CULTRAIN – CULTURAL ORIENTATION TRAININGS AN INTEGRATION MEASURE IN AUSTRIA TACKLING ADAPTION PROBLEMS OF YOUNG REFUGEES

The aim of this article is to illustrate the project CulTrain - Cultural Orientation Trainings for (former) Unaccompanied Minor Refugees (UAMs) and to offer insights in its development and implementation as well as its contents and methodologies. The contextual frame is laid in a discussion of the term Unaccompanied Minor Refugee, followed by a description of the general situation of (former) UAMs and their integration challenges in Austria. Unaccompanied Minor Refugees constitute an ever growing part among asylum applicants in Austria and are also a highly vulnerable group, thus deserve special attention and care. IOM conducted several studies in the field of (former) UAMs and detected a knowledge gap in terms of unfamiliar living habits of the country of destination, in this case Austria. These gaps result in integration obstacles. Inspired by those findings and due to broad organizational competences in providing knowledge during Cultural Orientation Trainings in the frame of resettlement programs, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) developed the project CulTrain – Cultural Orientation Trainings in Austria tackling the difficulties of young refugees in the integration process. Finally, the article discusses challenges and lessons learned, such as how to approach the target group, identifies appropriate methods of providing knowledge or various ways of creating a place of security and mutual trust and concludes with a cautious outlook for the project CulTrain.