The guidebook

Karacabey District has been preferred by Syrian refugees in the last 5 years due to its economic development in industrial and agricultural fields. After many years of immigration, our district, which has been migrating for the first time, has observed many adaptation problems in both schools and social life.

Because of the fact that  Syrian refugees prefer our district, our district has been the first migrant to receive immigration for many years. This circumstance results that our teachers are caught unprepared about teaching in multiethnic classes. There is no standard program applicable to such immigration status within the Ministry of National Education. Various trainings were given to the teachers in our district for the educational processes of Syrian refugee children, but these trainings were not sufficient, and problems continued. In order to enable the Syrian refugee students to adapt to their new lives and to the educational process in our country, our teachers need to strengthen their pedagogical competences such as class domination, empathy and intercultural learning in the light of successful practices. It is clear that this need will only be possible with the transfer of successful practices for refugee education. Because the feedback that we received from the teachers shows that the seminars are not successful enough.

We  prepared  this guidebook in order to  the transfer of the successful practices of the refugee status students in the project partner institutions to our institutions and other partner organizations. We  introduced the implementation of successful practices to teachers in project partner schools and to other teachers in the regions of project partner organizations. In this way, we aim to introduce the teachers and successful practices of the refugee students to the education programs and to implement the successful practices with the application guides we will prepare.Sustainable strengthening of the educational process for refugee students can only be achieved through teachers. For this reason, our target group is the teachers.

Coordinator country: Turkey

Coordinator: Karacabey District Education Directorate 

Karacabey District Education Directorate is a legal authority which is responsible for the educational issues in the region. All education activities of 1,000 teachers and 14,000 students in 40 educational institutions are within our institutions  scope of work. Though special priority is given to schools, our directorate takes an active part in forming education policy while implementing projects for different people involved in education including teachers, adults and adult trainers as well as education providers in general. In addition, with seminars, conferences and in-service training courses, it has gained experience in creating training programme materials in the field of management, self-evaluation, ICT, Total Quality Management, Leadership and Democracy Education. In addition to a Head Director, there are 25 staff working in our institution.

Partner country: Hungary

Partner organisation: Institute for Cultural Relations Policy

Founded in 2012, The Institute for Cultural Relations Policy is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation fostering scientific education and public discourse regarding cultural relations policy. The institution is based in Budapest, Hungary.

ICRP focuses on global intercultural dialogue and forms of cooperation between intra-cultural entities, aiming to promote the protection of International Human Rights and recognition of cultural diversity and heritage in an interdependent world.

Hungary’s geographical location and its great accessibility in the middle of Europe make it possible for ICRP to serve as a meeting point to facilitate the public exposure of the perspectives and interests of different communities, governments, international organisations, NGOs, businesses, scholars, thinkers and common citizens, in the hope that this will contribute to the evolving process of the dialogue among civilizations through cultural diplomacy.

Partner country:  Germany

Partner organisation: Berufs Kolleg Ostvest

The name Ostvest refers to the region of the three former mining cities Datteln, Oer-Erkenschwick and Waltrop in the municipal district of Recklinghausen which is situated between the northern borders of the industrial Ruhrgebiet and the south of the more rural Münsterland. Ostvest is also the name of our vocational college, which is rooted in the historical and geographical realities of its region. The school is located in Datteln where four of Germany’s major waterways meet in the biggest intersection of canals in Europe. Our students traditionally come from the three cities but today the school draws learners from all over the Ruhrgebiet, southern parts of the Münsterland and even from the Niederrhein region. Due to its industrial history the area has attracted immigrants from all over the world. There are for instance Turkish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Russian or Kazakh communities. At our school we teach a lot of students with different immigrational backgrounds. Our college offers different courses in the fields of technical and business studies. 2000 students are given the possibility to be educated in electrical engineering, information and telecommunication technology, business and administration, automotive and metal engineering, all under one roof. A focal point of our school is on the dual sector of German secondary education. Another core area is the qualification for German higher education. We offer courses that lead either to the Fachhochschulreife (technical college entrance qualification) or the Abitur (general qualification for university entrance). With both diplomas we transfer basic professional skills in the fields of either technology or business and administration. In courses usually lasting a year we offer the chance for students without a graduation or a training relationship to prepare for a basic school leaving certificate.

Overview

Because of the war raging in Syria for 6 years, millions of people were forced to leave their home, while 3 million of them sought refuge in Turkey. Half of the Syrians in Turkey are school-age children under age 18. Moreover, during this 6 years, hundreds of thousands of children became adults and this will also be the case in the following years. Remaining uneducated and/or lacking quality education have important impacts upon individuals’ futures, as well as on the future of Syrians in Turkey and the future of Turkish society as a whole. The uneducated ones lose their hopes and are forced to work at low-paying jobs as they lack the necessary knowledge and skills. All this bring about the risk of marginalization, ghettoization and radicalization for the Syrian society. Access to quality education will help Syrians to overcome psycho-social issues caused by war, violence and relocation and will contribute to the normalization of the individuals and the society. A quality education will be helpful in developing hope for a better future, and will allow the Syrians to integrate with the Turkish society and benefit more from economic and social opportunities.

This report aims at identifying the obstructions to Syrian children’s schooling as well as assessing various issues they face at school environment. As a part of this study, schooling issues ranging from the preschool to high school were researched. That is to say, vocational and non-formal education along with higher education were not included in the research. The research was based on two stages. Firstly, meetings were held with actors that are directly concerned with Syrian children’s education, such as Ministry of National Education (MoNE), Disaster and Emergency Management Center (DEMC), Türkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDF) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). After the said meetings, scope of the research, research questions and sample was determined. At the second stage, 60 interviews and 15 focus group meetings were conducted in 9 cities. The sample was as wide enough to include unschooled children and their parents; schooled children and their parents; Turkish coordinators; Syrian teachers and students at Temporary Education Centers (TECs); Turkish and Syrian students; school administrators and teachers at public schools; provincial/district officials responsible for Syrians’ education and national and international NGOs. The findings are presented and analyzed under three headings, namely management, access and quality.

Table 1. Number of schooled children and the types of schools they are registered to

Source: MoNE. Note: Compiled using MoNE data of September 18 2017.

Table 2. Schooling rate of Syrian children

Source: MoNE.

PICTES Project

From the very beginning, when Syrians started to immigrate to Turkey, a deputy undersecretary of MoNE was tasked with coordinating Syrian children’s education. However, no institutional structure concerned with these children’s education has been established within MoNE’s central and provincial administration. This institutionalization became possible only with the circular dated September 23, 2014, titled “Educational Services for Foreigners”. According to the Circular, a ministry commission would be founded with the lead of a deputy undersecretary and that deputy undersecretary would coordinate Syrian children’s education. A unit tasked with this duty was not specified after the circular. With the foundation of the Immigration and Emergency Education Department as a part of the General Directorate for Life Long Learning in May 16, 2016, a unit to manage Syrian children’s education was finally established. Immigration and Emergency Education Department is tasked with planning, coordinating, applying and supervising education during emergencies. The term “emergency” has been expanded to include immigration. Thus, education of Syrians in Turkey has become a prominent working filed for the department. Procedures regarding Syrian children’s educations are handled by General Directorate for Life Long Learning and associated departments. For instance, EU-funded Project for Promoting Integration of Syrian Children into Turkish Education System (PICTES) is managed by Immigration and Emergency Education Department.

Inclusive Education Project

The Inclusive Education Project is a continuation of the projects implemented in three phases. The first phase of this project, which is also supported by UNICEF, is the support trainings given to Syrian teachers in order to improve the quality of education provided in the Temporary Education Centers under the title of  Training of Syrian Teachers’. In this context, 1582 trainers were trained with the trainings held on 08 August-18 September 2016, 2 January - 3 February 2017 and 5-14 September 2017, and a total of 50,348 Syrian teachers were trained.

In the second stage, the project was developed to support  Teachers especially  for those  who have  Foreign Students in their  Classes. In this context, 1185 Counsellor teachers were trained as trainers between 21 November 2016 - 14 April 2017, 6 September - 29 November 2017 and 105,512 teachers were supported within the scope of these trainings.

Within the scope of this project, 1672 teachers were trained as trainers on 06 August-09 September 2018 and local trainings started in 81 provinces. Trainers and local trainings continue to support all teachers with these trainings.

Group dynamics activity

Objective: To ensure that participants form a group, the process is effective and efficient, create the necessary rules to manage.

Learning outcomes: At the end of this activity, the participants;

• • They realize the importance of group rules.
  • Realize the importance of group dynamics.

Materials: Eye patch, string or ribbon

Duration: 1 hour

Procedure:

1. The event is entered by watching any of the animations in the videos below. The main message of this video is questioned. (5 min.)

Note to the instructor: During the discussion after watching the video, the concepts such as group awareness, taking responsibility, developing strategy, cooperation and communication are emphasized and the importance of these concepts in working effectively with the group.

2. If the school garden or corridor is available for the next step of the activity, the participants will be taken out, if not, a suitable environment will be created in the classroom.

3. The participants are asked to create a circle. All participants are instructed to grab a long string tied at their ends, closing their eyes. Then they are asked to drop the rope in their hands and move away from the rope a few steps and return. The task of the participants after returning to the circle is to create a perfect square without opening their eyes. While creating this square, physical contact with other participants should not be established. After the group has completed the task, evaluations are made about the cooperation in the game.

Note to the instructor: If the group is too crowded or the classroom environment is not available, the group is divided into two and the event is held (In this case, it will be considered that the time will be longer). If the event is held with two groups, after both groups complete the activity, the evaluation phase is started. During the evaluation, there may be a discussion about whether there are any people who are excluded (passive) in the process, what they feel, and why some of them are excluded, and there is no time limit to solve the problem.

4. The following statement is made by the instructor:
The main purpose of this activity is to ensure that the importance of skills such as intra-group communication, orientation, leadership and inclusion are noticed by the participants in order for a group to work effectively.

A statement similar to the following is made if needed:
People who come together to meet similar goals and expectations are called groups in sociology. Each group has its own goals, values ​​and rules.
In order to get the maximum benefit from the trainings, it is necessary to ensure that the participants see themselves as a group. The fact that the dynamics of the group and the rules on how to manage the process were determined at the beginning will make the process much more effective for the educators and much more efficient for the participants.

5. Participants are asked to consider behaviors that prevent and allow groups to work effectively. The thoughts that arise are written on the board as follows.

6. Based on the thoughts of the participants, a guide is developed to work effectively as a group. In this process, a volunteer is selected from the class and the decisions taken are listed. It is ensured that this guide is hung in a suitable place in the class throughout the training.

7. Based on the thoughts of the participants, a guide is developed to work effectively as a group. In this process, a volunteer is selected from the class and the decisions taken are listed. It is ensured that this guide is hung in a suitable place in the class throughout the training.

8. Based on the thoughts of the participants, a guide is developed to work effectively as a group. In this process, a volunteer is selected from the class and the decisions taken are listed. It is ensured that this guide is hung in a suitable place in the class throughout the training.

Some exemplary behaviors that can be included in the guide are as follows:

*Nobody wants the course to be finished early, contrary to what is agreed.

*Everyone realizes their weekly plan by considering the training program. * We can agree on we disagree on any matter.

* Everyone actively participates in the training process.

* What others say is actively listened to.

 * Feedback and objections are given with a constructive understanding.

9. It is determined by the group who will follow this directive which is determined in the process last. In this context, the following questions are answered with the whole class discussion

• • Who should follow whether the Directive has been followed?
  • Who should intervene if a person does not comply with the directive?
  • What to do if someone does not follow the guidelines?

Creating the answers to the above questions as a group will prevent misunderstandings that may occur in the process. Because any intervention or action to be carried out will not be perceived personally.

Strength From Unity!

Objective: In the education and training life of students of all stakeholders who take part in the educational process. The aim is to make them realize that they have an important place in success.

Learning outputs: At the end of this event, the participants;

• • Understands that internal and external stakeholders in the education process are indispensable for the education and training of the student.

Material: 30 paper cups, rope (1 ball), rubber (thick pack rubber 4-5 pieces), Annex-20.1 (as many as the number of participants)

Duration: 2 hours

(This game can be played especially in order to catch the group dynamics, to support the participants to cooperate and get to know each other. In order to support the group dynamics, the number of groups in the game can be reduced according to the situation and conditions of the class)

1. Participants are divided into 2 groups.

2. Groups are given rubber and rope. Around the tire, the number of threads in the group is tied and a holding apparatus is prepared.

3. 15 glasses are given and glasses are separated from each other and spread mixedly on the table.

Participants are asked to create a tower that is more difficult than the visual one by arranging the glasses on top of each other, similar to the one in Visual 1, by using 15 glasses. (It is placed for visual representation. The same tower will be created with 15 glasses. Therefore, it must be 5 glasses at the bottom.)

Group members are asked to create the tower in visual 1 by holding the rope as in the picture above and carrying the glasses. The group that completes the tower is said to win the game and the game is started.

Note to the instructor: The video below is watched for tips on how to play the game.

4. At the end of the event, by the instructor, the participants:“Have you successfully moved this object to the desired destination? Who did you represent as individuals carrying this object? Answers such as questions are sought. The participants' teachers, principals, students, parents, NGOs, associations, ministries, etc. They are made to realize that they represent one of the stakeholders. Then, the participants ask questions such as where / why they made mistakes in the process of not being able to carry glasses successfully, what they should do in order to successfully move the object, and who represents the object they are carrying.Then the trainer said, “The object you carry represents your child. All participants need to cooperate, interact with each other to support the successful development of this child. ” makes a statement in the form.

5. Appendix-20.1 is distributed to the participants by the trainer and they are asked to fill out individually. After being filled individually, groups of 4-5 people are formed with the participants. Groups discuss their strengths and weaknesses in the collaboration process with stakeholders, and a common list of weaknesses is created for each item.

6. The trainer asks all groups for weaknesses in turn. He writes some items on the blackboard from the answers from the groups. Thus, a common list of weaknesses is created for each item.

7. Each item in the list of common weaknesses created is given to a group, and they are asked to develop strategies and suggestions to overcome the weaknesses associated with this item. All groups present their suggestions to the class and a general evaluation is made.

Note to instructor: Inclusive for all stakeholders working collaboratively Emphasize that it is important in terms of education.

Overview

Hungary functions as mainly as a transit but also as a source and destination country of both regular and irregular migration. Its geographic location, European Union membership, and relative prosperity, collectively act as pull factors for migrants from predominantly the neighbouring countries, including ethnic Hungarians. As an EU Member State, a section of Hungary’s borders form the external borders of the European Union.

Due to its geographic location, Hungary is one of the main transit countries of irregular land migration towards other Member States of the European Union. Both Eastern and South-Eastern migration routes cross Hungarian territory, with the Western Balkan route (via Turkey, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia or Croatia to Hungary, then other EU Member States) being the most active. Prior to the construction of the border fences along the Hungary-Serbia and Hungary-Croatia borders in 2015, Hungary was one of the main entry points into the EU for migrants seeking to gain access to other Member States.

The Hungarian Government, in addition to the construction of border fences, has also enacted a series of legal amendments intended to reduce irregular migration through Hungary. Since their initial enactment in 2015, these measures have reduced asylum applications to Hungary, and decreased the number of irregular border crossings following their peak of 441,515 in 2015.

The characteristics of the immigration to Hungary

In spite of immigration to Hungary has increased over the past decade, the need for a coherent integration policy and assistance framework has not been fulfilled yet. There is no national programme aiming at integrating refugees and consequently a programme targeting education of minors and school-age refugee children is still not planned to be implemented.

Integrating refugees is an increasingly difficult task, however there had been a few educational institutions – as the Szent László elementary school in Békéscsaba – which become a model in taking in refugee children for nearly two decades. According to UNHCR, Békéscsaba was one of three towns in the country that accepted refugees but it was the most welcoming. Soon after the refugee crisis of 2015 the situation has changed as more strict regulations were implemented.

After 2015, education of refugees are mostly carried out by foreign-backed non-governmental organisations and Hungarian non-profit organisations through their large-scale projects granted by the European Union and international non-governmental organisations. Small-scale international projects are targeting teachers, youth workers and educators, providing educational tools, methods and resources for them; youth by sensitising them with the problem; and youth organisations and local civil society organisations to provide them with capacity-building projects within the topics of integration, inclusion, migration and related issues.

One of the reasons Hungary faces problems when intending to establish educational facilities and programmes for refugees is that the members of the potential target group are mobilising themselves rapidly as their destination is generally Germany or the Scandinavian countries. Vast majority of refugees arriving to Hungary are willing to travel further to Western Europe. The reason of Hungary being a transit country is threefold: firstly, most refugees have their families and relatives already residing in Western Europe, secondly, the image of a welfare state which offers vacancies, subsidies and aid for migrants is obviously a more attractive one then of a country which is rather in a need of workforce, however limits the social benefits for the unemployed; thirdly, Hungarian language is tend to be the greatest barrier of inclusion as without knowing the state language it is exceptionally difficult to settle down.

Due to the above mentioned reasons, many foreign students are now registered in some of the Hungarian schools and higher educational institutions (often using the benefits of educational grants provided by intergovernmental agreements) in order to enter to the territory of the European Union legally and using their acceptation letters issued by their universities as a ticket to the wealthier member states of the European Union.

Why Hungary is a special case?

It is noteworthy to mention the Hungarian ethnic groups living abroad. The largest communities are autochthonous to their homeland, and live outside Hungary since the border changes of the post-World War I Treaty of Trianon of 1920. The victorious forces redrew the borders of Hungary so that it runs through Hungarian majority areas. As a consequence, 3.3 million Hungarians found themselves outside the new borders.

In a law in 2011 Hungary granted special social, health and education rights to more than three million ethnic Hungarians living abroad. This decision of the Hungarian Parliament made it easier to foster the mobility of Hungarians and accelerate the migration to Hungary.

As the country has large-scale framework programmes and strategies of facilitating the education and job-seeking of Hungarian immigrants, focus from the interest of supporting refugees has shifted to the special case of the inclusion of foreign citizens with Hungarian ethnic origin.

Access to education

The Hungarian Public Education Act provides for compulsory education (kindergarten or school) to asylum seeking and refugee children under the age of 16 staying or residing in Hungary. Children have access to kindergarten and school education under the same conditions as Hungarian children. Schooling is only compulsory until the age of 16. As a consequence, asylum-seeking children above the age of 16 may not be offered the possibility to attend school, until they receive a protection status. In practice, this depends on the availability of places in schools accepting migrant children and the willingness of guardians and the Children’s Home staff to ensure the speedy enrolment of children. In 2018, for the first time in the past years, all children in Fót were enrolled and attended school.

The Menedék Association offers alternative forms of education to children who are not yet enrolled in school.

Refugee children are often not enrolled in the normal classes with Hungarian pupils but placed in special preparatory classes. Integration with the Hungarian children therefore remains limited. They can move from these special classes once their level of Hungarian is sufficient. However, there are only a few institutions which accept such children and are able to provide appropriate programmes according to their specific needs, education level and language knowledge. According to the experience of the Menedék Hungarian Association for Migrants, many local schools are reluctant to receive foreign children as (a) they lack the necessary capacity and expertise to provide additional tutoring to asylum-seeking children; and (b) Hungarian families would voice their adversarial feelings towards the reception of asylum-seeking children. This is a clear sign of intolerance of the Hungarian society in general. In some other cases, the local school only accepts asylum seeking children in segregated classes but without a meaningful pedagogical programme and only for 2 hours a day, which is significantly less than the 5-7 hours per day that Hungarian students spend in school.

Moreover, if the asylum-seeking child has special needs, they rarely have access to special education because of the language barriers.

Unaccompanied children in Fót attend elementary and secondary school in Budapest. Students of one secondary school reported that they only have access to school 2 days a week, although they would like and need to learn more. Children located in the Károlyi István Children’s Home find it hard to enrol in formal education for a number of reasons, such as the delays in providing them with documents (such as an ID card) and the lack of available capacity in the few schools, which accept unaccompanied minors. The increasing number of very young unaccompanied minors placed a heavy burden on the educational system and shed light on systemic shortcomings such as the lack of an elementary school willing and able to enrol young asylum seeking children. Through the exemplary cooperation of guardians, the Children’s Home staff and Menedék Association, all elementary school age children were enrolled in schools and could attend on a daily basis.

Full access to mainstream education is hindered in Vámosszabadi, where two (one school age and one kindergarten age) children did not have access to primary education, and could not attend school on the grounds that their asylum application was rejected and they were awaiting deportation in 2015. In 2017, the general experience of HHC was that there were no asylum-seeking children placed in Vámosszabadi.

In Balassagyarmat, only one girl could start attending a local school in April 2014. For the rest of the school aged children staying there, no arrangement has yet been made with the local schools. There is a school operating at the premises of the community shelter, where resident children can be enrolled.

Education opportunities and vocational training for adults is only offered once they have a protection status under the same conditions as Hungarian citizens. In practice, asylum seekers can sometimes attend Hungarian language classes offered by NGOs for free of charge. In the reception centres, there was no Hungarian language classes provided to asylum seekers in 2018.

Before September 2017, education as such was practically non-existent in the transit zones. Since then, according to the Hungarian Government, education in the Tompa transit zone is organised by the Szeged Educational District and in the Röszke transit zone it is organised by the Kiskőrös Educational District (the latter being where unaccompanied minors are accommodated). Based on personal meetings with unaccompanied children who had participated in these educational programs the HHC came to the conclusion that this can hardly be perceived as effective education. Unaccompanied minors found them useful mostly because they had a sense of activity rather than dullness for a while during their arbitrary detention. Classes were not tailored or age-appropriate and teachers often lacked the necessary linguistic skills needed to teach effectively. Based on the observation of teaching materials handed out to unaccompanied minors who had been in the transit zone it could be seen that the classes mostly focused on enabling minors to say a few basic things in Hungarian.

Inclusion Tools

About the project

Nowadays, immigration occupies a big part of the European and national political agenda and affects the national and European politics from different perspectives. The acute economic crisis affecting Europe over the past few years, especially the Mediterranean shores which represent the area which is more involved in the phenomenon of mass immigration, has visibly affected the socioeconomic integration of immigrants as well due to significant budget cuts in welfare provisions, health and education. In this context, the arrival of the immigrants is often seen more as worsening the already existed problem, rather than a possible enrichment of the country. To this, we can add the evident issues in the management of what has been defined as a real migrant crisis, that brought to uncertainty, discontent, and even violent reactions by the population, resulting in an escalation of discrimination and xenophobia, and supporting the rising of extremist movements all over Europe.

None the less, we believe that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that we take as the basic ideal in the building of our project, keeping in mind as well that the reduction of the number of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU is one of the key targets of the Europe 2020.

In order to achieve that, we believe that is fundamental to change negative attitudes, as social exclusion is often a cause of poverty, conflict and insecurity, bringing more issues or amplifying the existing ones. To transform them into positive behaviours, such as tolerance and dialogue towards the building of a sustainable inclusion and social cohesion we have to start our work with the young people. For this reason NGOs and youth organisations are called to play a very important role more than ever before.

The “Can I come in? Sharing tools for effective inclusion of young migrants” project has the aim of raising European awareness of the realities and possibilities for more inclusive society towards migrants and youth with immigrant background, and providing youth workers with tools to work on it and giving them space to share best practices in the field.

The seminar

“Can I come in? Sharing tools for effective inclusion of young migrants” was a seminar involving 30 youth workers from 10 different countries, aiming at the capacity building of youth organizations dealing with issues connected with migration and youth, through the sharing of their best practices and tools they developed in the field.

The seminar was held in Budapest, Hungary, and  lasted for 7 working days, during which the participants deepened the knowledge on the challenges connected with the current migrant crisis in Europe from multiple perspectives, understanding and recognising the reasons of this phenomenon, explore the skills and tools needed today to work with young migrants and the local communities, sharing experiences, ideas, best practices and methods developed in different countries to raise awareness and build positive change in the attitudes and approaches of European youth towards the issue.

Effective inclusion, as we intend it, has multiple meanings: integration in the labour market (local and European one), the development of language skills, civic and educational integration and rights acquisition, intercultural and interfaith dialogue, working on housing and health challenges, an active interaction between the local communities and migrants, as well as the fight against stereotypes, prejudice and myths created in the latest years connected to these topics.

The main aim of the seminar was to share best practices, increase competences and find new and common paths for youth workers and NGOs in EU to work effectively on sustainable inclusion and anti-discrimination strategies for migrant youth and the new hosting societies in Europe.

The seminar explored reasons and factors that cause exclusion, diffidence and xenophobia, active and passive civil positions, the concepts connected with migration (both regular and irregular) and asylum in EU including legal aspects, types of migration, push and pull factors, labour migration schemes, circular migration, the impact of migration on the immigrants and the host societies, the current anti-immigrant stance in Europe, the concepts of asylum seeker and refugees in modern society, national and international instruments and mechanisms for protection of the rights of the migrants, and, finally, the possibilities of action for youth workers and NGOs in the field, opening ways of cooperation among them and with different kind of other institutions.

Non-Formal Education were the main methodology used during the seminar, together with theoretical aspects, to ensure a complete learning dimension, using methods such as group discussions, round tables, simulations, and dynamic, creative and participative activities.

The seminar led to the creation of a platform of work on migration issues for youth NGOs as well as to different creative dissemination tools to be used in all the countries involved.

Tools

During the seminar the participating youth workers have designed four new tools which can be used in youth work with migrant youth. The newly developed tools can be a base, with this website in which they are collected, for the future of youth work with and for migrant youth in Europe. We believe that during the seminar participants created possible tools to improve youth work with migrants.

The tools invented included a sensitising game (Migrant’s path), a game confronting stereotypes (Guess who?), a tool for understanding cultural differences (The silent actor) and a card game about religions (What’s your religion?).

The presented tools on this website are designed and tested by 30 youth workers who participated in the project. These intellectual outputs are with no copyright and created without a licence. The works are group games that can be freely used and modified.

Migrant’s path

Migrant’s path is a board game for minimum three players, in which the player’s goal is to pass through all the difficulties that migrants go through in their journeys and to reach the ultimate goal – the new country with new life and new opportunities for them. There is no maximum number of players because the more migrants’ stories that we have in the game, the more players we can have playing it. The game is suitable for people over 15 years old because some of the stories and obstacles in the game could be misunderstood correctly from the youngsters or considered being unfair for their players.

In order to create the square board, we have used the following map but adding to it the name of the countries:

Each player draws one card with personal migrant’s story on it. On the card, it is written the starting point and the end point of the player’s journey. It’s written also the amount of money which every player has to start their journey. After drawing the card, every player reads their stories to the others so that everyone could be aware of them. Till now, we have 6 migrants’ stories created with total 3 starting points: 2 from Mali, 2 from Syria and 2 from Afghanistan.

The stories

From Mali:

• • You’re a young girl from Mali. You were abducted by terrorists, but you managed to escape from captivation. You want to seek refuge in the Netherlands. You only have EUR 4500 for your journey. Use them well!
  • You’re a citizen of Mali. The Boko Haram made a terroristic attack in your city. In order to protect yourself and your family, you decide to take refuge in Denmark. You have only EUR 5000 for your journey. Use them well!

From Syria:

• • You’re a citizen of Syria. You were a soldier in the Syrian army. You didn’t want to obey to some orders and you deserted the army. Fearing for your life, you decided to leave Syria and go to Germany. You have only EUR 7000 for your journey. Use them well!
  • You’re living in Aleppo, Syria. The fighting in the city has intensified. The army decided to launch a full-scale attack on the city and ordered the civilians to evacuate. Since it has become too dangerous to live in your country, you want to go to live with your cousin in the United Kingdom. You have only EUR 5500 for your journey. Use them well!

From Afghanistan:

• • You’re a citizen of Afghanistan. The Taliban invaded your village and you lost your family. Fearing persecution, you decided to leave Afghanistan and go to Spain where you have an uncle. You have only EUR 6000 for your journey. Use them well!
  • You live and have a business in Afghanistan. You have been threatened many times and the Taliban destroyed your business. Now they threaten you about your children. You decide to sell everything that is left and leave the country with them to save them. You are going to France where you have some old friends. You have only EUR 5000 with you. Use them well!

Every player has the opportunity to choose through which country they want to pass on their way to the final point (country). While crossing the border with other countries, every participant should draw a card from the three decks, depending on the border which they are passing. There are three decks with three different type of cards:

• • Crossing cards – participants take them while crossing between two countries;
  • Land cards – participants take them on their next turn after taking the crossing card. They only take this card if their crossing the country by land;
  • Sea cards – participants take them on their next turn after taking the crossing card. They only take this card if their crossing the country by sea.

Our three types of cards examples

Land cards (participants take them only when they are passing through the countries by land and before getting to the next border). Some examples of the land cards:

• • You met with a sympathetic local who invites you to a family dinner. He migrated with his family here from your origin country 12 years ago. They offer their help, you can stay here for a few days and feel safe. After that you can continue your journey.
  • You caught a train and you didn’t buy a ticket. The controller wants you to pay a fine or to get out of the train. You can pay EUR 100 and continue your journey or get out of the train and take another land card on your next turn, instead of crossing card. You decide!
  • You found a temporary job in the country and earned pocket money. (here we can decide how much EUR participant will receive from the job) ex. If you miss one turn, you will receive EUR 200 for the work done, if you decide to continue your journey without missing the turn, you will get only EUR 100.
  • You were robbed at the night. You lost half of your money. (ex. if the participant is having EUR 5000, after taking this card, it will have only EUR 2500)
  • Your phone is out of service. You just need to charge it to make it work again and also get new SIM card. The card will cost you EUR 25.
  • You decide to stay for a while in the country. You found a job in one village. You will receive EUR 300 if you stay some days and miss your next turn or you can continue your journey without gaining this money. You decide!
  • After you crossed the border, you went to the nearest city. You tried to find a place to sleep and some food. Unfortunately, some bad guys robbed you. You lost the EUR 300 which were in your pocket.
  • You are starving. You decide to go to the nearest shop and buy some food. On the cash desk in the store, you see some lottery tickets. You decide to buy one just to try your luck. You won a large sum of money so you can move 3 countries ahead with them without taking any cards. On your next turn take a crossing card to enter the country which you choose.

Crossing cards (participants take them only when they are crossing the border between two countries). Some examples of the crossing cards:

• • The border police stop you while crossing the border. They want from you EUR 200 to let you enter the country. You can pay the sum and enter or you can choose another country through which you can pass but you will have to take a new crossing card on your next turn. You decide what to do!
  • The border police attacked you while you were crossing the border because they thought you were an illegal immigrant. Your leg is bleeding and it’s hard for you to walk so you will pass more slowly through the country. On our next 2 turns you have to take land cards. (and on the 3rd turn the participant will take the crossing card)
  • While you enter the country, you meet some good and friendly people who want to help you. On your next turn, miss the sea/land card and go to the next border, taking a crossing card.
  • Due to unforeseen circumstances, you have to go 1 country back! Go back to the enter border of the country you came from before getting this country.
  • You’re lucky today. The border police have good news for you! A bus/boat is waiting for all the migrants and will take you straight to the next border. Miss the land/sea card on your next turn and take a crossing card.
  • Go 1 country ahead and take a border card on your next turn to enter the country!
  • The regular army transports you to the next country. You have no opportunity to make any actions in this country, you can act just in the next one. Get another crossing card.

Sea cards (participants take them only when they are passing through the countries by sea and before getting to the next border). Some examples of the sea cards:

• • There was a storm at the night, your boat is stuck at one place and you have to stay there till the next day. Miss a turn!
  • During the boat ride, you decide to throw away at the water the few left documents which you have. Now you have no papers anymore. Hope it won’t be a problem for you while crossing the next borders.
  • Your smuggler asks for extra money. If you pay EUR 100, you will reach the destination. If you don’t pay, he will bring you back to the port of origin and you will have to take a new sea card on your next turn.
  • There are too much people on the boat, so it started to sink. You are waiting for a new boat to come and rescue you. Take 1 more sea card on your next turn!
  • Your boat was about to sink but you were saved by the coast guard. You reach safe your next destination.
  • Your smuggler needs your help in the sea journey. If you help him, you will receive back your money which you paid for the transport (EUR 200).

Many more cards should be invented to avoid repetition of them and to be more interesting and more participants to be involved in the challenges of the cards. When a participant takes one card, he/she will leave it in another pile, so that all cards pass at least once. When the pile with cards finish, participants will mix and start again taking from the mixed pile.

It is important that every participant has a sheet of paper on which he/she writes down the amount of money which they have, how much money they paid for something, how much money they left with. It is possible to have another player whose role in the game will be the “banker” who will write down all this information. This option is appropriate if the participants don’t believe each other and fear that any of them can deceive them.

It also could be invented a different from the cards way that gives the participants the opportunity to gain money if they suffer from a lack of them.

The first participant who gets to the final destination is the winner of the game but the idea of the game is not to have first, second and third winner, but to help all of the migrants (their roles) to get to their final destination and feel safe and happy. After the first participant reach the final point, the other participants continue their game. As much participants are playing the game, the more fun and longer the game will be. It is possible to use pawns or some kind of figures to mark the location of the players.

Guess who?

The aim of this game is to get to know each other’s and confront our stereotypes. We all have an opinion about others, maybe based on their looks or other factors. The game is meant to be positive tool in connecting with new people and discovering if we have something in common. The purpose of the questions is to open topics for discussions in a positive manner and create connections that you did not expect.

The game can be personalised according to the group and these instructions can be used as a base.

How to play?

This game can be played using the four pre-made set of questions below (page 3) or you can decide the questions according to the group that you are playing with. The game can be played with many people (even 10+) or in smaller groups. Suggested group size 4 or more.

The game can be played with pen and paper (make sure everyone has the same colour pen and similar paper, to keep the answers hidden).

Each player will try to connect the answers to the right person. The player with most correct answers will get a chance to ask more information about the topic to gain more information about others, to help matching the correct answers in next rounds. The player with least correct answers will have to explain why they matched the answer the way they did (what were the stereotypes or factors influencing that decision).

This game can be played in as many rounds as needed. You can decide to play only with general questions, to get acquainted with each other or mix with more in-depth questions with as many rounds as wanted.

Start

1. Players will decide the set of questions which will be answered. You can choose to answer all questions in one category or each player can pick a question, which they would like to play. Selected questions should be approved by each player to avoid conflict. (All players will say their name, if the name is not one of the selected questions)

2. When you have selected the questions, each person will get a card/piece of paper to write their own answer and another paper to write their matches. All answers will the mixed in a box/bowl or on the table and then placed for others to see.

3. Each player will now try to match all answers with the right person. Each player will write their answers on paper.

4. After everyone is finished, each player will tell their own answer, so the right matches can be made.

5. The player with the most correct matches can ask one question from another player about the topic. The player with the least correct answers will reveal his/her reasons for matching.

6. After round one, players will write their answer to the second question and the matching will start again.

Example

5 players. Round one is: Favourite sport? The answers were laid in the table.

Player 1’s favourite sport is power lifting. She matched other answers like this:

player 2: extreme sports

player 3: ice skating

player 4: football

player 5: water polo

After matching, player 1 got one correct match. She had least correct matches, so she will tell others how she came to these conclusions.

player 2: extreme sports, wrong

player 3: ice skating, wrong

player 4: football, correct

player 5: water polo, wrong

Questions

The silent actor

The main objective of the game is to help people from different cultural background to come together, introduce their culture, understand each other to be able to live together and prevent any cultural complications.

It was created first in the term of integration, to help both the host country citizen and the migrants to come together and know about each other’s culture during a game that mix the knowledge with fun.

Place

can be played at home, a club, Cafeteria and any other places that suit to bring people together for a communicative game.

Players’ age

The game can be played by Adults, teenagers and children over 12 years

Description and Rules

Silent actor is a game that mix knowledge with fun through silent acting.

The people from the host country and the migrants come together in a public place like a cafeteria.

There must be an instructor who prepare the key word that would be written on small cards like names, ideas or habits.

The keyword can be the name of a famous characters or things in both cultures:

Ex: Actors, writers, Habits, books, movies, plays, celebrities… any name or thing that considered part of the culture.

The instructor put the cards in a box and write the name of the people who like to participate in the game in a list then dived them to two mixed teams. (Team “A” and Team “B”)

Each team chose their players who will act, two or three depend how big each team is.

For example if Team A starts, they chose a player who stands in front of his team.

The Instructor gives him the card box to pick up one.

The player read the name on the card and give back the card to the instructor.

Now he has to play the character that is written on the card for his team without speaking, only body language is allowed.

He has only two minutes so if he is good in acting to explain the word by movements and signs and his team is good and fast at finding who he is imitating they win and get a point.

If the two minutes passed and his team did not find out the key name then they lose and so on with the B team.

After the player finish his acting, the instructor read a little text about the keyword or the character that was the actor describing to give the people who doesn’t know about him/her an idea so the people get to know about the other cultures.

When a player from team “A” finish then the player from the team B play for his team.

The instructor will be writing down the points. The game can be played for five times for each team or as per the actors. (Time is flexible)

Tips

It is recommended to use famous characters, books, movies… That most people know about them to be easier to figure out.

As a challenging idea the two teams can agree that the losing team will give free drinks for the winner.

 Wish you enjoy the game!

What’s your religion?

What’s your religion? is a card game aiming to familiarise players with different religions as cultural systems of designated behaviours and practices. Through playing with the cards players learn about different world views, the most important religious texts, sanctified places, ethics, or organisations.

There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, but about 84% of the world’s population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. The pre-designed cards can either include these five religions or any other particular ones.

The cards

The game is designed for 2-7 players. The deck consists of 8 x 8 cards. Each series (8 cards) is connected to a religion, showing information about

(1) religious customs,

(2) the holy scripture,

(3) food,

(4) holidays,

(5) appearance of the followers,

(6) prejudice,

(7) equality and

(8) did you know…

Rules

During the game players use one more deck than players (e.g. in case of four players five decks are used). The players of the card game form a circle around a table or other space that can hold cards. After the dealer distributes all the cards, players have to collect complete decks – by asking a question from the other player to find out what religion could it be that a card refers to.

Examples for set of 8 cards

Overview

In 2015 it was widely held in Germany that those who had fled to us were entitled to protection and admission. In the meantime, the public mood has changed - without anything being different about the plight of the people who come to us. The end of the political willingness to help is also expressed in the decision statistics of the Federal Office (BAMF): The recognition rate has been falling significantly since autumn 2015.

185,853 applications for asylum in 2018

Jurisdiction

The Federal Office is the central migration authority with expertise in the areas of migration, integration and return and is responsible for the following tasks in Germany:

• • Asylum / Refugee Protection
    • Implementation of the asylum procedure and decisions on asylum applications
    • Maintaining the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR)
    • Humanitarian admission (federal admission program, quotas, resettlement)
  • Integration / Migration
    • Implementation of integration courses (according to § 1 IntV) and vocational language support (ESF-BAMF courses)
    • Migration advice for adult immigrants (MBE)
    • Admission procedures for Jewish immigrants from the successor states of the former Soviet Union
    • Office of the German Islam Conference (DIK)
    • EU authority responsible for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)
    • Return

How many refugees came? Less than expected

By mid-2018, Interior Minister Seehofer repeated like a prayer wheel that it was likely that the “agreed corridor for immigration” - meaning refugees - “could be reached or even exceeded by 180,000 to 220,000 people annually” (BMI announcement on July 10, 2018 ). At the end of 2018, the number of asylum applications according to the BMI was around 162,000 - 18% less than in the previous year. This includes the asylum applications from around 32,000 children born in Germany to people who are or have been in the asylum procedure. The number of newly arrived asylum seekers is only around 130,000.

Where did these refugees come from?

A total of around 162,000 new applications for asylum were filed in 2018, a quarter of them by Syrian refugees alone. Source: BAMF Asylum Annual Report, 12/2018 (figures rounded) 23853 asylum applications were made repeatedly.

End of humanity? Protection is becoming less and less

The worldwide movements of refugees are not reflected in the asylum practice in Germany - on the contrary: the recognition rate has been falling significantly since autumn 2015.

In the cases examined in terms of content, the protection rate in the asylum procedure fell to 50% in 2018 (BT-Drucksache 19/8701, p. 6), after 53% in 2017 and 71% in 2016. It should be noted that the Federal Office in 2018 has implemented mandatory law in many cases based on the positive decisions of previous years: almost 30,000 protection grants - almost 40% of all positive decisions - were made due to the fact that parents, spouse or child were already recognized (so-called family asylum or family protection) ,

This means that the asylum opportunities for new arrivals are currently even worse than the official quotas. The trend is continuing: recognitions are increasingly taking place at a lower level of protection, and rejections are increasing.

Disadvantages due to subsidiary protection compared to refugee status

For those seeking protection, subsidiary protection has several disadvantages compared to refugee status: This status is initially granted for only one year. In addition, in response to the refugee crisis in autumn 2015, the right to family reunification, which was only recently introduced, namely in August 2015, was suspended until July 31, 2018. In addition, integration into the labor market is more difficult, since the stay and therefore a possible employment relationship is more uncertain.

Residents of the Federal Republic of Germany with a migration background

Of the 20.8 million people with a "migration background" come

• • 3 percent from Turkey (around 2.8 million),
  • 8 percent from Poland (around 2.3 million),
  • 6 percent from the Russian Federation (around 1.4 million) source

Most of the 13.5 million people who immigrated to Germany come from Europe: around 67 percent from European countries (including Turkey), around 39 percent from EU member states.

Progress in integrating refugees

The integration of refugees into the labor market is somewhat faster than in the past. This is a central result of a repeat survey conducted by the Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research (IAB), the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). According to the study, 21 percent of the refugees interviewed went to work in 2017, compared to only nine percent in 2016. According to the authors of the study, the figures from the Federal Employment Agency indicate that 35 percent of the asylum seekers who have come to Germany from the main countries of origin since 2015 have entered, are gainfully employed.

According to the study, the acquisition of language skills is also progressing well. 90 percent of the refugees had no knowledge of German when they arrived in Germany. In the meantime, 33 percent of those who moved in 2015 state that they speak the language well or very well. However, only around half of the refugees had attended an integration course in 2017. Refugee women with children are particularly disadvantaged. They are much less likely to have good knowledge of German than women without children. The difference is even more pronounced compared to men: 30 percent of men with children say they speak German well or very well, and only 19 percent of women with children. One reason for this could be the unequal distribution of care work and the lack of language courses with accompanying childcare facilities. Women with young children are also not legally obliged to take part in an integration course. There are also clear differences between refugee men and women in terms of participation in education and the labor market. Here, too, mothers with small children form the group with the lowest employment rate (3 percent) and the lowest participation in education (3 percent)

What benefits do asylum seekers get?

Asylum seekers or applicants are initially accommodated in an initial reception facility. The Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (AsylbLG) regulates care. They receive what they need for everyday life in kind, as long as they are accommodated in the initial reception facility or in shared accommodation. These include: basic services (food, accommodation, heating, clothing, health and personal care, household goods), money for necessary personal needs ("pocket money"), medical services for illness, pregnancy and childbirth as well as vaccinations, in individual cases also other services. The amount of pocket money is between 79 euros and 135 euros / month.

If asylum seekers do not live in shared accommodation, basic benefits can also be paid. For example, single people will receive 216 euros a month for food, accommodation and other basic needs.

Asylum seekers can only benefit from medical services if they are acutely ill. To prevent diseases, they also receive vaccinations.

If the asylum procedure has been completed and the person is allowed to remain in Germany as a recognized refugee, asylum seeker or in need of subsidiary protection, he will be equated with Germans. This means that he is allowed to work and, as a job seeker, receives basic security according to the rules of the Social Code II - i.e. the Hartz IV sentence.

Those who are unable to work receive social assistance. This corresponds to the Hartz IV sentence.

Quellen: www.bundesregierung.de, BMAS

Accommodation and heating services

The amount of the services for accommodation and heating costs (KdU) is regulated in § 22 SGB and depends on the actual amount of the costs. In the Hartz IV application, details of the amount of the rent and heating costs must therefore be given (Annex KdU).

If the job center assesses the accommodation costs as "appropriate", the service provider will pay the rent and heating costs in full for the period in need of help.

Accommodation costs must be reasonable

If the accommodation costs are inadequate, i.e. too high, the job center will ask to reduce the costs (by moving to a cheaper apartment or subletting part of the apartment). As a rule, the actual costs are then only covered by the office for six months. After that, only the reasonable accommodation costs will be paid by the job center.

If the costs have not yet been reduced at this point, the Hartz IV recipient must pay the difference out of his own pocket. If you have demonstrated that you have tried to find cheaper accommodation but did not get one, the job center may take over the full rent, which is actually too expensive, even over a longer period of time.

Integration of new refugees into school (Ministry of education) - School integration of newly immigrated pupils

Provisions for vocational schools:

* Newly immigrated young people who are subject to compulsory schooling at upper secondary level in accordance with Section 38 of the School Act and who do not yet have the required German language skills to successfully take part in a regular class in vocational college courses are offered in International Funding Classes (IFK).

*Newly immigrated young adults who are no longer required to attend school and who take part in vocational orientation measures in the preparatory training courses in accordance with section 22 (2) APO-BK Appendix A can, as part of the personnel and material requirements, in the preparatory training courses in Part-time work can be included.

* Pupils also receive German grants in the subject of German / communication after successful completion of the courses in the sense of early integration into the labor market by participating in an entry qualification (EQ) or as part of a dual training. The bandwidth regulation in the differentiation area of ​​the hourly tables can be used in the specialist classes of the dual system (Appendix A APO-BK).

*Pupils who have completed their full-time compulsory education at the end of the school year, are unlikely to graduate from school and would like to continue their educational career at a vocational college. These schoolchildren also have the option of starting vocational training within the framework of a training contract or participating in the support measures of a sponsor (see also chapter 6.1.2, page 33).

*Entry to a vocational college requires registration by the parent or guardian. By registering at a vocational college, the appropriate MS framework concept for school integration as of 16-12-08.docx

aspired to set professional field. The registration process is simplified if, in addition to the half-year report, an accompanying sheet is provided, which contains information about

• • personal data,
  • the previous school career,
  • the duration of initial language support in lower secondary education,
  • the language competence expected to be achieved,
  • the experience gained from career choice measures and
  • the professional field wishes    contains.

*At the vocational college, initial language support can be continued if necessary. The total duration of initial funding should not exceed two years.

*At the end of the school year, the pupils receive a certificate and an opinion, as described in chapters 3.2.2.1 and 3.2.2.1 (see page 20f.).

* Initial funding in the vocational college

Admission of young immigrants to a vocational college is based on the same rules and responsibilities as for the other young people who have completed compulsory schooling at lower secondary level. Learning at the vocational college is always linked to specific professional focuses. Success in this type of school is closely linked to the fact that the student develops an affinity for the professional reference areas. Often, however, it is not possible for young immigrants to determine suitable professional priorities before they are accepted into the vocational college. This may lead to admission to a vocational college, to whose professional subject areas there is no affinity or cannot be developed. This can result in a change of vocational college to ensure the success of school education. Regionally, the vocational colleges work conceptually in such a way that, despite the professional characteristics of the schools, occupational fields of other departments are also made known.

*Pupils who enter the vocational college without a formal school leaving certificate (at least secondary school leaving certificate after class 9) attend the training preparation. The majority of young immigrants belong to this group of people, even if they have already attended school in their home country. Only for this group of people is there the opportunity to attend an international support class with an increased share of hours in German / Communication. Funding in an international funding class is a maximum of two years.

*As soon as a formal school-leaving qualification in lower secondary school has been achieved, the transition to an educational course at the vocational school takes place. Additional support in German / communication is possible in these courses. This is limited in scope compared to an international support class.

*Only in justified individual cases, after a decision by the school management, can young people who have already completed formal schooling attend a training preparation.

*Insofar as sufficient knowledge of the German language cannot be demonstrated to follow the lessons, separate classes, so-called international support classes, are formed. Additional information from lower secondary level is helpful for an assessment of the level of proficiency, especially with regard to the language skills acquired. They offer the receiving vocational colleges an orientation as to the extent to which admission to an international support class should take place. Depending on the extent of the proven language skills, but also on the number of classes set up in a vocational college, these pointers can lead to the formation of different performance

*Young people with a history of immigration who are attending a vocational school and who are attending a German-language school for the first time, who do not have the language skills required to successfully attend classes in a regular class and who have no formal school leaving certificate, are attending an international support class as part of training preparation. You can repeat the international support class once, provided that at the end of the school year you do not yet have the required language skills to take part in a regular class and these deficits cannot be compensated for by support and / or support courses.

*The pupils or their legal guardians register at the beginning of the last half of the school year in lower secondary education as part of the usual registration procedure at the vocational college of their choice. If you can prove a contract with a provider of measures or an apprenticeship contract, you will be admitted to the relevant vocational colleges and to the courses to which these apprenticeships or measures are assigned.

*If the young people have a formal school qualification, they will be admitted to the relevant educational program (e.g. vocational school) in the field of their choice. If you do not have a formal school leaving certificate, you will be included in the training preparation. If you only attended secondary school I at short notice and at the end of your secondary school I did not yet acquire the language skills required to attend full-time school courses at your professional college, you can be included in an international support class (see VV 22.3 to Section 22 (3) Appendix A to APO-BK).

*A systematically operated and structured transition management is required for the transition. Through a secure and agreed procedure, all those involved, the pupils concerned, their legal guardians, those responsible for the school administration, the responsible school supervisory authorities and the schools themselves are appropriately involved. At the same time, a sufficient planning run-up for the necessary implementation steps and decisions, e.g. B. with regard to the provision of instruction to schools, the establishment of classes or other school organization measures.

The process consists of four phases:

1. 1. Information and advice
   2. Half-year report, recommendation for the choice of occupational field, accompanying sheet
   3. RegistratioN
   4. Admission to the vocational college, if necessary coordination of admission

Certificates at the vocational college

The certificates correspond to the certificates of the training preparation.

* Language test as assessment test 1

Pupils with an immigration background who have not attended upper secondary school at a German school from the start, who could not be integrated into the language range of a school and who could not continue their language of origin at the school as a foreign language, can acquire school-leaving qualifications take a language test in the official language of their country of origin (assessment test).

The result of the examination then replaces the grade of the first or second foreign language.

The level of the language test must be based on:

• • the secondary school leaving certificate according to class 9,
  • the secondary school leaving certificate according to class 10,
  • the middle school qualification (technical college entrance qualification),
  • the level of aspiration of the introductory phase of the upper secondary level in a continued foreign language,
  • the technical college entrance qualification (degree in vocational schools).

Lessons in Berufskolleg Ostvest

In 2016 the Berufskolleg Ostvest started with 4 International classes with about 80 students coming from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Irak and Albania.

It was difficult to create a schedule as the school did not have enough teachers and classrooms. For  the refugees the main problem was the language.

Our teachers started teaching German at the very bottom: pictures, bolt letters and basic words.

After a short time the refugees got about 10 hours a week German lessons.

First we had no curriculum, so we created our own schedule: German, German, German and a kind of economics. Besides sport was a very important subject: you do not need any words: showing and doing!

After some weeks national institutions published special books for refugees in German (e.g. "Berliner Platz") talking about daily problems and German culture and family life.

Special software programmes were installed at out school so that the foreign students could learn on their own by using the programmes, translation programmes, earphones and the PC.

The Berufskolleg also had teachers for languages who have a special education for teaching „German for foreigners“.

Another problem was the acceptance of female teachers. However, after a while the ale refugees accepted them.

Problems:

• • Language
  • Female teachers
  • Punctuality
  • Regular attendance of lessons

Integration of the Refugee Students German Lesson is a compulsory course. Berufskolleg Ostvest created  some illustrations.

Physical Education Lesson is a valuable tool for the integration of the refugee students and a powerful way to fight against stereotypes. At the beginning it was difficult for them to get used to attend lessons but since it is a compulsory course for all students they get used to it in time. A selection of photos of refugee students and multicultural classrooms.