Scottish Government

Area

The Welcoming is based in the Gorgie/Dalry area of Edinburgh. The project is based in the adult learning project (ALP) which has been delivering adult education services in Edinburgh for over twenty years. It is run in partnership with the Minority Ethnic Health Inclusion Project (MEHIP) and Canmore Housing Association. Workers from both organisations provide support to the project.

Target client group

The target client groups for the project are refugees and asylum seekers, black and ethnic minority residents of the area and indigenous Scots who are local residents. The Gorgie / Dalry area houses a higher than average number of refugees/asylum seekers and ethnic minority groups.

Aims

To address literacies issues for speakers of other languages, particularly refugees and asylum seekers, and to involve indigenous Scottish literacies students both as a source of information and as learners.

In addition to addressing these specific literacy issues, the Welcoming has wider capacity building aims such as increasing confidence and self esteem, decreasing isolation, and developing skills and knowledge on themes such as health and housing.

Activities

The Welcoming is a multi-cultural gathering event that takes place one afternoon a week. Participants from a range of cultures and language groups meet to share a meal and celebrate different cultures through music, song, dance and poetry.

Each event has a discussion theme which is discussed in English by participants, facilitated by a project co-ordinator. This leads onto a formal learning session where smaller groups focus on skills that individuals wish to improve, such as speaking, writing or artistic expression.

Intended pathfinder legacy

To provide a model for integration of refugees/asylum seekers through dialogical education and participatory curriculum development. The pathfinder will develop a Literacy Primer based on universal themes to impact on the future development and delivery of literacy programmes to asylum seekers, refugees and ethnic minority groups.

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