On November 6th, INFODEF took part in the final and most significant dissemination event of the IMMERSE project, held at the European Parliament in Brussels. Hosted by Member of the European Parliament Juan Fernando López Aguilar, the conference brought together IMMERSE and REFUGE-ED projects to consolidate efforts and share knowledge on fostering the socio-educational integration of migrant and refugee children across Europe.
Under the title “Enhancing socio-educational integration of refugee and migrant children through research,” the event featured three roundtables with contributions from policymakers, educators, mental health professionals, researchers, practitioners, children, families, and civil society organizations. Discussions highlighted the achievements of both projects and the challenges ahead, emphasizing that integration requires inclusive, evidence-based policies and the active involvement of all stakeholders.
About IMMERSE
IMMERSE (Integration Mapping of Refugee and Migrant Children in Schools and Other Experiential Environments in Europe) is a Horizon 2020 project coordinated by the Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE (Spain). Over the past five years, it has worked to define a new generation of indicators for measuring the integration and socio-educational inclusion of refugee and migrant children in Europe.
The project engaged more than 24,000 children, parents, and teachers across six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Spain), ensuring that the voices of migrant and refugee children were at the heart of its research and outputs.
Among its most remarkable outcomes is the Dashboard of Socio-Educational Integration Indicators, a publicly accessible data visualization tool built on 30 key indicators of socio-educational inclusion of refugee and migrant children in Europe. This dashboard allows policymakers, educators, NGOs, and researchers to analyze integration dynamics in real time, offering valuable insights to support evidence-based decision-making and more inclusive societies.
Other contributions from the project include policy briefs and an online database with useful recommendations on the integration of migrant minors in Europe. Awareness campaigns such as ‘IMMERSE Yourself‘ showcased the co-creation methods that involved children and their families throughout the project development.
The IMMERSE project has been carried out by a strong international consortium of universities, research centers, NGOs, and public institutions: Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICAI-ICADE (Spain), Zabala Innovating Consulting (Spain), INFODEF Instituto para el Fomento del Desarrollo y la Formación (Spain), Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social (Spain), INETUM (Spain), University College Cork (Ireland), Save The Children Italy (Italy), DOZ E. V. International (Germany), Active Citizen Europe (Belgium), Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education of Crete (Greece), Panteion University of Social and Political Studies (Greece).
