Online gaming and Digital tools to promote asylum seekers Integration and increase awareneSS among schools of the refugee crisis in Europe – ODISSEU

Duration: 01/09/2018 – 31/08/2021

Partners: Oxfam Italia Onlus (Italy), CARDET (Cyprus), Kopin (Malta), Meath Partnership (Ireland), University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany), University of Pitesti (Romania).

As European societies become more multi-cultural, the need to raise awareness on the issue of forced migration becomes pivotal in promoting respect for diversity and in encouraging social cohesion. Factual and balanced information needs to be available to young people in particular, in order for them to be able to shape their opinions and attitudes towards migration and integration.

Growing diversity within and among EU countries challenges the education sector, which is faced with the need to empower teachers to address their students within a more complex and changing reality. The education sector can provide a place where young people learn the skills needed to think critically and become active citizens, whilst at the same time acquiring competences through innovative learning tools.

The goal of ODISSEU is to produce a holistic and inclusive Online Simulation Game to address the topic of forced migration with secondary school students, in a way which will allow broad participation across the whole school, including provision of training and skills development for teachers.

Throughout the implementation of the project, active engagement of refugees and asylum seekers as well as students and educators is foreseen, in order to ensure the development of coherent and effective educational tools to address the issue of forced migration and integration.

In order to reach its objectives, the ODISSEU consortium will:

  • Undertake a Needs’ Analysis, through the implementation of a Literature Review as well as Focus Groups with students and stakeholders;
  • Establish Peer Groups which will give feedback and valuable input on the foreseen outputs throughout the project;
  • Develop a Curriculum outlining the overall learning process of the Online Game;
  • Develop a Digital Manual for teachers, with tools to address the students’ active civic engagement, media and digital literacy, as well as intercultural education;
  • Develop an online interactive simulation game targeting secondary students;
  • Collect real-life stories of refugees and asylum seekers wishing to share their experiences and journeys on the platform of the project;
  • Formulate Policy Recommendations based on the outcomes of the activities carried out;
  • Disseminate the project’s results and involve schools to engage with the topics of the project.

 

All the resources produced will be available for free to interested students, educators and schools on a dedicated online platform.