The European Asylum Curriculum — a common training programme within asylum
The Swedish Migration Board is the project leader for the European Asylum Curriculum (EAC). This is a training programme aimed at training and increasing the skills of officials working within the asylum process in Europe. The EAC will also contribute to the increased harmonisation of the handling of asylum issues within the EU.
A complete training concept
The motto for the EAC is "Knowledge and skills for protection in Europe". A complete training concept has been developed in order to train and increase the skills of officials, both current and new, working within the asylum process in Europe. The training offered within the scope of the EAC is both practical and interactive. The content of each training module has been developed by highly qualified experts from various countries. A method team, with experts on training methodology and IT, has also been consulted in order to formulate the educational content and to develop the technology. Web-based and instructor-led training
The EAC comprises a curriculum which is divided into thirteen training modules. Each module contains a Web-based section (e-learning) and an instructor-led section. The Web-based section comprises theoretical working periods and a number of exercises which the participants can complete either on their home computer or at work. In the instructor-led section, trainees meet with other colleagues and, under the leadership of an EAC instructor, study different issues and complete exercises and discussions based on real cases.The training modules are the following:
- International Refugee Law and Human Rights
- Introduction to EU Asylum Law and Policy
- Inclusion
- Interview Techniques
- Evidence Assessment
- Country of Origin Information (COI)
- Interviewing Children
- Dublin Regulation
- Asylum Procedure Directive
- Drafting and Decision-Making
- Exclusion
- End of Protection
- Interviewing Vulnerable Persons
EAC in the future
The Swedish Migration Board has coordinated the EAC project since 2006. The project is now being transferred to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The EAC trainings will be completely owned and organized by EASO as from 1 January 2012. From this date the EAC will not be managed as a project, but will instead be a part of the everyday EASO activities.
Cooperation partners
The EAC is the largest asylum project currently operating within the framework of the GDISC network, a cooperation network comprising the general directors of European immigration services. The Migration Board began the project in 2006 in conjunction with the immigration services of the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, the Czech Republic and the Odysseus Network (an academic network for research into asylum and immigration). Now, France has also joined. Spain is no longer a project partner. The project is partially financed by the European Refugee Fund.