Kopin

Kopin is  a non-profit organisation working on issues of social justice, sustainable  development and human rights (especially on & children’s rights). We work  in three inter-related fields: global education in Malta, support to refugees  and migrants, and sustainable community development in Ethiopia and Kenya.

We focus  our services to those who are most vulnerable among the migrant community in  Malta, such as children and youth, including unaccompanied asylum seeking  minors homeless persons, victims of trafficking in human beings, persons with  mental health issues, including trauma. We also provide training and  classroom activities to teachers and educators on migrant inclusion in the  context of sustainable development, comprising topics such as diversity,  racism, stereotypes, privilege or Islamophobia and offering tools and  methodologies that are useful for diverse classrooms. Kopin is a founding  member of the Malta Refugee Council, whilst we also work in coalition with  other refugee support, migrant-led & diaspora organisations involved in  Search and Rescue (SAR) in the central Mediterranean to demand that Malta and  the EU uphold their human rights obligations.    Our focus on the Horn of Africa stems from the networks we have developed  in both Ethiopia and Kenya, following research we had conducted in 2009.  Since then, we have been working with our partners in the countries,  providing access to essential goods and services such as healthcare, clean  energy, HIV/Aids assistance and education. More recently, our projects in  Ethiopia have largely focused on the provision of quality early education to  children of disadvantaged families living in Akaki Kality, which is a  southern suburb of the country’s capital Addis Ababa. In Kenya, we work  closely with the youth and community organisation Amani Kibera, providing  empowerment and peace building activities for children and youth. Concerning  advocacy for genuine and effective development cooperation of Malta and the  EU, Kopin has been taking a leading role in the AidWatch monitoring process.    We use the experiences from our work on the ground to develop educational  resources, provide training to teachers and educators, deliver activities to  students of all levels and give lectures to tertiary students. Topics relate  to (un)sustainable development and (forced) migration, and cover subjects  such as climate change, food security, tax injustice or cultural  participation. The overarching aim is to stimulate critical (self-)  reflection, challenging ourselves to revisit established perceptions,  stereotypes and practices. We also engage in informal learning and awareness  raising activities, partnering with other sectors of Malta’s society. For  example, we work with artists in order to create new spaces that can  stimulate discussion about relevant topics; we promote alternatives to  mainstream economic activity through research about and dissemination of good  practices of social and solidarity economy, placing people before profits;  and we engage in prison education programmes that aim to foster the  reintegration of convicts into society.