Funding programme

The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) provides funding for actions in the field of asylum, legal migration and integration, return and countering irregular migration.

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Call overview

This call aims to finance projects who will complement and draw on existing EU initiatives for the development of digital skills, including in the area of education focusing on the situation of migrants and the specific challenges they face.

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Background

The Action Plan on integration and inclusion 2021-2027 emphasises how technological innovation can open new opportunities to modernise and facilitate access to integration and other services and how the digitization of governments can facilitate access to digital public services. In that regard, some Member States have developed digital platforms to facilitate the provision of information for migrants, providing information on various topics such as civic participation, health and social security rights, work and entrepreneurships, housing, languages, etc. Online services can also be particularly effective in the pre-departure phase to help migrants learn the language and acquire skills that can speed up their integration after arrival, and to connect them with the communities that will welcome them.

However, although these new digital tools have the potential to facilitate and fasten the provision of information or the access to integration and public services, they also bear the risk of widening inequalities and creating exclusion if their intended users do not have the necessary skills to use them or are not properly targeted. In that regard, migrants and EU citizens with a migrant background often face obstacles in accessing digital courses and services because of language barriers, lack of electronic identification means (such as electronic signature), lack of internet connection, or a lack of the digital skills needed to use these services.

‍Read more in the call document.

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Objectives

The objective of this topic is therefore to finance projects who will complement and draw on existing EU initiatives for the development of digital skills, including in the area of education such as the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-202724 and the resources available in the European Digital Education Hub, and of employment (as detailed above), by focusing on the situation of migrants and the specific challenges they face, both as regard their level of digital skills literacy as well as their access to education and trainings. Projects should also dedicate specific attention to Complementing the already existing programmes regarding ICT skills that do not specifically target migrants. Project proposals should also pay particular attention to certain categories of migrants, such as women, the elderly, migrants with disabilities or illiterate migrants who face additional difficulties in accessing digital services.

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Activities that can be funded

Proposals should include one or more of the following activities (non-exhaustive list):

• 1. Activities to increase the digital skills of migrants, in particular for the purpose of employment and including trainings and learning tools for migrants, as well as the development of training material, tools and good practices for professionals working on improving migrants’ digital skills.
• 2. Activities specifically addressed to increase migrants’ development of skills specific to IT professionals, as well as the development of training material, tools and good practices for professionals working on improving migrants’ digital skills.
• 3. Activities specifically addressed to increase the digital skills of specific categories of migrants such as women, the elderly, migrants with disabilities and illiterate migrants given their specific needs.
• 4. Innovative approaches to digital skills learning, specifically as regard reaching and teaching categories of migrants with low digital skills such as elderly, women, illiterate migrants and migrants with disabilities.
• 5. Conferences, workshops and mutual learning activities aimed at exchanging experience and disseminating good practices in relation to improving the digital skills of migrants in general, and particularly for those categories of migrants who face bigger difficulties such as women, the elderly, migrants with disabilities and illiterate migrants.

The target groups of this topic are as follows:

• Migrants as defined for this call;
• Particular attention should be paid to migrant women, the elderly, migrants with disabilities, or illiterate migrants who face additional difficulties in accessing digital services;
• Teachers, trainers, and other providers of courses to improve digital skills who are engaging with migrants.

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Eligibility

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

+ be legal entities:

+ be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:

• EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)), excluding Denmark,
• non-EU countries: countries associated to the AMIF (associated countries) or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature

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Consortium composition

Proposals must be submitted by

• minimum five applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from five different participating Member States. Affiliated entities and international organisations cannot be counted for reaching the minimum number of participating Member States;
• the following entities can NOT apply as coordinator: profit making entities

The Commission welcomes:

• Proposals with broad geographical scope, engaging applicants from diverse regions across the EU.
• Proposals involving applicants from more Member States than the minimum number identified in the eligibility criteria, as long as they are relevant for the design of the action.
• Partnerships between partners with different expertise and experience on migrant integration, so that synergies can be found, for example between local and more global partners, and less-experienced partners can benefit from the knowledge of the more-experienced

To increase the impact of their actions, applicants should pay attention to involving all relevant actors in multi-stakeholder partnerships (e.g., local and regional authorities; public and private service providers, including employment services; social and economic partners; employers; civil society, including migrant-led organisations, and social enterprises employing or addressing the needs of migrants etc.)

Applicants are recommended to involve the target group (migrants in their diversity) in the design of the proposals, in the implementation and evaluation of the project. The project proposals should specify how such involvement has been or will be carried out.

The involvement of migrant-led organisations in the proposed consortium either as applicants, partners or in a different way will be considered as particularly relevant.

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Duration

Projects must have a maximum duration of 36 months.

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Budget

The available budget for this topic is EUR 5 000 000.