic minorities.
Koen Geurts
Roma en Woonwagenbewoners - Integratiecentrum Foyer
Postal. Adr.: Werkhuizenstraat 25, 1080 Brussel
Office.: Mommaertsstraat 22, 1080 Brussel
+32-2-411.87.32
e-mail: koen.geurts@foyer.be
URL: www.foyer.be
1969
End year
on-going
Promoter
Contact Information
Problem it addresses
The Regional Integration Centre Foyer Brussels (RICFB) works to foster
a society which takes a positive approach to diversity and in which ethnic
and cultural minorities participate fully."
With this purpose, RICFB has developed specific policies in four areas of
work:
1. Promote diversity and positive communities where different
cultures live together, by working towards social cohesion.
2. Support and expand existing local structures. This means
working in partnership with local authorities to create and/or
improve conditions to allow for full participation by ethnic and
cultural minorities in processes that improve their integration in
our society.
3. Promote the participation and empowerment of cultural and
ethnic minorities by developing, reinforcing and expanding the
activities of organisations that work directly with these groups.
Foyer should therefore support and reinforce the work of these
grass-roots organisations by helping them to collaborate with
other organisations with the aim of general emancipation of these
groups and integration into society.
4. By working on the basis of a concrete understanding of
multiculturalism and "inter-culturalism", ensure access to means
to support integration including bridging initiatives like: a legal aid
service, working with Roma and Travellers, education and
training, integration into the labour market, the “Palace of the
Normal and the Strange”, etc.
Actors involved in the
action design
Actors involved in the
implementation
“Foyer” is a historically grown collection of several related (non-profit)
organisations. The Regional Integration Centre Foyer Brussels – the
official Flemish integration centre of Brussels Capital Region – is just one
of those organisations
See above
Brief description
main objectives
and
This is the list of the activities of the Regional Integration Centre Foyer
Brussels
* Shared Housing Project: Foyer has arranged two houses in Molenbeek
for the purpose of „kangaroo housing‟, i.e. a formula in which elderly
native people share the same house with a young immigrant family
* Palace of the Normal and the Strange: A permanent exposition on
racism and prejudice in the form of a series of playful tasks. Oriented to
10-16 years old. In Dutch and in French.
* Legal Service: Legal advice and support, and also training sessions and
newsletters regarding the legal position of foreigners in Belgium (nonBelgians, asylum seekers, refugees, undocumented…)
* Service for travelling people and Rom gypsies: Second-line support
centre for Rom gypsies and travelling people: administrative,
pedagogical, medical, social, legal support
Financial
resources
(annual budget)
The resources come from partnerships with several different federal
bodies of Belgium
Distribution of funding
between
agents
(in
percent)
Main beneficiaries
Not known
Territorial coverage
Women
Men
Youngsters
Roma
Travellers
Refugees
Newcomers
Brussels Capital Region
Operational dimension
(diagnostic tools)
Operational dimension
(intervention tool)
Who has assessed the
experience?
Not known yet
Qualitative
Results
(evaluation indicators)
Quantitative
Results
(evaluation indicators)
The activities are currently being performed. The evaluation will be
undertaken in a later phase.
The activities are currently being performed. The evaluation will be
undertaken in a later phase. It would be interesting to understand better
the rationale behind each activity apart from intercultural dialogue.
The action covers different target groups (migrant families, elderly, roma
groups). It is a bit experimental and involves several other associations.
More information and evaluation would help us to identify what activities
work best.
Innovative elements
Transferability to other
experiences
Not known yet
The activities are currently being performed. The evaluation will be
undertaken in a later phase.