Counselling and Information Centre for the Education of Young Migrants (PIC2)
Realisation period: September 1st 2008 – February 28th 2011
Project supported as a part of the OPPA program from the resources of the European Social Fund, the state budget of the Czech Republic, and the budget of capital city of Prague.
Contact person: Zuzana Vodňanská
The aim of this project is to facilitate the integration of young foreigners into the Czech education system through counselling and other services (volunteer support, courses in Czech, and other education activities). Besides this we created a working group of specialists on the education of migrants that will work towards the creation of a methodological programme for working with migrants in Czech schools. Another goal of the project is to generate an electronic database outlining the compatibility of the Czech education system with the systems in some of our clients´ home countries. The project is designed for young foreigners, who are already involved with the Czech educational system or who plan to begin attending school here. This includes students of elementary school, secondary school, vocational schools, and universities, as well as young foreigners, who only proceeded as far as elementary school in their home countries and aim to continue their studies in the Czech Republic.
Social Counselling to Young Migrants in relation to their Education
Realisation period: January 1st 2009 – December 31st 2009
Project supported by a subsidy from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (social services).
Contact person: Hana Marková
Subsidies enabled the expansion of META's target group (originally 16-39 year olds) to include children between the ages of 7 and 16. Social workers offered support for the selection of a school, integration into the school’s educational program, facilitation of communication between the client (or their parents) and the school, and other relevant institutions & organizations. They also helped with gaining recognition of previously completed education. Foreign pupils and students could also take advantage of volunteer services (tutoring in various subjects & preparation for entrance exams for example) and participate in educational activities (i.e. language courses).
The services were primarily sought by young foreigners (or their parents). Primary schools also approached us - usually at the point when a teacher is dealing with the education of foreign students in their class.
Educational Program for the Support of Educators working with foreign students
Program supported by a subsidy from the Ministry of Education (integration of foreigners)
Realisation period: June 1st 2009 – December 31st 2009
Realisation locations: Prague, Central Bohemia region, Ústí nad Labem region, Karlovy Vary region.
Contact person: Lukáš Radostný
The goal of this project was to provide educators with a selection of support tools which enable the effective integration of foreign children into the Czech education system. This goal was accomplished with the creation of an information platform in the form of an easily accessible web portal. This portal provides educators with access to professional literature dedicated to foreigner education and multicultural / inter-cultural education, as well as access to work materials, contact information for organizations operating in the given area, current courses & professional workshops that deepen the knowledge and skills related to work with foreign students, information about foreign educational systems, and other practical information. The portal also allows for the sharing of good and bad experiences. A substantial part of the project was the training of selected educators with the goal of teaching them how to work with the provided material & information. This strengthening of competencies in the area of work with foreign students took place during an introductory theory based course and subsequent thematic workshops. As a part of the project we also provided professional counselling to assist in solving specific problems.
Support for the Education & Personal Development of Young Migrants
Realisation period: January 1st 2009 – December 31 2009
This project was financed by a subsidy from the Ministry of Interior (volunteer services)
Contact person: Monika Kutilová
In 2009 META volunteers dedicated themselves primarily to activities supporting the education and personal development of young migrants living in the Czech Republic. The majority of the volunteers helped the association’s clients by tutoring them so that they could meet their study obligations. The volunteers also participated in the operation of the office by performing administrative tasks, researching materials according to the need of the association, organizing recreational and publicity activities, and so on.
During the course of the 2009 volunteer program, 36 different tutoring programs took place (in some cases still continuing), including 34 individual and 2 group programs. 29 clients in total have finished the tutoring program.
During the entire year, 25 volunteers have participated in META’s volunteer program, out of which 11 completed two introductory trainings. At these trainings the volunteers familiarised themselves with the activities of the organization, the codes and principles of volunteer work, and the principles of work with a client. The second part of the training was an introduction to the issues of migration, legislation, the educational system of the Czech Republic, and the specifics of META’s clients.
Seven volunteers completed a professional training called “Teaching Czech as a second language”.
Integration of the Family
Project supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers
Realisation period: January 1st – June 30th 2009
Realisation location: Prague, Horní Počernice
Contact Person: Petra Hlavničková
This project was created to address the needs of primary schools in Horní Počernice, which over the years have seen a large increase in the number of Mongolian children. Its goal was to reduce the language barrier and help the children’s full integration into the lessons. At the same time we wanted to support their parents so that they were able to communicate with the school - at least on a basic level. And so two language courses were organized at one of the schools in Počernice (Chodovická, a primary school with the largest number of these children), one for children and another for their parents. These activities were supplemented with the possibility of regular social counselling at the school with the goal of helping parents navigate through the Czech education system, as well as other questions related to their status. The project also aimed to support the teachers with their task of integrating foreign children into Czech schools.
Thanks to this project, it became possible to support an additional course of Czech language for Mongolians, initiated by a newly created student initiative 'B-Tech', founded by a group of Mongolian students.
Thanks to the project we were also able to enrich our library with new learning materials (textbooks, atlases, educational games, informational posters), as well as improving our library for staff with professional literature about migration, history, multicultural education, pedagogy, linguistics, and sociology.
Travelling with Carly
Realisation: from January 1st the project is in limited operation with minimal expenses.
Contact Person: Petra Hlavničková
Travelling with Carly is an educational project developed by META in cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Prague and intended for educators and children from the 1st to 3rd grades of primary school, and the last year of kindergarten. Carly is an animated film telling the story of a small girl, who under tragic circumstances must flee her homeland and whose path to happiness is not an easy one. She is rejected everywhere, because she is “foreign and different from them”. The short, simple, but telling story with a happy ending introduces children to the fate of refugees. The story became a starting point for the creation of materials for multicultural education of children between 5 and 8 years of age. The methodology describes the possibilities of dealing, not only with the topic of refugees, but also includes the themes of tolerance, emotion, elementary needs, as well as addressing a range of social & moral values. In 2008, META organized the translation of the film and the handbook into Czech. The film was then dubbed (free of charge) by well known Czech actor Mr. Petr Nárožný. Materials were distributed to primary schools and kindergartens across the Czech Republic. In 2009, the project functioned by way of the distribution of the aforementioned materials and relevant communication with teachers who expressed interest in the materials.
INNO-VET
Project Partnership, sub-program of Leonardo da Vinci as part of the Life-long Education Program, realised with financial support from the European Union.
Realisation period: August 1st 2009 – July 31st, 2011
Realisation location: Prague, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Holland, & Norway.
Contact person: Petra Kozílková
This international project’s goal is the creation of a system for the improvement of a workplace in a way that would satisfy the needs of employees speaking in a language other than the language of the given country. It would also help to promote a positive impact of education on the employee as well as the employer.
The challenges faced by the INNO-VET project are the same as the difficulties faced by employers working with employees whose mother-tongue is not the language of the given country (ethnic minorities, migrants etc). It also approaches the difficult experiences faced by these employees (their attitudes towards further education) when starting employment. These problems may lead to a below average job performance, limit any career advancement, reduce productivity, and eventually discourage employers from taking on workers from other European countries. In 2009, Petra Kozílková visited Vaalse in Holland where she devoted herself to the sharing and exchange of experience with other partners. Later meetings are planned for Belfast, Prague, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Oslo.
Counselling and Information Centre for Young Migrants (PIC)
Realized: September 1, 2006-August 31, 2008
Financial support provided by the European Social Fund, the state budget of the Czech Republic, and the Prague city budget.
Contact person: Zuzana Vodňanská
This was the association’s first and most important project, which led to the creation of our “Counselling and Information Centre for Young Migrants.” Until the end of September 2008, qualified social workers provided social counselling with a focus on educational, training, and employment opportunities in the Czech Republic with regard for the specific needs of our target group. After September, the Czech language courses continued to function (more on this in the section on educational activities) as did the individual support provided by volunteers.
Support for foreigners entering the job market through Czech language courses, lessons on personal and labour law issues, and social counselling
(Podpora cizinců při vstupu na trh práce prostřednictvím kurzu ČJ, personálně-právního minima a odborného sociálního poradenství)
Realization: April - December 2008
Project supported by an endowment from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV) (department for the integration of foreigners)
Realisation location: Prague
Contact Person: Zuzana Vodňanská
This project had two parts: social counselling and an educational programme. The goal of the educational programme, called “Czech language courses with supplementary lessons on personal and labour law issues,” was to facilitate the entrance of its adult migrant participants onto the job market. We saw these two activities (Czech language course and lessons on personal and labour law issues) as mutually complementary and conceived the language courses with a focus on employment and the job market.
Additionally, we organized a morning Czech language course for so-called “false beginners.” This course was a subsequent addition to the project and was created because we had foreigners signing up for the advanced Czech language course, who had been living in the Czech Republic for more than a year (which was a condition for participation in the project stipulated by the Ministry), but whose Czech was not at the advanced level, and in some cases was not even at the beginners’ level. For the most part, this group was comprised of foreigners, who were not from a Slavic-speaking environment, whose status did not place them into one of the prescribed groups that are guaranteed free instruction in the Czech language, and whose current work responsibilities did not allow them to attend afternoon or evening courses (when most of our language courses take place).
Social counselling with a focus on entering the job market was offered from April onwards. This counselling was conceived as an extension of the services provided through the project Counselling and Information Centre for Young Migrants. Social workers helped clients in their efforts to find a job.
Tutoring in the Czech language for foreign children in Prague 11
Project supported by the T-Mobil Fund through the VIA Foundation (Nadace VIA)
Realisation period: August 8, 2007 - December 12, 2008
Realisation location: Prague
Contact Person: Petra Kozílková
By organizing tutoring modules led by volunteer teachers, the goal of this project was to improve the language competence of foreign children attending elementary schools in Prague’s 11th district, to help them master their school material, and to facilitate their integration into Czech society.
The project began already in September 2007, when volunteers were recruited and trained. Also at that time, we opened communication with schools in Prague 11, contacted children and their parents with information about the opportunity for tutoring, enrolled students in the tutoring modules, and provided an informational meeting for interested parents. The children were divided into two groups according to their grade level in school and then we worked out a tutoring schedule together with the children and their parents. The tutoring sessions were realized from December 2007 to June 2008 at the elementary school at Květnového vítězství street 57 in Chodov (in Prague 4), which offered us the use of its classrooms. At the same time, we strove to attract more foreign children in need of tutoring aid by distributing fliers and contacting schools. Consequently, a number of new students joined the courses already in progress.
CROSS - CZECH, Support of the creation of a network of volunteers for helping young immigrants
Project supported by Nadací ADRA (ADRA Foundation)
Realisation period: November 1st 2006 – October 31st 2007
Realisation location: Prague
Contact Person: Zuzana Vodňanská
The aim is to enhance and improve the effectiveness of work with volunteers –this will commence within project PIC. The main objective is securing the expert supervision and the creation of the volunteer’s manual.
