Less than five months from now, on Thursday 29 September, the AFS network will celebrate its ninth edition of the Intercultural Dialogue Day (IDD). Several local chapters and national offices all over Europe have already started preparations for IDD activities on the big day, when AFS volunteers across the continent will once again make a joint effort to set up different events targeting external audiences: creative workshops, debates, panel discussions, concerts, school activities, flash mobs, movie screenings, street fairs, competitions, food markets, etc.
This year, the EFIL’s leading theme on Building Peaceful Societies is a great opportunity to address this topic also in IDD. Intercultural dialogue in our local communities is more and more a topic of concern in Europe and AFS should seize the momentum to show our contribution. In EFIL’s activities of this year we have been addressing several aspects of “building peaceful societies”, among others: reflection on how individual and group identities influence conflict, dialogue and cooperation in post-war areas, integration of Muslim minorities in Europe, AFS contribution to welcoming refugees, the meaning of AFS peacebuilding mission today. All these topics could be an inspiration for local IDD events but there are certainly many more aspects of peace education that can be considered!
If you are looking for inspiration from past IDD events, please have a look at the IDD Booklets and Toolkits from the past years on the EFIL website. More information on IDD, including some content stimulation, coming soon through the IDD Facebook page, where you can also share your IDD event ideas. And finally, if you wish to see or show to others some IDD inspiration, we invite you to look at the IDD 2014 results video: http://youtu.be/gcXJOaR2RR0
Volunteers all over Europe and beyond, make 29 September, Intercultural Dialogue Day 2016, YOUR day!
For more information: izabela.jurczik-arnold@afs.org