The Kaunas Jesuit Gymnasium is the centre of “Refugees Matter: from Challenges to Opportunities”, an Erasmus+ project involving six schools from five European countries. Initiatives include community service at refugee centers, film screenings, posters, photos and cultural events. Between teachers and students, there are 140 people taking care of the project.

During the past years, the constant influx of refugees has been the cause of dramatic and fundamental changes in the socio-cultural, political, economic and educational landscape of the European Union.  With the rise of racial and xenophobic attitudes towards refugees accross the continent, core European values such as tolerance and solidarity came under huge pressure.  Aware of the complexity of the issue, we formed a team for an Erasmus+ project entitled Refugees Matter: from Challenges to Opportunities. The project brings together six schools from Lithuania, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey, with the following objectives:

• form an open and balanced perception of refugees and their cultures through research, analysis, counter narratives, intellectual dialogue, and direct encounters;
• gain insight from and share good and easy-to-implement practices for the social inclusion of refugees and the way host countries receive and treat them;
• focus on social and civic responsibilities by encouraging cultural awareness through creativity and the acquisition of English language and digital skills, and fostering a sense of initiative and leadership.

Refugees Matter, has 140 core participants (50 teachers and school staff and 90 students, aged 16-19), participating inmeetings and organizing various learning/teaching/training activities, and around another 400 participants (family members, local authorities, refugees, politicians,  etc.)  involved in the implementation of the project.

All the activities are interrelated, insofar as they analyze the issue of refugee treatment from different perspectives. Opting for a holistic approach, the team will start off by gaining insight into national histories related to migration and go on to analyze the root causes of the current migration phenomenon, paying particular attention to refugee-specific questions. It will also take a look at measures being taken to tackle the issue and finally, consider possible, future action/s. Hopefully, this approach will help students form a balanced, overall opinion on the present refugee crisis.

Among the activities foreseen, there will be a short documentary competition with films that shed light on the plight of refugees in foreign lands; a photography exhibition; volunteering experiences for students to get in touch with refugees; dissemination initiatives highlighting the intrinsic value of the project and its potential to raise awareness and mobilize more people and interested parties for the cause; as well as a cultural week to familiarize people with the customs, folklore, handicrafts and food of the refugees’ country of origin.

Besides fostering a critical mind among participants, Refugees Matter aims at changing the general refugee perception to a more tolerant and emphatic one. By transforming all those involved from passive observers to active problem solvers, it plans to bring about a complete paradigm shift. The planned events will act as motivation and provide them with tools for further action in their communities. Hence, citizens acting at the local level will be promoting and strengthening core European values such as solidarity and unity in diversity. Moreover, activities that prove themselves effective could in turn lead to the creation of other school projects, volunteering programmes and all sort of events.