The overall goal of the project is to improve training for the prevention and detection of racism, xenophobia, and other related forms of intolerance in classrooms, reinforcing the positive image of integrating immigrants and ethnic minorities in the field of education, in accordance with the provisions of the Education axis of the ‘Comprehensive Strategy against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and other related forms of intolerance’.

The FRIDA Project was primarily aimed at education officials from different Autonomous Communities, with the intention of extending it, as far as possible, to teachers and school administrators. This is due to OBERAXE’s position and capabilities, and expertise on racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance in the educational sphere. 

Due to resource constraints and not being part of state or regional educational institutions, OBERAXE cannot directly reach educational institutions. For this reason, it was strategically decided to aim the dissemination, awareness, and training actions of the project towards regional education authorities. This way, they could in turn replicate what has been incorporated within their territories and adapt it to their specific conditions. 

The project was carried out in collaboration with the National Center for Educational Research and Innovation (CNIIE) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports, all Autonomous Communities (Spanish regions), the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and civil society. 

The results of the FRIDA project include the dissemination of content and materials to a broad educational audience. This is achieved through sensitisation workshops, the publication and distribution of the “Support Manual for the prevention and detection  of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance at schools” and related brochures to different autonomous regions, online dissemination of these documents via the websites of the relevant Ministries and Autonomous Communities, and direct training of a total of 1 400 education professionals.

In 2018, a systematic evaluation of the project was carried out in 9 Autonomous Communities and 1 Autonomous City, divided into 2 groups based on their level of participation in the project. Evaluation instruments included questionnaires for attendees of Sensitization Workshops conducted by the project, semi-structured interviews, discussion groups, and participant observation involving regional education officials (technical staff), school administrators, teachers, and students. 

The evaluation process identified three main positive impact factors of the project:

1. A work methodology was established based on the Sensitization Workshops.
2. Mutual knowledge and exchange of experiences were strengthened among experts and professionals involved in these topics across different Autonomous Communities and other organizations.
3. FRIDA’s materials have been widely disseminated in the regions, with a high number of web downloads. Specifically, the ‘Support Manual for the prevention and detection of racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance in classrooms’ recorded a total of 16,210 downloads from January 2017 to November 2018.

Additionally, needs have been identified for future actions, particularly related to: 

1. Transfer and dissemination of FRIDA Project Materials. 
2. Mechanisms and materials for preventing, detecting, intervening, and monitoring racist, xenophobic, and other forms of intolerant actions and incidents in the classroom. 
3. Inclusion of a gender, intersectionality, and intercultural perspective in the project.

Education professionals and, by extension, their students and wider society.

The project originated from the call for proposals under the European Commission’s Progress 2013 Program for Employment and Social Solidarity. The proposal was co-financed by the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), in collaboration with the National Center for Educational Innovation and Research (CNIIE). 

Given the importance of the topic and the work carried out, and in light of the European Commission’s discontinuation of the funding line that supported the FRIDA Project proposal, the General Secretariat for Immigration and Emigration decided to continue developing the project using its own funds. Consequently, new sensitisation workshops were conducted in 2016 and 2017, along with the dissemination of the project’s outlets.