40 Participants at 1st MIT Conference
On Friday, October 23, 2020, the first MIT Conference took place in the Mörike-Saal at the Bürgerhaus (Community Center) in Filderstadt-Plattenhardt. In compliance with all Corona-related hygiene and social distancing rules, 25 interested parties were welcomed personally, another 16 participated via zoom. The 1st MIT Conference was broadcasted live via zoom and the virtual participants could ask questions via the chat function.
The 1st MIT conference was opened by Mehmet Havlaci, Vice Chairman of the Board. He emphasized the importance of the MIT project, which continues the long tradition of INTEGRA Filder e.V. in training multipliers and promoting social participation of refugees, third country nationals and people with a history of migration.
Project overview and planning
After an initial project overview presented by Andrea Jelic and Martin Kilgus, Fatma Gül, a member of the Integration Department of the state capital Stuttgart, explained the importance of participation for immigrants and refugees. She presented ongoing projects, but also explained which further steps are necessary that can be advanced and implemented with the help of the MIT project.
This was followed by an overview of the eight MIT modules, their contents, structure and procedure. Barbara Havlaci-Ludwig explained how the modules are structured pedagogically and didactically. It is important that the modules are designed flexibly enough so that they can be easily adapted to the needs of the participants in the MIT training courses. It is also good to know that the first four MIT modules have a stronger focus on knowledge transfer, whereas the modules five to eight are very practice-oriented. There are simulation exercises and many playful elements.
Motivation and implementation
In an interview, Faisal Osman, co-founder of the Black Community Foundation, explained why he became involved as a young man, became active as a volunteer in associations and committees and founded his own platform together with friends.
Faisal Osman explained what is important for him, how he motivates himself and gets involved in existing structures.
After a short break, the MIT team collected the wishes and contact details of participants who definitely want to participate in an MIT training. Various options were discussed: from weekend training sessions, to evening training sessions during the week, to block seminars, possibilities for time feasible formats were discussed. All interested parties who have registered will be contacted in the next few days to determine when the training sessions will start. It is planned to start with the first trainings in November, as far as the current Covid-19 regulations allow. It is also conceivable that training sessions will be held in small and very small groups, which can also be carried out in hybrid or virtual form after an initial meeting.