Europe is experiencing one of the most significant influxes of migrants and refugees in its history. It is interesting to note that more than a million migrants and refugees crossed Europe in 2015. This migration is mostly forced due to civil wars or armed conflicts and it derives from the wish for a better and safer life. In this regard, the role of the host countries becomes crucial especially when it comes to finding lasting solutions for migrants and refugees in terms of their resettlement and integration to the host society. As education is considered indispensable to integration there is an increasing need to prepare all adult education providers (AEPs) in the most affected EU countries to initiate relevant programmes with the newly arrived migrants and refugees. For this purpose the project “DIGITAL INCLUSION” aims to produce and adopt a consolidated European OER for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in 6 languages, thus providing digital training for their skills’ improvement. Adult education trainers will also improve their competences by offering new ways of learning, as a result of the cooperation and exchange of experiences at international level. The specific objectives of the project are the following:
- Strengthen the cooperation and networking between AEPs, research centres and public bodies from countries most affected by the refugees’ crisis.
- Test and implement innovative practices in the field of education and training of specific target groups.
- Better prepare and deploy the education and training of professionals for equity, diversity and inclusion challenges in the learning environment.
- Promote the integration of refugees, asylum seekers and newly arrived migrants and raise awareness about the refugee crisis in Europe.
- Encourage the utilization of Open Educational Resources (OER) to give access to education and digital training tools to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Project Coordinator is the General Directorate of Social Services and Social Integration – Community of Madrid (Spain), developing the action in partnership with: Community of San Egidio (Spain), University of Nicosia (Cyprus), CARDET (Cyprus), Centre for European Constitutional Law (Greece), Association of Saint Andrew (Italy), Union of South-East Region Local Authorities (Bulgaria) and Hildburghäuser Bildungszentrum e.V. (Germany).
