Title: Harnessing the potential of migrant women as integration experts [INTEGR8]

Project type: Project funded by the Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission, under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).
Ref. no.: HOME/2015/AMIF/AG/INTE/9101

Promoter /Coordinator: Meath Community Rural and Social Development Partnership Ltd (Meath Partnership), (Ireland)

Duration: 01.12.2016 – 30.11.2018

Total project grant: 466,056.62 Euro

Total grant for the University of Pitesti: 33,270.50 Euro

Local coordinator for the University of Pitesti: Dr. Georgeta CHIRLEŞAN

Summary:

Immigration is not a new phenomenon for Europe and migrant communities have always made a major contribution to the economic development of the Union and to the cultural diversity which characterizes European society today. If EU Member States are to fully harness the potential of this cultural diversity the integration of migrant and host communities needs to be systemic. The aim of the project “Harnessing the potential of migrant women as integration experts”(INTEGR8) is to develop a bespoke accredited ‘Migrant Integration Expert’ curriculum that is specifically addressed to migrant women. Consortium partners are of the opinion that integration will not be achieved by doing to migrant communities, or doing for migrant communities, but rather only by doing with migrant communities. Thus the design and development of this new curriculum will be done in close consultation and cooperation with migrant women who will play a significant role in all curriculum design and development actions. The purpose of the new curriculum is to train and qualify migrant women to enable them to work within their respective migrant communities to support integration with host communities and with other migrant communities. In addition to this new curriculum resource this cadre of qualified migrant women will be supported in their endeavors through a series of on-line and off-line informal networks in real and virtual settings.

INTEGR8 will engage migrant support organisations in all 7 participating countries and provide appropriate train-the-trainer supports for adult and community education professionals who work in these organisations to ensure that they can (1) effectively deliver the new curriculum; (2) instigate and support the proposed informal networks; (3) address the pedagogic, social, cultural and linguistic needs of the migrant women who undertake to participate on the training course. A minimum of 70 professionals will complete the first iteration of the train-the-trainer course, while a minimum of 140 migrant women will complete the accredited ‘Migrant Integration Expert’ curriculum. It is estimated that up to 700 migrant women and 140 women from the host countries will participate in the informal networks developed during the life-time of the project.

Aim and objectives:

INTEGR8 is an innovative project which aims to develop a new approach to the integration of

migrant women in their host communities. Rather than integration initiatives being ‘done to’ or ‘done for’ migrant women by agencies and policy-makers, the INTEGR8 project aims to support migrant women to become their own drivers of integration.

We aim to achieve this through the design and delivery of relevant, practical and meaningful training and resources which are developed in partnership with migrant women. 

These training courses and resources will empower migrant women to be confident in their new roles as integration leaders; where they will act as a contact point for other women in their own communities who lack the confidence to undertake training for example, or who do not know where to go to access information on their rights and entitlements, or to access basic services.

The specific objectives of the INTEGR8 project are:

• To review available literature and existing migrant integration measures in all participating partner countries to identify best practices and to pull together the lessons learned from the design and implementation of migrant integration initiatives with a particular emphasis on those targeting migrant women.
• To identify innovative social and civic inclusion methodologies that use educational, cultural and recreational activities as embedded learning techniques and that might be appropriate to support migrant integration objectives.
• To conduct an in-depth needs analysis with migrant women to identify their specific training needs that the new bespoke curriculum will need to address to build the capacity of individuals within the migrant communities.
• To conduct research with educators within migrant support agencies to determine the train-the-trainer needs that will need to be addressed if they are to successfully implement the curriculum and ensure that the project achieves its objectives.
• To develop a train-the-trainer programme to support the continuous professional development of educators and trainers in migrant support organisations. Training will be provided in each partner language – a minimum of 70 professionals in migrant support organisations will complete the train-the-trainer programme (10 per partner country).
• To develop a bespoke, accredited curriculum addressed to migrant women that supports the acquisition of key skills essential to their new role as Migrant Integration Experts. The new curriculum will be provided in each partner language – a minimum of 140 migrant women will complete the accredited curriculum (20 per partner country).
• To utilise a cascading model of integration where each trained Migrant Integration Expert engages a minimum of 5 migrant women in a micro-network. This will result in 20 micro-networks with 5 members in each partner country. These micro-networks will be grown into multi-ethnic thematic clusters to address broader integration issues (a minimum of 100 migrant women representing a wide range of ethnicities will be engaged in each partner country)
• To provide all the required on-line and off-line supports to facilitate the management of the networks and thematic clusters
• To organise 2 migrant integration workshops in each partner country to address key issues identified in the local thematic clusters
• To organise 1 migrant integration seminar in each partner country addressed at policy makers and key public authorities responsible for migrant integration programmes
• To host a European Conference on the Integration of Migrant Women.

Outcomes:

• A Migrant Integration Expert training manual and workbook produced in all partner languages.
• A train-the-trainer manual for adult education trainers and migrant support workers produced in all partner languages.
• A suite of educational tools and resources that support integration actions. These resources will be presented as a tool-kit for the Migrant Integration Experts.
• A series of promotional leaflets and invitations.
• A video documentary tracing the development history of the project. It will contain a series of case studies presenting the experience of migrant women who complete the Migrant Integration Expert training.
• A comparative analysis study will be produced contrasting migrant integration programmes and actions on the ground in each of the participating partner countries.
• A project website.
• A policy paper (to be presented at the final conference). The key issue that the proposed policy paper will address is the essential role that migrant women can play in achieving migrant integration when they are properly trained and supported and the potential social and civic benefits to be derived from a more integrated society that is full of diversity.

Partnership:

1. Meath Partnership (coordinator), Ireland
2. CARDET, Cyprus
3. ISQ Formação, Portugal
4. University of Pitesti, Romania
5. Learning Unlimited, United Kingdom
6. FormAzione Co&So Network, Italy
7. Jugend am Werk Steiermark, Austria

Downloads:

INTEGR8_Newsletter 1_RO

INTEGR8_Newsletter 2_RO

INTEGR8_Newsletter 3_RO

INTEGR8_Newsletter 4_RO

INTEGR8_Newsletter 5_RO

INTEGR8_Project Leaflet 1_RO_Final