New training course “Building educational bridges”

In the educational work with the very heterogeneous and vulnerable group of refugees who are interested in returning to their home country, there are various challenges that arise when teaching: How do I as an instructor react to culturally caused misunderstandings and how do I, in this context, deal with unequal power relations, stereotypes and prejudices? What is the meaning of psychosocial stress and traumatisation in terms of an uncertain outlook regarding residence or even a possible voluntary return? And in spite of this, how can I as an instructor succeed in creating a safe and appreciative learning atmosphere?

In the work with refugees, integration in a host country is often the focus of the debate, but this does not always represent the conclusion of the migratory movements of refugees. A return and reintegration into the home country or a renewed migration might yet occur. With “Building educational bridges – competently dealing with intercultural and psychosocial challenges in the classroom with return interested refugees”, DVV International has developed a training course for instructors and coaches working with refugees at German adult education centres. It is based on an international exchange of experience in the context of flight and migration with experts from the DVV International network in Jordan, Palestine, Germany and Turkey.

As a result, a wide range of teaching and learning materials have been developed alongside the training concept. With methods, videos and dossiers on topics such as participatory education, storytelling, critical whiteness, dealing with trauma and stress, self-care, etc., instructors will be encouraged to reflect and alter their perspective.

On the basis of the developed training concept, 12 multipliers – from a total of seven regional associations of German adult education centres – were trained who trained further 30 instructors in a pilot phase. As part of the training of multipliers, a study trip to Morocco was organised with the aim of making the work of DVV International in the North African region tangible and to gain an insight into the work with the refugee target group.

Further information can be found on the German homepage.

The project is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).