http://www.integra-project.eu/

Photos from training workshops held in Carmichael Centre March, April 2012.

/ May 2012
Mixing Integration with Financial Matters
The Integra project: ‘Migrants' Integrating Kit - Basic Language for Dealing with Financial Matters’ aims to help migrants improve their integration, in particular on financial matters. In today’s global knowledge society and with ever increasing mobility, migrants face many challenges before they can settle and feel part of a new community. Two major challenges, which affect many new arrivals, are lack of language skills and lack of basic knowledge on financial matters.
Project INTEGRA Work together with social partners, such as migrant communities and financial institutes, to create a Europe wide network of relevant institutes in order to reach and help migrants.
They train enthusiastic trainers-representatives from migrant communities who transfer the language knowledge to other members using the integration kit.
Project Developments
During last year, Smashing Times Theatre Company has worked together with 11 partners on developing learning materials and unique methodologies using theatre games and exercises for training representatives of migrant communities who will pass their knowledge to final beneficiaries: migrants.
All the partners held two work meetings, one in Poros (Greece) and one in Dublin (Ireland) where the learning materials and methodologies have been proposed, discussions have been carried out and final results have been achieved. Additionally, a meeting took place in Lodz (Poland) where the interest group formed by some of the partners worked in the development of the training materials and methodologies.
The partnership is now ready to take next steps: presentation of the program to social partners and training representatives of migrant communities who will later transfer the knowledge to their migrant community members using the developed project materials and scenarios.

Drama excercise to introduce each other, learn names, and cultural salutations.
Smashing Times Project INTEGRA Current News / Our Social Partners
·  Smashing Times Theatre Company were delighted to host the PROJECT INTEGRA meeting here in Dublin on the 2nd & 3rd of December. We welcomed delegates from all partner organizations and sampled our drama workshop exercises with the group
·  Smashing Times has finished a successful run of pilot workshops with organisations in the Fingal Area to fine tune and test all aspects of the workshop.
·  We have had highly productive exploitation meeting with the Vincentian Refugee Centre in December and discussed the resource material developed to date.
·  Smashing Times has successfully completed workshops training the representatives from migrant communities based on the Migrants Integrating Kit-Basic Language for Dealing with Financial Matters which were held over March 21st 22nd, April 4th, 5th and April 18th, 19th 2012 in Carmichael Centre, Dublin
·  The trainers were Smashing Times Company General Manager, Freda Manweiler; Smashing Times Associate Artist Gillian Hackett; and Smashing Times accountant Cynthia Chai
·  Trainees will be going out into the community working with the Women’s Group of the Vincentian Refugee Centre in Cabra Library, Dublin
·  A second facilitator will be working with The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland in conjunction with the Domestic Workers Action Group, Dublin

Upcoming events

·  Final Conference
Presentation of the project results.
Vilnius (Lithuania). 14th-15th June 2012 /

In 2012, Smashing Times will roll out workshops to train migrant community members to support their own communities with how to deal with financial matters in Ireland. These innovative training workshops will demonstrate how drama techniques and exercises can be used to build confidence, practice techniques and impart basic language skills around financial interactions.
In order to achieve this activity we have linked in with a number of social partners in Ireland:
·  The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
·  Dublin School of English
·  SPIRASI
·  The Vincentian Refugee Centre
These organisations have contributed to the research on the project and they will participate in the training once it has been developed.
/ The INTEGRA project has been funded with support from the European
Commission. This project runs for two years and is being developed by
partners from Lithuania (coordinator), Great Britain, Ireland, Germany,
Spain, Romania, Poland, Greece, The Netherlands, Turkey and Belarus.
For more information, please contact Sinéad O’Loughlin, Smashing Times Theatre Company, Coleraine House, Coleraine Street, Dublin 7
Phone: +35318656613 or +353879862576 E-mail: or Web: www.smashingtimes.ie

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