Introduction
You are about to take the MigrantVoices D.C. training course. In total, the course should take no more than 2 hours. Before you jump into the lessons, there are a few important things to know that will help you understand the course and your role as a trainee.
As you navigate the course, you may find yourself asking: “Who are these people I keep seeing quotes from?” or “Where did these photos come from?”
Protagonists
The primary data used throughout the course is from the project’s protagonists. They are five newcomer South American migrants currently residing in D.C. who generously shared their experiences with the MigrantVoices D.C. team to create this training course. To protect their identities, protagonists are represented pseudonyms and the icons below:
Santiago
Eriko
Beatriz
Marisol
Deisy
While these five narratives are not representative of all Latin American migrants in D.C, it is a good example of the demographics of recently arrived migrants at the moment of data collection. It is important to recognize that these five protagonists share a variety of experiences and perspectives, some of which may even contradict each other.
Given the precarious nature of the protagonists’ situations as recently arrived migrants, the conditions under which data was collected entailed conducting interviews in a local Chinese restaurant. When you listen to the audio in each lesson, you may hear the clinking of dishes, the voices of customers, or general background noise.
Why is This Course Useful for You?
This training was designed for people who work in and around issues of migration in the United States, with a specific emphasis on practitioners and community members in Washington, D.C.
The intended goal of this course is for you to better understand migration experiences to be better advocates of migrant justice, in whatever capacity makes the most sense for you. However, this course can be used by and individual or organization interested in learning more about migration experiences and hearing from migrants themselves.
Your Role as a Trainee
The following course emphasizes the importance of reflection versus a traditional knowledge test such as multiple choice or graded short response. For this reason, you will encounter reflection questions in each lesson, which are necessary to complete in order to reach the learning goals of the training.
This course will not make you an expert on migration, but it will provide foundational tools required to react sensitively when you encounter migrants and migrant narratives within your community or in your role. The reflection questions are designed to build these skills and also a critical reflection of your own positionality. Thus, it is imperative you take the time to meaningfully engage with each set of questions.
Tips for Meaningful Reflection
Have a notebook or piece of paper close as you complete the training. In each lesson, take note of questions that come up, information that surprises or sticks out to you, and your key takeaways. Use our Reflection Journal to guide you as you learn!
Set aside at least a few minutes to journal or think openly about each reflection question.
Every question will not resonate with you equally. It is okay to spend more time on some questions than others. Some questions will stimulate more reflection for you personally.
There is no “right way” to reflect nor a “right answer.” The best reflections are done when you make connections between what you are learning and your previous experiences or knowledge.
Now you are ready to take the MigrantVoices D.C. training course! To navigate throughout the course, use the buttons on the tops and bottoms of the page or the gold navigation tab on the left-hand side of the page. Happy Reflecting!