2015 starts with global crises a new record number of refugees and provides European host countries with major challenges: ghettos in the largest "refugee Country" Sweden, followed by populist movements as PEGIDA in Germany and the classic first asylum country Italy, violence rise against asylum seekers in Greece, refugee tents as untenable terminals in transit countries such as Turkey and Slovenia. General policy questions, are followed by the ones of everyday urban life and the new coexistence of majority population and refugees door-to-door. Host societies often show stabilization of prejudices and reservations, which are hardly broken on both sides: as refugees social participation opportunities and ways of communicating are missing, there are hardly any opportunities to meet with locals (contact hypothesis). This seriously hamperes the social integration of refugees (2013 Federal Office for Migration and Refugees), nourishes new waves of "foreigners hostilities" and leaves the majority society unprepared for intercultural coexistence in immigrant societies. Educational institutions can take in a key role in the tension between integration and separation of these two social groups. Although the educational landscape of inclusion debates are running on (European Agency / UNESCO) and the technical staff must rely on teaching intercultural competencies to successfully work with heterogeneous groups, still the target group of refugees remain a left out space. The new term "inclusive adult-education" (2012 Kil) tries to grab this gap and promotes a comprehensive commitment of adult education for inclusion. This means the accessibility of educational opportunities for all people regardless of "(..) ethnicity, (..) social or economic conditions". Especially adult and elderly refugees experience the threat of social exclusion. OUT-SIDE-IN therefore is committed to qualify multipliers for the inclusion of refugees in adult education, offering new opportunities of interacting and channels of communication between these groups aiming to soften prejudices and to promote awareness and respect of multiple perspectives in todays´ immigration societies. For this purpose, Out Side In developed a 5-module program for multipliers qualifying them for inclusive adult education with refugees: A. At the micro level of the class: 1. Background knowledge and self-reflection to the target group Refugees (cognitive, affective Level) 2. Exercise instructions for new anti-discriminative learning together in groups including refugees (behavioral) 3. Guide for group reflections for prejudice reduction and awareness in groups including refugees (cognitive, affective) 4. Inclusive communication skills through innovative creative methods B. Meso level of structural organization of education: 5. Sustainable outreach strategies for the target group of refugees With 9 partners in the 6 mentioned countries, Out-Side-In will provide needs analysis for target groups, develop and test innovative educational material and methods for learner groups with refugees, train and support 150 multipliers for sustainable implementation and publish all project- results for public free access on its website. Out-Side-In provides results that qualify educational staff in inclusive teaching and learning skills by creative methods for moderating groups including refugees, raise awareness for multiple perspectives and understanding between the majority society and refugees, reduces prejudices and offers new arrangements for their relationships, provide opportunities for participation and learning for refugees. Overall Out-Side-In contributes an educational puzzle that contributes its part for reaching more inclusive societies. Out-side in includes 3 target groups a Primary: multpliers for adult education b. Secondary: refugees (minority) c. Secondary: Participants (majority society) in the education of the adult education Out-Side-In works in an international team of experts for refugee work, adult education, creative teaching methods and science. The partners are located in transit and classical receiving countries for refugees and therefore are facing pressing challenges of integration of refugees into the local context. Differentiated common illumination of these international phenomena, sustainable responses with a European perspective can be developed in a fruitful collaborative way. Gaps in European adult education can thus be used to forward social inclusion.
Europe was the destination of refugees in many phases of history. To integrate those as equitable members of society, Europeans had to deal with the problems that each era brought with it. Today, we perceive these problems differently. They appear downright overwhelming, because the sheer number of refugees exceeds the known amount. Nevertheless, Europe has to face these circumstances both as individual nations and as a collective to be able to include those fleeing from war into European societies. The year 2015 began with a “global crisis” in the form of a record number of refugees which held big problems for European countries. The reactions of the people in the receiving countries differed vastly. Many expressed solidarity and sympathy, but others displayed stereotypes like prejudices and xenophobia. Educational institutions can play a key-role between integration and separation of these social groups. Whilst debates on the topic “inclusion in the educational landscape” get enough freedom or rather space (European Agency/ UNESCO) and the staff relies on the intervention of intercultural competence to work with heterogeneous groups successfully, the target group of refugees gets left out. The term “Inclusive adult-education” (Kil 2012) tries to fill this gap. It comprises the accessibility of educational possibilities for all humans regardless of (…) ethnicity,(…) social or economical conditions”. Especially adults or rather older refugees feel like they are in danger when it comes to social exclusion. Therefore, the goal of OUT-SIDE-IN is to qualify multipliers for the inclusion of refugees in the Adult education. As a result, new interaction-possibilities and communication-canals are going to be created between these groups to be able to cut down prejudices and to produce attention and sensibility for the diverse perspectives in today’s migration society. To reach this goal, a needs analysis was necessary to try to create an overview about the situation in the participating countries: Italy, Turkey, Sweden, Slovenia, Greece and Germany. The analysis consisted of six national reports, of which each comprised one theoretical and one empirical part. The theoretical part disclosed information about legal status, reactions of the receiving societies, the actual situation (statistics, polls stand 2016) and the standpoint of Adult education in relation to refugees. Interviews on the following subjects were held for the empirical part: experiences and (political) viewpoints of the citizens, multipliers (of the primary target group) and refugees (of the secondary target group). Based on the results of the needs analysis, the OUT-SIDE-IN-project developed a five-module-program for multipliers, which should qualify them for Inclusive adult education with refugees. The program was implemented in all of the six participating countries, the number of the benefitting multipliers was thereby even exceeded. A total of 175 persons were able to get educated in the developed contents. After a central event, in which the five modules of the OUT-SIDE-IN-curriculum were presented and tested, an intensive phase of evaluation with selected multipliers was initiated. With the help of evaluations of the program from members of the primary target group as well as the more numerous evaluations within the diverse project-consortium, the curriculum was continuously further developed. At the end of this process, the elemental project results were brought together to form a guide or rather handbook for adult educators, which is available online. Along with it, a toolbox is provided, which next to selected material includes a language guide with welcoming formulas in the languages of the target group of the refugees. The project-consortium consisting of nine partners was able to incorporate the most different expertise in the development of the final products. Alongside adult educators, migration researchers and members of city administration, schools and universities also stand in the consortium. The diversity of the partners mirrors itself in the multiperspectival configuration of the curriculum. Interested parties, who are interested in using the OUT-SIDE-IN-products are hence free in the choice of their individual emphasis. The project results of OUT-SIDE-IN carry out the intended contribution to an inclusive adult education with refugees successfully and can be adapted to other occupational areas as well in the future.