First Steps in Milan: Building A Better Future for Migrant Children and their Families

Acknowledgements

The First Steps in Milan project is jointly implemented by the Municipality of Milan and a partnership of local nonprofit organizations: Cooperativa Sociale Progetto Integrazione – Partnership coordinator –, Lo Scrigno Società Cooperativa Sociale Onlus, Associazione Culturale Villa Pallavicini APS, Caracol ETS, Fondazione Muxima Onlus, Associazione Franco Verga C.O.I. – APS, Cooperativa Sociale Tempo per l’Infanzia, UVI – Unione Volontari per l’Infanzia e l’Adolescenza, ODV, Mamme a Scuola ETS, EQUA Cooperativa Sociale, SOS Bambini ETS, Fondazione Monserrate Onlus, Cooperativa Sociale Comunità del Giambellino, and Fondazione International Rescue Committee Italia ETS. The project is funded by the Mayors Migration Council’s Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees, with support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Van Leer Foundation. This article greatly benefits from the insights shared by Irene Latuati, Project Manager at Progetto Integrazione, Chiara Dellea, Organizational Manager at UVI – Unione Volontari per l’Infanzia e l’Adolescenza, and the Welfare & Health Department of the Municipality of Milan.

In 2023, the Municipality of Milan, Italy, was selected as a grantee of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees (GCF) , with support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Van Leer Foundation. Milan’s GCF project, First Steps in Milan, provides early childhood education and daycare services for migrant children aged zero to six while offering their caregivers access to language courses, psychosocial services, and cultural orientation workshops.  

By helping children develop the skills that they need to succeed in primary school and strengthening social support networks for their families, the First Steps initiative is already bolstering migrant inclusion in Milan. In just six months, the project has successfully enrolled 70 migrant and refugee children in preschool, helping them develop the linguistic, cognitive, motor, and emotional skills necessary for a smooth transition to primary education. It has also delivered essential psychosocial care to more than50 vulnerable migrant families and enhanced Italian language skills of 95 caregivers. Providing wraparound support, the First Steps initiative improves migrants’ ability to navigate daily life, engage with the local community, and manage the complex process of enrolling their children in public school. The project also strengthens the Municipality’s capacity to collaborate with third-sector organizations as partners, not just implementers. Through its multi-sectoral, two-generational approach, First Steps not only addresses the immediate needs of migrant and refugee children and caregivers today but also sets the foundation for long-term inclusion in the future.  

However, systemic policy and financial barriers continue to challenge the scaling up and institutionalization of successful initiatives like First Steps in Milan. Lengthy status regularization processes prevent migrant families from legally working or finding housing, significantly limiting their ability to create stable environments for their children. Residency requirements complicate access to preschool tuition assistance, hindering the ability of many families to continue their children’s education in public schools. Additionally, funding and staffing shortfalls threaten the quality and sustainability of the services provided.  

As in Milan, other cities are stepping up to support migrant and refugee children, but there’s much more to be done to make these efforts last. A coalition of like-minded policymakers and philanthropies is essential to help turn these initial steps into a global standard through enabling policies and direct, follow-on funding. The future of our youngest migrants and refugees and their successful inclusion depends on this collective action — we call on current and new partners to join us in this mission. 

A unique multi-sectoral partnership 

What sets First Steps in Milan apart is the Municipality’s innovative approach to collaborating with local non-profits to implement the project. In a new form of partnership, the Municipality is working alongside a cross-sectoral network of 13 civil society organizations as equal partners—not merely implementers—to co-design, manage, and deliver the project for widespread and lasting impact. The Welfare and Health Department of the Municipality also plays a critical role in supporting partner organizations by identifying the most urgent needs and most vulnerable families, ensuring that project activities are prioritized effectively and reach those who need them most. 

Leveraging this network’s dynamic staff of professionals and volunteers, including psychologists, educators, and cultural mediators, First Steps is delivering a holistic suite of support services to migrant children and caregivers from around the world. Key project components include:  

• Learning and exploration – spaces where migrant children and their caregivers can take part in fun, sensory-motor activities that encourage learning, exploration, and community building. 
• Orientation and inclusion  – workshops to help migrant families adjust to daily life in Milan, offering guidance on school enrollment, healthcare services, and job opportunities, promoting socio-economic inclusion. 
• Support for educational services  – dedicated spaces to ensure a smooth and supportive educational journey for children aged zero to six, providing engaging activities for children and personalized support for families in navigating school registrations and selecting appropriate educational activities.  
• Psychological support – individual and group consultations designed to support caregivers’ mental well-being, assist with parenting challenges, and address the complexities of adapting to new lives in Italy. 
• Italian language courses for caregivers – Italian language courses tailored for caregivers, conducted in facilities that offer daycare, to foster linguistic independence among newly arrived families. 
• Artistic and environmental laboratories – workshops providing an inspiring and inclusive setting for discovering new interests, honing artistic talents, and forming connections through art. 

First Steps in Milan’s multi-generational approach, which simultaneously supports children and their caregivers, bridges a key gap in local socio-educational service provision in the city. To date, the project has enrolled 70 children aged zero to six in high-quality preschool and daycare, not only enabling migrant children to build the skills that they need to thrive in primary school but also providing their caregivers time and space to work, rest, or study. Additionally, by project close, First Steps plans to enroll at least 50 children into Milan’s formal education system, ensuring migrant youth do not miss critical developmental and social opportunities.  

Further, First Steps has provided 95 caregivers, over half of whom are women, Italian language and culture courses where they learn essential skills for navigating Milan and build cross-cultural support networks. The project has also delivered more than 50 tailored psychosocial consultations to migrant families living in vulnerable conditions, including individuals without a path to permanent residency in Milan, to promote mental well-being and improve caregiving practices.  

Ultimately, First Step’s holistic service offerings for caregivers and children generate a sense of belonging for newcomers and improve their ability to live, work, learn, and play in Milan.  

Local voices 

One of the project’s clients, Mujeedat, is a Nigerian woman who arrived in Italy to reunite with her family. Previously a policy planner in Lagos, Mujeedat found her transition to life in Milan challenging without a job and social support network. With support from First Steps, she enrolled in an Italian language course that offered simultaneous childcare and language education for her son, Khalid. 

Reflecting on her experience, Mujeedat said that learning Italian helped her interact more easily with other parents, while giving her the opportunity to discuss with other mothers the challenges of being a woman in Italy. “With First Steps in Milan, I am advancing my journey of self-fulfillment: learning a new language to understand this new reality and creating bonds to navigate this challenging context,” she said.  

Another participant in the First Steps in Milan project is L., a five-year-old boy from Peru who faced significant challenges upon his arrival in Milan in June 2023. After his family escaped years of threats and a kidnapping attempt in Peru, L. missed the public school enrollment period, putting him at risk of losing out on 13 months of education. This period is crucial for a child’s development, particularly in socialization, language acquisition, and learning to adapt to a new cultural and educational setting. Through the program’s partnership with UVI – Unione Volontari per l’Infanzia e l’Adolescenza, L. was given a space in one of First Step’s early childhood education and care program, where he was not only prepared for primary school but also nurtured in an environment tailored to his developmental needs. 

Starting with no knowledge of Italian and no preschool experience, L. has made extraordinary progress. “After just one school year, L. has made friends, mastered Italian, and developed the confidence and skills needed to start public primary school next week,” said Chiara Dellea, an educator at UVI. “We are immensely proud of his growth and inclusion and are excited for his future.” 

Looking ahead 

The impact of First Steps in Milan extends far beyond providing essential inclusion services for migrants like Mujeedat, Khalid, and L.: the project contributes to fundamentally altering the way the Municipality of Milan approaches migration and displacement. By co-designing and implementing First Steps with a multi-sectoral partnership network, the Municipality was able to pilot new ways of working with the third sector to identify and address previously unmet needs of migrants and refugees. The project has also built the institutional capacity and knowledge of education and social service providers in Milan to respond effectively to challenges in the migration sector.   

However, there remain several barriers preventing Milan and its non-profit partners from scaling and institutionalizing these promising results. One significant challenge is funding and staffing shortages. With partner staff and volunteers already operating at maximum capacity, more funding is needed to ensure the quality and continuity of services for project clients—and to ensure services remain free of cost. First Steps also faces legal and policy challenges. Asylum seekers often wait over a year to regularize their status, a period during which they cannot work, access housing, or receive tuition assistance for public or private preschool. While First Steps partner organizations have stepped up to bridge the gap, more resources and policy reform are needed to ensure all children of Milan can access essential inclusion services regardless of migration status.  

As First Steps nears eight months of implementation, the Mayors Migration Council is working with the Municipality of Milan to ensure the project’s sustainability. In the words of Dellea, First Steps has created “a community of shared experiences, cultural exchange, and mutual support, helping lay a necessary foundation for the future of these children and their families. It would be very important now that this structure is in place to be able to maintain and build on it.”  

We call on like-minded partners to join us in scaling this effort to make a lasting impact. Contact us at fund@mayorsmigrationcouncil.org.