“TRAIN THE UNKOWN TRAINER” How to improve and standardize training offers of the churches concerning to the refugee movement in Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

“TRAIN THE UNKOWN TRAINER” How to improve and standardize training offers of the churches concerning to the refugee movement in Europe

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 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Integration of refugees

Project Summary

For a few years, the European Union has been challenged by the continuous Migration of People from many countries of origin. This is not only releated to complex questions regarding the law on asylum and the right to stay, but also to practical approaches of integration in the contexts of the several European civil societies. Even now, many People in Europe are engaged as volunteers aiding migrants. Volunteers do their work with creativity and imagination, so they provide essential support to civil societies. The European Area of the World Communion of Reformed Churches initiated supported the “Train the unknown Tainer” (TUT) Project even with affiliated institutions for adult education. Other European institutions in several countries took part as well. It has become clear that the needs of volunteers are different in relation to the countries in which they serve. The search for qualifications is a common challenge. During the period of study, we were able to examine how volunteers and employees struggled and how they creatively and innovatively made up for the needs of migrants and refugees. In times when this engagement is disputed and not self-evident, the involved five institutions of Hungary, Czech Republic, Italy, Estonia and Germany with their engaged volunteers serve as a role model for the efforts in integration and development of the European idea of “Union”. The Project Partners were institutions for adults education and diaconical institutions. They are church related ecumenical organizations. During the project the project partners visited all participating institutions and learned a lot of their work and structure. At the beginning the object of the project was to explore the needs of volunteers supporting refugees in the very first time of their arriving. During the project we realized that this approach changed. Now the first steps were done, the first intercultural experiences were made – the needs changed from first aid to integration and residence issues. The project partners asked volunteers about their personal situation and their needs regarding their engagement during their visits. During the project meetings the evaluation followed and several volunteers from all participating countries had the opportunity to take part in discussions and to bring their own point of view on the table. Volunteers were explicitly involved in formulating the recommendations at the end of the project. Results of “TUT – Train the unknown Trainer” are above all, that the participating organizations learned a lot of each other. They learned e.g. that the work in the participating countries is very different because of the different approaches to the refugee work at all.
They learned as well, that the motivation of volunteers to engage for refugees are different and as a result, sometimes the needs are different too. While in Germany volunteers are mostly pensioneers, the engagend people in Hungary are mostly students. The pensioneers told us they would be happy to have free bus tickets, the students would like to have credit points for their studies. For the whole work of volunteers the connection to a fulltime coordinator is vital. So the institutions are called to organize this basics to guarantee the volunteers work.
For the group of project partners it was very important to get inside view in the work of other organisations outside their own local work. The need of European Unitiy was deeply felt and recommended in the several networks of the project partners. The booklet was spred in several contexts f.g. the Council of Reformed European Churches (39 member Churches) and the synodes of the evangelical Church of Rhineland and the Reformed Church Eastern Frisia. It was published on websites as well
https://www.philippus-akademie.de/files/Bilder/Neue%20Bilder/EU-TUT-Booklet%20(1).pdf
The long term benefit is shurely the experience to work together as “Europeans” in an European project which shows commons and differences as well and the way we can learn from each other and use best practices for our own engagement. So – nonwithstanding that the first project idea changed during the project time, the results are nevertheless the evalution of the needs of volunteers but even so the experience to work together as European civil societies movements. The last meeting has confirmed that again and we all confirmed the fruitful and inspiring common work and our gratitude to the European Union to give us the opportunity to work in this project as partners.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 74200 Eur

Project Coordinator

Ev.-ref. Kirche & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Evangelisches Erwachsenenbildungswerk Nordrhein
• Diecézní charita Brno
• Magyarországi Református Egyház
• Sant’Andrea apostolo della carità
• Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik