Intercultural Dialogue In The European Education Policies

This open access book analyses intercultural dialogue as a concept, policy and ideal in European education policy documentation. The core European transnational organizatons - the Council of Europe and the European Union - have actively promoted policies to engender inclusive societies and respond to challenges that diversification may entail. This book, in turn, offers suggestions for improving education policies in super-diversified Europe and beyond, where there is an increasing need for cultural understanding and constructive dialogue. The authors utilize concept analysis to reveal how these organizations seek to deal with dialogue between cultures, as well as weight given to cultural differences and intercultural encounters. This book will be of interest and value to scholars of intercultural dialogue and European education policies. .

This open access book analyses intercultural dialogue as a concept, policy and ideal in European education policy documentation. The core European transnational organizatons - the Council of Europe and the European Union - have actively promoted policies to engender inclusive societies and respond to challenges that diversification may entail. This book, in turn, offers suggestions for improving education policies in super-diversified Europe and beyond, where there is an increasing need for cultural understanding and constructive dialogue. The authors utilize concept analysis to reveal how these organizations seek to deal with dialogue between cultures, as well as weight given to cultural differences and intercultural encounters. This book will be of interest and value to scholars of intercultural dialogue and European education policies. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

Our ability to relate to and interact with those whose cultural backgrounds differ from our own will be among the determining factors For The future of our societies. For most people, regardless of whether they aim for international careers or life in their local communities, intercultural dialogue will become a fact of life rather than an option. Education will need to play a key role in developing the ability to conduct intercultural dialogue, which is an integral part of developing democratic culture. This book, edited jointly by the Council of Europe And The International Association of Universities (IAU), explores the role of higher education in developing intercultural dialogue in society at large. it complements Intercultural dialogue on Campus (Higher Education series No. 11) And The issue of the IAU journal Higher Education Policy on the same topic, and includes contributions by prominent authors from Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia and North America. The book sets out the political context for intercultural dialogue and explores how universities can move from dialogue on campus to dialogue in society, and hence to become actors of intercultural dialogue. it also offers examples of good practice from various parts of the world.

SUZANNE MAJHANOVICH and CHRISTINE FOX Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 287–297. DOI: 10. 1007/s11159-008-9097-9 Springer Science+Business Media B. V. 2008 The papers in this collection have been selected from over 800 presentations given at the XIIIth World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, held at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 3 to 7 September 2007. The Congress was hosted on behalf of the WCCES by the Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education and in association with the International Association of Intercultural Education. For such an int- national gathering, it was appropriate that the theme chosen was ‘‘Living Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue’’, providing scope for c- tributions by participating scholars, policy makers and practitioners in e- cation from some 70 countries. The presenters approached contemporary educational issues with knowledge and insights about a world characterized by the tensions and demands of global and local interests, by regional c- ?icts and post-con?ict deliberations, and by the global diaspora, with c- tural, religious and linguistic diversity within both small and large states. Only a very few papers could be included for this collection, but they rep- sent some of the key topics under discussion during the Congress. The papers were selected from the recommendations of the convenors of the 13 Thematic Groups, the keynote addresses and several symposia.

Intercultural learning has long held a central role in European youth work and policy, especially in international youth exchanges. The expectations placed on intercultural learning as a process, as an educational and social objective and, lastly, as a political attitude in relation to diversity remain fully relevant in Europe today.Several factors are necessary for the development of quality youth work, including the capacity to put knowledge and research to good use and, similarly, to present youth work in ways that actors in other social and policy fields can understand. The work of the partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth in the areas of youth-worker training and of intercul¬tural dialogue - in particular the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation activities - has provided many examples of successful experiences in intercultural learning in youth work and of difficulties in communicating about such work.This essay by Susana Lafraya is a contribution to enlarging the circle of communication on intercultural learning experience through youth work. The connections that she makes between non-formal learning, youth work and intercultural theory sum up much of what has been said in the youth work field in the past years. It is translated and published here with the intention of adding one more stone to the edifice of intercultural learning and non-formal education.

Modern societies are inconceivable as isolated and mono-cultural entities. The interaction of various cultures is not only a fact of life for most Europeans, it also enriches our societies. However, we also witness tensions between cultures. Intercultural dialogue is therefore one of the political priorities of the Council of Europe, as shown most prominently by the adoption of the White Paper "Living Together as Equals in Dignity" in May 2008. Higher education, by its history and contemporary practice, is a natural partner in and promoter of intercultural dialogue and understanding. Higher education institutions and campuses are themselves multicultural societies, and as such are the focus of the present volume. A second volume will examine the role of higher education in furthering intercultural dialogue and understanding in broader society.

Managing Europe's increasing cultural diversity - rooted in the history of our continent and enhanced by globalisation - in a democratic manner has become a priority in recent years. The White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue - "Living together as equals in dignity", responds to an increasing demand to clarify how intercultural dialogue can enhance diversity while sustaining social cohesion. The White Paper that our common future depends on our ability to safeguard and develop human rights, as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, democracy and the rule of law, and to promote mutual understanding and respect. It concludes that the intercultural approach offers a forward-looking model for the management of cultural diversity.

The speed, scale and spread of international migration and globalisation have firmly placed the issue of intercultural dialogue at the top of the educational agenda in Europe and elsewhere. In this book, Skrefsrud sheds light on intercultural dialogue as a key competence for teachers working in changing and diverse classrooms. In the first part, the notion of dialogue is explored with the theory of culture, religion and communication as the focus. In the second part, Skrefsrud analyses the government-initiated curriculum framework for teacher education in Norway and discusses the preconditions for intercultural dialogue in educational policies. The analysis illustrates how difficult it is to make issues of difference permeate all aspects of teacher preparation. Thor-André Skrefsrud works as an associate professor in education at the Hedmark University of Applied Sciences in Norway. His research interests include intercultural education, religious education and educational philosophy. In 2012 he received his Ph.D. for a thesis on the concept of intercultural dialogue in teacher education.

This publication takes up the many and often controversial debates about the nature, content, methods and political significance of intercultural learning in and for the European youth field. Its starting point is the current depoliticisation of intercultural learning in this field, and especially in the programmes of the European Commission and the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe over the last several years. At the same time, the elevation of “intercultural dialogue” to panacea for all societal problems, from civil war to educational failure, is putting the mobilisational value of intercultural learning to the test.