Integration of migrants in Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

Integration of migrants in 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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Inclusion – equity; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The IME project stemmed from the current context, which is forcing Europe to question its integration model. The current migration crisis raises questions among our students about the European integration model. The EU must make young people aware of the challenges of the integration policy because it is undoubtedly at the European level that future citizens will be able to find solutions to this challenge.
The IME project has brought together a French and a Swedish school which are familiar with the issue of migrant pupils’ integration, a problem that is exacerbated by the integration of refugees. Indeed, each year, the French Alain high school welcomes migrant students who do not speak French. The Swedish high school, Rudbecksgymnasiet also welcomes students from various geographical and cultural backgrounds (Iran, Irak, Afghanistan, Pakistan…). Therefore, our common goals have been to make pupils aware of the difficulties of a migrant’s journey, of the difficulties of integration, and to share examples of successful practices that facilitate this integration, especially within our schools.
Our schools host teenagers aged 15 to 18 years old. Both are situated in the downtown areas of their respective towns with the French Alain high school being situated in an area that is particularly rural (Orne). Both schools have target-driven policies regarding international exchanges and have been working together since 1999.
Sixty-two French and Swedish high school students have participated in this project. They represent the social, cultural and academic diversity of the pupils in both our schools. They were 15 to 16 years old at the beginning of the project. Because the project was extended until January 2022, some of those students had graduated before they could see the end of the project.
The less privileged students have been specifically tutored in order to avoid any kind of self-censorship.
The practical aim of the students was be to produce a Franco-Swedish blog on the theme of the Integration of migrant students which can now be visited at the following address: https://blog.ac-normandie.fr/erasmusime . This project has enabled them to develop their linguistic and journalistic skills (collecting and exploiting documentary sources, carrying out interviews…), as well as their digital skills in creating blogs. Our students have met grass-roots associations and local politicians who were all involved in the process of young migrants’ integration.
Based on a partnership between French and Swedish students, this study on integration has also provided an opportunity to learn how to live together. Our students have collaborated together in English, both with real-life meetings and video-conferences.
This IME project was not limited to actions with our students alone. It also led to the implementation of new integration protocols at lycée Alain to support young migrants. These new protocols have been inspired by the successful practices that have been witnessed in both France and Sweden: the creation of a leaflet for newly-arrived migrants, the organization of tutoring involving students, and the creation of a specific room in the school where all useful resources can be found and tutoring sessions can take place.
The entire educational community (pupils, families, teachers, schools in the city, local elected officials) has benefited from this reflection on the integration of migrant pupils. Indeed, this extended educational community has received updates on the progress of our students’ work and reflections via several means: Erasmus Days, school board meetings, and the participation of lycée Alain in the challenge organized by the HIPPOCRENE foundation (for which the school was a finalist). These communication campaigns have been covered by the local and regional press.
Finally, our project will foster a sustainable international policy in both our schools, because the IME project is embedded both in the immediate time frame of the students’ experience and in the longer time frame of collective thinking and practices related to global migration.
It thus appears that, despite the pandemic of the last three years and the necessary cancellation of the Swedish students’ trip to France, the project has still led to the creation of some concrete resources which have had, and will have, a positive impact on migrants’ integration and our ability to live together within our schools.

Project Website

https://blogs.ac-normandie.fr/erasmusime

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 43539 Eur

Project Coordinator

Lycée Général et Technologique Alain & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Rudbecksgymnasiet