Lisbon roundtable addresses inclusion of migrants and refugees in the education systems in Europe
Published:
What can be the role of education trade unions in a more effective implementation of existing policies for the inclusion of migrant and refugee learners, teachers and other education personnel? How to ensure that good practices are shared and mainstreamed into policies? How can education trade unions represent better the voice of their members from migrant background? These and other important questions regarding the inclusion of migrants and refugees in the European education systems were addressed by ETUCE members during the roundtable ‘In and through education: Education Trade Unions support the inclusion of refugees and migrants’ held in Lisbon on 8-9 October 2024.
This is the first roundtable organised in the framework of the ETUCE project “In and through education: Education Trade Unions support the inclusion of refugees and migrants”. This project aims at strengthening the ability of education trade unions to support the integration of refugees and migrants. Its goal is to tackle the challenges faced by education staff and help make the teaching profession more appealing to refugees and migrants across Europe. More than 50 experts and representatives from the member organisations gathered during the roundtable, hosted by the project partner in Portugal, FENPROF. It gave ETUCE member organisations opportunity to discuss the national findings of an ETUCE survey amongst its member organisations on the specific professional needs of education personnel regarding the inclusion of migrant and refugee learners in the education system, as well as share the education trade unions’ actions and practices on supporting and building the capacity and knowledge of their affiliates to address the inclusion of refugees and migrants in the education systems.
Portugal’s education sector was a central theme, with a diverse panel of speakers discussing the unique challenges faced by the country, including representatives of Seixal city administration, NGOs, education trade unions and migrant teachers. On the second day, the programme also included the visit to the highly diverse (more than 60 nationalities among students) basic education school Gil Vicente in Lisbon to learn about their practices of integrating migrant and refugee students and their families in the education and the school’s life.
The event highlighted the pressing need for comprehensive strategies to accommodate and integrate migrants into the education system. The discussions also addressed the rising xenophobia in European schools and the crucial role of teachers in promoting tolerance. Participants recommendations included among others, the need for continuous professional development for teachers in intercultural education and host-country language as a foreign language, as well as combating the segregation of migrant students in schools.
