ESCAPE RACISM – Toolbox to promote inclusive communities Erasmus Project

Project Title

ESCAPE RACISM – Toolbox to promote inclusive communities

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 youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Open and distance learning; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Access for disadvantaged

Project Summary

The project “Escape Racism – Toolbox to promote inclusive communities” has the main aim of building inclusive societies where young people are promoting the respect of human rights, combating racism and discrimination and acting as multipliers for their peers. The innovation of non formal methodologies and gaming tools will facilitate the professional growth of youth workers and foster the personal development of youth, especially those ones with fewer opportunities. The project is considered particularly needed since across the EU people still face hatred because of their skin colour, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexuality – despite various efforts to tackle this problem. Laws against hate crimes are in place but it is still not enough. Statistics from the countries involved in the project are in fact showing alarming data regarding the escalation of racism, hate speech and discriminatory acts.

The consortium of the project is made up by 5 organisations from 4 countries (Italy, UK, Spain, Hungary).
CEIPES: European NGO based in Palermo and active in 8 European Countries, realizing social projects in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in Palermo.
Coventry University (COVUNI): a dynamic, global, enterprising University based in UK with a long tradition of undertaking training, research and consultancy services.
Eufemia: based in Turin (Italy), is an association for social promotion focused on youth mobility social inclusion of people with fewer opportunities, active citizenship and intercultural dialogue.
ASPAYM Castilla y León Foundation: from Spain, its aims are to promote autonomy, equal rights and opportunities and to increase quality of life of people with physical disabilities.
Támaszpont MOPKA: NGO acting at local and international level of youth field, based in Hungary.

The main objectives of the project are:
1 To create innovative practices in the field of youth work through the development of a toolkit of methodologies which promotes the development of soft skills of youngsters such as leadership, communication skills, team-working skills, problem-solving, critical and lateral thinking and at the same time promotes human rights, social inclusion and intercultural dialogue.
2 To increase the availability of innovative and non-formal methodologies by developing on-line tools at disposal of all the organizations and institutions Europe wide and different scenarios of educational escape rooms in four countries, accessible to youth, especially with fewer opportunities.
3 To develop organizational capacity of five institutions with different cultural and organizational experiences and strengthening of the strategic partnership among them.

In order to reach these objectives, the following outputs will be developed:

-Creation of Training kit for Youth Educators (IO1) that will include the development of non-formal methodologies, techniques and approaches useful for youth workers and educators active in the field of human rights, intolerance and racism prevention. It will also include the creation of an escape room kit that the target groups will use during the pilot phase of the project and in future educational activities;
-Implementation of a pilot phase – Testing the IO1 through workshops (IO2). The pilot phase will include the development of a methodology for testing the training and escape room kits followed by the implementation and the evaluation that will be made at the beginning and at the end of the pilot, with the aim to amend and improve the project products;
-Development of online tools (IO3): the material and kit produced for the IO1 will be converted through the creation of online tools, webinars, digital material and videos that will be included in an online platform to assure maximum visibility and accessibility of project outputs and products and to guarantee also sustainability beyond project lifetime.
To guarantee an high quality of the outputs, a training course of 5 days for the staff is foreseen, during which the partners will acquire and share the necessary competences to create escape rooms that will be useful for the creation and the implementation of the IOs.

All the communities involved in the project will benefit in the long-run period. The communities will benefit from a raised awareness on racism and discrimination, youth involved will act as multipliers with their peers and families, sharing a more inclusive idea of society and relations among people.
In a long term perspective an international community of organizations and youth workers will be created, with a strong background on non formal education, engagement of youth with fewer opportunities and able to create real and lasting impact in their communities and in other sectors of society.
The e-learning platform will also serve as a sustainable tool accessible at European level, where to share best practices and that can be enriched by new inputs Europe-wide.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 180595 Eur

Project Coordinator

CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE PER LA PROMOZIONE DELL’EDUCAZIONE E LO SVILUPPO ASSOCIAZIONE & Country: IT

Project Partners

• ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE EUFEMIA APS
• Támaszpont Mentalhigiénés Oktatási és Prevenciós Közhasznú Alapítvány
• COVENTRY UNIVERSITY
• FUNDACION ASPAYM CASTILLA Y LEON