”la Caixa” Foundation opens its aid programme for projects aimed at immigrant integration
Barcelona, 27 February 2003
”la Caixa” Foundation is now opening a new edition of the Immigration Programme for aid to projects that work towards the integration of people in this group. The programme, which is included in the Competitions for Social Initiatives, already collaborates with 286 projects, to which over 4.3 million Euros have been set aside since it got underway in 1999. The objectives of these initiatives, in which ”la Caixa” Foundation takes part, are the integration of immigrants, the normalisation of their situation and their training and socio-labour insertion. The period for presenting applications for this competition concludes on 17 March.
The Immigration Programme, like the other Competitions for Social Initiative (Margination, the Mentally Ill and Disabled, and the Labour Insertion of the Disabled), is open to the participation of any non-profit private organisation and seeks to collaborate with these organisations in initiatives, programmes and projects that foster the creation or consolidation of shelters, the drawing up of training programmes for integration, the design and management of pre-employment training workshops and cooperatives and the going into operation of labour insertion projects, as well as any other type of initiatives involving promotion and support.
The Immigration Programme works within the framework of the social assistance programmes of ”la Caixa” Foundation, and its aim is to improve the quality of life and to achieve the integration of immigrants who are in situations of risk, margination or social exclusion. The programme, which began in 1999 as an annual competition for social insertion initiatives devoted to providing financial support to immigration projects, has since collaborated with 286 proposals, contributing over 4.3 million Euros. These projects are focused on fostering improved quality of life and the complete integration of immigrants by means of actions involving shelter, attention and integration of the immigrant population, by normalising their situation and boosting their training and socio-labour insertion or by providing them with correct professional preparation.