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The intensification of different types of migration movements during the last decades is an expression of growing interconnections at the global level. The so called 'refugee crisis' is the most visible sign of this intensification. It currently challenges societies to rethink the processes of integrating those fleeing from humanitarian crises and wars. Portuguese civil society has pioneered the creation of a Refugee Support Platform, aimed to address the challenges associated with the arrival of refugee families. Within this platform, an e-learning course was created to help institutions and host families prepare for this task. In the article we first describe this course, focusing our analysis on the relevance of this initiative for institutions, families, and private citizens that wish to welcome refugees in Portugal. We then briefly reflect on the literature pertaining to intercultural dialogue and social tensions. In the final section we analyse the voices of those who attended the course. We conclude with an analysis of the contents of the course modules and the participation of the trainees as a contribution to their self-transformation. Refugees in Portugal: context data The year 2015 was marked by an exponential increase in the number of asylum seekers throughout the European Union. 1 Compared to the previous year, there was a 123% increase (from 562.680 in 2014, to 1.255.640 in 2015). 2 The majority of asylum seekers came from Middle Eastern and North African regions affected by sociopolitical upheaval, wars as well as the strengthening of several religious-fundamentalist groups. Portugal has not escaped such developments, registering a 97% increase in the number of asylum seekers between the aforementioned years (from 442 to 872 asylum seekers). 3 Contrary to the rest of the EU, asylum seekers

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

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