Partners

UNHCR mainly plays a coordinating role together with other national partners. It supports dialogue among relevant institutional representatives in Italy and in the concerned countries of departure, always ensuring a protection and refugee-centered approach throughout the project cycle. Within the countries of departure, UNHCR primarily contributes to disseminate information about UNICORE, providing support to refugee students in the application and interview phase and, upon selection, in navigating the pre-departure related procedures.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will be involved in processing study visa applications and other documents that may be necessary for university admission.

Caritas Italiana, the pastoral body of the Italian Episcopal Conference, will support the selected students in pre-departure activities in Ethiopia and will assist them once they arrive in Italy.

First of all, it will focus on the dissemination of the project in order to reach the widest audience of potentially interested refugees. After the students are selected by the universities, Caritas Italiana, through the operational collaboration of the Gandhi Association, will cover their pre-departure expenses including transport and medical visits and provide administrative and logistical support. It will also cover travel expenses from Ethiopia to Italy.

In Italy, through the network of diocesan Caritas, it will welcome the students and actively support them during the integration process in the local community, in collaboration with the universities.

Diaconia Valdese provides its experience in the field of asylum seeker- and refugee- reception in order to support students coming to Italy with the UNICORE project.
Each student is assigned a personal social worker who has the task of providing support for the entire duration of the University course.
Diaconia Valdese, through its national network of services and social centres, facilitates the access of migrants and foreigners to local services and provides them with legal advice, social secretariat, cultural and linguistic mediation and psychological support. It also promotes participation in cultural, recreational and social activities to encourage social inclusion and knowledge of the host cities. Moreover, thanks to specific fundraising campaigns, it offers students monthly pocket money to cover personal expenditures, subscription to local transport and telephone bills; last but not least, it provides necessary items for studying.
The activities are coordinated by a project manager coordinates all and his role is to facilitate the connection at national level with Universities, project partners and local workers, thus ensuring the sustainability and continuity of the actions for the entire project timeline.

Gandhi Charity will provide support to students in Ethiopia, with their application process and administrative procedures with respect to the Universities and the Italian embassy in Addis Abeba. Furthermore, Gandhi Charity will help the beneficiary students undergo medical check-ups and make the necessary internal logistical arrangements. Gandhi Charity through its operators in Ethiopia will serve as a point of reference for the selected students, to provide the necessary assistance during preparation for their departure to Italy.

Centro Astalli is the Italian Country office of the Jesuit Refugee Service. Since 1981, it has been committed to serve, accompany, and advocate for refugees in Rome and Italy. Currently, it acts through a network of associations in eight Italian cities. Centro Astalli supports the project accompanying beneficiaries after they arrive in Italy: it will focus on welcoming students and directly support them during their stay in the local community, favoring their social inclusion and integration in close collaboration with the different Universities.

The University for Foreigners of Perugia is the oldest and most prestigious Italian institution specialised in teaching, research and promotion of all expressions of Italian language and culture. It was founded in the early 1920s and, since the very beginning, has always been a symbol of openness and tolerance, as well as a meeting place for different cultures and peoples, developing into what has become a real workshop of intercultural education. Beside this specific vocation, the University for Foreigners of Perugia offers also degree and Master degree courses, specialisation courses and a PhD programme focusing on Teaching Italian language to foreigners, Made in Italy, International relations, communication and sustainability. The University for Foreigners of Perugia offers Italian language classes to UNICORE students before departure.

The University for Foreigners of Siena is an Italian state University specialized in teaching Italian as a foreign language and in scientific research concerning the diffusion of Italian Language and Culture throughout the world.
Today both Italian and international students can enrol in its Undergraduate, Graduate, Postgraduate and PhD programs focused on Linguistics, Literature, Humanities, Translation Studies, Communication:
- Bachelor’s Degrees (3 years)
- Master’s Degrees (2 years)
- Postgraduate studies (1 year)
- Ph.D studies (3 years)
- International Programs (Double Degrees and Foundation Year)
- Italian language and culture courses for foreigners
- Training, refresher and specialization courses for teachers
- E-Learning and distance education
- Certifications for language learners and teachers.
The University has been awarded with the “European Label for Languages” for 11 times for the best projects for language diffusion, and its Language Centre is an Accredited Member of EAQUALS (the European Association for Quality Language Service). The University for Foreigners of Siena offers Italian language classes to UNICORE students before departure.

Banca Etica is a cooperative bank that operates in Italy and Spain. It was established thanks to the commitment of a number of individuals and organizations who joined forces to create a credit institution based on Ethical Finance principles: transparency, participation, sobriety, efficiency and attention to the non-economic consequences of economic actions.
Thanks to the accumulated savings, Banca Etica funds projects aimed at welfare, social economy, environmental protection, innovation, international cooperation and culture. This information is verifiable: Banca Etica is the only bank in Italy that publishes all its loans on its website.
Banca Etica offers the main banking products and services, and a different banking experience founded on relationships: the focus on people and organizations is guaranteed by a network of bank branches and financial advisors all over Italy, in addition to complete online service accessible to all clients. Ninety groups of volunteer members work to ensure the development of local relations, promoting the Ethical Finance culture and the possibility of actively participating in an economic democracy project.
Within the framework of the Global Refugee Forum the 'Fondazione Finanza Etica' supports UNICORE beneficiaries through financial inclusion and bank basic services. It supports refugees by providing regular bank accounts and adopting ad hoc flexibility in documentation requirements due to their refugee background to ensure that students may receive regular scholarships from Universities. FFE also, in some cases, helps with donations in ad hoc circumstances.