The Directorate of Primary Education of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth organized a press conference today, Tuesday, 9 May 2023, at the Ministry, for the presentation of the project "Learning Greek in kindergarten: A programme to support kindergarten teachers in teaching the Greek language to children of third country nationals", which is co-funded by the European Union (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund).
The press conference included a welcome by the Director of Primary Education, Dr. Marios Stylianides, greetings by the Head of the European Funds Unit of the Ministry of Interior, Mr. The presentation of the structure of the project and the theoretical basis for the creation of the supporting material by the Project Implementation Team.
In his welcome speech, the Director of Primary Education stated that the implementation of the project is part of the actions of the Interdepartmental Committee of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MESY) for the integration of children with an immigrant biography in the Cypriot educational system. Subsequently, he noted that the Directorate of Primary Education identified the need for further support for kindergartens that welcome emerging bilingual children, with materials that meet the realistic needs of their everyday school life, which are interactive and audiovisual, as well as support communication with parents/guardians.
The Head of the European Funds Unit of the Ministry of the Interior focused on the importance of this project because it serves first and foremost the children themselves and lays a solid foundation for tackling discrimination and exclusion from an early age. The Managing Authority of the Home Affairs Funds, he said, aims to implement education and training projects, which promote acquaintance with the culture and society of Cyprus for third country nationals, while at the same time promoting interaction with the society of Cyprus. The objective of the European Funds Unit over time is to achieve short and long term results in terms of the integration of third country nationals in the local society and in addressing the challenges that arise, such as phenomena of exclusion, alienation and racism.
The Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, in address, she referred to the importance that the Ministry of Education and Youth attaches to the actions concerning the integration of children with an immigrant biography in the Cypriot education system, which are implemented by the Interdepartmental Committee responsible for this issue, and which are based on the relevant Policy Paper. He then referred to the importance attached to the use of European funds for the improvement of the Ministry's programmes, thanking the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for co-financing this project. He also stressed the great importance of implementing actions and focusing on pre-school education ages, since this ensures early intervention and a better path for all children in the education system.
The Project Implementation Team presented the structure and actions included in the project, as well as the theoretical foundation of the choices made to create the material. It also stated that the main objective of the project is to support kindergartens that welcome children with migrant and refugee biographies, on two levels:
(1) in facilitating communication with the children's parents/guardians and
(2) in creating interactive, audiovisual material for the learning of the Greek language during the confluence of potential bilingual children with native speakers of the Greek language, as well as for individual activities.
For the presentation of the Project Implementation Team click here.
IP
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