The main objective of the Ariadna network is to avoid labour market discrimination. It focuses its activities on asylum seekers, refugees, and other individuals under international protection. Other objectives, which help to reinforce the program’s main objectives, include informing the beneficiaries of the socio-economic reality of their host communities, and providing them with the necessary tools for their social and cultural development, thus enabling them to place themselves in a favourable position in the labour market.

Asylum seekers and refugees, businesses, and society in general.

The Ariadna network is made up by the seven entities: the NGOs Accem, the Spanish Comission to Help Regugees (CEAR), the Spanish Red Cross, and 4 hosting centres for refugees that belong to the Directorate General of the Integration of Immigrants, which in turn is part of the Ministry of Employment and Immigration. These centres are located in Mislata (Valencia), Sevilla, Vallecas (Madrid), and Alcobendas (Madrid). The actions of the Ariadna network can be divided into two main areas of action:
1) An itinerary for the socio-laboral insertion of asylum seekers and refugees. It includes activities such as:
- workshops to develop their social and labor skills
- providing job placements
- helping program beneficiaries to start self-employment initiatives
2) Common actions, which may be divided into:
- The training of technicians involved in the project.
- Awareness-raising campaigns, which are usually directed at companies, Spanish society, or public institutions.
- Transnational actions, which involve the exchange of good practices with other entities working on similar topics.
The Saviav platform, led by the German Ministry of Employment, has just been started, and it is designing a program of action to be followed by all its members until 2013. Aside from its actions, initiatives, and projects to achieve its aims, the website of the Ariadna network provides information on paperwork, job searching, and the hiring process to the general public.

In 2009, 1634 men and 606 women – who were either asylum seekers or refugees – benefited from the socio-laboral insertion itinerary. Aside from the direct beneficiaries, other people or entities also benefit through the common actions. For example, the website provides very complete information to asylum seekers, refugees, and businesses. The section on “information for beneficiary individuals” contains information on the processes asylum seekers must go through, tools for finding a job, and tips for writing a cover letter and a resume. The “information for businesses” section includes information on who are asylum seekers and refuges and on how to hire them. This information is accessible to the general public. It also contains information on human rights, on relevant national legislation, and links to institutions working on relevant topics.

The program produces an internal evaluation document, which is submitted to the sponsors. As for upcoming challenges, the socio-laboral itinerary is facing difficulties due to the current economic crisis and the high unemployment rate in Spain. While there has been a reduction in the number of beneficiaries who are being placed on jobs, the program is reinforcing the other components of the socio-laboral itinerary.

The Ariadna network is financed by the European Social Fund and by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Immigration. In its earlier stages, it was financed by the EQUAL I and EQUAL II initiatives.