Journey of self discovery

A workshop that enables participants to participate in a journey of self-discovery using an active autobiographical method and a set of participatory activities in order to discover their competencies and individual qualities and become acquainted with social and professional interactions.

A set of activities that can assess and document participants’ competencies and self-qualities with the aim of developing a competence profile and thus support further personal and vocational development, (re-) orientation and the planning of further learning steps, with some activities focusing on real-life situations.

The workshop addresses people in transitional phases who are in need of orientation and counselling. The simple language in all the activities facilitates the work with new immigrants as it has been particularly adapted to their situation and needs – both regarding language, content and layout.
More specifically, working with ProfilPASS in Simple Language requires at least basic language skills, whereas the MILMET project’s role-playing tool requires a more integrated use of the language, but it can be adapted to participants’ language level. The activities of the ProfilPASS in Simple Language and MILMET project’s tools can be used with adult individuals of all ages and backgrounds.

The participants are expected to be able to:

• assess their competencies, abilities and skills, especially those acquired in informal environments;
• talk about themselves and reflect on their past experiences and their life stories;
• evaluate their competencies (level A: I can do it if someone helps me, Level B: I can do it alone in a certain situation, and Level C: I can do it alone, in different situations)
• develop a CV;
• strengthen their relationships with their own history, culture, and significant people and places;
• meditate and use drawing as a relaxing and therapeutic activity.

The materials needed are a laptop, a projector or a projecting screen, flipcharts (one for every participant), coloured sticky papers, colouring pens (brown, green, red, orange, yellow and grey), the ProfilPASS in Simple Language for every participant, MILMET project’s role-playing tool, pen or pencil, and/or a notebook for every participant.

The facilitators should be aware of the methodology and the different activities to be used for the workshop. Also, the classroom should be prepared beforehand, and all the necessary materials should be gathered and made available to the participants by the facilitator, such as coloured pens, worksheets, presentations, etc.

STEP 1 “Tree of life”: each participant draws their tree of life, filling it with key moments of their life

STEP 2 “Counseling sessions”: role-playing activity, teams of 2 participants discuss their trees and extract their competencies according to the following categories- 1) home, neighbours and family, 2) work, job and further education, 3) interests, pleasure and free time

STEP 3 “Now I know what I can do”: each participant classifies their extracted competencies- level A, B, C

STEP 4 “How I can show what I can do”: participants are introduced to the idea of CV, Europass and proving their competencies

STEP 5 “Handprints”: the participants evaluate the workshop, using their handprints

The evaluation of the workshop will happen through an activity. The activity is called “Handprint”. The participants will be asked to draw their handprints on a piece of paper. Each finger will represent a different statement, starting from the index finger and the more positive one and finishing with the little finger and the least positive statement. They’ll have to match every part of the workshop with each finger and statement. They can also make comments if they would like to contribute more. Asking the participants to write down a short statement will help prevent any heated final discussions as each participant will get a final say and can also be presented with a photograph of their final statement.

There are a number of issues to be taken into account when developing and implementing a workshop and educational activities for people with a migration background. More specifically, a significant obstacle to effective learning for refugees and migrants is the language barrier.

Facilitators should use clear, simple language, provide visual aids and use translation or interpretation services. Cultural differences can affect learning styles, preferences and attitudes towards education.

Educators should try to use materials and examples that reflect educators’ cultural backgrounds, as well as incorporate cultural activities into the curriculum to make the learning experience more relevant and engaging for their learners.

Moreover, different socioeconomic factors, such as poverty and housing insecurity can affect migrants’ ability to access education and participate in learning activities. The provision of access to affordable, stable housing, financial assistance and other forms of support could be crucial.

Individuals with a migration profile are possible to have experienced trauma and stress related to their migration experiences, which can affect their ability to learn. That is why the creation of a safe and supportive learning environment and the provision of access to counselling and mental health services are considered important.

Also, the focus on a more communicative and interactive approach can help to build confidence and motivation and provide opportunities for migrants to practice their various skills in real-life contexts.

Lastly, educators should try to focus on tailoring the instruction to their group of learners’ needs, as migrants may have different levels of language proficiency, education and literacy skills. The need to assess learners’ needs and abilities and tailor instruction to their individual learning styles and preferences is crucial.

The size of the group depends on the available time for the workshop. For the specific workshop, the allocated time is approximately 2 hours thus the group of participants consists of around 8 individuals.

The complexity of the proposed set of activities is considered high (level 3). Depending on the learning group’s size, multiple facilitators may be needed (for a group of 8 individuals, at least 2 facilitators are needed). In addition, the facilitator(s) should be familiar with the ProfilPASS in Simple Language methodology.