Refugees crisis – Approaching “the next day” Erasmus Project

Project Title

Refugees crisis – Approaching “the next day”

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 school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Integration of refugees; Social dialogue; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

In recent years, the issue at the top of the list of major European Union conferences is “The refugee crisis and its impact on European countries”.
Eight secondary schools in Portugal, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and France, which express differing views on the refugee issue, have formed our partnership. Most institutions have already implemented other thematic projects dealing with social exclusion / inclusion, acceptance, tolerance, integration, entrepreneurship, creativity, refugee crisis. In addition to those directly involved in the project (approximately 500 students and 30 teachers), another 2,000 refugees benefited from the results of the program.
The main objectives of this project:
1. exchange of teaching techniques and good practices related to refugee integration
2. developing tools to facilitate the adoption of young refugees in local communities;
3. a constructive debate aimed at alleviating fears, racist reactions and discrimination;
4. enriching participants’ knowledge of the current refugee crisis in Europe, history, geography, culture and the development of language and ICT skills.
The applied methodology was experiential, so it aimed at collaborative learning, creativity and innovation. The teachers guided the online cooperation activities of the students to work in a multinational team. Or used various means: TwinSpace, project website, Facebook project page, video conferencing, emails. Practical and online activities were carried out, stimulating students’ creativity, teamwork, role play, problem-solving skills based on the principles of experiential methodology.
To achieve the objectives, all partners carried out the following activities:
Representing the refugee crisis in literature (poetry, drama), music and cinema to increase awareness and empathy;
Creative artwork, photography, comics and diary design for refugees
Debate conferences and presentations;
Visits to refugee camps, NGOs, organizations and local authorities to get feedback on their actions and support for immigrant populations;
Designed and created a poster with a logo, a web page and an eTwinning space
Development and publication of a guide for newly arrived refugees from host countries;
Dissemination activities for the local and national community
Improving knowledge of geography, history, ICT culture and languages.
At the end of all the above activities the following results were obtained:
Awareness of the causes and effects of the Middle East crisis and the influx of refugees.
Raising the awareness of the whole school community against xenophobia, racism and discrimination
Mitigation of fear and prejudice, change of mentality
Awakening solidarity and students’ interest in volunteering by raising awareness of refugee issues
Developing skills for debate and collaboration between all participating institutions
Gaining knowledge about the history, democracy, international politics and culture of the participating countries
Development of language and ICT skills
Awareness of the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe.
Tolerance and acceptance of other cultures.
In terms of long-term impact and potential benefits, we wanted to increase students’ interest in the project and help them develop critical thinking on the issue, become stronger in addressing discrimination and xenophobia, and learn to coexist with others and -expresses solidarity. towards refugees. Students may be willing to volunteer or provide social services. Finally, the students improved their languages and ICT.
Teachers have improved their communication and managerial skills, gained knowledge about updated ICT environments. They were involved in face-to-face European teamwork or used the eTwinning platform. Their pedagogical skills and professional expertise have been enriched by sharing teaching methods and good practices.
Partner schools have created a European network and developed a more open attitude towards education.
Local communities have become acquainted with international projects and have developed European awareness, tolerance and respect.
Refugees are aware that many Europeans are supportive and concerned about their problems and are aware of the EU’s ideal of inclusion and tolerance.
We believe that we have achieved our goal: there must be a change of attitude in the sense that “we should not call it a crisis, but a manageable challenge.”

Project Website

http://erasmus-refugeescrisis.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 156234 Eur

Project Coordinator

Centro de Estudos e Formação Profissional Diogo Dias Melgaz,unipessoal Lda & Country: PT

Project Partners

• Střední průmyslová škola Emila Kolbena Rakovník, příspěvková organizace
• Evangelische Jugendhilfe Iserlohn/ Hagen
• 2o Gymnasio Drapetsonas
• Liceul Tehnologic
• LYCEE TOULOUSE LAUTREC
• Istituto Istruzione Superiore ‘E. Majorana – A. Cascino’
• Technikum Nr 15 im. Tomasza Klenczara