AVENIR is a project launched in 2019 that aims to give a future in the Pyrenees to the unaccompanied minors who influx in an exponential way in France and Spain. More precisely, the objective of the AVENIR project is to develop and test an open, global and inclusive approach between France and Spain to improve access to training and employment for unaccompanied minors in the Pyrenean territory, so that they can develop a sustainable settlement project in the area.

The project is based on a double observation. On the one hand, the number of unaccompanied minors has been constantly increasing over the last few years in the big cities of France and Spain, such as Toulouse and Barcelona, and often these young people are more interested in the opportunities offered by the big cities than in the possibilities of development in the mountainous or rural territories. On the other hand, some areas of the Pyrenean territory are characterized by an aging population and a high rate of inactivity, and it is therefore necessary to revitalize them. AVENIR acts to find a common solution to both challenges.

To address these issues, the project puts in place the necessary conditions for the inclusion, professional training and employment of these motivated and responsible young people, which constitutes an opportunity for territorial development.

It is in Tremp (Spain) that the project has started with the creation of a new reception center for ten voluntary migrants who wish to develop a sustainable settlement project in this rural area. In addition to vocational training, the learning of French and Spanish is reinforced, the language being the basis of a successful integration, and activities to discover the mountain professions are proposed so that the young people can adapt to their new environment and create links with the populations already established.