Compass – Setting Mgrants and Refugees in the Right Direction Erasmus Project

Project Title

Compass – Setting Mgrants and Refugees in the Right Direction

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Integration of refugees; Migrants’ issues; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

The key objective of the “Compass” project was to enable migrants and receiving authorities and volunteers to be able to communicate far more effectively with each other. Compass developed a platform (available for both PC and phone) that contains basic vocabulary, including phrases particularly relevant to migrants and the situations they face (927 words and phrases in total). The language content covers the 6 most widely spoken migrant languages (Tigrinya, Pashto, Arabic, Kurmanji, Albanian and Dari) and the 7 most relevant EU languages (English, German, French, Spanisch, Italian, Greek and Turkish). Any one language can be instantaneously translated into any of the other thirteen languages. This provides a highly flexible tool that caters for the wide number of possible language combinations between migrants and authorities in receiving countries.
In achieving the overall aim of far more effective communication between receiving countries and migrants, the following objectives were achieved: Authorities and volunteers are better able to communicate with migrants by: 1 clarifying legal and statutory status and responsibilities. 2 describing support that is available – such as food, shelter and clothing. 3 clarifying short term or urgent needs and support, such as healthcare and onward travel options.
The key results are:
1 A mobile telephone and internet based learning application was developed through a unique collaboration which enables instantaneous and fully flexible translation between 6 key migrant languages and 7 key languages spoken in receiving countries.
2 The project developed a partnership between the language experts, the support and volunteer agencies and the ICT provider to enable the most user friendly and flexible tool to be tailored to the needs of all users. The tool allows two way translation and learning of key words and phrases needed, particularly in early contacts. This includes categories around health, legal issues, transport and women’s issues. Both support agencies and migrants are able to personalise their own vocabulary library, adding and subtracting words and phrases as needed.
3 210 individuals tested and validated the platform, learners being drawn from the 6 target migrant groups and the target 6 receiving countries.
4 Total usage levels was monitored – open access traffic to the websited exceeded 11348 users by October 2019 and at least 5 migrant/ asylum support agencies have adopted its use.
The online tool can be found here: www.project-compass.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 197372 Eur

Project Coordinator

INTERNATIONALER BUND-IB BERLIN-BRANDENBURG GGMBH FUR BILDUNG UND SOZIALE DIENSTE (IB BERLIN-BRANDENBURG GGMBH) & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Kirikkale Aile Calisma ve Sosyal Hizmetler il mudurlugu
• Alos Centro Europeo de Idiomas, S.L
• RLN (UK) Ltd
• A ROCCA
• Europe for Diversity Culture and Coexistence