Introduction

It is easy to say "I have no prejudices" or "I'm not racist, so it has nothing to do with me", or "I didn't invite those refugees". It is hard to say "I may not be to blame for what happened in the past but I want to take responsibility for making sure it doesn't continue into the future".

Welcome to this internet edition of the Education Pack "all different - all equal"

When this Education Pack was produced back in 1994-95, access to the internet was restricted basically to academics, big business and governments - none of us had e-mail and we contacted each other using the post, fax and telephone. Nowadays, access to the internet is still not available to everybody and we need to be doing more to combat this new form of exclusion. Still, things are improving and the opportunities to use the internet to share ideas and make publications more accessible are - thinking back to 1995 - incredible. Contributing to an evolving community of practice on human rights education throughout the world certainly assists in creating links and solidarity.

Soon after its publication in 1995, the Education Pack "all different - all equal" became a reference to those involved in intercultural education and training across Europe and beyond. Translated into many languages, it remains today one of the most successful and used publications of the Council of Europe. With the successful launch of Compass on-line, it made sense to update the publications which formed the core of the educational effort of the "all different – all equal" campaign and to make them more widely available within the context of the Human Rights Education initiative. And it made sense to use the possibility to make relevant links between Compass, DOmino, Alien 93 and this one – as you click through them you will find much which is complementary. Especially exciting is the chance to make links between more reflective pieces and activities, so that each enhances the other. The tenth anniversary of the "all different - all equal" campaign is also a good opportunity to give these materials a new life.

So what has changed here? The bulk of the text remains unchanged. We have updated references and examples; and deleted ones which are now irrelevant. We have been very selective in suggesting links to other relevant web sites. And a technical note here: as site designers often change the internal structure of their sites, we usually only give the basic domain name for a site; when more complicated addresses are referenced then we also state the date of access.

Most changes are visible and usable only in the on-line version of the Education Pack. There it has been possible to make relevant links between Compass, DOmino, Alien 93 and this manual that all serve the same purpose of contributing to promote the philosophy of the campaign: equality in dignity and rights and respect of diversity. As you scroll through them you will find much which is complementary. Especially exciting is the chance to make links between more reflective pieces and activities, so that each enhances the other. Try it out at www.coe.int/compass!

We hope you will find this edition easy and exciting to use and implement!

The "all different - all equal" Campaign

European societies continue to suffer from a growth of racist hostility and intolerance towards minorities. Many people across the continent, through public bodies, non-­governmental associations and local initiatives, are working to try and tackle these problems. The European Youth Campaign "all different - all equal" against Racism, Xenophobia, Anti-semitism and In­to­lerance sought to bring these people together and give extra momentum to the struggle against all forms of intolerance. Although the Campaign itself of­fi­cially closed in 1996, the necessity for continuing the work remains un­di­mi­nished.

The growing problem of racism and intolerance was top of the agenda when the political leaders of the then 32 member states of the Council of Europe met for the Vienna Summit in 1993. They decided upon a joint Plan of Action which, in addition to the Campaign, envisages co-operation between member States particularly in the areas of legislation and education designed to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance (see Appendix 1). The Campaign was supported fully by the two pan-­European platforms for non-governmental youth organisations CENYC and ECB - both of which merged into the European Youth Forum in 1996. It is important to see that these issues are worldwide, which has been highlighted dramatically in the effects of the plane crashes of 11 September 2001 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Campaign sought to mobilise all sectors of society for the positive aims of ­tolerance, equality, dignity, human rights and democracy, and to provide a stimulus for years to come. Aims such as these cannot be "reached"; rather they are continuous processes requiring the involvement of us all.

This Education Pack

Young people cannot make sense of their own position and gain knowledge and mastery of it without an understanding of both the international and national circumstances that shape their world. Intercultural education can facilitate this process. We have aimed to provide practical and theoretical materials which can be used by educators, trainers, youth workers and teachers in informal education. We have been able to build on the experience gained in the production of "ALIEN 93 - Youth Organisations Combating Racism and Xenophobia" published by the Youth Directorate in 1993. The pack is not an academic thesis and we have tried to make it readable. Experienced practitioners will find new ideas here, but' the main target group are those who are just starting to work with young people in this area. Although we talk of young people, this pack and the activities proposed can be adapted for other age groups in informal education settings.

Part A is a general introduction to the current situation in Europe and argues for the introduction of intercultural education. We look at the historical, political and economic developments which have produced our societies. After defining some key concepts we go on to examine the bases of intercultural education. A reference section at the end suggests avenues for further exploration. Questions are placed strategically throughout the text to make the issues come alive and to provide suggestions for discussion topics with youth groups. Part A provides the context for the educational approaches outlined in Part B.

Part B provides a toolbox of methods and activities to use with young people in intercultural education. Following a description of the overall methodology, you will find a range of activities which are based firmly on group work and participation. Working­ from experience, exploring new approaches, Part B encourages young people to take action.

In the production of this pack every effort has been made to ensure that you can use it in the manner most suitable for your work in designing educational activities. You can start reading this pack at any point which is of interest to you. Please read it critically and adapt what you find to your own circumstances.

Through using this pack we hope that young people will understand more about the causes of racism and intolerance, and be able to recognise their existence in society. Through a process of intercultural education we seek to enable young people to value differences between people, cultures and outlooks on life; this gives us the tools to live and work together in a spirit of cooperation, building a new and peaceful society where there is dignity in equality.

The Production Unit and its Working Methods

What is the point of publishing such an education pack?

We consulted with partners in the Campaign and their messages were clear: educational activities must form the basis of the Campaign if it is to have a lasting effect; and across Europe there is a need for accessible educational materials to support this process.

The factor which distinguishes this education pack from others is that it has been conceived and written by a multicultural team of experienced youth work trainers, within the context of the Campaign. We feel it is important to describe some of the processes involved in developing this pack, because this may highlight some of the challenges and problems you may find in attempting to cooperate interculturally. Co-ordinating such a widespread group is not easy; communication via phone and fax does not always work, meeting together is expensive and the obvious time pressure can be counter-productive.

The original composition of the production unit which met for the first time in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg in September 1994 was:

Pat Brander, Beccles, UK - trainer and writer

Carmen Cardenas, Madrid, Spain - Equipo Claves

Philippe Crosnier de Bellaistre, Berlin, Germany - trainer

Mohammed Dhalech, Gloucester, UK - CEMYC, representing the European Steering Group of the Campaign

Rui Gomes, Tutor, European Youth Centre of the Council of Europe

Erzsébet Kovács, Budapest, Hungary - trainer

Mark Taylor, Strasbourg, France - trainer and writer

Juan de Vicente Abad, Madrid, Spain - Colectivo AMANI

All members have contributed to the concept of this publication. Unfortunately, a combination of personal and professional reasons prevented a couple of the group from attending the second meeting held in December 1994 at the Centro Eurolatinamericano de Juventud in Mollina, Spain.

Our work has involved a process of constructive conflict between the members:

• how do we put together our differing experiences, definitions, ideologies and educational practice?

• how far will this Campaign really help to combat the causes of discrimination and intolerance?

• how do we reflect the different realities of all the European countries and cultures?

• how do we combine our differing analyses of these causes?

• why is there no direct translation of the word "intercultural" into Hungarian?

• is this British English or international English?

• why can't you speak Spanish?

• what kind of structure should the pack have?

• is it possible to convey concepts simply without being simplistic?

• and, a very practical question, how much information is required in the description of a method or activity?

Arriving at answers to these questions demanded a high degree of commitment from all members and the ability to explain in creative ways. Whether or not a form of intercultural synergy has been achieved, can only be decided by you, the users of this pack.

We decided to use Equipo Claves' and Cruz Roja Juventud's publication "En un mundo de differencias ... un mundo diferente" as the basis for Part A. Much of it has been radically re-shaped and re-written to take into account the diversity of realities across Europe.

Inventing or adapting methods together for Part B helped us as a team to understand much better where we were going and how to get there. Very often we arrived at completely unexpected destinations - reviewing these journeys contributed to our conclusion that intercultural education is an open-ended process.

Exciting debates about the values upon which the pack should be built led us to the conclusion that the pack should promote:

• ways to learn about and experience difference and discrimination

• a new or different understanding of society

• a search for and commitment to the equal dignity of all members of society

• clues and paths for action and change

We were all most conscious of the fact that intercultural education has its limits and requires political and economic support in order to be effective. Within the Plan of Action decided in Vienna there are proposals to help this process [see Appendix 1]. Only in the years following the Campaign will we be able to evaluate the seriousness of these commitments.

In fact, since then the member States of the Council of Europe have put commitments into action. Two important examples are: the coming into force of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; and the creation of ECRI, the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance - its task is to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance at the level of greater Europe and from the perspective of the protection of human rights. ECRI's action covers all necessary measures to combat violence, discrimination and prejudice faced by persons or groups of persons, notably on grounds of "race", colour, language, religion, nationality and national or ethnic origin.

Terminology - a word of warning

Words have power. Words represent values. Depending on the context, words can change their meanings even within the same language. We have tried to explain the contexts and meanings of the words we use. This whole area of intercultural relations is highly politicised because words cannot be understood properly outside their socio- economic context.

Indeed, while preparing for this second edition, we did consider taking into ­account the developing debates on non-formal education in recent years. In the end we decided not to alter the terminology used here, especially as the authors do explain their reasons for using them.

Depending on your experience and understandings, you may find that you would never have used the same words or expressions in such a publication. We would urge you to suspend judgement for a little while and question why, in your opinion, some words or phrases are wrong and to look for possible replacements. This Education Pack will also be translated into a number of different languages and, whilst every care will be taken to ensure accuracy, this process does change meanings. Exciting, isn't it?