The project has been funded under the EU Erasmus+ Programme for Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices and Dr. Dalikeni has developed and delivered a Level 2 Social Inclusion and Diversity training course to educators across the EU to support integration and promotion of diversity within the five partner countries. The course aims to increase the knowledge and awareness of the needs and circumstances of new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and is supported by teacher and student handbooks and case study films from across the five partner countries.

The latest meeting was hosted by Linkopings Kommun, a local government agency who provide housing, education and support to newly-arrived migrant, refugee and Roma children and adults in Sweden. Participants also visited Föreningen Framtidståget, an NGO who manage a range of projects in Sweden and in Morocco including integration and humanitarian work, professional cognitive treatment work and psychological support to people with social problems including alcohol and drug addiction and violent behaviour.

Dr. Dalikeni noted:

The meeting was an opportunity to learn at first-hand how DkIT’s course is being used in our partner countries and how cultural differences, variations on experience of migration and definitions of integration impact on the delivery of this type of education and training across Europe.

I am delighted that our course is being used to raise awareness of the needs and experiences of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and it underlines DkIT’s commitment to challenging racism and discrimination through education and informed debate and discussion. I look forward to hearing more about the impact in the coming months as the course is rolled out further”.

The project has a dedicated website to host all of the teaching and learning materials and is free to access. Partners will be adding more multi-lingual materials to the website which can be accessed here until the project finishes in August 2019.

The Project is managed by Southern Regional College in collaboration with five other partners including  DkIT; RIC, a Latvian organisation who use art and creativity to promote social integration, personal development and improve the quality of life for low-income families and those deemed ‘at-risk’; Kettle of Fish, a social economy film production company from Northern Ireland and CONFORM Scarl in Italy who develop research projects and training plans for classrooms; experiential and e-learning courses.

Further information on the project is available from Dr. Dalikeni or visit the project website on here.

PHOTO: Pictured (L-R) Thomas Glass, Kettle of Fish NI; Paul Moorehead, Kettle of Fish NI; Diana Farrelly, European Funding and International Affairs Manager, SRC; Iryna Azaranka, Föreningen Framtidståget, Sweden; Andreas Persson, Linkoping Kommun, Sweden; Dmitrijs Zverevs, Radosas Iniciativas Centrs, Latvia; Indra Kalnina, Radosas Iniciativas Centrs, Latvia; Dr. Colletta Dalikeni, Dundalk Institute of Technology; Caroline Coleman, Learning for Living Together Project Manager and Anas Haouat, Föreningen Framtidståget, Sweden.

Relevant Links:

BA (Hons) in Social Care