Background:

Europe has been facing the refugee issue since 2015. According to Eurostat, 612 700 first-time asylum seekers applied for protection in the Member States of the EU-27 in 2019, 142,500 of them in Germany. A total of 238,300 people with refugee backgrounds were living in Norway at the beginning of the 2020, according to Statistics Norway.

More than three quarters of refugees surveyed by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) have lost income since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This devastating economic impact is tipping many adult refugees into the unemployment and education crisis.

The economic impact of public health measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on refugees. Compounding numerous existing crises and challenges, Covid-19 related travel restrictions, the closure of markets and businesses, and the general economic downturn are causing the refugees to lose work and income as well as inability to access education opportunities.

Objectives:

The overall goal of the project is to improve the creativity, arts and design skills of adult refugees and to make them more resilient even in crisis situations like COVID-19 by developing an innovative platform that will bring together the creative hub and the academy. Due to the creativity is a multidimensional phenomenon that manifests itself in many fields and contexts, from arts and crafts to design, science, research and entrepreneurship; the CreAdult project targets to create a community of adult refugees interested in design, creative industries, arts, business development and social sector.

The project will likely to have a positive impact on the persons directly or indirectly involved in the activities, such as, for example:

- increased sense of creativity, design and art;

- improved levels of skills for employability and new idea/project creation;

- more active participation in society;

- more positive attitude towards the European project and the EU values;

- better understanding and recognition of creativity skills and qualifications in Europe and beyond;

- increased competence in foreign languages;

- increased level of digital competence;

Implementation

The specific aim of the project is to develop and implement educational and mentorship resources that will enable adult refugees to improve their skills and competencies on creative thinking, arts and design thinking. The project also aims to bring together adult refugees and creative experts, innovation leaders, facilitators and mentors via digital creative hub.