Fondazione Intercultura, AFS Intercultural Programs, and EFIL – the Federation of AFS organisations in Europe – have contributed to discussions and developments in this direction, by annually convening the Forum on Intercultural Learning and Exchange (FILE). Every year FILE gathers 60 participants -by invitation only- from different parts of the world: half of them representing universities and research institutions active in the field of intercultural learning; the other half are practitioners from the AFS network and beyond. You can look at the proceedings of last year’s Forum here.
This year, the Forum will exceptionally take place in Brussels, Belgium at the European Economic and Social Committee, on 24-27 October. It will be hosted by EFIL, and funded by Fondazione Intercultura and the Erasmus+ programme. It will focus on the topic ‘Intercultural Learning: a whole school approach’ and it will showcase the results of the Erasmus+ project ‘Intercultural learning for pupils and teachers’ and link the results to the latest policy developments at the level of the European Union, Council of Europe, OECD and UNESCO. You can look at the full draft programme here.
Building on the outcomes of the previous edition which tackled the theoretical aspects of intercultural training of teachers, this event will connect a select group of researchers, policymakers, teachers, headmasters and educators to look how to expand intercultural learning to all actors involved in the school, in an integrated approach.
Key questions
- What are the elements of a whole school approach to ICL
- What are some examples?
- Who are the various stakeholders involved and what are their roles?
- What preparation is needed for teachers?
- What is the role of an exchange program?
- What assessment system can be used?
Desired outcome
- A survey of existing examples and models of a whole school approach to ICL
- Recommendations for various stakeholders to engage in and implement a whole school approach to ICL
Programme
| Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| The project ‘Intercultural Learning for Pupils and Teachers’: policy recommendations and tools for promoting ICL with a whole school approach | Current policy developments and possible follow ups at national school level | |
| Case studies from projects related to ICL and the whole school approach in Europe and beyond. | Testimonials from national level policy, and conclusions | |
| Registration, Welcome reception, introduction and keynote speech | Evening programme and dinner | Dinner |
Experts confirmed:
- Martyn Barrett, University of Surrey and Council of Europe
- Ina Baumann, Lower Saxony Minister of Education
- Veronica Boix Mansilla, Harvard University
- Darla Deardorff, Duke University
- Nanda Dimitrov, Western University of Canada
- Mitalene Fletcher, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Prue Holmes, Durham University
- Kari Kivinen, Lycée Franco-Finlandais, Helsinki
- Ildikò Làzar, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest
- Francisco Marmolejo, World Bank
- Mario Piacentini, OECD
- Barry van Driel, IAIE, International Association of Intercultural Education
For more information: elisa.briga@afs.org