III. Developing an intercultural education
programme
It is important to bear in mind
that the reality in each European country varies significantly
both within each country and between countries. We would
therefore recommend that you, as the facilitator of the
activities, adapt them to the actual situation which exists
in your country, region or town. If the examples given,
or the questions suggested, for debriefing and evaluation
are not relevant in the social and cultural context of your
group, you should find other examples or questions which
will be more suitable.
Very few of the activities can be translated
directly from one country to another or from one group to
another. Besides the linguistic specificities, the cultural
and social differences of each group or the level of acquaintance
with the themes will always mean that you will have to adapt
the ideas in this pack to your own situation. As we said
above, the success of our educational approach relies on
the use of the participants' own experiences, feelings,
attitudes, skills and knowledge.
Do not worry! You will not often have
to change the whole activity! In most cases it will be enough
to adapt the evaluation and discussion to the group's own
situation and the purpose of the campaign. For example,
if you intend to deal with the issue of religious tolerance,
in some countries the discussion may be shifted to relations
between Muslim and Christian cultures. In others it may
be more appropriate to discuss anti-semitism or the relations
between Catholic and Orthodox people. As the problems addressed
by the campaign exist in all countries though in different
forms, the effort of adapting the activities should consist
primarily in bringing those problems closer to the participants'
own situation. The 'tips for the facilitator' provide some
ideas and help on adaptation, both of the method and the
theme.
Tips for facilitators
When working with young people
we should always bear in mind the balance between our aims
relating to intercultural education those relating to the
development of the group itself. One of your main tasks
as facilitator is to strengthen and promote a good atmosphere
between the members of the group and, as far as possible,
to stimulate and encourage their own creativity and aspirations.
This will help the participants to feel that their work
is worthwhile and productive and lead to valid and interesting
experiences and conclusions.
Leading discussions
Discussion is central to the educational
process. After each activity you should allow time, however
short, to round off with a debriefing and evaluation and
we have included notes to help you lead the discussion.
You should pay special attention to ensuring everyone in
the group can participate if they wish to. For example:
• create a good working atmosphere
which allows everybody to express themselves freely and
to be listened to. You will need to allow time for people
to get to know and to trust each other as well as organising
the physical environment so everyone is comfortable.
• invite participants to offer their
opinions or relate their experiences about the issues under
discussion.
• use words, expressions and language
common to the group, refer to recent cases or facts that
have happened in the participants' neighbourhood. Make it
directly relevant to their own lives.
Dealing with conflict
It is possible that some conflicts
may arise during the activities. This is to be expected.
We are asking people to explore very difficult and challenging
issues, encouraging them to express their opinions and to
think critically, this is part of the intercultural education
process, but it is never easy and can be extremely stressful.
Situations which could lead to conflicts
that break the educational process should be avoided if
at all possible. In your role as the facilitator:
• Be aware of each person in the
group and any sensitive emotions that might be triggered
by a particular activity or by a particular part in a role
play or simulation.
• Make sure everyone knows that they
are at no time under any pressure to say more or reveal
anything about themselves other than that which they feel
comfortable with.
• Allow participants time to warm
up before any activity and time both at the beginning to
get into, and at the end to get out of, role.
• Allow enough time for debriefing
and discussion.
However, you should be prepared for conflicts,
which may develop between participants because we are dealing
with questions related to our own feelings and experiences
and values. Do not panic! When dealing with these questions
it is inevitable that we become emotionally involved. Conflict
is not necessarily negative, provided that you don't loose
control of the situation. Here are some tips to help you
solve conflicts positively without reinforcing existing
tensions nor paralysing the work:
• take enough time for the debriefing
and discussion. If necessary make more time.
• help to clarify people's positions,
opinions and interests
• ease tensions in the group, for
example ask everyone to sit down or to talk for 3 minutes
in small subgroups, say something to put the situation into
perspective etc.
• encourage everybody to listen
actively to each other
• stress what unites people rather
than what separates them
• search for consensus. Get people
to look at their common interests rather than trying to
compromise and move from their stated positions
• look for solutions which may resolve
the problem without "recreating" the conflict
• offer to talk to those involved
privately at another time
If more serious and deeper conflicts arise
which generate tensions and paralyse the work of the group,
it may be better to postpone seeking a solution and look
for another more appropriate opportunity to resolve the
problem. This may be both necessary and positive. By postponing
the resolution of the conflict you leave time for those
involved to reflect on the situation and to come up with
new approaches or solutions. However, it must be stressed
that in every case the conflict should never be ignored,
hidden away or refused. Hiding from the conflict, like the
ostrich, is useless and often the most negative attitude
towards conflict.
Evaluation or reviewing
Often we don't reflect critically
on our experiences but are just aware of feeling good, or
bad, about something that's happened. However, evaluation
and reviewing are essential parts in the learning process
and we strongly suggest that you spend time with the group
at the end of each activity to talk over what people have
learnt and how it relates to their own lives, their community
and the wider world.
We suggest that you try to go through
the process by asking the participants:
• what happened during the activity
and how they felt
• what they learned about themselves
and
• what they learned about the issues
addressed in the activity, and finally
• how they can move forward and
use what they have learned
Reviewing in a group doesn't have
to be through discussion you can also use other techniques
including body language, drawings, sculpting etc. There
are references for books on these sorts of reviewing techniques
in the resources section of the pack.
We also suggest that after each session
you take time to review what happened. Make a few notes
about:
• How the activity went from your
point of view: preparation, meeting your aims etc.
• What the participants learnt and
• What the outcomes are, what they
will do now as a result of doing the activity?
The process of evaluation and reviewing
does not end here! Getting feedback has been an essential
part of developing this pack to its present form. But the
work is not complete, this draft will be updated at the
end of the campaign and we would appreciate your comments
on your experiences of using it. So please find time to
complete and return the pack evaluation form, which you
will find on page 204
|