The PUENTE Project (Protecting Ukrainians Encouraging Non-formal Training and Education) has launched its official website and digital channels (LinkedIn | Instagram), marking a key milestone in its mission to promote the social and occupational inclusion of Ukrainian refugees across Europe through non-formal education and emotional support.
In the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, millions were displaced, many facing trauma, exclusion, and uncertainty. PUENTE responds to this crisis by addressing the specific educational and emotional needs of adult refugees, promoting their autonomy, resilience, and dignity.
“In a European context where the inclusion of refugees represents an urgent challenge, PUENTE Project demonstrates that non-formal education—adapted to the emotional and cultural realities of those who have experienced the trauma of displacement—can be a key tool for rebuilding lives with autonomy, integration, and hope ”
— Jesús Puente, Project Coordinator, Fundación Juan Ciudad
Backed by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, PUENTE (from the Spanish word for bridge) brings together eight European organizations from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Austria and Belgium with extensive experience in health care, mental health, education and humanitarian response. These organizations, united by a shared vision of inclusion, have already supported over 1,100 refugees, many of them survivors of war-related trauma, social exclusion, and displacement.
An alliance that becomes a bridge
PUENTE now becomes a bridge—not only symbolic, but real—between these communities and their new lives in Europe. PUENTE develops a transnational, non-formal training course for adult educators and social carers.
The project is coordinated by Fundación Juan Ciudad (Spain), a national leader in health and social care for vulnerable populations. Also from Spain, Centro de San Juan de Dios de Ciempozuelos and Centro Hospitalario Benito Menni bring long-standing expertise in mental health, refugee reception and community integration. Instituto São João de Deus (Portugal) adds its experience in psychiatric care and psychosocial rehabilitation, while Provincia Religiosa di San Pietro – Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Dio detto Fatebenefratelli (Italy) supports displaced people through mobile health units and trauma-informed care. From Poland, Bonifraterska Fundacja Dobroczynna contributes deep knowledge in inclusive education and rural refugee support. Konventhospital Barmherzige Brüder Linz (Austria) offers expertise in mental health care for marginalized groups, and Hospitality Europe (Belgium) strengthens the project’s European advocacy and institutional visibility.
Together, these eight institutions form a committed alliance that reflects Europe’s capacity to act with compassion and coordination.
Non-Formal Education: A Bridge To Inclusion
But PUENTE is more than a network. It is a project with concrete results and transformative tools. Over two years, PUENTE will design and pilot a transnational training course for adult educators and social professionals, adapted to the specific psychological, educational and integration needs of Ukrainian refugees. This course will be tested with 60 professionals from five countries and will incorporate inclusive methodologies, trauma-informed approaches and real-life case studies from across the continent.
PUENTE is rooted in non-formal education, an approach that values flexibility, participation, and adaptability. This model recognizes that adult refugees need more than a curriculum: they need support systems that address trauma, foster self-confidence, and open paths to employment and community life.
Alongside the course, the project will produce a best practices handbook, a set of EU-level guidelines for tracking refugee learning and integration, and a repository of multilingual educational resources to be published progressively on the project’s website.
PUENTE aligns with the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU Care Strategy, and upcoming EU mental health initiatives, contributing to a future where education, diversity, and dignity are at the center of refugee inclusion.
Through this launch, PUENTE sends a message: integration is possible when learning is inclusive, when support is human, and when education is built on dignity.
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