The NEST ‘Learn & Blend’ piloting activity in Germany took place over several days, from September 9 to September 29. Modules 1, 3 and 4 were run online and offline, by 10 trainers and were attended by 10 refugees/migrants.
In the first module (9.09/11.09/12.09) the topic of culture was discussed. Participants shared their experiences of misunderstandings with the German culture and compared their behavior, worries and habits both in their home and host country. The similarities and differences between the countries’ cultures were discussed especially through the games “Proverb” and “Atlas of Prejudices” dealing with stereotypes and how they aroused. The history of Germany and Europe was also discussed even if the trainers were not sufficiently prepared.
Module 3 (13/09) addressed the importance of involving participants in the civil society. Emphasis was given in the importance of political participation/education. The language barriers and the feeling of not being taken seriously seemed to contribute to participants’ difficulty to engage in the host society, while their inclusion in neighborhood/city activities seemed to be a useful way to gain opportunities, such as building networks or even finding a job. During this module, participants also talked about religion and “Prejudices in the Media”.
Module 4 (16.09/18.09) dealt with several topics, such as racism in sport, German music, art, series and traditional costumes. The participants also shared different cultural experiences from their home countries.
The last day of the training (29.09), the participants had to fill in the evaluation forms and to provide feedback about the training course.
