The role of cultural heritage and digital media in the inclusive education of refugee students

In recent years, refugee flows in Europe have increased dramatically. The need to have an education policy that would effectively address the problem of education and inclusion of refugee students automatically arose. Important educational tools to achieve this goal are the use of cultural heritage and digital media. The cultural heritage became the basis on which many educational projects were developed, aimed at the integration and meaningful inclusion of refugee students. Also, new technologies and digital media provide the opportunity for a modern and attractive use of culture for the smooth integration of refugee students in the school environment. However, how they can be used in combination in refugee inclusion has not yet been studied as much as it should be. The study presented in this article aims to investigate whether the use of cultural heritage through digital media can contribute to the inclusion of refugees. Also, in a second phase, it examines whether the involvement of social media in the whole process can create stronger—permanent bonds between refugees and local students. Our research suggests that the use of digital media to highlight the cultural heritage of refugees can positively contribute to their inclusion. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.