EPSILON - Equipping Professionals for Supporting LGBT Migrants & Refugees

EpsiLon focus on sharing, developing and transferring innovative practices in education targeting professionals and volunteers working in services for LGBT asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. It developed a innovative, evidence-based, user-led educational tools in order to raise adult learners’ awareness and sensitivity to the needs of all those with LGBT background. The educational tools enable the professionals and volunteers to identify these LGBT groups’ most current and urgent needs some even reaching on issues of survival, dignity and respect. It also helps them challenge their own biases and improve their skills in providing tailored and culturally sensitive services. The need for the development of such training programme is highlighted at top level by all competent organisations such as UNHCR and the EP.

Year(s): 2016 - 2018

Target group(s): Migrants and Refugees; 2) Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-gender groups (LGBT) 3) Professionals and volunteers working in services for LGBT asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants

Website or other online channels: https://www.epsilonproject.eu/

Methodology

In addition to traditional methods of training and skills development, the project will construct an e-learning course that will form part of Certification and self-assessment. This will allow its practical results to

(a) reach widely outside of the participating countries through free, online access Europe-wide

(b) continue being delivered after the project’s funding is finished

(c) reach groups in society that would not have been otherwise able to receive the face-to-face package and in print material

(d) reward and formally accredit its target audiences.

Type of product

Online resource Course / Training

Brief description of the outcomes

EPSILON’s outcomes:

1.      Supporting and Including LGBTI Migrants – Needs, Experiences & Good Practices Ebook

2.      Face-to-face training design and pilot for increasing the knowledge and capacity of professionals, volunteers, LGBT people, refugees and other key workers

3.      Online training design

4.      Final project report on policy recommendations, tools and best practices. 

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

It was possible to conclude that there are few effective prevention and integration for MGBTI migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. In this way, the training that was developed under Epsilon project was successfully implemented, as the results show that almost all participants have improved their knowledge about LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers, refugees and migrants - Participants were asked to estimate their knowledge about LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers, refugees and migrants prior to the training and after the training on a scale from 1 to 10. The average score before the training was 5,99 and the respective score after the training was 7,45.

Promoter of the initiative: Independent Academic Research Studies International Institute

Country: United Kingdom

Languages available: English Greek Italian

Website or other online channels: https://www.iars.org.uk/online/