Project background
Migration – and the situation of refugees in particular – is a hot topic in public debates all over Europe. While millions of people are on the move as a result of war, economic deprival, social inequality, climate change and discrimination to look for better opportunities elsewhere, in Europe the hostilities and xenophobia against migrants are rising. At the same time new and dynamic multicultural communities are being formed that ask for a better inclusion and acceptance of migrants and refugees.
We see an urgent need to raise awareness in society about the complexities of the migration process and difficulties migrants and refugees face. As a diverse group of people – with and without own migrant experiences – we joined forces to develop a new educational tool to address these issues and to offer a new multidimensional approach to look at migration under the project “In the Footsteps of a Migrant”. Our goal is to develop a role-play game, as it has proven to be a very effective method in sensitizing people about their prejudices and stereotypes, addressing people’s empathy and provoking reflection and critical thinking. Our role-play game Minosia Labyrinth offers a holistic and accurate picture of the migration process in Europe and embodies the migration process in all its complexities.
Minosia Labyrinth is being developed in the form of an attractive and high quality educational toolkit for the use in various educational sectors. The direct target group of the project are multipliers in the fields of non-formal and formal education that can use the game in their daily work with youth, adults, transnational learners groups etc. The target group of the game are learners and trainees in (non-)formal adult and youth education from different fields, age and background.
The first phase of the project consists to a large extend of knowledge and good practice exchange and qualitative and quantitative data research. The second phase is dedicated to the basic game-design and development of the new method. In the third phase we will try-out and improve the method and transfer the game into four different country-specific editions. The last phase of the project will be the training of tutors that can later on provide facilitation and support of the game in their countries and dissemination events for the stakeholders and the interested educational audience in the partner-countries. All phases of the project are connected by 8 partner meetings in the respective countries.
Envisioned impact and results
The envisioned impact of this project reaches across multiple levels and touches different target groups. The objective we envision is to make the situation of refugees and migrants in Europe more noticeable and comprehensible and to impart knowledge on topics such as causes of fleeing, border control, escape routes, bureaucratic obstacles, living conditions, asylum procedures, migration policies, racial profiling etc. At the same time, the game is a tool to challenge and fight stereotypes, racism, xenophobia and polarization in European societies and to strengthen democratic values, diversity and respect of human rights.
Besides the production of a new high quality non-formal educational method, the project also fosters good practice exchange and cooperation between our partner organisations, strengthens their networks and transcultural skills, extends their teaching skills and knowledge on methods development and empowers their capacities in raising empathy and awareness for migrants and their realities in Europe.