The overall objective of this project is to develop initiatives and innovative educational practices aimed at strengthening the role of higher education institutions as agents of social innovation. Through transnational cooperation it seeks to promote the social responsibility of higher education institutions faced to a subject of great interest such as the immigration and refugee crisis registered in the EU and the challenge in terms of integration and social cohesion that it represents. This project is based on the belief that higher education institutions can play an important role in the integration of migrants and refugees through their own educational activities.The proposed actions are aimed at promoting a better understanding of the causes, consequences and current state of forced displacement in Europe and prevent racist and xenophobic outbreaks among European adolescents and youth. The actions planned are 4-axis articulated: a) Conduct a study on the perceptions of young university and high school students on the refugee crisis registered in Europe and its consequences. b) Develop training to promote a better understanding of the conflicts that have generated the current forced displacement and the situation of refugees seeking protection in Europe. c) Develop teaching materials on migration and shelter to help to understand the phenomenon and to prevent the emergence of racist and xenophobic actions and behaviors among adolescents and young Europeans. d) Research on initiatives that European universities carried out for the integration of refugees and their impact in terms of integration. Adolescents and young high school and college students, both indigenous and migrants and refugees are the main target of this project. The secondary recipients will be professors and other actors of civil society. Through the various proposed activities more than one million people are expected to be reached, as direct and indirect recipients of the actions. The institutions involved in this strategic alliance are the University of Murcia coordinator, University of Salerno (Italy), the University of Lund (Sweden) and ISCTE-IUL (Portugal), setting up an organizational structure comprising a commission on each one of the partners (local) and three other transnational commissions (commission for coordination, quality and evaluation and dissemination). The main products to be obtained from the project will be: 1) A report on the perceptions and speeches of young university students about the refugee crisis and migration and its consequences in Europe and another on perceptions and speeches on this subject recorded among high school students. 2) Teaching material composed of a didactic notebook: "Tutoring for conviviality: building host cities" with didactic units to work with high school students and an educational resource entitled "Migration and Asylum in Europe" aimed primarily at university students units. 3) A training course for teachers and academic researcher on "The Politics of the European Union on migration, refugee and asylum in the XXI century" and MOOC course aimed mainly at university students on "Migration, shelter and human rights in Europe". 4) Finally a research report on initiatives that European universities are carrying out for the integration of refugees and their impact. The main results and expected impact of the project among its recipients is related to the fulfillment of the objectives achieving greater awareness among adolescents and young people about the causes of recent migration flows and their characteristics way to prevent the emergence of actions and racist and xenophobic behavior; the generation of training spaces and academic and social debate on migration, shelter and human rights and to have promoted greater awareness among students, teachers and society in general on the role of educational institutions of higher education to relevant social phenomena as the crisis of refugees. On the other hand, it is expected that the project will strengthen the experience of cooperation among the partner institutions and it will be an area through which partners may share knowledge, teaching methodology and professors, and build a network of strong transnational network allowing the development of new joint actions in the future. The proposed final budget for this project is 387.650€.
In this project we have developed innovative educational initiatives and practices aimed at strengthening the role of Higher Education Institutions as agents of social innovation. Through the joint work between the four universities that made up the consortium, as well as with the support and collaboration of other institutions and civil society organizations (NGOs, secondary schools, migrant and refugee associations, etc.), we have promoted the involvement of Higher Education Institutions in social responsibility actions aimed at addressing the situation of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Europe. At the same time, in a context of increase of anti-immigration movements, racism and inter-ethnic conflicts, the actions carried out have been aimed at promoting inclusion, interculturality and social cohesion in European societies in general, and in educational institutions in particular, characterized by great diversity. This project is based on the premise that Higher Education Institutions can play an important role in the inclusion of migrants and refugees through their own educational actions. Our goal has been to develop actions aimed at promoting greater knowledge about the causes, consequences and current status of forced displacements arriving in Europe, as well as preventing racist and xenophobic outbreaks among adolescents and young Europeans. The developed actions have been focused on the three axes initially planned in the project (diagnostic and research studies, development of educational materials and training) but have also been linked to raising awareness, participation and the establishment of work networks about the topic. The main activities carried out have been the following: 1) Diagnostic study on the perceptions and discourses of the European university students about the so-called refugee crisis, migration and its consequences in Europe; 2) Diagnostic study on the perceptions and discourses of secondary and high school students in the Region of Murcia (Spain) about the so-called refugee crisis, migration and its consequences in Europe; 3) Instructional Materials ‘Building host cities. Tutorials for conviviality’; 4) Teaching material ‘Migration, Asylum and Refuge; 5) MOOC Course: Migrations, asylum and refuge in Europe; 6) Training activity: Asylum in Sweden, the perspective of refugees and NGOs. Additionally, two exhibitions have been organized and toured through several educational centers in the Region of Murcia and Science Fairs. Diverse awareness and dissemination activities have been organized, such as the coordination of specific workshops and sessions at international conferences, the creation of teaching materials to sensitize children and adolescents about forced migration, the giving of talks and lectures in educational centers, publicity and advertising at bus stops, etc. The main recipients of these actions have been young European university students and adolescent high school students in the Region of Murcia, both natives and migrants and refugees. Secondary recipients have been teachers from educational centers, university staff, NGOs and associations and other institutional and civil society agents. With some activities we have also been able to reach a wider audience: families, citizens, public policy makers, etc. We estimate to have reached more than five thousand people as direct and indirect recipients with the aforementioned actions. We highlight the fulfillment of the initially defined objectives, achieving greater knowledge among adolescents, youth and society in general, about the causes of recent migratory flows and their characteristics, thus contributing to prevent the emergence of racist and xenophobic actions and behaviors; the generation of training spaces and also an academic and social debate on migration, refuge and human rights and having promoted greater knowledge in the field of higher education on the difficulties and problems for the inclusion of asylum seekers and refugees to the university, as well as on the initiatives developed by European universities for their integration. The project has had a positive impact on the social setting and an indicator of it has been the large number of educational centers, social entities, organizations that have collaborated and asked the project team to develop joint actions on the subject. Thus generating a synergy between different organizations at local and transnational level that has allowed to define future training and intervention projects.