Introduction
The UNHCR reported 12 million refugees in Europe by December 2020, with one-third being children, including unaccompanied minors. Nearly 6.5 million people fled Ukraine due to the war, predominantly women and children. Despite the right to education, refugees and migrants in Europe face barriers like language learning and gaps in prior education. The influx of refugees has placed significant burdens on hosting countries, which require additional resources and educational personnel. The “In and Through Education: Education Trade Unions support the inclusion of refugees and migrants” project, following the past initiative between ETUCE and EFEE, aims to enhance education trade unions' capacity to support the inclusion of refugees and migrants, focusing on language, family cooperation, and other crucial issues. The goal is to address challenges faced by education personnel and contribute to making the teaching profession more attractive for refugees and migrants in the European region.
The 2-year project (November 2023– 31 October 2025), co-funded by the European Commission, sets the ground for promoting concrete measures and practices of education trade unions in addressing the challenges that education personnel face regarding the inclusion of refugee and migrant learners in the education systems, including in the context of trade union renewal and attractiveness of the teaching profession. Furthermore, to support education trade unions in ensuring that teachers, academics and other education personnel are adequately supported in working with refugee and migrant learners, the project among other things includes designing an Online Course (MOOC) for education trade unions on addressing the inclusion of refugees and migrants in and through education, including the specific focus on refugees from Ukraine.