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The Final Conference

"My Coming-of-Age Story” (CO.A.ST)

The project partners are proud to organize a final conference for its project “My Coming-of-Age Story” (CO.A.ST) which will take place in Brussels on March 5th and showcase our collaborative work on unaccompanied and separated children as they transition to adulthood. CO.A.ST is co-funded by the European Union and carried out by a consortium of organizations led by CIR – Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati (Italy), in partnership with KIND (Belgium and Slovakia), Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme (France), ELIL – European Lawyers in Lesvos (Greece and Poland), and PIC (Legal center for the protection of human rights and the environment, Slovenia).  

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Conference Resources

March 5, 2026 in Brussels

The conference will bring together project partners and key stakeholders to present and discuss our findings, recommendations and the promising practices we identified based on the activities we conducted across multiple European countries, and the realities faced by unaccompanied and separated children. This event will include the following:

Toolkit

Presentation of a Toolkit for guardians: an informative and practical tool to support guardians to prepare children as they transition to adulthood.

Full Agenda

This event will also include practical work in smaller groups to share knowledge and promising practices across Europe.

Policy Brief

Presentation of a Policy Brief with Recommendations for Supporting Guardians Assisting Unaccompanied and Separated Children in the Transition to Adulthood based on our research findings in France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, as well as at the regional level.

Inspiring Practices

This document presents key good practices identified during the CO.A.ST project aimed at strengthening guardianship and protection systems for unaccompanied children across Europe, emphasizing child-centered, coordinated, and sustainable approaches.

CO.A.ST Video

In the last two years, with the CO.A.ST – My Coming Of Age Story Project, funded by the EU AMIF, we worked with several European partner organisations to strengthen the support available to unaccompanied children and to those who stand beside them everyday. Whether they are guardians, social workers, reception facilities or cultural mediators, together, they play a crucial role in helping young people feel safe, heard, and supported as they build their path toward autonomy and inclusion.

No one should face this journey alone.

Important Notes

 This event is invitation only

Photography and social media coverage will take place during the event

Further details on registration and the agenda will be shared soon, and we look forward to your participation in this milestone event.

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Learn More About The CO.A.ST Project

June 18, 2025

My Coming of Age Story (CO.A.ST)

My Coming of Age Story (CO.A.ST) is a two-year, EU co-funded project focused on enhancing guardianship for unaccompanied children transitioning to adulthood. Led by the Italian Council for Refugees (C...

Read My Coming of Age Story (CO.A.ST)
August 19, 2025

The Coming of Age of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors in Six European Countries

The transition to adulthood represents a crucial moment in the lives of unaccompanied children, often marked by uncertainty and vulnerability. The forms of protection guaranteed during childhood eithe...

Read The Coming of Age of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors in Six European Countries
November 25, 2025

Growing Up in Europe: Ahmed’s Story in Italy

KIND is proud to be part of the collaborative EU project, My Coming of Age Story (CO.A.ST) that aims to empower guardians as they support unaccompanied children transitioning to adulthood. The proje...

Read Growing Up in Europe: Ahmed’s Story in Italy

CO.A.ST Partners

CIR (Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati)

Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme

ELIL (European Lawyers in Lesvos)

PIC (Legal center for the protection of human rights and the environment)  

My Coming-of-Age Story” is co-funded by the European Union, through the 2021-2027 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) – Project 101141181 CO.A.ST-Amif 2023-TF2-AG-Call CO.A.ST – My Coming of Age Story.

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only. and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.