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 lead to more effective language learning for migrant children involving local stakeholders, including school, NGOs, local and regional authorities and migrant-led organisations.

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Background

Ensuring effective integration and inclusion of third-country nationals is a necessary social and economic investment in the EU. It makes European societies more cohesive, resilient and prosperous. Integration and inclusion can and should be a win-win process, benefiting the entire society. In the Action plan on integration and inclusion 2021-20273 (the Action plan), the European Commission has set out strategic guidance and more than sixty concrete actions to promote integration and inclusion of third-country nationals and EU citizens with a migrant background. The Action plan covers all the different stages and phases of the integration process: pre-departure measures, reception and early integration, medium- and long-term integration, which, all together, help build inclusive and cohesive societies.

For the purpose of this call for proposals, “migrants” should be understood as third-country nationals, including beneficiaries of international and temporary protection and applicants for international protection.

Read more in the call document.

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Themes and priorities

Challenges persist in relation to migrants’ education, for example in terms of young people dropping out of school, as underlined in the Action plan on integration and inclusion and in the OECD “Making integration work” volume on young people with migrant parents16. These challenges have an impact on the overall social inclusion and integration into the labour market (as shown by the higher share of young adult migrants being neither in employment nor in education and training).

From early childhood education and care (ECEC) to tertiary and adult education and non-formal education and training, language learning is the foundation for successful participation in society and one of the most powerful tools for building more inclusive societies. Schools have the potential to be real hubs of integration for children and their families. Learning the local language remains one of the key challenges, especially for children in need for international protection and their families. It is also an obstacle, if not addressed properly, that has a long-lasting effect on migrant inclusion, in terms of school success but also of social inclusion, given the difficulties to master the school learning requirements and the difficulties to communicate with the local community. Challenges related to learning the local language were highlighted even further in the context of the high number of displaced children from Ukraine to be included in the local school in a very short period.

‍Read more in the call document, page 15.

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Objectives

The general objective of the topic is to lead to more effective language learning for migrant children involving local stakeholders, including school, NGOs, local and regional authorities and migrant-led organisations.

This can be achieved through the following specific objectives:

• providing adapted and balanced language reception/introduction classes for both children;
• creating an inclusive school culture and maintaining and building on languages of migrant learners spoken at home;
• developing a favourable environment for migrants’ inclusion in non-formal and informal education.

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Activities that can be funded

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

• activities to mobilise local support and build strong partnerships between key stakeholders, such as national and local authorities, local communities, sport education institutions, sport institutions, diasporas and foundations;
• conferences and workshops to develop relevant methodology and exchanges of good practices on language learning for migrant children in formal, non-formal and informal education;
• pilot projects and upscaling activities of good practices on language learning in formal, non-formal and informal education;
• coaching, mentoring activities, and so called “buddy” system, with or without a linguistic component;
• dissemination and network building among stakeholders;
• training on for example how language learning can be differentiated and more effective (depending on the needs and specificities of the migrants e.g. age, academic level, work-specific vocabulary) for stakeholders, like school staff, sport and culture local organisations;
• activities related to the involvement of diaspora, particularly in the role of facilitator. These activities can include intermediary actors and cultural mediators (including knowledge building of migrant-led organisations);
• activities directed at / involving migrant parents.

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Expected impact / outcomes

Proposals should focus on contributing to the achievement of one or several of the following outcomes:

• more and better trained staff on language learning (staff involved in formal/informal education activities, such as local and regional authorities and NGOs involved in provision to culture, art, sport related services) and intercultural communication courses, helping out more migrants;
• development and upscaling of buddy, coaching and mentoring systems targeting young migrants, with or without a language-learning component;
• more local support and building strong partnerships between key stakeholders, such as migrants, migrant led organisations and diasporas, school, youth related organisations, NGOs, local and regional authorities, companies, foundations etc.;
• establishing replicable good practices and methodologies for the development and implementation of national, regional or local strategies for language learning of migrant children inside and outside schools;
• better inclusion migrant parents, allowing them to help their child and themselves find their place.

‍Read more in the call document.

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Eligibility

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

• be legal entities (public or private bodies)
• be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.: EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)), excluding Denmark, countries associated to the AMIF 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.
• the following entities can NOT apply as coordinator: profit making entities & International Organisations

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Project duration

Maximum 30 or 36 months.

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Budget

The available budget for this topic is EUR 6 000 000.