Europe’s younger generation is doing things differently. With fresh ideas and different perspectives on the world, millennials have been testing out innovative initiatives and approaches to help refugees become part of local communities in many parts of Europe. This Friends of Europe factsheet is based on open source-based research on the many ways in which young Europeans are driving the integration process through private initiatives and projects.

The factsheet features five projects that treat refugees as empowered individuals who are actively working to speed up their own integration into local communities:

• Bread & Roses (London) prepares refugee women for employment through floristry
• Startblok (Amsterdam) provides an affordable communal living space for youngsters, both Dutch and refugees
• Startup Refugees (Finland) matches refugees with employment opportunities
• Khora Community Centre (Athens) provides a space where people from a diverse set of backgrounds, cultures and languages can learn, work, create, socialise and relax
• Refugee Food Festival (Europe-wide) showcases the cuisine, skills and talents of refugees and their countries of origin while enabling them to secure a job 

Each project is unique in its purpose, location and outcome. A common thread, however, is that refugees and local communities are working together as partners. Rather than being infantilised or regarded as mere statistics, refugees are seen as individuals, each with their own skills, ambitions and ideas.