The most relevant priority of this project is the research and development of innovative practices in the use of ICT in the effective teaching of Literacy to migrant adults (refugees, newly arrived migrants, asylum seekers, young adult migrants and migrant women), by testing and implementing innovative practices in the field, using participatory approaches and through the development of guidelines that are usable and useful on a European scale. The partnership of the project – 9 partners from 8 countries: Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Spain– will build a strategic cooperation between formal and non-formal adult education providers and media education institutions, fostering so the strategic use of open and flexible learning, better exploitation of the ICT potential, as well the creative use of ICT and Media for language learning, using for example mobile devices and social media: APPs, WhatsApp, Facebook, Badoo, etc. - everyday technologies used by most of the migrants and refugees. The now almost universal access to the internet and social media provides citizens with more opportunities to be informed and to make informed choices. But it also creates new social and democratic threats and further discrimination, if citizens have this tools without the necessary digital and media literacy skills. A further relevant objective of this project is the development of innovative methodologies for the integration of media and digital literacy in the education of migrant adults, fostering so social inclusion development of social, civic, intercultural competences, media literacy and critical thinking, also combating discrimination, segregation, racism, bullying and violence. With the development of 8 national toolkits in the national languages of the partners for the teaching of Literacy and Digital Literacy to migrants, the project aims to develop multiple learning paths, embedded in the national contexts of the partner countries of the project, providing so innovative tools for Educators and Teachers working in the field. For this the project foresees the elaboration and experimentation with the migrant adults (refugees, asylum seekers, newly arrived migrants, young adult migrants and migrant women) in the second year of the project. But, as educators working with adult migrants are often a kind of migrants themselves – “digital migrants” - a further objective of the project is to train educators working in the field of adult education, develop their media and digital literacy competences and to develop a MOOC, which will be available in the webpage of the project and beyond the project end in English, with the aim to develop training modules that are useful and usable for teachers and teacher training institutions at European Level as the topics and necessities are relevant for Europe in general. For this the project foresees two stages of training: In the first year of the project 2 transnational learning and teaching activities and national teacher trainings. In the second year a 3rd LTT and the development of an online course (MOOC). The third year of the project will be dedicated to the dissemination events of the 8 national toolkits, the launching of the MOOC and a final European Conference.
The now almost universal access to the internet and social media provides citizens with more opportunities to be informed and to make informed choices. But it also creates new social and democratic threats and further discrimination, if citizens have this tools without the necessary digital and media literacy skills. As Language learning is an inevitable step towards integration, one of the goals set by the Common Basic Principles, so are in our highly digitalized societies, digital skills. The most relevant priority of Migrant Liter@cies was the research and development of innovative practices in the use of ICT in the effective teaching of Literacy to migrant adults (refugees, newly arrived migrants, asylum seekers, young adult migrants and migrant women), by testing and implementing innovative practices in the field, using participatory approaches and through the development of guidelines that are usable and useful on a European scale. The partnership of the project – 9 partners from 8 countries: Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Spain– built herefor a strategic cooperation between formal and non-formal adult education providers and media education institutions, with the objectives to foster the strategic use of open and flexible learning, better exploitation of the ICT potential, as well the creative use of ICT and Media for language learning, using for example mobile devices and social media: APPs, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc. - accessible everyday technologies used by most of the migrants and refugees; and to develop innovative methodologies that at the same time integrate digital literacy in adult migrants education. For this the project developed and implemented 46 workshops, involving 42 teachers and educators and 600 migrant adults in 8 European countries (refugees, asylum seekers, newly arrived migrants, young adult migrants and migrant women of 46 different nationalities, ages 18 – 62 years) in the second year of the project . Result of the experimentation are 8 Toolkits in the national languages of the partners, for the teaching of Literacy and Digital Literacy to migrants (with particular focus on illeterate and low literate migrants) and 46 workshops with step-by-step descriptions in English available at the projects website, providing so for multiple learning paths and innovative open access tools for Educators and Teachers working at national and European level. As an integral part of one of the workshops, Zaffiria also developed an App called “Calepino”, that allows migrants to create their own visual dictionary in their mobile phones, and which is freely available for download at App and Google Stores. The participation at the workshop activities had a very positive impact on the migrant participants not only regarding the improvement of language skills, learning vocabulary in a daily situation and gaining sel-confidence in speaking the language, but also in the development of multiple literacy and digital skills improving of social and labour integration and enhancing an active citizenship. There is though a dissonance between learners’ wide use of digital technologies out of classes and the overwhelmingly print-based reading required in most educational environments, as teachers are still not trained and skilled to implement digital tools in their daily activities and often a kind of migrants themselves – “digital migrants”. A further objective of the project was therefor the training of educators to develop their media and digital literacy competences but also connect both working fields in adult education, namely literacy teaching and media education and to provide for more attractive training programmes, in line with individual needs and expectations of teachers and educators working with adult migrants: through 2 LTTAs, 8 national trainings in 8 European countries and the development of a MOOC, which remains accessible from the projects website, the project involved in the 3 years of project around 500 professionals from the 8 countries of the project and other European countries. Teachers and educators upgraded and fostered their professional profiles through the trainings, exchanges between professionals , the active participation at the workshop development and the MOOC. The skills acquired by professionals that participated at the activities but also their motivation affected more generally their institutions and helped improving services quality provided by the same and therefore responding more efficiently to learners’ needs at national, regional and European level. Through the dissemination strategy and 8 Multiplier Events (2 seminars in presence and 6 webinar series) , presenting the outputs of the project to more then 1000 participants from European and extra European countries, the project found international diffusion to many thousands of stakeholders.