PCU awarded an ERASMUS+ grant to foster Ukrainian refugees socio-economic integration in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic

Prague City University is delighted and proud to announce, in partnership with  the Foundation, International Center of Dialogue, Innovations and Future, in Warsaw, Poland and the Ukrainian Coordination Center e. V, in Hassen, Germany, the winning of a grant from the programme Erasmus+, small-scale partnerships in adult education (Action Type: KA210-ADU) to foster socio-cultural integration of Ukrainians refugees. The project, “Empowering Voices: Ukrainian Refugees and Social Co-creation” by enhancing refugees’ skills in dialogue and creativity, facilitating better integration into host societies will ultimately aim at strengthening social cohesion in the EU. It creates a platform for knowledge exchange and mutual enrichment between different cultures. This project can serve as a foundation for developing better policies on refugee integration, providing concrete practices and recommendations that can be applied across other EU countries. 

“Empowering Voices: Ukrainian Refugees and Social Co-creation” project in more detail

The project “Empowering Voices” is a one-year project in the area of adult education and social co-creation fostering integration sponsored by the European Commission which aims to assist forced migrants fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and relocating to Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. The project will create an interactive training course focusing on dialogue, creativity, co-creation, and interaction. It will enhance refugees' intercultural communication and leadership skills, enabling them to advocate for their own integration while contributing to the hosting communities. The   project also will result in the creation of a ToolKit for NGOs. This will include a document offering a framework for developing and running migrant training programs, focusing on social learning, online participatory methods, and self-evaluation tools, as well as a manual providing creative strategies for overcoming cultural barriers, aimed at migration specialists and migrants, enhancing understanding between migrants and host communities. All materials will be available in English and translated into Polish, German and Czech reflecting the participant countries. 

The context and the motivation for the project

The Russia-Ukraine war has led to Europe's largest refugee and humanitarian crisis since World War II. According to the UN Refugees Operational Data Portal (UNHCR) as of January 2025, more than six millions of Ukrainians left their homeland. Of these, more than 1.5 million in Poland, 1.1 million in Germany and around half a million in the Czech Republic. The large majority of these forced migrants are women and children, who face unique integration challenges. A major issue affecting integration addressed by the project is the so-called “waiting dilemma”: many refugees hesitate to fully integrate, hoping for a safe return to Ukraine. This impacts decisions related to education, but also discourages companies from providing training due to uncertainty about refugees’ length of stay. Thus, the overall aim of this project is to equip refugees with universal skills to help them to adapt to new environments and actively contribute to the hosting community and workforce and reduce the “impact” of the “waiting dilemma”.