European module for integration courses

Local demand and situation
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015 and 2016, sparking a crisis as countries struggled to cope with the influx, how to deal best with resettling people and to include them into the society. Especially language and social integration courses are seen as a key driver for successful integration. In many European countries these special measures for language acquisition and also for integration into the labor market already exist. These courses, which are not only designed for refugees but also for migrants in general, also contain special modules which teach among others culture, history, legal systems and forms of social life of the accepting state. However, these modules do not include European contents.
The European Union and the member States are increasingly interconnected and there is a common agreement that a solution for the integration of refugees can only be achieved together with all EU Member states. Furthermore, to encourage a common European identity, it is crucial for migrants from other non-EU countries to receive at least basic knowledge about Europe and the EU. Therefore it is essential to include within the integration courses and programmes available in each member state European contents, which deal with European history, institutions and identity.

The project idea
The main idea of project is to develop a 1-2 -week “European module” additionally to already existing integration courses in order to promote a common European identity. All participating project partners will develop the module together, which includes among others: i) European identity and values; ii) European history and iii) European institutions. Discussion rounds adjusted to the language level of the participants will also be incorporated into the module. The blueprint module can be adapted to local circumstances of each country (needs to be discussed further). Additionally the module can also be adjusted to different target groups like youth (age 18-25), older people, academics and non-academics.
In the second phase the elaborated module will be piloted and evaluated in each project country. The aim is to integrate this module in the long term in already existing integration courses with financing through Ministries, Employment Agencies and/ or the European Social Fund as well as to introduce the module to other European Member States.