Access to Language Methods for Increasing Migrants’ Abilities to Start Their Own Business Erasmus Project

Project Title

Access to Language Methods for Increasing Migrants’ Abilities to Start Their Own Business

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education

Project Summary

Europe aims at a European community that is entrepreneurial, innovative and open, with more and better jobs, based on new technologies and ICT. Within the EU, migrants represent an important pool of potential entrepreneurs, but can face, as other more vulnerable groups, specific cultural and linguistic obstacles. These issues need to be addressed in full to give support equitable to that received by all other entrepreneurial groups. One particular commitment in the European Entrepreneurship 2020 action plan is to facilitate entrepreneurship among migrants already present and residing in the EU based on best practices from EU countries.

The ALMA Project aims at strengthening migrants’ entrepreneurial and innovative capacity by encouraging their linguistic and intercultural competence. The project develops innovative language and intercultural learning methods and instruments to help migrants to get prepared for starting a business. It will stimulate migrants to begin a new business, will inspire them and will give them the guidelines to help them to start and run a successful company within a new cultural and linguistic context. The project will also provide educators, volunteers and professionals working with migrants with innovative learning and information materials.

The general objectives of the project will be to:
Inspire migrants and improve their skills to set up their own business
Improve migrants’ language and communication skills in the field of entrepreneurship
Guide migrants in building business skills considering intercultural aspects
Provide opportunities for professional development for (volunteer) adult educators working with migrants

In order to achieve strengthening migrants’ entrepreneurial and innovative capacity and their linguistic and intercultural competence, the partnership will use the following approaches:
– Intercultural awareness in language learning to improve migrant’s abilities for starting own business
– Role models approach: Exploring migrant entrepreneurs in partners countries as role models for target groups to identify with
– Use real life stores to develop the learning materials that will match the project objectives to inspire and get migrants prepared to start their own business in the new country
– Bridging digital storytelling and educational content to develop specific skills and competences

The steps for development of the project activities are as follows:
• Setting up a network of stakeholders in the partner countries and in countries beyond the partnership. They will be involved as associated partners in the development, testing, application and feedback of different project activities. They will be also used as a forum for discussion and analysis on the needs of the target groups as well as the main channel for sustaining the project results after the project end.
• Research activities in all partner countries to identify and select specific examples of active migrant entrepreneurs
• Identifying role models and elaborating their description (case studies)
• Development of digital stories/films of the selected role models
• Development of intercultural and linguistic methodology with focus on the specific knowledge and skills required for migrant entrepreneurs competence
• Development of ALMA Digital Learning Kit – a comprehensive, attractive and interactive e-learning space to empower migrant adults to develop language and intercultural skills needed for facilitating their entrepreneurial venture
• Piloting the learning kit in Bulgaria, Sweden, Spain, Italy, UK and The Netherlands
• Developing of ALMA Pocket Guide – 6 practical guides for migrant entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, UK, Sweden, Bulgaria
• Organization of exploitation events in 6 countries for dissemination, valorization and sustainability.

The project’s envisaged outcomes and results (both during the project lifetime and after its end) are:
Migrants
• Acquired knowledge of the language and culture of the host country by innovative methods and products, designed in an entrepreneurial context
• Enhanced inspiration to starting an own business
• Improved language and communication skills
Professionals working with/supporting migrants in host country
• Educators will be equipped with specific language material for migrants who want to become entrepreneurs
• Social / community workers will be equipped with tools to help migrants with their labour market integration
Stakeholders
• They will be provided with the project results and the experiences to use them in future policies on migrants’ integration and participation.

ALMA will be implemented by 8 organizations from 6 European countries. European collaboration implies finding more sustainable solutions and establishing a strong international partnership team for future work in this area.

Project Website

http://www.almaworks.eu/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 278036 Eur

Project Coordinator

Cooperatieve vereniging Pressure Line U.A. & Country: NL

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITA PER STRANIERI DI SIENA
• Stichting Bij Corrie
• INICIATIVAS DE FUTURO PARA UNA EUROPA SOCIAL COOP V
• HÄLSINGLANDS UTBILDNINGSFÖRBUND
• Inthecity Project Development B.V.
• JFdeK Ltd
• KU TU EOOD