Associazione Giosef Unito

National Network
Italy
Address

Via Lanino 3A
10152 Torino
Italy

Telephone
+39 3201926727
E-Mail
infogiosef@gmail.com
E-Mail (2)
anna.giosef@gmail.com
Organisation Type
Other
Year of Establishment
2004
Fields of Activity
  1. Youth and education
General Information
Associazione Giosef Unito is a youth organisation. Giosef is the acronym derived from “GIOvani SEnza Frontiere”, “Youth Without Frontiers”; UNITO stands for “UNIversità di TOrino”, “University of Turin”. Being without frontiers is the strength that help us reaching a better world, breaking the frame with no fear, looking beyond the appearances, stating our believes. We see in our work the opportunity to affirm Human Rights in all their aspects and contradictions, in order to promote a culture of anti-sexism and anti-racism, to fight against homophobia, transphobia, lesbophobia and all forms of discrimination and prejudice. Associazione Giosef Unito works mainly in Non formal education on human rights and intercultural learning, with local and region funds and international funds such as: Erasmus Plus, Euromed and Annalindh foundation. The association organise: youth exchanges, training courses, study sessions and it is accreditated for european voluntary services for sending, hosting and coordinating.  Since we fully believe in the core values of cooperation and networking, Giosef Unito is part of different networks at local, national and international level, each of them considered essential to guarantee a better quality work: CasaArcobaleno: born in 2012 and officially started in 2014, CasaArcobaleno is a co-working space aiming to share ideas and resources among 15 locally active associations, each of them with a specific target, although the majority is dealing with gender issues and LGBT+ rights. The structure is placed in one of the most intercultural neighbourhoods of Torino, Porta Palazzo, thus allowing all of the associations to be contaminated by many different multi-cultural influences. Torino Youth Centre - TYC: created in 2006, this is a youth associations network and an aggregation space, characterized by the sharing and multiplying of experiences and competences. Since its creation, it has been one of the most important promoter of a culture of anti-racism and anti-discrimination in the city of Torino. Giosef Italy: this is a network of youth associations spread all over Italy. The local committees act in a very independent and diversified manner, using the tools and methods most adapt to each one’s local dimension in order to reach each organization’s objectives, but they are all connected by the use of innovative Non Formal Education techniques. Human Rights European Youth Network - HREYN: HREYN main aim is to contribute to Human Rights Education implementation in youth work at a European level. Its objectives are to promote approaches of mutual understanding, peace, solidarity, respect for human dignity and Human Rights, non violent actions and contrast to discrimination, and to take actions in order to contrast Human Rights violations through campaigns, prevention, raising awareness and most of all Informal and Non Formal Education.  
Mission and Objectives

The core objectives pursued by our association are:
1) INCLUSIVE CULTURE: to promote a culture of anti-sexism, anti-racism, against homo-lesbo-transphobia, xenophobia, islamophobia and all forms of discrimination;
2) EDUCATION AND CHANGE: to produce social change through Non-Formal Education on Human Rights;
3) INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY: to promote international mobility and intercultural learning among young people;
4) INCLUSION AND PARTICIPATION: to promote and active youth participation and citizenship, combating social exclusion;
5) PROJECTS MANAGEMENT AND FUNDING (across the board) seeking funding opportunities on the local, state and international level applying for call for proposals and grants on the local, state and international level.
Founded in 2004, Giosef Unito is actively working with Non Formal Education methodologies for young learners and since 2013 we have started to implement techniques coming from theatrical methodology in the frame of NFE. Our work is based in our conviction that new educational paradigms are needed in a fast changing society where Formal Education strategies cannot respond with the same pace to the recent challenges and developments, like the current migrants and refugees crisis in Europe.
Giosef Unito continued to cooperate with a large range of partners and interlocutors: we believe it is essential to create synergies between Formal and Non Formal Education organizations, third sector, mass media and public administrations in order to maximize the impact of our activities in line with the Agenda 2020 of the European Union.
Giosef Unito is striving for such joint effort among all the above mentioned stakeholders, keeping a permanent flow of communication, cooperation and debate around the main challenges related to the promotion of Human Rights. In order to mantain the widest perspective possible, we have developed a strong focus on intersectionality: we are fully convinced that we need to keep in mind all the identity components that contribute to each one’s self perception if we want to dismantle all the forms of discrimination. We are aware, for example, that it’s impossible to tackle islamophobia without considering the racist dynamics that lay under this specific discriminatory expression, as well as we cannot fight homophobia without analysing the traditionally constructed forms of sexism.
We completely agree with the key concept in Audre Lorde’s work: “there is no such thing as single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives”.

Main Projects / Activities

This is some of the main activities of Associazione Giosef Unito (as promoter and as partner)  in the framework of Euromeditarranean cooperation:
“Across the Lines”
Time: June 2016 - November 2016
Where: Turin
Aim: The project aims to reflect on the different dimensions of international mobility as a tool to encourage active participation and citizenship, intercultural and interreligious dialogue in the field of Euro Mediterranean cooperation, focusing on the elements which support or counteract this cooperation between young people.
The specific objectives of the project are: recognize and deconstruct stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination in the area of ethnic and national identity, be part of between minorities within majorities; deepen the concepts related to migration and mobility of young people, clarifying basic terms such as refugee, asylum seeker, migrant worker, stateless person; recognize social, cultural and bureaucratic situations and context which can facilitate cooperation between Mediterranean youth; share the similarities and the differences in the analysis of mobility phenomenon and how its diverse dimensions are perceived in each local context; identify and deconstruct prejudices and stereotypes about different cultures; support and promote the intercultural and interreligious dialogue in order to enrich one’s perception of the world.
Beneficiaries: young people aged 18-25.
Type of funding: Erasmus Plus Programme - KA1 - Youth Exchange
Partner/sponsorship: Giosef Unito (Italy), AMSED (France), Cross Culture Youth Group (Egypt), Dinamik Gelisim Dernegi (Turkey), Club Culturel Ali Belhouane Tunis (Tunisia), Young Women’s Christian Association (Lebanon).
“Gender upon a time”
Time: June 2015 - November 2015
Where: Turin
Aim: The project aims to develop a society inclusive towards every kind of diversity, especially about themes related to gender roles and expression. The traditional gender roles, culturally and historically defined, can threaten the free expression of one’s own gender identity, provoking at the same time exclusion and discrimination of people who reject them, as well as blaming of people who identify with them.
The main objective of the project is to provide to the participants of the exchange occasions of exchanges among different cultures, in order to raise awareness on the socially constructed nature of traditional gender roles; this will be achieved through theatrical and non formal education methodologies.
Beneficiaries: young people aged 18-25.
Type of funding: Erasmus Plus Programme - KA1 - Youth Exchange
Partner/sponsorship: European Commission, Waseela For Training and Development (Egypt), Greenhouse Malta, Club Culturel Ali Belhouane Tunis (Tunisia), Parada ponosa Beograd (Serbia), AleancaLGBT (Albania).
 
“I-Gender”
Time: september 2016 - december 2017
Where: International Training Course in Murcia (Spain) - Focus groups and local actions in each partner Country 
Aim: The I-Gender project aims at developing educational methodologies to include and tackle gender  issues efficiently when working with young people in contexts with an intercultural dimension. 
An international training course will be held in February 2017 in Spain for youth workers willing to explore the role of gender in intercultural education and to share, learn and develop non formal learning methodologies to promote gender equality.
The course will be designed as a mutual learning situation where the vast regional diversity of approaches will be endorsed as an opportunity to explore further into social and personal meanings of these concepts. With the support and supervision of the team, participants will develop an educational curricula on gender related issues and gender equality promotion in an intercultural education frame.
In March 2017  each  partner will organize one local focus  group to receive feedback from experts on the developed curricula, to explore with them its strengths  and weaknesses, and,if needed,  to furtherly adapt it to the local context.
Each partner in a workshop of 8 hours will then apply the curricula with minimum 25 young people in their own community between April and June 2017. Each partner in a local press conference between July and  August 2017 will present the results of the project.
Beneficiaries:
Type of funding:
Partnership/sponsorship: Euroaccion - Coordinating Organization (Spain), Giosef Unito (Italy), The Mediterranean  Forum for Youth (Morocco),  I Dare for Sustainable Development (Jordan), IYDA - Intercultural Youth Dialogue Association (Egypt).
- Euromed IV
“Children First”
Time: 28 May - 04 June 2016
Where: Tunis - Tunisia
Aim: the project aims to advance knowledge and respect for children's rights in the society which has many implications: to inform on existing rights and to promote the culture of debate and discussion about children's rights. In many areas, practices and laws must change, we must raise awareness of the existence of fundamental rights that children hold, which implies a change of the mentality. This action is part of an education process which is based of course on the need to enable all actors of society to appropriate the knowledge, principles and standards to build their own perception, opinions and positions.
Beneficiaries: youth workers, facilitators, trainers over 18 years old
Type of funding: Euromed - Training Course
Partnership/sponsorship: Sanabel Tunisia (Tunisia), Giosef Unito (Italy), Sting for Consultancy and Design   (Egypt), United Religions Initiative URI MENA – (Jordan), TERRA DI MEZZO (TDM) 2000 MALTA – (Malta), CISTUS (Portugal).
“EVS in Club Culturel Ali Bolhouane”
Time: december 2015 - July 2016
Where: Tunis - Tunisia
Beneficiaries: Young people - EVS volunteer  
Type of funding: Euromed - EVS
Partnership/sponsorship: Club Culturel, Giosef Unito

“Sans violence...on avans”
Time: 8/16 November 2015
Where: Hammamet, Tunisia
Aim: Education for Non-Violence plays a crucial role in the development of active citizenship and the promotion of a democratic culture. But the success of education for citizenship and democracy relies on the promoting of several other factors and values such as education in non-violence. In this context, the role of this training course is to promote the learning of democracy, citizenship, human rights, through active participatory approaches that focus on strengthening peaceful coexistence and the promotion of a culture of peace without violence.
The project will gather 6 partners from Tunisia, Algeria, Palestine, Belgium, Greece and Italy. And it will be an opportunity for youth workers from different backgrounds to exchange their experiences and good practices in this field and discuss how to build a common action plan in order to create a peaceful environment.
Beneficiaries: youth workers, facilitators, trainers over 18 years old
Type of funding: Euromed - Training Course
Partnership/sponsorship: Sanabel Tounsia (Tunisia); GIOSEF UNITO (Italie); Association éducative et culturelle Arc en Ciel (Algeria); Association pour le Développement et l’Emancipation des Musulmans  (ASBL) (Belgium) AsSamou’ Municipality (Palestine) SOLIDARITY TRACKS (Greece).
 

How can you contribute to the Network in your country?

Associazione Giosef Unito can contribute with the network in our country with education and advocacy purpose, sharing the results of the projects we implement and involving local partners in actions that have as main objectives tha mission and the value of the ALF networks.
Moreover we are very active in youth field cooperaton with southmeda association of the civil society, cooperating on increase the capacity building of youth workers in all the Mediterranean area, because we believe in the importance of sharing best practices in order to facilitate the social coesion among the Mediterranean area. 

Why do you want to join the ALF Network?

We want to join the network to reiforce our partnership and action in the field, and because we are partner already of a project funding by the ALF.

Contact (1) Full Name
Annamaria Simeone
Job Title
Youth worker
Head of the organisation
Annamaria Simeone
Contact (2) Full Name
Giorgio Gotra
Job Title (2)
Youth worker