Safer Project

09/05/2025

🎥 What are the key challenges we must address to reduce irregular migration from Pakistan? What practical steps can different actors take to create real change?

In this video, Aqeel Ahmed, research assistant at the University of Mons, shares his perspective on the future of migration management, identifying the main obstacles that persist and the strategies that associations, universities, and policymakers can adopt to effectively respond.

Drawing on his expertise, he offers a reflection on the importance of credible information, community engagement, and collaboration between institutions to create safer migration alternatives.

Watch the interview to gain valuable insights!

08/05/2025

🎥 In this video, Francesca Pisano, Program Manager at RED Nova - Connecting Actions, Defending Rights Onlus, shares her insights into the role of policy recommendations developed within the SAFER project.

She explains how these recommendations are designed to support policymakers, institutions, and organizations in implementing more effective strategies based on the real needs of communities.

Francesca highlights the crucial importance of accurate, accessible information and calls for a coordinated approach involving political, social, and academic actors to promote safer and more informed migration journeys.
Watch her interview to learn more about the impact of SAFER and the path ahead for safer migration practices.

07/05/2025

🎥 The SAFER project has worked to address the risks associated with irregular migration from Pakistan by providing trustworthy information about regular migration pathways and alternative economic opportunities in countries of origin.

In this video, Mauro Valdinoci, Project Manager at the European Research Institute and coordinator of SAFER, reflects on the project's objectives, achievements, and future prospects.

He highlights the successful creation of a strong online community, the importance of awareness-raising activities, and the development of policy recommendations to guide future actions. Looking ahead, Mauro emphasizes the need to build on SAFER's results to continue supporting safer and better-informed migration choices.
Watch the video to learn more!

14/04/2025

On April 7th, 2025, we marked the culmination of 2 years of dedicated work through the final event of the SAFER project — an initiative focused on raising awareness about the risks of irregular migration and promoting sustainable alternatives, especially among young people in Pakistan.

🤝 The event brought together a diverse group of partners and experts from organizations such as Fondazione European Research Institute (SAFER coordinator), RED Nova - Connecting Actions, Defending Rights (partner of the project), Cirrus Marketing, University of Mons, Europa-Universität Flensburg, and the Brussels School of Governance, along with representatives from the European Commission.

📸 Curious to see how it all went? Here are the photos capturing some of the most inspiring moments we shared together.

👏 A big THANK YOU to all our partners, contributors, and supporters for making the SAFER project a success. Let’s continue building safer, informed paths for youth everywhere. 💡🌍

07/04/2025

The SAFER Project Final Event is starting now!

Join us live as we present key results, explore safer migration strategies, and hear from our expert panelists.

Connect now to follow the event online:
https://zoom.us/j/95702166263?pwd=byX2S0KbcRAUX0JEXmyThb2Ama92Px.1

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

27/03/2025

As we gear up for the final event of the SAFER project, we invite you to explore all the valuable resources we've created so far!

What can you find on the SAFER platform?
✅ In-depth information on migration from Pakistan – key facts and challenges analyzed from multiple perspectives.
🎙️ Our exclusive podcast series – featuring expert insights and migrant stories
🇵🇰 Information about the campaign we led in Pakistan ( Pakistan)

Our goal is to shed light on migration realities and promote reliable information, and our platform is designed to do just that!

Explore the platform and listen to our podcasts here: https://projectsafer.eu/podcasts

Stay tuned, as we will soon present the full results of the SAFER project during our final event! More details coming soon.

One year after the Cutro shipwreck, in south Italy, the memory of the tragedy intertwines with the stories of those still seeking a way to Europe. Tariq retraces the journey he took forty years ago—but this time in reverse, along the Balkan route, to understand what has changed and why, even today...

09/03/2025

After months of travel, Tariq finally boards a flight back to Pakistan, his last stop for The Safer Route podcast. But for many, returning home is not a choice, it’s a forced reality.

At the airport, he meets Sarmad Javaid and Ammar Bukhari, two Pakistanis who migrated legally and built new lives in Germany and Finland. Their stories highlight the importance of legal routes created to reach Europe.

Then, Tariq visits Umad Akhtar, who works with migrants who returned to Pakistan, exploring shame, societal pressures, but also the opportunities they may find back in their motherland.

For those sent back, reintegration is a struggle. The stigma of failure is heavy. But is there another way?

🔊 Listen to Episode 5 on YouTube or Spotify: https://youtu.be/7-NPp9KQXPQ

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In the final episode, Tariq returns to Pakistan, the end point of his journey and the starting point of many young people who, like him 40 years earlier, dre...

08/03/2025

For his next stop for The Safer Route podcast, Tariq steps into Athens, where every migrant’s fate seems to depend on luck, shifting policies, and the mood of the government. Some are welcomed. Others are detained. Many are pushed back into the sea.

Through the eyes of Maria Kritsotaki, a social worker with years of experience, we see how Greek society is split, some offering kindness, others fueled by fear and resentment. Margarita Markoviti unpacks the deeper political and legal forces at play, revealing why migration policies fail and why people keep coming despite the risks.

And then, there’s the silent war at sea—illegal pushbacks, detention centers, and tragedies like the Pylos shipwreck.

🔊 Listen to Episode 4 on YouTube or Spotify: https://youtu.be/X7V2MUIZbog

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Tariq's journey continues as he steps into Greece, where he dives deeper into the complex intersection of migration policies and human experiences. He learns...

07/03/2025

For the next stop of The Safer Route podcast, Tariq arrives in Sofia, a city where migration is more than a crisis, it’s a legal gray zone. Here, activists are arrested for giving aid, migrants are pushed back into the forests, and asylum seekers face rejection at every turn.
In this episode, Diana Daskalova sheds light on a system designed to deny migrants protection, forcing many into irregular status. Amira Ellabban shares stories of families caught between despair and resilience.

And then, there’s the chilling reality: helping migrants is becoming a crime.

How did we get here? And what happens to those who have nowhere left to go?

🔊 Listen to Episode 3 on YouTube or Spotify: https://youtu.be/yNGSDlyileQ?si=W-I2X-KCQgiy0b33

Tariq arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he uncovers the harsh realities the today's migrants are forced to face—rejection, exploitation, and a lack of suppor...

05/03/2025

In Trieste, The Safer Route podcast's journey continues.

Tariq steps off the train in Trieste, a city that has become a gateway to Europe and a place where many migrants find themselves stranded. Here, in the Square of the World, he meets exhausted travelers, volunteers offering a helping hand, and those who are still fighting to hold onto hope.

He listens to Francesca Pisano, who explains how migrants arriving from the Balkans find themselves without shelter, forced into informal settlements. Ismail Swati, a Pakistani cultural mediator, shares heart-wrenching stories of young boys who have spent years on the move. Giulio Zeriali reveals the brutal reality of pushbacks, where migrants are beaten and stripped of everything before being sent back across the border.

This is Trieste: a city of arrivals, but also of lost dreams.

🔊 Listen to Episode 2 on YouTube or Spotify: (https://youtu.be/jdnbPpO5Usc?si=hqHU3IngKGt_Tksn)

European Research Institute
RED Nova - Connecting Actions, Defending Rights
KMOP
EURAXESS Bulgaria - Supporting Researchers
S-com aisbl
Cirrus

Tariq arrives in Trieste, an Italian border city where migrants face the harsh realities of their journey through Europe. Amid stories of hope and hardship, ...

04/03/2025

Forty years ago, Tariq left Pakistan for Europe. He boarded a plane, passport in hand, filled with hope for the future. Today, young Pakistanis take a different path—one of danger, uncertainty, and, too often, tragedy.

In The Safer Route, a new podcast from the Safer Project, we follow Tariq as he retraces the journey so many take today, but in reverse, traveling from Italy to Pakistan through the Balkan Route. He wants to see with his own eyes what has changed and why migration remains a deadly endeavor.

The journey begins with a tragedy that shook Italy and the world—the Cutro shipwreck. Tariq arrives in the coastal town of Crotone, where 94 people lost their lives just meters from the shore. He reflects on their stories, the voices lost, and the system that failed them.

🔊 Listen to Episode 1 on YouTube or Spotify:

https://youtu.be/exSgmjdoXdE?si=zLybf_vGT8vJel78

Forty years ago, Tariq left Pakistan for Europe. He boarded a plane, passport in hand, filled with hope for the future. Today, young Pakistanis take a different path—one of danger, uncertainty, and, too often, tragedy.

In The Safer Route, a new podcast from the Safer Project, we follow Tariq as he retraces the journey so many take today, but in reverse, traveling from Italy to Pakistan through the Balkan Route. He wants to see with his own eyes what has changed and why migration remains a deadly endeavor.

The journey begins with a tragedy that shook Italy and the world—the Cutro shipwreck. Tariq arrives in the coastal town of Crotone, where 94 people lost their lives just meters from the shore. He reflects on their stories, the voices lost, and the system that failed them.

🔊 Listen to Episode 1 on YouTube or Spotify:

https://youtu.be/exSgmjdoXdE?si=zLybf_vGT8vJel78

European Research Institute
RED Nova - Connecting Actions, Defending Rights
KMOP
EURAXESS Bulgaria - Supporting Researchers
S-com aisbl
Cirrus