Environmental awareness is at the core of at least 7 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN and social inclusion of migrants and migration are inherent in all of them. In a context of rising awareness on both subjects, and with the stereotyped image of environmental action being an exclusive type of activism for privileged groups, we found it essential to explore how it interacts with interculturality and what role it can play in integration paths of adult migrants. According to the need analysis in partner countries (France-Paris, Italy, Spain and France-Martinique) adult migrants and adult trainers show a strong curiosity towards environmental awareness and social inclusion and a desire to build social link upon it. There is a need for innovative ways to value migrants’ experience and motivation by facilitating intercultural dialogue with host society members based on this topic. This project aims at promoting migrant inclusion through environmental awareness and the development of eco-friendly educational materials for adult trainers. Green Interculturality has a double OBJECTIVE: 1)to foster inclusion of adult migrants by -developing language skills -increasing networking -integrating the new environmental context -valuing their knowledge and experiences 2)to provide adult trainers with educational tools so that they can implement inclusion workshops related to environmental awareness Our TARGET GROUPS and their profiles are: -adult trainers/educators/social workers working with adult migrants who will be involved in: field research, multiplier events and Blended Mobility (455 in total) -adult migrants (asylum seekers, refugees, new comers) who will be involved in: field research and co-constructive workshops (175 in total) -host society members interested in developing new skills and building a more inclusive society who will participate in: field research, co-constructive workshops and multiplier events (80 in total) -institutions, organizations that provide migrant inclusion services, stakeholders, decision makers in the field of migrant inclusion who will be involved in: multiplier events and other dissemination activities. To reach our GOALS we will: 1)Develop 5 Intellectual Outputs: IO1 Foundation Bricks: focus groups and research about intersectionality between social inclusion and environmental awareness IO2 Eco-theatre: co-construction theatre workshops with adult migrants and host society members to reflect on their relationship to the environment, develop networking, improve language skills using forum-theatre. IO3 Eco-language: co-construction language workshops with adult migrants aiming at stimulating the acquisition of language, environmental and intercultural skills through multisensory learning. IO4 Eco-community mapping: co-construction art-therapy workshops with adult migrants and host society members in order to create an eco-friendly map of the area’s eco-friendly places to appropriate the physical space for a better integration. IO5 Eco-platform: Open Educational Resource ensuring that the developed results and corresponding background materials will be freely available to a wide audience for years after the project ends. 2)Organize learning and training activities Joint Staff Training to share each other’s own expertise and to work on the building of common educational tools and approaches. Blended Mobility to allow 3 adult trainers/educators/social workers (per partner organization) to be trained to implement environmentally focused social inclusion programs. 3)Set up local multiplier events linked to every Intellectual Outputs and a Final Conference. Our methodology will be based on: desk and field research, forum theatre techniques, multisensory approach and art-therapy Our expected result is an Eco-toolkit for adult trainers composed of: - Background theory about intersectionality between social inclusion and environmental awareness - Educational sheets describing step-by-step activities aimed at fostering migrant social inclusion (language/social skills, mutual) through environmental awareness. PROJECT IMPACT: Adult trainers will be able to -foster the inclusion of adult migrants (acquisition of local language, physical appropriation of new areas, building of a network) while developing behaviors that promote environmental awareness and action -facilitate peer-education through mixed groups of people Adult migrants will -develop a network and improve their social and language skills -valorize their knowledge and experiences Members of the host society and stakeholders will -participate in the inclusion process of migrants and spread a positive message about migration -widen their knowledge and practice about eco-friendly strategies The project's sustainability is assured by the materials’ long-term availability on the project website and on EU platforms but also through the offer of future workshops and courses built around these results.
We wanted to develop tools that would provide adult educators and social workers with the means to better understand the intersection between interculturality and the link with nature; to facilitate workshops and programs that promote the inclusion of migrants, include nature and value the knowledge and experiences of migrants; to promote the inclusion of migrants (acquisition of the local language, physical appropriation of new spaces, building a network); to facilitate peer education through mixed groups (adult migrants + members of the host society). We also wanted to harness the powerful potential of nature as a wellness factor. There was no reason why migrants, despite having many survival-related priorities, shouldn't have access to a space of well-being fostered by nature. We therefore wanted to match their needs (learning the language, getting to know people, talking about their experiences, getting to know their new environment) with the link to nature, in order to foster communication and resilience for a better adaptation path.
According to our research, there was a lack of tools to bring interculturality and the link with nature together. Adult educators/social workers who work with migrants, and the migrants themselves, report that this subject is absent from the integration process. Public interest in the environment issues raises the question of how to include vulnerable groups in this debate. The media and public opinion associate environmental awareness with privileged groups and Western societies. It was necessary to deconstruct this narrative and value the knowledge and links with nature that migrants bring with their culture and their experiences. At a time when host societies and migrants are looking for ways to communicate better, it was necessary to find new, effective tools to value the experience, skills and motivation of migrants, by facilitating intercultural dialogue with members of the host society on this theme. Nature is a powerful force for improving human well-being, and it seemed essential to us to open up a breach towards this theme in the context of welcoming migrants.