4 educational ideas to do work on climate migration

A growing number of persons are forced to migrate due to the climate emergency affecting their region. Unfortunately, in most cases there is no safe and legal migration route. They encounter many risks to their lives and the lives of their families to try and reach a safe place to survive and live in dignity. 

Because of this, and to raise awareness among students, the organisation Open Arms has come up with different materials and formats that may be interesting to do work on climate change and migration in the classroom. 

1. Talks in schools.

Open Arms has given talks to more than 125,000 students in more than 2,500 schools and high schools around the world. The aim is to inspire a critical view on inequalities among the younger generations. 

From the experience of rescue personnel participating in their missions and using the testimonials of rescued migrants, they have developed a programme to work on empathy that can be adapted for children aged three up to university students. 

2. Children’s books

'Contes a la deriva' is a collection of three books telling the real-life stories of some of the survivors rescued by Open Arms.   

• 'La Sira i les seves germanes': this is the story of five sisters who crossed half of the African continent to flee their country and were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.

• 'La cançó de la Josepha': tells the story of a woman who was rescued from a vessel on which all those travelling with her had perished.

• 'El somni de la Mirabel': this third book tells the story of a young twenty-four-year-old woman who left Nigeria, her country. After many difficulties, she managed to reach the Libyan coast, but was abducted and sold as a slave. After two years of suffering, she manages to escape and was rescued in the Mediterranean together with 388 other persons. She then discovered she was pregnant after being raped along the migration path. She decided to start a new life, in a new place, with her baby. 

3. Game – Climate Migration (content created by Teachers For Future Spain & Open Arms)

The educational game Climate Migration can be used by teachers so their students can experience first-hand the situations of vulnerability and inequality that exist in many regions of our world.

After several rounds where the same cities are always the winners, there is a discussion to reach conclusions and come up with proposals to overcome the global inequalities. 

4. Role-play activity (content created by Teachers For Future Spain & Open Arms)

This role-play activity can be prepared by the teaching staff to do work on empathy, critical thinking, language skills and oral expression. 

The activity consists of four cards that need to be cut out following the dotted lines. Each person is given half a card and they then need to interact with their partner, in teams of two. 

Each card explains a specific role and comes with a glossary of terms that can add complexity to the character.