“Children and young people represent our future and must have the opportunity to shape that future. We must combine our efforts to prevent and tackle marginalisation, intolerance, racism and radicalisation and to preserve a framework of equal opportunities for all. We must build on children’s and young people’s sense of initiative and the positive contribution they can make through participation while reaffirming the common fundamental values on which our democracies are based.” (Paris Declaration 2015). In line with the 2030 Agenda, the “R.E.F.U.G.E.” strategic partnership will build cooperation and exchange activities among 4 schools operating in different areas across Europe: Berufskolleg Brilon - Germany, IES Pintor Colmeiro - Spain, Liceul Tehnologic Aurel Vlaicu Lugoj - Romania, Polo Tecnico Fermi-Gadda - Italy; with a wide geographical coverage (North, South, East and West) all facing the same challenge of building inclusive and equal opportunities for their students, and especially for students’ with migration background. The idea is to involve the entire school community, including parents and non-teaching staff in national workgroups for open discussion and debate and to exchange results, findings and methodologies through virtual and onsite exchanges."R.E.F.U.G.E.-stRategic alliancE For encoUraginG intEgration" will promote the creation of a transnational training path that will encourage the participants involved (96 students enrolled- 24 in each partner school) to reflect on the actual situation of migration across Europe, which is determined by complex economic and political situations and which is putting on the table a continuous discussion about political and social responsibility. They will reflect on the importance of daily actions and behaviours that can favour integration, inclusion and non-discrimination and they will promote the adoption of lifestyles that encourage greater civic awareness in their local context but also at transnational level. The final output of the project will be the creation of the REFUGE-Toolkit to promote European values of democracy, inclusion, non-discrimination and integration, starting from the schools and reaching the local communities, with the presentation of the initiatives put in place by the students of the partner schools and the methodological notes to accompany the teachers on a path of involvement and support to school and civic participation of students. The project foresees the realization of a transnational training course, lasting 24 months, which will involve 6 students for each partner school, aged between 15 and 18 for a total of 96 participants. During “R.E.F.U.G.E.” project lifetime, 4 transnational exchanges will be organized, one in each country involved: Germany, Spain, Romania and Italy, hosted by partner schools. Each exchange will be attended by a delegation of 6 students per Institute, for a total of 24 beneficiaries, accompanied by 8 teachers (2 per group) for each transnational action carried out. Exchanges will be preceded by preparation activities that will take place within the partner schools, after school hours, and will be developed through eTwinning platform, in order to enable teachers to coordinate the activities and to guarantee continuity of cooperation between the students involved, even when they will be working at distance. At the end of the project activities, the REFUGE-Toolkit produced by students and teachers will be presented in a closing event, organized within each partner Institute, in which families, students of the school and school managers will be invited to participate, together with other relevant local stakeholders.
In August 2020, we received the approval for the project. And then there was Corona! After many preparatory meetings between the participating schools, the project began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was unclear to us what impact this would have on the mobility. It quickly became evident that we couldn't carry it out as planned. It was obvious to all those involved that no students should be exposed to an excessive risk of infection. As a result, the first mobility took place online. A second meeting also had to be conducted online. Finally, from May 1, 2022, to May 6, 2022, the first physical mobility took place at Berufskolleg Brilon. Six students and two teachers from each of the participating countries participated in the KA2 exchange. Sunday was dedicated to the journey. On Monday morning in Brilon, after getting acquainted and being welcomed by the responsible individuals and the school principal, the project work focused on the topic of "The situation of the refugee in our countries due to the war in Ukraine." Simultaneously, a request to extent the project due to COVID-19 was submitted together. The project included a preparation and presentation phase that not only consisted of academic aspects but also of cultural and socially relevant aspects of the topic. Therefore, in addition to project work, numerous extracurricular activities with the guests took place, including a welcome by the Mayor of Brilon, Dr. Christoph Bartsch, a visit to a local museum, and an interactive city tour of Brilon. Thursday revolved around extracurricular activities as well. We visited the "Mustafa's Dream" and "Escape from War" exhibitions at the Ruhr Museum in Essen. On Friday, the group presentations, evaluation, and the ceremonial awarding of certificates took place at our school. The second meeting occurred in Silleda, Spain, from October 17, 2022, to October 22, 2022. The students, working in mixed groups, focused on the aspect of laws and regulations in their respective countries regarding the promotion of integration and migration. They also created posters with the aim of facilitating the integration of migrants into our society. In this context, the students first considered the challenges and problems that migration poses to their respective countries and societies. They reflected on examples of successful and failed integration to develop criteria for easing the integration of migrants and refugees. The third mobility took place from February 12, 2023, to February 18, 2023, in Naples, Italy. The first and last day of mobility were primarily dedicated to arrival and departure. In addition to the work in various project groups, with the topic "The Situation in Our Regions: Projects and Organizations Promoting Integration," the content was enriched by a migration tour in and around Naples. This tour highlighted the multiculturalism of Naples. Furthermore, a visit to Casa Fiber, a project for accommodating unaccompanied minor refugees, provided an opportunity for personal interaction between the participating students and refugees. The last mobility took place in Lugosch, Romania, from April 30, 2023 to May 6, 2023. On the first day, the students were welcomed by the mayor, where they received important information about the city and migration in Romania. The students then visited the City and Children's Library (interesting in terms of language diversity) and the History/Ethnography and Art Museum. The museum primarily focused on migration movements. On the second day, the mobility participants attended an event at the Ukrainian Refugee Center in Timisoara, where they gained awareness of the "Ukraine Conflict" and the challenges of refugee movements. The main focus of this mobility was the topic of "Migration in the Future, Challenges of Migration, and Appropriate Handling of Migration in Europe." As with previous meetings, the final day included presentations and evaluations. It is worth noting that the students, in close cooperation, created various presentations on the topic of migration. The experiences and impressions gained by the students and teachers during their stays were extraordinarily positive.