Digital assistants to help third-country nationals settle
On arrival in a new country, migrants and refugees, collectively referred to as third-country nationals(opens in new window) (TCNs), have to quickly adapt to new social and linguistic contexts. Many are suffering from physical and emotional stress after long, often dangerous, journeys before facing significant bureaucratic requirements to get access to social, health or legal services. To ease the burden of this integration process, the EU-funded WELCOME(opens in new window) (Multiple Intelligent Conversation Agent Services for Reception, Management and Integration of Third Country Nationals in the EU) project is developing a platform called MyWELCOME, which includes a multilingual personal assistant app, based on conversational agent technologies(opens in new window). The team also drew on learning from the previous KRISTINA project, which had included several WELCOME partners. “Each TCN is assigned their own digital agent to help with tasks such as form filling or providing local information on topics such as schooling and health services,” explains project coordinator Leo Wanner from Pompeu Fabra University(opens in new window) in Spain. To complement the app, WELCOME is also developing virtual reality (VR) learning and coaching, alongside a decision support module targeted at public administration and NGO TCN integration support workers.
Understanding the needs of new arrivals
To first ensure that the technology would meet the needs of TCNs arriving in Europe, the team conducted interviews with around 45 TCNs, alongside 20 NGO and local authority staff members. By understanding their personal and family situation, including their legal status, origin, cultural background, skills and medical records, WELCOME, is able to better meet the needs of migrants. The approach is shared by the cluster of projects funded under the same call(opens in new window), all putting co-creation and co-design at the core of their ICT solution. easyRights(opens in new window) is focused on ensuring the right to public services is met, MIICT(opens in new window) on removal of bias in public service provision, MICADO(opens in new window) on developing effective communication and data exchange, NADINE(opens in new window) on improving employment prospects, and REBUILD(opens in new window) on enabling personalised support in accessing public services and to informing policymaking. The cluster, besides working together in pilot activities, workshops and policy roundtable events, successfully prepared scientific publications and a policy white paper(opens in new window) to support the EU’s future migration policy. “What we all want to achieve is customised support. A lot of bureaucracy is designed to be one-size-fits-all, but TCNs have very different needs and also qualifications and skills to offer that we just don’t tap into,” says Wanner. “By automating processes and joining up information across services, our technology can do some of the integration heavy lifting, freeing up time for a more personalised welcome.”
Promising prototypes
After installing the MyWELCOME app on a mobile device and registering basic personal information, users are assigned their personal agent. Interaction can be voice- or text-based. User speech is automatically translated into English for semantic analysis with the underlying planning algorithms triggering the appropriate responses – as information, guidance or answers to questions. The agent expresses itself using natural language generation and text-to-speech techniques. The system currently accommodates English, alongside Catalan, German, Greek and Spanish, representing host countries. Moroccan and Levantine Arabic (the most common TCN languages in Catalonia and the rest of Spain, Germany and Greece) are currently under development. “While we want to extend the languages available, for now modules for processing other languages can be added easily as plug-ins,” adds Wanner. WELCOME also offers educational VR-based activities, with language and social inclusion training delivered through serious gaming, where TCNs solve specific task challenges or rehearse scenarios such as job interviews. The decision support module, accessed via the system’s Platform Manager, helps support workers with tasks related to the analysis and correlation of TCN data. This includes performing functions such as clustering TCNs with similar characteristics, notably language proficiency, using visual analytics to present the information in accessible ways.
A range of possibilities
WELCOME has already tested the entire platform, with 54 TCNs and 15 stakeholder organisations participating in the first prototype trials. The team is currently fine-tuning the second prototype, co-designed, as was the first, by user groups (including TCNs), technical developers and external TCN stakeholders. “The platform has been warmly welcomed. After ironing out teething problems, we might further enhance and possibly commercialise the final project version or expand the system, potentially to include health or social work settings,” concludes Wanner.
