Media literacy for refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women Erasmus Project

Project Title

Media literacy for refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women

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: Inclusion – equity; Migrants’ issues; Integration of refugees

Project Summary

The underpinning context for the MEDLIT project is that Media can facilitate the integration of refugees and migrants by providing access to information about available education, health or other services, about political and administrative information on the host country, and support systems/organizations available. They can also support the learning of the host country language, looking for a job, getting qualifications recognized.

The project’s objectives were to contribute to the integration of refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women, who face a greater risk of social exclusion (double discrimination), in 6 EU Member States (Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta and the UK) with large numbers of refugees/asylum seekers and migrants, by building their competences, knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to access, interpret, use and/or produce information and other media content, in the context of the internet and social media, and in a safe and responsible manner.

Project aims included: enhancing the media and digital competences of low-skilled/low-qualified refugee, asylum seeking & migrant women through innovative learning tools, and encouraging low-skilled/low-qualified refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women to develop and upgrade their media and digital literacy skills through effective outreach-awareness raising. This was achieved through the implementation of the following activities:

1. Methodological approach & framework for media and digital literacy skills building
1.1. Identification of current media and digital literacy skills and the associated needs/gaps of low-skilled/low-qualified refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women
1.2. Development of skills building framework for developing refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women’s media and digital literacy skills

2. Online training tool for building media and digital literacy skills
2.1. Development of online training tool
2.2. Pilot implementation of online training

3. Peer-to-peer awareness raising methodology and campaigns
3.1. Development of peer-to-peer awareness raising methodology
3.2. Provision of training to refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women
3.3. Implementation of peer-to-peer awareness raising

At local level the project built on the competences of low-skilled/low-qualified refugee/asylum seeking and migrant women enabling them to access, interpret, use and/or produce information and other media content, in the context of the internet and social media, thus enhancing the use of media by the women for more advanced purposes such as looking for a job, learning the language of the host country, accessing information about available services or political/administrative information, and promoting their integration into the relevant networks, socio-economic activities and institutions of the host countries. In this way, poverty (of access to employment routes) and social exclusion was reduced.

Migrants/refugees associations and organizations working for the integration of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants (especially women), were equipped with new methodologies and tools so that they could provide improved and more targeted services to their target groups.

Relevant local, regional or national authorities had access to improved methodologies and tools which were mainstreamed in the local, regional or national integration and social inclusion practices and/or education systems to ensure that refugees and migrants can actively participate and contribute in EU societies.

By developing the skills of low-skilled/low-qualified refugee/asylum seeking and migrant women, the project contributed to the Erasmus+ Programme objectives, the objectives of the Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals and of the New Skills Agenda for Europe. It achieved further impact whereby women who had taken the course gained employment (in Malta) and women in Palermo produced and published a recipe book with their new-found digital skills.

The availability of the developed methodologies and online training tool in several languages, as well as their wide dissemination across authorities and stakeholders at local/regional/national and European level promoted the impact of the project on EU Member States integration and education policies and the tool is being considered for use in other educational and NGO environments.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 251483,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE & Country: UK

Project Partners

• VEREIN MULTIKULTURELL
• Inishowen Development Patnership
• KENTRO MERIMNAS OIKOGENEIAS KAI PAIDIOU
• FOUNDATION FOR SHELTER AND SUPPORT TO MIGRANTS
• CESIE