New Voices of Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

New Voices of Europe

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Integration of refugees; Migrants’ issues

Project Summary

Our project is called “New Voices of Europe” – the title refers both to the general topic, the integration of newly arrived immigrants, and to the final product, a podcast. Our main goal was to raise our students’ awareness of how to integrate newly arrived immigrants (especially after the refugee crisis of 2015) and thus to broaden their political and social competences: instead of an uncritical adaption of the partly populist public discussion, students became aware of the chances and challenges of integration and thus were able to gain a personal access to and form a personal opinion about the topic. These needs were taken into account in our project by practically approaching the six sub-topics examining the concrete execution of ideas for integration.
These six focal points were structured from general to specific: from the national level via the regional/local level to the personal/individual level:
1. National politics’ coping with integration,BG
2. Integration into the national labour market, GER
3. Integration programmes by local authorities, NO
4. Language training for newly arrived immigrants at local schools, SE
5. Integration into the neighbourhood/region, IT
6. Individuals’ coping with integration, FRA.
Each of these modules concentrated on the comparison of different ways of integrating newly arrived immigrants in the respective countries. The first one, “national politics”, examined national political decision-findings regarding the intake of refugees within the European legal framework. Following this, a simulation of a meeting of the European Council showed dangers possibly resulting for the political unity within the EU.
On the basis of this, the second module focussed on the comparison of chances and challenges in the process of integration into the national labour markets. Furthermore, corporate and personal stories of successful integration in businesses were addressed in lectures (Deutschlandstifung Integration) and when visiting Volkswagen in Wolfsburg.
The third module compared and evaluated local authorities’ different approaches to integration and invited students to develop solutions for essential problems, e.g. housing of newly arrived immigrants, faced by communities in a “think tank” (Gründercamp).
The next module analysed the language learning process in courses for immigrants at the participating local schools. Additionally, the students established and took part in language cafés to gain personal experiences with this process. By means of scientific support (University of Lund), the search for best practise examples, and the communication of experiences students were sensitised for the importance of language as a basis for integration.
The following module compared social and private initiatives in the neighbourhood/region in order to discuss similarities and differences. By local examples (e.g. Caritas Aversa) and an excursion day, on which students visited local initiatives (like Caritas Aversa) with integration programmes, role models for neighbourly integration were explored.
The last module concentrated on individual cultural challenges entailed by the integration of newly arrived immigrants. Unfortunately, the last meeting had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.

All of the above mentioned sub-topics generated a mini-podcast, in which the diverse results were collected either in interview form or comment form. Taken together, these formed the final product – the podcast “New Voices of Europe”, which will remain available to other students and people interested in the topic as it is accessible online for everyone. Each exchange meeting was assigned a topic due to the special profile or need of the respective school:
1. BG: Bulgaria is no host society, therefore integration is controversial.
2. GER: long-term project work with regional companies, integration in a corporate network
3. NO: established cooperation with local authorities; Gründercamp as an annual event
4. SE: language learning class for immigrants in cooperation with the University of Lund
5. IT: regional establishment due to vocational training programme, contacts with local initiatives.
6. FRA: diversity of exchange programmes for cultural learning, involvement in ongoing French discussions about definitions of national identity.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 142449,51 Eur

Project Coordinator

Erich Kaestner Gymnasium Laatzen & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Mailand videregående skole
• OGEC SAINT DENIS
• Polhemskolan
• SUEE “Konstantin-Kiril Filosof”
• ISISS O.Conti.Aversa (CE)