Pause for Thought
Intercultural education is not
a closed program that may be repeated without continuous
modifications. On the contrary, not only is the range of
possible intercultural activities very wide, but we also
have to question continuously what we are doing and why.
It is impossible to buy a magic formula that can guarantee
us success.
To help us know how and where to place
the limits of each informal intercultural education activity
we should try to be aware of the following factors:
• The content and the extent of
the activity we are intending to organise. There
is a saying in Spain, which sums it up nicely: "We
cannot pretend to hunt an elephant with a fishing-rod".
• The context in which we are
going to work and the limits it imposes on us. The motivation
of the participants will differ according to the venue and
their motivations to attend.
• The level of acquaintance and
relationship we have with the young people with whom we
are going to work. If we know them well and know that
we can plan long-term this will have an effect on our objectives.
Our planning process changes if we are going to organise
a one-off activity with young people we don't know yet.
• The level of participation in
the activity. If they feel responsible for the outcome
of an activity the results will be more positive than if
the participants feel they have only a passive role to play.
On the other hand, we have to take into
account that:
• Isolated activities have limited
effects. In intercultural education we are looking at
values, attitudes and behaviour. Therefore, it would be
desirable for each activity to be developed within a wider
process. But this does not mean that we should turn down
even limited opportunities to facilitate intercultural processes;
it is mainly a question of tailoring our ambitions.
• The meaning of the activities
should start and must be referred to the participants' daily
life. We are aiming to generate positive attitudes in
our own environment and to link that environment with the
rest of the world.
How we approach each informal
intercultural education activity, will depend on our concrete
possibilities to act and on the participants... We have
used these ideas and principles in designing the activities
for Part B, but we realise that it is neither possible nor
logical to make hard and fast rules.
To sum up, it may be helpful to remember that:
• Starting from an active and dynamic
methodology...
• we work with processes...
• through which and by means of information,
analysis and critical reflection of reality...
• the participants in our work will
find ways to:
• interact with people from other
cultures positively in their daily life
• and will devise strategies to transfer
that positive relation with people from other cultures into
individual or collective actions
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