OMIT

Odyssey: Migrations and its Influence on Teenagers

Since the beginnings of time people have migrated in search of better living conditions. All humans want to live in peace, happiness and prosperity and according to the UN Charter or human rights, it is within their privileges to do so. Unfortunately, the unrest, violence and wars occurring in the world have in recent years created an inflow of migrants for Europe. The number of migrants reaching Europe by boat this year has skyrocketed. On one side, we have EU policy and rules related to migrants, but on the other EU citizens and especially the younger generations are not prepared to deal with this big challenge of migration. Our priority in undertaking this project is to help our youngsters examine, comprehend and deal with the issue.

All over Europe, our students are being confronted with a variety of attitudes. The media bombards them with opinions that are often passed on as news although they may be only opinions. As educators, it is our duty to teach that migratory patterns are not a new concept and to help students decide on appropriate attitudes to deal with it.
The scope of this project is, therefore, within the limited range of our schools’ resources and reach, to promote a historical approach to migration, disseminating the idea that we are all migrants, from one age or another, to increase sensitivity and awareness towards the migration phenomena, to strengthen moral and intellectual knowledge on migration and endorse values like tolerance, respect, fraternity, to dismantle false beliefs and prejudices on migrants and finally to reinforce the significant idea that should underline the attitude towards migration: they are us! Ultimately, to create an awareness of how complex the topic of migration is and what effects it has on societies.