The AMIF Language Buddy project is an EU funded project designed to recruit and train youths as mentors to young migrants. It is based on research and development of a customised programme to be rolled out in eight countries. The local research was launched in June 2024 with a workshop organised by Solidarity Overseas Services Malta. Thanks to the excellent relations it enjoys amongst stakeholders there was an excellent rapport throughout the session. This ensured that nine of the fourteen stakeholders invited to the workshop, did attend and participated actively in the session. Not only was there a good number of participants in the workshop, but most importantly, the calibre of their feedback was excellent. This reflected their hands-on front-line experience.
The workshop session was led by Advenio eAcademy a Further and Higher Educational Institution that is a project partner responsible for the development of the programme to train mentors for the programme. Every effort was made to ensure that all participants were given time to express themselves and that the discussion was restricted to the best practices identified. The discussion was extremely insightful and helped to gain more of an understanding of how the Language Buddy model can be structured in a way that meets the needs of migrant youths.
Special thanks to the organisations who attended the National workshop in Malta:
- African media association Malta
- CCIF – Cross Culture International Foundation
- MLU – Migrant learners unit
- Faculty of Education – University of Malta (UoM)
- Spark 15
- Sudanese community in Malta
- MCAST – Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology – student services
- JRS – Jesuit Refugee Service Malta
We look forward to our continued participation in the project development and implementation. We feel privileged to be part of the consortium driving it forward in eight European countries.
