Step In! Building inclusive societies through active citizenship

Transcription

1 Step In! Building inclusive societies through active citizenship Progress Report Public Part LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP

2 Project information Project acronym: Project title: Project number: Sub-programme or KA: Project website: StepIn! Building inclusive societies through active citizenship LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP GRUNDTVIG multilateral project Reporting period: From To Report version: 1.0 Date of preparation: Beneficiary organisation: Leibniz University of Hanover Institute of Political Science AGORA Civic Education Project coordinator: Prof. Dr. Dirk Lange Project coordinator organisation: Leibniz University of Hanover Project coordinator telephone number: Project coordinator address: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein Copyright Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency. The document may be freely copied and distributed provided that no modifications are made, that the source is acknowledged and that this copyright notice is included LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 2 / 15

3 Executive Summary The project StepIn! is a two-year GRUNDTVIG project, which started in January The project s overall goal is to increase political participation and civic engagement of migrants and ethnic minorities, and to promote active citizenship. For this purpose, educational experts from Scotland, Italy, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Germany cooperate for 24 months in order to design and test new approaches to strengthen civic, social, and intercultural competences of different groups. Innovative approaches, methods and materials to promote migrants active citizenship will be developed, tested and disseminated during the project period. The StepIn! project aims at three different target groups: (1.) migrants and members of ethnic minorities, (2.) members of receiving countries, especially stakeholders of public authorities and (3.) adult education professionals. Expected results and outputs are, for example, the development of new methods, approaches and teaching aids, a collection of examples of good practice and the construction of national and international in-service training courses for adult education staff. During the project period, all of the seven institutions have to undertake various dissemination activities in order to spread their news, progresses and results of the project. Since June 2012 a newsletter is published every six months and an info-brochure will be available in May Since the beginning of the project, national activity reports and national dissemination reports are handed in by the seven partners every three months. These documents are important to describe and comprehend the whole process of the StepIn! project: The first twelve months started with different kinds of need analyses in all participating countries (e.g. National Needs Analysis: Migrants perspectives; National Needs Analysis: Host Countries Core Institutions; National Needs Analysis: Adult Education Providers). The results of these reports were brought together in an Overall Needs Report, which is - like all the reports - available via the StepIn project homepage: Based on these Reports, the development of seven different workshop modules started in summer These modules aim at one out of the three following objectives: (1.) Acquisition of key competences through adult education; (2.) The role of adult education in strengthening social inclusion and gender equality; (3.) Quality assurance of adult learning, including the professional development of staff. They relate to subjects such as Intercultural competences for adult education staff, Intercultural competences for staff in governmental institutions, and a Mentoring Program for migrants and people with a migrant background. Before the very final versions of all modules will be available in on the project s homepage August 2013, practice tests will be conducted by the project partners in spring All modules will be tested in the participating countries in order to ensure that all materials are flexible enough to be practicable and usable all over Europe. Finally, a five-day Grundtvig Training Course will take place in autumn In this seminar all the StepIn! modules, modified and optimised through the process of practice tests and evaluation, will be introduced to adult education providers and trainers from all over Europe. The participants of this course will be equipped to confidently and creatively implement civic education in order to promote migrants competences needed for lifelong learning and active citizenship LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 3 / 15

4 Table of Contents 1. PROJECT OBJECTIVES PROJECT APPROACH PROJECT OUTCOMES & RESULTS PARTNERSHIPS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE CONTRIBUTION TO EU POLICIES LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 4 / 15

5 1. Project Objectives Migrants and people of migrant origin constitute an important proportion - approximately 8.8 % - of societies in European countries; and the phenomenon is on the rise. However, the civic engagement and political participation of migrants and people of migrant background is very low. Low level of involvement in the political process inevitably results in low representation at different levels of power. Political exclusion of migrants negatively affects social cohesion and social justice, and this exclusion compromises the democratic quality of representation and participation in receiving societies. There is consensus among European states to measure democracy not only by its constitutional procedures but also in the underlying social structures. Ethnic associational life as well as more general civic engagement of migrants is not only in the interest of migrants, but also an investment in the quality of democracy. Participation in (ethnic) associations, citizens initiatives, NGOs and trade unions creates social involvement which spills over into political activity and higher political participation. Yet, European countries do not sufficiently take migrants involvement into account. The democratic process to a large extend overlooks those who are not legal citizens. Even in those countries where migrants can enjoy political rights, they are, generally spoken, less active in political participation than nationals. Low participation and representation of migrants and people of migrant origin must raise questions about the barriers to their more active involvement in the democratic process. People need acceptance, confidence and support in order to become active at different levels of civic and political life. Integration of foreigners and people of migrant origin and their inclusion in the democratic process is a shared responsibility that requires national and European efforts and solidarity. That s why the Stepin! project aims at developing, testing and disseminating innovative approaches, methods and materials to promote migrants active citizenship. Experts from seven European countries cooperate for 24 months in order to design and test new approaches to strengthen civic, social and intercultural competences of (1.) migrants and members of ethnic minorities, (2.) members of receiving countries, esp. stakeholders of parties, NGOs, public authorities, and (3.) adult learning professionals. The concrete results and outputs of the project are: A collection of examples of good practice A collection of data on national and EU integration policies The accomplishment of an empirical based needs analysis The development of new methods, approaches and innovative teaching aids The development of national and international in-service training courses for adult education staff The project s overall goal is to increase political participation and civic engagement of migrants and ethnic minorities and to promote active citizenship. Active citizenship is linked to the acquisition of civic competences as part of transversal competences. Active citizenship of migrants and members of ethnic minorities is regarded as an investment in the quality of democracy that will inevitably result in higher representation at different levels of power in the receiving country. The direct target group of this project are adult education providers. All materials and methods that are developed in the course of the project will be employed and used by them. However, the final beneficiaries are migrants and staff from host countries core institutions LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 5 / 15

6 2. Project Approach The StepIn! project follows the approach of collaborative work and constant internal evaluation of the project s progresses and processes. Therefore responsibilities for project s main activities which are divided into several work packages (needs analysis, development of education modules, etc.) are always distributed between two partners from different countries. This transnational approach has proven very useful and beneficial for all partners as it encourages the exchange of experiences, approaches and perspectives. Besides regular communication via mail, phone, and the official projects website ( one important means to ensure a constructive and friendly cooperation are four partner meetings which take place every six months during the project s period and are each organised by different project partners. The beneficial outcome of all partners involved meeting personally cannot be overstated when it comes to bringing together such diverse expertises from different European countries. The project s overall aim is to increase political participation and civic engagement of migrants and ethnic minorities and to promote active citizenship. It aims at three different target groups: (1.) migrants and members of ethnic minorities, (2.) members of receiving countries, especially stakeholders of public authorities and (3.) adult education professionals. In order to ensure that the project consortium meets the concrete needs of the envisaged target groups National Needs Analyses were conducted in all participating countries (see also below: 3. Project outcomes & results). The national analyses were summarized into an Overall Needs Report based on the National Needs Analyses carried out in United Kingdom, Italy, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Germany. Also a Report on the National and European Integration Policies as well as a Report on Previous Related Projects and Best Practice was conducted and published on the project s homepage. All reports can be downloaded there ( As regards the development of the StepIn! materials and modules the project partners are working on the modules on their own responsibility but also collaboratively with the other partners. Before the StepIn! materials will be finally published on the project s homepage and as a printed course manual for the Grundtvig Training Course, an extensive evaluation process takes place: All partners get involved in a process of mutual evaluation of the materials in order to contribute to an improvement of the products. Each partner puts the first draft of his module on the internal forum on the projects homepage, before a process of peerreview is conducted. First, each partner reads carefully one module of one other partner, before the revised versions of all modules are put to the forum again, and each partner gives feedback on all other partners modules. Although this is a rather time-consuming process, it is a beneficial exchange of perspectives and expertises and promotes the European perspective of the materials. From January to April 2013 practical test runs of the materials will be conducted. Diverse providers of adult education in all participating countries will get involved in field trials in order to identify possible obstacles in the process of implementation of the materials. Afterwards evaluation reports of the field trials will give guidance about how to modify and thus optimise the materials. These evaluation reports will be analysed and discussed at the third StepIn! partner meeting which will take place in Sweden in May Additionally, an external evaluator will be recruited, who will revise the materials before the field trials and give helpful advice for improvement. He will again revise and evaluate the materials after the revision will be carried out by the project partners after the practice tests. Ac LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 6 / 15

7 cording to this procedure the materials will be revised and improved in several evaluation circles. Other means of internal quality assurance are quarterly reports about partners project involvement and dissemination activities, which give evidence of all partners activities and dissemination efforts. Also semi-annual evaluation reports about the process of the project are issued by all partners. Additionally a semi-annual monitoring report is issued, which provides summarised information on the project s progress. Furthermore there is an internal forum on the project s homepage, which supports the collaborative work and internal communication of the consortium. Another essential pillar within the project is the constant dissemination of the progress and the results of the project. All partners are engaged in disseminating in their countries via newsletters, newspaper and/or online articles, conferences, symposia and other means of public relations like social networking or expert discussions. The project as a whole is also disseminated through social networks (e.g. and a semi-annual StepIn! newsletter which is written by the coordinator and then translated and disseminated by all partners. One aim of disseminating project s progress and results is to find additional associated partners who are interested in somehow contributing their expertise to the project s progress (e.g. by participating in the trial phase of the modules). Current associated partners are institutions working in the field of integration and can be found on the projects homepage ( LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 7 / 15

8 3. Project Outcomes & Results The main project s products will be the development of (1) workshop modules, (2) a mentoring program for migrants and ethnic minorities, and (3) a five-day Grundtvig Training Course (GTC) providing essential knowledge and competences for confidently implementing competence-oriented civic education (see also next page). In order to make sure that these products really meet the needs of the various target groups (migrants and members of ethnic minorities, members of receiving countries, especially stakeholders of public authorities, and adult education professionals) the StepIn! consortium conducted National Needs Analyses. First, various questionnaires were developed and then sent to members and/or institutions of the surveyed target groups in order to find out: Migrants perspectives: What kind of needs and interests do migrants have to be able to (fully) participate in civic life? What are concrete needs regarding information, learning-to-learn skills, abolishing of barriers, basic and advanced training? Host countries core institutions: Are there any members or employees of migrant origin/migrants? What are the reasons for the low/high participation of migrants and people of migrant background? Why/why not is an increase of membership or employability of migrants preferable? Are there any programs to win migrants as active members or employees? What are concrete needs regarding information, skills, abolishing of barriers, trainings in order achieve a better intercultural opening of insitutions? Adult education providers: To what extent do existing courses cover the enhancement of key competences/the issue of participation and civic engagement? What are the examples of best practice? The National Needs Analysis has generated various results (see also the reports on the StepIn! homepage: Concerning the migrants perspectives the analysis has shown that migrants lack of skills for successful participation is closely linked to the main barriers for participation: knowledge and awareness of rights and the meaning of civic engagement as well as language skills. But the needs analysis has also shown that there are already existing forms and programs how migrants and migrant communities can be supported (best practice). Concerning the employment of migrants in host countries core institutions the analysis illustrated that the amount of employed migrants seems to differ from country to country. A common pattern in all countries is that migrants mainly work in lower positions. The reason for the low employment rates of migrants can be seen in legal barriers (citizenship), educational barriers (language skills, exams for specific positions), and lack of self-confidence (empowerment). According to the current state of adult education for migrants it is noticeable that most of the offers for migrants deal with language and vocational training. It also became clear that the political and economic situation, also influenced by the current financial crisis, might have a strong impact (positive or negative) on national education policies. Another result of the survey was that current adult education offerings are badly evaluated. This means that it is difficult to learn from already existing programs, because it cannot be clarified if they work properly or not. These results indicate the need to develop teaching/learning materials that meet the various needs of the target groups, which can be implemented in various European countries, and LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 8 / 15

9 which make a contribution to the enhancement of competence-orientation in integration and civic education practice. The materials have to be flexible as regards the level of difficulty, the extent of time needed for implementation, and the focus on certain key competences according to the actual needs of the target groups. The main outcomes and results of the project will be: (1) Workshop modules: The development of the workshop modules is one of the core tasks of the project. A clear and dynamic focus on user needs is key. End users (adult education providers) as well as potential beneficiaries (migrants and stakeholders) are directly involved at all stages of development. All modules developed will be part of the European-wide Grundtvig Training Course (see below). The development of workshop modules include: The development of innovative teaching/learning approaches and strategies; The development of teaching/learning materials or a toolkit that can be employed by adult education providers; The accomplishment of a national workshop to test the workshop modules in cooperation with national adult education providers, end users and beneficiaries of the workshop modules; The cooperative evaluation, modification, and improvement of the modules after the test runs. The workshop modules developed in the project are: Intercultural competences for adult education providers Involvement of migrants in volunteer activities as a means for a better integration Development of intercultural training, activities and material supporting the inclusion of excluded groups and migrants in education Developing guidelines for stakeholder organizations enabling their role in supporting participation for excluded groups and migrants, notably: Churches and religious organizations Intercultural competences for staff in governmental institutions (ministries, public bodies working with migrants Promoting key competencies and motivation (2) Mentoring program for migrants and ethnic minorities: This is the second core task of the project. The consortium will develop a mentoring program for migrants and ethnic minorities promoting their education and participation at various levels. E.g., it will provide guidelines how successful mentoring between migrants and members of political parties, government officials etc. can be accomplished. The concept will also include plans for the dissemination of the mentoring program. It will be made public and encouraged to be adapted and transferred to other European Countries. End users as well as potential beneficiaries are directly involved at all stages of development. Also, the findings of the needs analysis and the exploitation of previous project results are included in the development of the program. It will also be part of the European-wide Grundtvig Training Course (see below). (3) Grundtvig Training Course (GTC): The third core task of the project is the conceptualisation of a 5-day European-wide Grundtvig Training Course (GTC) and the development of a curriculum. The curriculum will consist of an introduction, the aims, contents, and teaching and learning processes of the course, as well as materials for evaluation and helpful literature. The GTC will promote innovative, effective and sustainable ways to raise migrants participation by strengthening transversal compe LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 9 / 15

10 tences of migrants and also strengthening transversal competences of staff from core institutions within host countries. The GTC will consist of the finalised modules that will have been developed by all partners. Participants of GTC course will be the direct target group of the project - adult education providers. The Grundtvig Training Course will take place in autumn 2013 and be offered via the Grundtvig Training Database: from February People interested in participating in the course can apply at their National Agencies for a participant grant: The course manual of the training course will also be published on the projects website. In December 2012, at the end of the first year of project s duration, all the teaching/learning materials are right in the process of an internal mutual evaluation. The first prototypes of the modules and the mentoring program are developed and uploaded onto the project s website. All partners are currently involved in mutual revising the materials developed by the others. This is a rather time-consuming procedure but also a good means of collaboratively improvement of the StepIn! products and a good way to ensure the quality and European perspective of the materials. The entire project results will be accessible via the StepIn! homepage after the internal evaluation process and the practice tests are completed. Interested people and institutions are kindly invited to get involved in the process of further improvement of the materials! If you are interested in such a kind of cooperation (associated partnership), the project consortium will provide all the materials to get comments, constructive critique and your suggestions for improvement! Every contribution is highly welcome! You can contact the project consortium via the address info@stepin-grundtvig.org LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 10 / 15

11 4. Partnerships The StepIn! consortium consists of seven institutions from all over Europe, who are educational experts in terms of migration, integration, and adult education. The cooperating organisations are educational institutions like universities, public administrators, adult education centres, research institutes and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). They come from Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia, Sweden, and Germany. On the one hand partners working together from so many different countries is sometimes challenging in the sense of cultural awareness, mutual understanding, and communication. But on the other hand there are big advantages: Diverse perspectives on citizenship education are involved in the project, which will increase the quality of the products and also ensure that they will be usable in diverse European contexts. And also the European integration in terms of involving institutions and people from different countries and areas working in the fields of integration and education is brought forward. That s why the consortium understands its diversity as a sometimes challenging but therefore outstanding beneficial resource for discovering and developing innovative and practicable ways of educational opportunities with a European dimension. The project s work is divided into six work packages and is distributed between all partners. Transnational teams are collaborating in their responsibilities as regards the work packages. This approach has proven very productive as it brings forward transnational communication, exchange of experience and intercultural dialogue. It promotes the European perspective in the field of integration and adult education and therefore is also a contribution towards the process of European integration itself. Project partners: Name of Institution P1 Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Political Science, AGORA Civic Education P2 Black & Ethnic Minorities Infrastructure in Scotland P3 Provincia di Parma P4 University of Nicosia, Department of Education P5 Society of Citizens Assisting Migrants / Acronym Country Contact Person LUH GER Ms. Zita Beutler z.beutler@ipw.uni-hannover.de Mr. Dr. Tonio Oeftering t.oeftering@ipw.uni-hannover.de BEMIS UK Mr. Rami el Ousta rami.ousta@bemis.org.uk Ms. Tanveer Parnez tanveer.parnez@bemis.org.uk PROVPR IT Mr. Giacomo Magnanini g.magnanini@provincia.parma.it Ms. Daria Mora d.mora@provincia.parma.it UN CY Mr. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Panayiotis Angelides Angelides.p@unic.ac.cy SOZE CZ Mr. Mgr. et ing. Cristian Popescu c_popescu@yahoo.com LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 11 / 15

12 P6 Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenian Migration Institute P7 Folkuniversitetet Kristianstad ZRC SAZU SL Ms. Dr. Natalija Vrecer FUK SE Ms. Ingmarie Rohdin Mr. Tord Hansson Associated partners: The project consortium also consists of a number of associated partners. Associated partners are persons and/or institutions who are interested in somehow contributing their expertise to the project s progress (e.g. by participating in the trial phase of the modules). The number of associated partners rises continually during the project, because successful dissemination activities lead to a growing number of associated partners. The current associated partners are from the areas of education, public service and civil society, and work in the field of migration, integration and adult education. All project partners can be found on the projects webpage ( The StepIn! consortium at the second partner meeting in Parma, Italy in June LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 12 / 15

13 5. Plans for the Future In order to achieve the project s objectives the consortium will carry out the remaining work as follows: In spring 2013 the test runs of the modules will take place. From January to May 2013 the StepIn! materials (six education modules and the mentoring program (see also chapter 3 of this report)) will be tested in educational practice in several institutions in all participating countries. Evaluation reports about these practical tests will give insight into possible obstacles in practice and give guidance how to revise the materials. Additionally an external evaluator will review the workshop modules and materials before and after the test runs and their modification. The outcomes of this evaluation will be considered during further work and development of the modules. In May 2013 the third partner meeting will take place in Kristianstad, Sweden. The most important issue to be discussed there will be the results of the practice tests and further steps regarding the modification of the modules as outlined in the evaluation reports. Possible adaptations with regard to structure and content will be done by the respective responsible partners in summer All final products will be put together into one course manual in autumn of the same year. The course manual will be written in English, but also translated in the six remaining languages of the countries involved in the project. Also in autumn 2013 a Europe-wide 5-day Grundtvig Training Course (GTC) for approximately 50 adult education providers will be conducted. The course will consist of presentations of all modules developed throughout the project and also give background information on the topic of migration and political participation. The GTC will be offered via the Grundtvig Training Database ( Of course, the project s dissemination activities will continue. The project partners will publish articles, undertake various web-based dissemination activities, publish two more newsletters, and attend international conferences and symposia in order to spread the project s results and also to get in contact with other experts in the field of migration and civic education LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 13 / 15

14 6. Contribution to EU policies In the first place the StepIn! project refers to the European framework for key competences for lifelong learning: 2006 the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18th December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (2006/962/EC) was introduced. This policy identifies and defines key competences and knowledge needed in order to achieve employment, personal fulfilment, social inclusion and active citizenship in today s rapidlychanging world. The framework serves as a reference tool for EU countries in order to ensure that these key competences are integrated into their national educational strategies and infrastructures. Initial education and training systems are advised to support the development of these competences in all areas of education (school, vocational education, adult education etc.). The recommendation defines eight key competences considered as essential to equip people to learn throughout their lives and to be motivated and enabled to get actively involved in modern European societies. Among others (e.g. digital competence, cultural awareness and expression, sense of initiative and entrepreneurship) social and civic competences are identified to be fundamental to equip individuals to participate actively in civic society. The recommendations for key competences is part of the general EU work program Education and Training 2020 (ET 2020) that builds on its predecessor, the Education and Training 2010 (ET 2010) work program. It provides common strategic objectives for EU countries in order to collaboratively develop a knowledge-based Europe and to promote equity, social cohesion and active citizenship. Furthermore the StepIn! project refers to the European Commission s communication Adult learning: It s never too late to learn (COM (2006) 614) and the Action Plan on Adult learning - It's never too late to learn (COM (2007) 558). These documents formulate the better integration of migrants as an aim of education strategies and also stress the need to assure learning possibilities which enable vulnerable groups to acquire key competences. Finally the StepIn! project considers elementary principles of the Action Plan on Adult learning - It is always a good time to learn (COM (2007) 558). Besides principles like focus on the adult learner, effective needs analysis, professional staffing etc., the project sets clear focus on strategies to enable migrants to participate in civic society, as they are also to be found in the Action Plan LLP DE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP 14 / 15

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