The Promised Land – intercultural learning with refugees and migrants Erasmus Project

Project Title

The Promised Land – intercultural learning with refugees and migrants

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Integration of refugees; Creativity and culture; Post-conflict/post-disaster rehabilitation

Project Summary

THE PROMISED LAND was a cross-sectoral project, established in response to the 2016 Voices of Culture Structured Dialogue with the European Commission on the role of culture in promoting the inclusion of refugees. That Dialogue showed the need for cross-national and cross-sectoral learning activities that could help European societies respond positively to the influx of refugees and migrants, and to facilitate their integration into the workspace and civil society. The partnership included organisations working in theatre, museums, higher education and business, operating alongside associate partners directly engaged with refugees.

The objectives were:
– to share smart practice, innovative approaches and proven methodologies for working with new citizens and minority populations, so building the capacity of different organisations and sectors to respond to an immediate and pressing need.
– to adapt and apply innovative practices relating to VET learning and teaching methodologies in the context of migration.
– to adopt a cross-sectoral approach, so as to apply learning from educational and cultural providers to the business sector, and vice-versa, generating more modern, dynamic, committed and open professional environments; in which new citizens are able not only to develop as integrated citizens, but to which they are also able to contribute positively, precisely because of their specific experiences and identities.

Project participants were drawn from the staff and volunteers of the partner organisations. The project also engaged Associate Partners working directly with refugees, ensuring that there were participants who were themselves refugees and migrants. Approximately 200 people from refugee backgrounds were engaged through this aspect of the work.

The project was structured around a series of five Staff Training weeks, each of which engaged participants in the working practices of the partners, the ways in which these are evolving to include new citizens, and the potential for further engagement. In particular, visiting staff were able to meet refugee organisations in each country, and to observe how the different partners interact with these communities. The various practices explored in the trainings were subject to rigorous evaluation by the Steering Committee in their Evaluation Grid, and in the Transnational Project Meetings that took place between Trainings. This process led to a selection of practices and the creation of a set of Policy Recommendations to support the various sectors in their work with refugees.

The main outcomes of the project have been in the training and development of staff and volunteers to work more sensitively and holistically with refugees and migrants, and in cultural shifts within the participating organisations and associate partners. The main tangible result of the project is the e-book, which contextualises the different national and European contexts, explores the different disciplines as they relate to work with refugees and migrants, and offers concrete examples of good practices that can be utilised in this area, as well as the Policy Recommendations. At 23rd August, there had been 1,513 reads of the e-book on issuu, and 2,776 impressions, far in excess of the dissemination and impact levels anticipated at the application stage.

The impact of the project on all the partners has been very strong, with each partner developing new projects in direct response. Border Crossings is setting up a new theatre group for refugee and non-refugee youth; Teatro dell’Argine is establishing a new project with young refugees; Stadt Oldenburg is offering free museum tours for refugees; Adana Science & Technology University is developing staff to be more sensitive to the cultural difference of Syrians; and i2u Consulting has been invited to join the Toulouse Mayor’s working group on the integration of migrants into the city. These impacts on the partners are also indicative of wider impact on the sector, associate partners, participants and wider society.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 141105 Eur

Project Coordinator

Border Crossings Company Limited & Country: UK

Project Partners

• ADANA ALPARSLAN TURKES BILIM VE TEKNOLOJI UNIVERSITESI
• i2u-Consulting
• Teatro dell’Argine Società Cooperativa Sociale
• Stadt Oldenburg