Equipping Professionals for Supporting LGBT Refugees
Description
‘Epsilon’ Project, was one of the most prominent LGTBI-led projects in Europe which aimed at improving the lives of LGBTI refugees and migrants. Within this framework, an educational programme was developed, intended for professionals and volunteers working with migrants and refugees across Europe. <br />
EPSILON is the first project in Europe truly led by an independent user advisory group consisting of LGBTI migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and professionals from the UK and Europe. The project seeks to fill the information gap about the situation of LGBTI refugees and asylum seekers in refugee camps, detention centers and the community.
This educational programme-practice, based on the real needs of LGBTI migrants and refugees, is enabling both professionals and volunteers to better address issues of dignity and respect, inclusion and discrimination related to the target group.<br />
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The project is fully aligned with the target “10.2 – By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status ‘’, as well as “10.3 – Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard’’<br />
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This practice proposes an innovative and forward-looking project with the direct involvement of professionals, volunteers and LGBTI refugees as advisors, to design and pilot a user-led, face-to-face training package for professionals and volunteers focusing on increasing knowledge and skills of professionals and ultimately their capacity to answer to the needs of LGBTI refugees and preventing abuse in centers, shelters, local communities and services dedicated to this target group.<br />
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The major challenge was to identify the right tools and recourses that will include and provide the right supporting materials in the appropriate language and form and to develop an educational programme that will be useful and helpful to the professionals who come in contact with LGBTI refugees and migrants. Challenges were overcome by establish a high-level team of experts that advised the partnership during the development of the programme. Professionals, volunteers and even LGBTI refugees and migrants provided their input and feedback of the programme.
All partners established an Epsilon Advisory Board in their countries ensuring the smoothly implementation of the programme.
For the successful implementation of the face-to-face and online adult education programme the partnership undertook the following tasks:
-Recruitment of professionals and volunteers working with asylum seekers and refugees in asylum centers, camps, other shelters and in local and whenever possible direct involvement LGBT refugees in the delivery and evaluation of the project through high quality volunteering opportunities and internships at the partner organisations
- Design of a face-to-face training, educational and skills development course for the awareness rising of professionals and volunteers working with asylum seekers and refugees in asylum centers, camps, other shelters and in local communities to better understand the specific situation and requirements of LGBT people and to avoid violence against LGBT people and incidents
- Delivery of face-to-face training for the participating organisations, so that they can give the trainings to professionals and volunteers working with asylum seekers and refugees in asylum centers, camps, other shelters and in local communities, so that they can better understand the specific situation and requirements of LGBT people and to avoid violence against LGBT people and incidents, to improve their competences to deal with this.
- Pilot the Workstream face-to-face training within each participating country with relevant institutions
- CPD accreditation and certificate awards by the IARS International Institute
- Develop an open educational and training e-resource gathering the educational materials already developed.
1. Participants - LGBTI refugees and migrants
A minimum of 10 LGBTI refugees/migrants per participating country were directly involved in the design, delivery and monitoring of this project. Given that this project had an emphasis on LGBTI refugees, this impact is expected to be even more important in relation to leaving no-one behind, inclusion and diversity ambitions.
2. Participating organisations (partners)
Following the results and experience from the project, the participating organisations fundamentally changed their internal knowledge and experience in the project area and increase their own infrastructure and organisational knowledge. Through the cross learning training opportunities and the 2 year collaboration, strategic alliances, knowledge and thinking all partner organizations further developed the areas of training, education and youth leaving in this way a lasting impact on them and by extension for the organisations that they serve nationally , Europe-wide and internationally wide.
3. Organisations- professionals/ volunteers beneficiaries (adult learners)
The programme reached adult professionals and volunteers working with LGBTI refugees and asylum seekers and migrants. It also reached at least 5000 organisations on a regular basis for awareness raising and education, while organisations and professionals were trained through the e-learning portal. Furthermore pilots completed in each country for the face to face training. The impact on them is significant having identified an impact gap at national, European and International level in relation to LGBTI refugees, asylum seekers and migrants that would enable individuals and service providers to avoid issues but also respond better to the integration challenges faced by target group. All participants that completed the training were offered CPD status for accrediting their training through the project (face to face and online).
4. Policy makers and decision makers
Our project wanted to have multiplier and long lasting impact. This cannot be achieved just by educating adult professionals and volunteers but also by helping to change EU and national policies. Therefore, through the project's various intellectual outputs, including its trainings, multiplier events, books and policy recommendations, those policy makers and decision makers working in the field of migration / asylum, sexual and gender orientation but also equality, diversity, abuse and discrimination increased their knowledge. Better and more on the ground policies and practices were developed that reflect the real needs and wants of our marginalised target group. By extension and in the long term our results contributed to a more equal and fair society where LGBTI refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are better treated and integrated in European countries and the European vision.
The project success sent a clear signal and indeed increase confidence among member states and governments of EU funded translational programmes. It helped to address perceptions and attitudes and encourage national and regional funding bodies to support similar activities including the project's continuation.
The partners are currently using the project's results in order to create further national and regional partnerships.
The reports, training material and e-learning course are currently maintain on the project website. Partners are ensuring to raise enough further funding and resources to keep their downloading free and open to everyone.
Partners also hope that the educational material that were produced will be used by formal curricular in the various participating countries and across Europe. Partners also published the material in kindle, script and other online document platforms.
EpsiLon as a project and a practice adressed two current and urgent educational needs in Europe i.e. (1) the rise in migrant and refugee numbers (2) the persistent inequality and persecution of Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-gender groups (LGBT). Combined together these two characteristics make LGBT migrants and refugees one of the most vulnerable groups in modern Europe. Our project aimed to help address this issue by increasing the knowledge, skills and awareness of all those adult professionals and volunteers who come in contact with them. <br />
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The partners come from key locations in Europe where the two cross-cutting themes of migration and LGBT discrimination are particularly acute. While we looked at Italy, Greece and Cyprus as locations where not much progress has been made for LGBT rights, we explored the Netherlands and the UK as member states that have introduced progressive practices and policies in education and training for gay issues and rights. At the same time, Greece, Italy and Cyprus were case studies for migration flow and the so called crisis.<br />
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EpsiLon adopted a user-led methodology by constructing educational tools based on the voices and real needs of LGBT migrants and refugees. Through theses voices, learning took place in the form of face-to-face and online. This promoted both internally (between partners) and externally (nationally and EU wide). Partners also developed an innovative, evidence-based, user-led training methodology and contents targeting professionals and volunteers working in services for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in order to raise their awareness and sensitivity to the needs of all those with LGBT background. The educational tools enabled the professionals to identify these LGBT groups' most current and urgent needs some even reaching on issues of survival, dignity and respect. It also helped them challenge their own biases. <br />
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The need for the development of such training programme is highlighted at top level by all competent organisations such as UNHCR and the EP. The intellectual outputs of Epsilon are (a) reaching widely outside of the participating countries through free, online access Europe-wide (b) continue being delivered after the project's funding is finished (c) reaching groups in society that would not have been otherwise able to receive the face-to-face package and in print material (d) rewarding and formally accrediting its target audiences.
2) Epsilon e-learning platform: https://elearning.epsilonproject.eu/login/index.php
3) Article on European Youth Portal: https://europa.eu/youth/uk/article/39/41381_en
4) Final E-books of the project: https://www.epsilonproject.eu/e-books/
5) Epsilon news item June 2017 on CARDET website: https://www.cardet.org/get-updated/news/256-epsilon-project-at-the-cypr…
6) Epsilon news item May 2017 on CARDET website: https://www.cardet.org/get-updated/news/268-epsilon-international-confe…
7) Epsilon final conference in London: https://www.epsilonproject.eu/thursday-12th-july-2018-final-conference-…
8) Final Epsilon report and training launched - making LGBTI migrant and refugees’ voices stronger- News item on Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/epale/en/blog/final-epsilon-report-and-training-la…
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Charalambos Vrasidas, Executive Director