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Supporting Integration of Migrant Learners , Asylu..
Supporting Integration of Migrant Learners , Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Start date: Nov 1, 2016,
End date: Oct 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
The integration of people immigrating presents a special challenge; it is a complex and long-term undertaking. Anyone who is in favour of immigration should make an effort to foster the successful integration of immigrants. Those in favour of immigration are persons closely working with migrants, they represent educational sectors: teachers, trainers, educators; or social and care sectors: volunteers, social care workers, municipal guards, police etc. The project SIMILAR aims at fostering integration of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers through a multi-dimensional approach which includes multicultural approach and empowering measures in the areas of integration and social welfare.In order to achieve expected results the following activities will be implemented: • cross country analysis report and summaries on overall system of support, including existing empowering measures and their effectiveness and the needs, problems, expectations of migrants;• handbook “Awareness raising and empathy training measures for promoting work with migrants” with curriculum for those working with the migrants focusing on multicultural approach with focus and significance of empowering measures for migrants• toolkit “Empowerment of migrants” on empowering best practices to improve social, economic, educational and personal situation of migrants;The project begins by collecting information from experts who work with the target group regularly and collect information on their experiences. This will include professionals working for the municipalities and federal offices as well as volunteers and educators at the local, regional and national levels, responsible for language learning and those providing assistance in finding appropriate housing or solutions to other social care needs. The feedback from these activities will serve as the basis for the knowledge sharing and capacity building on integration measures targeting migrants which will then be further developed into a handbook.An additional outcome from the interviews will be the toolkit which includes concrete information on initiatives and empowerment measures with information for implementation. The toolkit will be collection and adaptation of existing good practices; this will support the mainstreaming and implementation of already existing measures. The output is designed to increase the degree of autonomy and self-determination of migrants while minimalizing their social isolation by providing high quality, relevant resources in the hands of those who work closely with the target group.The project activities address the following direct target groups: 1. Migrants in participating countries who have been living in partner countries. It is expected that min 20 migrants in each country will share their opinions, expectations in the form of biographical interviews. The aim is to gain insight of the experiences, expectations and current needs. 2. Experts in the field of integration (stakeholders, policy makers, persons responsible for design of the integration measures), min 20 in each partner country, they will take part in the focused interviews. Additionally, at least two external experts for the assessment of the draft version of handbook and toolkit for empowerment of migrants.3. Educators, Teachers, Educational Staff, they will take an active part in multiplier events in each country, at least 15 per country. The multiplier event will include not only presentation but also workshops, focus groups in order to get in the situation of migrants, to let the participants to understand "the feeling of being migrants" and transfer the mulitcultural approach in teaching as well as educational empowerment. 4. Volunteers, persons working in social care, police, municipal police, city Guards, they will take an active part in multiplier events in each country, at least 15 per country. The multiplier event will include not only presentation but also workshops, focus groups in order to get in the situation of migrants, to let the participants to understand "the feeling of being migrants" and transfer the mulitcultural approach as well as various empowerment measures in social, educational, economical context.Impact: Better understanding of culture not only other people but also own and its implications, complex process which people become members of communities, creates basic attitudes, values and norms construconstructs a basis for facilitating process of integration. The project will support to build and improve the capacity of institutions, organisations working closely with migrants and working in favour of integration. The persons equipped in multicultural competencies and empowerment knowledge are able to take into account cultural diversity of migrants, to better understand cultures and its implications to integration and learning process, and last but not least they can be more flexible in their changing role in social and adult education fields.