Piloting the ICEX Educational Package Among Specialists and Migrant Communities

With the pilot version of the ICEX educational package completed, the ICEX consortium has spent this autumn and winter piloting the material with its target audiences: specialists and people with migrant backgrounds. This important phase of the project took place across four countries: Finland, Estonia, Portugal, and Greece.

Training Specialists to Use the Educational Package

The initial step in piloting involved training specialists who work with migrant communities on how to use the ICEX educational package to conduct workshops and share information about sexual health. These specialists came from diverse professional backgrounds. For example, in Estonia, the Estonian Refugee Council invited counsellors and community workers from its personnel, as well as representatives from various NGOs and local governments offering adaptation support services. Two training sessions were organized: an online session to ensure accessibility for participants across Estonia, and an in-person content training in Tallinn, held at the Estonian Refugee Council’s training facilities. In Finland, Linnasmäki College teachers participated in the training sessions organized by the project’s Finnish partners.

Feedback from the specialists was positive. They found the educational package to be a valuable resource for raising awareness about sexual health issues among migrant populations. Participants pointed out the online tool for its user-friendly design and structure, which they noted effectively supports the learning process. The interactive tasks were highlighted as a particularly engaging feature. Additionally, the material’s comprehensive coverage of topics—including physiology, reproductive health, relationships, and sexual health laws and services in various countries—was commended. Alongside this positive feedback, specialists also identified some areas for improvement and provided suggestions to enhance the final version of the package.

Workshops for Migrant Communities

Following the specialist training, the second phase of piloting involved organizing workshops for people with migrant backgrounds. These workshops were conducted by the specialists who had participated in the training sessions. To make the material more accessible, the educational package was translated from English into languages widely spoken by migrant communities in the participating countries, including Russian, Finnish, and Portuguese.

The settings for these workshops varied across countries. In Finland, for instance, the workshops were integrated into school lessons at Linnasmäki College, where the trained teachers conducted sessions with their students. This approach ensured that the material reached migrant communities in an environment conducive to learning and interaction.

A Collaborative Step Toward Finalization

The piloting of the ICEX educational package has been a critical step in refining the material to ensure its effectiveness and relevance for both specialists and migrant communities. The feedback collected from this process will guide the consortium in making necessary improvements before releasing the final version. Through this collaborative effort, the ICEX project is contributing to better sexual health education and support for migrant populations across Europe.