Within the scope of Erasmus + Key Action 2, dedicated to Adult Education, the project “Integration Through Arts Learning to Enhance Society” (I-TALES) was created to promote the integration of migrants in their host society and raising awareness, amongst locals, both on the richness human migration endorses and the journeys underlying it.
Bringing together 7 European countries sharing a long migratory History themselves, the project is inspired by the graphic novel “The Arrival”, which follows a family’s journey from the difficulties in the home country to the life in the host country. Each of the 7 chapters ignites the reflections and exchanges on life experiences, through various artistic workshops that lead up to the construction of creative products, shared with the local communities of the participant countries during the blended and in person mobilities taking place in each of them.
Coordinated by the Associazione Culturale Progetto Musica Valeria Martina, from Massafra, Italy, I-TALES includes partner organisations from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Spain an Portugal, which, together, have been working with groups of maximum 30 people, among migrants and local community’s members, in an effort to develop communication skills, interpersonal competences,
and positive attitudes towards each other, as well as critical thinking regarding manipulated and manipulative information.
Other activities, such as linguistic support, intercultural mediation and social support, are also being carried out in collaboration with the various stakeholders involved, in order to reach the same objectives.
Sharing and creating together is, not only, a way to express one’s individuality and background, but also a link to others’ stories, which connect with one’s own and complement them with perspectives one might never envision without the richness that comes from diversity.
Being a privileged mean of expression and interaction, Arts have the power to congregate, stimulate and move in ways beyond the imaginable. When a work like this is done not only at the local level, bonding the community, but also at an international level, bringing together similar experiences in different contexts, the power of it becomes one to reckon with.
