Sharing experience – foreign praxis in integration policy and integration courses

The objective of the Project is to support integration of the newly arrived immigrants in the Czech Republic in their orientation with relevant information and training curriculum and delivery mechanism. The outcome would be a successful roll-out of the new integration courses for migrants in the first year since the completion of the project.

As a result of the preliminary desk research, study visits and the expert seminar, awareness will be increased among service providers and experts in the field of integration on the foreign best practices in integration service provision, and successful models of pre-departure and post-arrival orientation courses. At the end of the project, a brochure with selected foreign best practices will be published.

The 2 study visits will be organized to German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in Nuremberg and the second to MA 17 – Vienna Municipal Department for Integration and Diversity. BAMF is responsible for the formal structure and content of the integration courses in Germany. Viennese MA 17 introduced “Start coaching” courses in frames of their policy for newly arrived immigrants “Start Wien” which are linked to obtaining residence. 

A two-day expert seminar will be organized in Prague with the representatives from Nuremberg BAMF, and Viennese MA 17, Portugal governmental office ACIDI and possibly, the representatives of the Canadian government who would present the e-learning system of pre-departure orientation courses which is an innovative and cost-effective model successfully used for immigration to Canada.

 The expert seminar is designed for the experts from the Ministry of the Interior, official Integration Centers in the regions of the Czech Republic, and NGOs in order to discuss the future integration courses in the Czech Republic. Forty participants are expected to participate at the seminar.

 There will also be a 5 day Summer School organized to increase awareness among integration stakeholders in the Czech Republic on the new and innovative EU integration models, diversity, participation, cohesion and inclusion of migrants. Forty students and experts are expected to participate.

This Project is co-funded by the European Union from the European Fund for the Integration of third country nationals (EIF), by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, and by the US Embassy Prague.