JEM's participants

My name is Cristina and I am currently in charge of doing the first interview to the immigrants that participate in our programme Immigrants entrepreneurs. I am very happy to be part of the JEM project and have had the possibility to travel to Le Puy en Velay to participate in the workshop. I am also happy to have actively participated in the Madrid workshop sharing with all the participants my experience in the daily activity that I develop

My name is Anouk Aladjemoff. I am French but have been raised in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I am currently living in the United Kingdom, in Sheffield, carrying out my internship at Intercambio. I really enjoy being part of the JEM network. Not only has the project allowed me to understand the challenges migrants face in Europe, but I have also been able to meet interesting people from France, Spain, Mexico and other countries. One of my fondest memories was the partner meeting in Granada, Spain, where we visited organisations which support migrants in finding employment. My main areas of interest are employability and internationalisation.

Hello, my name is Marina. I am originally from Mexico but I have lived in Sheffield for more than 17 years. My main interests are mentoring, equal opportunities, diversity and European project management. I feel very passionate about the work of Intercambio as being a migrant myself I understand the challenges of integration, adaptability and intercultural communication that we sometimes face when arriving to a new country. I enjoy meeting people from different cultures and making a difference in people’s lives (I hope) through our programmes. This is the reason why I am particularly interested in the JEM project. Thus by participating in the JEM meeting in France, I would like to share my experience with colleagues from France and Spain with regard to the work we have been doing in the area of skills development for migrants’ employability.

My name is Marta and I live in Madrid. I am the responsible of the training Department at UPTA Spain. I am very glad to have the opportunity to participate in the JEM project since I am learning a lot and also have the opportunity to tell about my own experience to other colleagues. Since many years ago I have been running the programme Immigrants entrepreneurs through which we have gained a lot of experience in the attention to those immigrant who want to start their businesses.

I am María Campos and I work in several projects of UPTA, including all those dealing with immigrant people. This is a topic that really like me and I am glad that UPTA gave me the possibility to participate in the workshop at Le Puy en Velay and meet colleagues from UK and France and to improve my skills for the development of my daily job in the attention to immigrant entrepreneurs.

Hi, my name is Giulia di Porcia and I am Italian. When I participated in the JEM meeting in Spain I was living in the UK doing an Internship at Inova Consultancy. As a migrant I was particularly interested in the JEM network as I had the chance not only to discuss some of the issues I was facing, but also to meet people who were in the same situation as I was. Thanks to the JEM network we took the time to stop and think about these issues and this was extremely interesting and helpful. The most interesting part of the meeting was our visit to some Spanish institutions, like the Red Cross, which have hands on experience in supporting migrants. The meeting combined a theoretical approach with a very practical side of the same thing.

Hello, my name is Catharyn, I am currently working for Leeds City College as a Trade Union Council (TUC) Curriculum Equality Leader and I participated in the JEM workshop as a learner. What I enjoyed the most about being involved in the workshop was sharing experiences about best practice and how we can build upon the experience of the project and beyond.

My name is Silvino. I was born in Sao Tomé-et-Principe. I am living in France since 2013. I have been trained as an electrician. I have always worked as an electrician in Portugal before coming to France. I am doing the same job in France.

Hello, I am Giulia, from Italy and currently doing an internship at Intercambio in the United Kingdom. I have previously lived in Spain, Ecuador and Denmark and I have always been very fascinated by multicultural environments and by learning new things about people and places. I would like to work with migrants and refugees and support them overcoming the obstacles they face when settling down in Europe. I look forward to participating in JEM meeting as I am sure it is a great opportunity to gain different insights into migrants’ working situation across different European countries.

Hello. My name is Jerome, and I live in France. I participated in the JEM workshops as a staff member of Greta. As a web developper focused on elearning tools for migrants, it was a good opportunity to share experiences with other trainers in different countries. To get their needs regarding tools and discovering what is the state of art in their current practices.

My name is Pierre, I live in France. I appreciate the fact that JEM provides a good opportunity for dialog between trainers and learners, on an equal base. In Granada, when we talked about our experiences, we didn't know who the learner was, and who the trainer was. We were all learners and we all learned from learners. My main interest as an educator is to be careful that we do not create environments that prevent people from learning. And I am sure that JEM does not hinder learning.

Hello, I am Valentina, originally from Italy but with a well-rounded experience living and working abroad. I am a graduate in International Development, committed to a long-term career in the third sector with particular interest in initiatives that support social mobility and guarantee equal access to opportunities. I have worked in different multi-cultural environments, ranging from UK metropolis to African villages. I have 3 years of experience working with consultancy firms, development NGOs and project beneficiaries on promoting social enterprises and gender empowerment initiatives. As a result, I have a good understanding of the challenges involved with working cross-culture and how to adapt herself to different job environments. I am very attracted by diversity and I like to constantly develop opportunities to exchange with people coming from different cultures. This is one of the reasons why I am very keen on taking part in the JEM project. I remember facing a lot of barriers when accessing foreign job markets and I believes this workshop is a good opportunity to share my experience with other learners. 

My name is Eliakina. I was born in Sao Tomé-et-Principe. I have been trained as a technician in computing systems (a 2-year training course). I have also studied tourism (about travel agencies and transports) for 1.5 year. I have worked as a cook assistant and also as production officer in a factory for six years. At the moment, I am looking for a job, either as cook or in the industry. Mastering well the French language is a key factor to be employed in these sectors in France.

Hello, my name is Brenda, I am Mexican, currently studying in Sheffield (UK) and I participated in the JEM workshop as a learner with Intercambio. What I enjoyed the most about being involved in the workshop was meeting social entrepreneurs with different points of view and challenges to face. Analysing the different kinds of organisations and their different approaches to tackling the same problem was really interesting for me.

I am Suzy, from Portugal. I have lived in France and in Portugal. I have had several jobs. For example, I have worked as a waiter and my last job was as translator in a sportswear factory. Half a year ago, for family reasons, I moved to Le Puy, where I am looking for a job now.

Hi, my name is Eugénie Putallaz. I am Swiss and I have had the opportunity to travel a lot and live abroad as well, especially in Ecuador and in Florida for a few months. I am currently living in Sheffield and doing an internship at Intercambio. I particularly enjoy working with international partners, as this provides different perspectives and views on the issue of migrants and the challenges they face on arriving in their host country as well as when seeking a job. JEM helped me to understand better what kind of support has to be provided to migrants in order to improve their employability.

My main areas of interests are internationalisation and NGOs.

Hello, my name is Isabel, and I participated in the JEM workshop as a staff member of UPTA. What I enjoyed the most about being involved in the workshop was meeting colleagues and learners from other countries and getting first-hand information about the socio-labour integration of immigrants in Granada.

I am Boris an I am from Bulgaria. I am currently doing an internship at UPTA Spain in the administration department. I really like this job and I enjoyed participating in the Madrid seminar learning how to better attend to immigrant people. I know very well the situation of immigrants and I really appreciate the value of this kind of initiatives.

My name is Jacques. I started working in Greta as a teacher of French language five years ago. I am particularly involved in supporting the development of key competences. In Greta, learners are from different backgrounds with different levels of training and education and different levels. I like this project because it offers a space for communication between learners and trainers that is more open than during the formal training periods. It facilitates free expression. It is a way to know better the learners and understand better their expectations.

My name is David and I am the responsible of the Administration Department. In my position I like to be aware of the needs of all the users of the different programs that UPTA runs. It is essential for planning the future projects and adapt them to the reality.

I like this JEM project which is being highly beneficial for our organization and all the colleagues working here.

I enjoyed meeting new people in a new city and learning about the various projects in Granada that assist migrants to get jobs, start businesses, integrate with and develop in their new country. It was interesting to learn that most migrants across the various countries face the same concerns (such as language and cultural barriers and lack of confidence). It will take the migrants, the non-immigrants (locals) and the policies in the country to help integrate and develop the migrants coming in. Going as a learner to Granada has made me realise and learn many things, but most of all I learnt that opportunities can be found anywhere; one just needs to keep their eyes and ears open.

Hi, my name is Valérie and I participated in the JEM workshop as a staff member of Greta du Velay. What I enjoyed the most about being involved in the workshop was the lovely working environment that promoted collaboration and creativity, and discovering programmes which help the reinsertion of unemployed people.