In 2001 the Pere Tarrés - Ramon Llull University department of Social Projects launched the project CONRED: a virtual community aimed at preventing violence against immigrant children and adolescents who have no social support network as part of the Daphne programme (2000-2003) and, after a pause of one year, approval was given for the project to continue for the years 2003 and 2004, within the same programme.

The current stage of the project is intended to extend and deepen research into the factors leading to violence against immigrant minors and their lack of protection. Conred II emphasises the international dimension of the project with the inclusion of new EU members (Italy and Portugal) and has cooperation from Morocco and Algeria, two countries of origin of these minors.

In the first year, 2003, the information so far collected will be completed and the study of the question of unaccompanied immigrant minors will be furthered by the preparation of a second Comparative Study and a full, updated Code of Good Practice. The number of members and the range of perspectives in the studies (countries of origin and host countries) will allow the setting up of a scientific and practical knowledge base which can be extrapolated to situations throughout the European Community. This year will also see coordination of the design and organisation of the European Seminar on training educators, for professionals working with these minors, which is to take place the following year.

In the second year, 2004, this European Seminar will be held. It aims to offer training to educators, based on the knowledge built up in previous stages and on the exchange of professionals. Conred II will end with the setting up of a European Observatory on immigrant minors. The European Observatory on Social Policies for children and adolescents without social support networks will be made possible by the use of a virtual forum for communication and the creation of a knowledge base to serve the network. Finally, the definitive versions of the Comparative Study and the Code of Good Practice will be drawn up.

All of these activities are intended to promote measures to prevent violence against these children and adolescents and encourage improvements in the systems for care and action being implemented in the host countries.

All the information compiled from 2001 to 2004 will be published on a publicly accessible website to make the results of the project's research as widely available as possible.

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