On January 28-29, 2025, the University of Central Lancashire in Larnaca, Cyprus, was the venue for the third transnational meeting of the European Erasmus+ TONGA project. Our colleague Carmen participated in this meeting, together with representatives of partner organizations from Germany, France, Sweden and Cyprus, who committed themselves to build bridges of communication between multilingual families and schools, with the aim of preserving the mother tongues of families of migrant origin and facilitating their inclusion in society.
During the meeting, feedback from the testing of the toolkit designed for school staff in each participating country was reviewed. The results were very positive, indicating that the material has been well received and is useful for educators. In addition, the training modules for teachers were discussed, which will be available on the Moodle platform, allowing wider access to educational resources.
Participants also worked on the organization of a “family café” and the creation of a book for families, initiatives that seek to strengthen the connection between educational communities and migrant families. Although these resources are still some time away, the enthusiasm and collaboration among project partners promise a significant impact on inclusion and support for mother tongues in the school environment.
The Incola Network Foundation is proud to be part of this important effort for linguistic and cultural diversity.