Educators can face difficulties when teaching about migration decision-making and its impacts on migrants and host societies. It is currently a highly politicised topic. Young people, their families and friends have different opinions and migration-related experiences. Public debate that shapes these opinions is not always well grounded in facts and can lack balanced representation of different points of view. This innovative learning tool uses role play and other game mechanisms that minimise potential tensions among users.

The players will:

• Experience the complexity of migration decision-making at different levels: EU, national, city.
• Get to know the positions and interests of different actors: EU and national policymakers, civil society, employers, migrant associations, different sections of EU public.
• Consider possible impacts of migration and integration policies on different groups of migrants: asylum seekers and refugees, irregular migrants, labour migrants.
• Develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication and leadership.

The educators and trainers will get:

• An innovative learning and training tool that teaches and raises awareness about a politically and socially salient issue.
• After reading the instructions in the Rule Book or watching a short intstructions video, the players should be able to use the tool independently without the need for teachers’ and trainers’ direct supervision.
• Customized background material that quickly introduces the tool and the topics covered in it and guides players towards additional preparatory work to enhance their learning experience.

Game design & content: Dr. Alice Szczepanikova with contribution from Gamesandlearning.nl

Graphic design & artwork: Heiko Günther

Destination Europe was developed together with migration experts from various European countries joined in the European Migration Network. It was tested with over 230 users including teachers, young people, migration experts, policymakers, and practitioners.

• 4-6 players aged 16+
• 1.5 hours

Destination Europe will be gradually translated into different European languages. With the help of European Migration Network’s National Contact Points, printed copies will be disseminated to secondary schools. The print-and-play version of the tool (downloadable below) will also be made freely available online in different languages.

If you are a secondary school teacher, contact your country’s EMN National Contact Point to find out about access to printed copies.

If you want to use the print-and-play version: 

1. Print the content listed below by following the instructions on the first page of each document
2. Cut if needed
3. Fold if needed
4. Play by following the instructions in the Rule Book

Destination Europe is available in two regional editions: 1) Northern, western and southern EU and 2) Central and eastern EU.

Migration and integration issues are specific to each country based on its geography, economy, history and politics. For practical reasons, we could not produce more than two editions. To make the scenarios and the storyline relatable in different parts of Europe, we developed these two regional editions. They reflect some of the different realities in the two regions of Europe. 90 percent of the content is the same in both editions. They only differ in terms of migrant personas, some of the roles’ descriptions and a few migration events. If you are uncertain about which regional edition to use, contact your country’s EMN National Contact Point.