The implementation of the TOCL project was driven by the vision of making culture accessible to migrant people in order to facilitate their inclusion and participation in the local community and delve into the hosting culture. Through the innovative 'Translating Culture' (TC) approach, TOCL has sought to improve cultural education for migrants, making it more accessible and engaging. The project aimed to empower professionals working with migrant communities by providing them with a methodology, training and materials, thereby enhancing their capacity to deliver effective cultural education. TOCL has focused on developing a robust training methodology and practical translated materials in multiple languages to support professionals in their educational endeavors. By utilizing diverse cultural materials such as literature, song lyrics, and recipes, the project has achieved to create enriching cultural education experiences that complement existing language classes and facilitate migrants' integration into the local community.
For several years now, the inclusion of migrant people has become a priority across the European Union. Authorities recognize that besides first emergency care, livelihood care, labor support, and language education, cultural education plays a crucial role in the fight against the marginalization of migrant people and their effective social inclusion within the host society. In fact, cultural education has assumed a starring role in EU policies. In a report about Immigration in Spain (2019), the Spanish Economic and Social Council counted cultural integration as a basic goal for the national migrant integration strategy. Based on this awareness, we identified a need to offer migrant communities education on cultural elements specific to the hosting countries and regions while addressing their language knowledge. The subsequent needs identified were the creation of teaching materials, and the support of professionals (language teachers, cultural and linguistic mediators, social workers, educators, NGO operators) in teaching culture. ‘TOCL – Translation Of Cultural Language for the inclusion of migrants’ suggests a solution that lies in making host countries’ culture accessible to migrants through language teaching.