Description (short summary):
This booklet presents many initiatives born in different places and for different reasons, embedded in heterogeneous policies, targeting different audiences, but sharing also a common goal: using ICT to improve the socio-economic integration of Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities (IEM), to support the operations of intermediaries working with them and to enhance mutual knowledge and social interaction with all members of the host society. All the initiatives tackle challenges actually posed to IEM and intermediaries working with them, in order to achieve a better education, economic participation, civic engagement and enjoyment of possibilities offered by the information society inside a culturally diverse Europe.

This inventory of practices serves as a basis for providing guidance to those who are interested in being involved in the further development of ICT-based solutions and approaches targeting immigrants’ needs. It provides also elements of reflection to all stakeholders dealing with ICT for social inclusion, economic participation and life-long learning. Moreover, it presents practices that can become an inspiring reserve of methodologies for those working with and for IEM that might be interested in integrating ICT in their services and daily work processes.

This booklet furthermore introduces some methodological recommendations on how those current practices can be improved, deployed at a larger scale and/or be replicated. In that sense, it is believed that all the initiatives presented and referenced in this booklet are composite practices that present inventive and creative elements but which are also subject to weaknesses, bottlenecks and many challenges. A further assessment of these experiences and the preparation of guidelines based on them and similar ones are envisaged in the next steps of the Bridge-IT project.

Number of pages: 98