The integration of migrants is a complex term that challenges individuals as societies very much. One persisting question is how to reach migrants with information of societal importance, e.g. about health topics, schooling, waste management, gender equity, or others. The project MultiPLUS. Migrant MULTIPLIERS build Bridges centers a group of persons that contributes to filling this gap – the so-called Multipliers. Migrant Multipliers are migrant women, seldom men, well integrated in the host countries and at the same time in their community of origin; they speak the national language, e.g., German, very well, and are often role models and bridge-builders between the two communities or, wider, societies. For that reason, organizations, e.g. community centers, often hire them for conveying information about specific topics to migrants. Yet, there are certain challenges that are accompanying MULTIPLIERS’ tasks: (1) As a start, MULTIPLIERS are trained themselves in the respective topic and subsequently, they circulate the contents to the migrant communities. These Trainings, though, are frequently focusing only on the content, not or only little on the methods. Since didactical action is central for the designing of learning processes, it makes sense to provide MULTIPLIERS with a training about adult educational principles. (2) The pedagogical approaches that are commonly used in host countries are regularly completely different to what migrants have experienced in their education and contradict their understanding of what constitutes good-quality teaching. Immigrants mainly come from a background in which learning is almost exclusively determined by teachers. They might be disoriented by the learning pathways they get to know here; especially in Workshops (UNESCO 2018). An integration of methods migrants know from at home could be helpful in sustainably keeping information. (3) All activities of transferring information to migrants’ communities have one common goal: integration and inclusion. As prerequisite of participation in a European country’s society, a certain important objective in this is that migrants get a better insight in where they are living. How a society is functioning, though, is not only a question of delivery of information, but also a question of intentionally participating and self-actively informing. Coming out of a society with only little or no rights outside the family, one must learn to live in a democracy. Therefore, many migrants need to experience what democratic principles are and this can only take place in a concrete confrontation with it – thus, It is an important approach to take this political dimension of MULTIPLIERS’ actions into focus. The subsequent OBJECTIVES of the project are • to enhance MULTIPLIERS’ skills in teaching and training by developing and accomplishing an intense short training about didactical and methodological principles and techniques in adult education (O1); • to support MULTIPLIERS in generating training methods and tools being an appropriate mixture of (West-)European approaches as well as approaches of the education systems they are coming from by creating a Compendium of training methods and tools from around the world (O2) • to push on MULTIPLIERS’ confrontation with Europe’s' societies' cultures and values, overall laws and societal systems and subsequently push on a process of a new consciousness and dealing with political topics like: Democracy, participation, diversity in the migrants’ communities (O3) Direct target groups of the project are migrant women (occasionally also men) being active as MULTIPLIERS as well as trainers and lecturer who teach MULTIPLIERS in several topics and prepare them for circulating the gained knowledge and information to the migrants’ communities.
Migrant multipliers are migrants whose life histories allowed them to be very well included in host countries; their efforts and passion make them a key part of the hosting society. At the same time, they are also well-rooted in their communities. Therefore, organizations often hire them to bring specific topics to their communities. This project's main aim was to strengthen the bridges. This project relayed three fundamental goals: 1. To enhance multipliers’ skills for teaching and training by developing and accomplishing an intense short training around didactical and methodological principles and techniques in adult education. 2. To support multipliers in generating training methods and tools to approach their communities assertively while creating an international compendium of training methods and tools 3. To Invite multipliers to work on political education and topics relevant to daily life within the European context, encouraging discussions around democracy, participation, diversity, and human rights. These goals have been carefully rephrased from the original application caring for the ever-growing team of multipliers.s. Also, for creating an inclusive discourse that sheds light on this deep enrichment process.
Many reasons are behind this project and its application. Still, it is possible to locate the drive behind our intention to seek new ways of generating inclusion and getting closer to migrant communities. How to generate this approach by fostering belonging among the different migrant communities in European countries? Integration is a complex term that describes an equally multifaceted and complicated process. It encompasses political, legal, economic, social, cultural, and communicative aspects and efforts. Communication and reach are overall very important aspects for welcoming newcomers, moreover, to help in the settled in and in the prosperity of these citizens in the long term. So the work is about the communities and how to talk, breach, understand, and uplift communities. It is a work of deep caring with actions from institutions, governments, and NGOs—the international project MultiPLUS+. Migrant Multipliers built Bridges attempted to empower migrant communities by focusing on a group of persons that contributes to filling the gap between migrants and other actors of society — the so-called multipliers. Initially, this project was seen as a form of talking paternalistically to communities, but it transformed into hope.