The VI Forum on Intercultural Learning and Exchange will take place in Colle Val d’Elsa on 29-31 October 2015 hosted by Fondazione Intercultura, in cooperation with EFIL and AFS International Programs. As in every edition, it includes – by invitation – some sixty experts, researchers and practitioners in the field of international youth exchanges and intercultural learning. It is an opportunity for academics to meet and discuss with professionals and volunteers who work in the field of intercultural education – and for practitioners to learn about theories and researches in this field.
Building on the outcomes of the two last Forums focused on assessment of intercultural competences, this year the theme will be The school assessment of the intercultural learning of pupils during and after individual exchanges abroad. In particular, participants will discuss:
- the present situation:how are schools in different countries assessing intercultural learning?
- how to assess: how can “intercultural learning” be translated into actions that are measurable by a school, in the context of pupils’ individual exchanges (learning a foreign language? making friends across borders? lowering anxiety in intercultural encounters?)
- assessment by host schools: how can a host school more formally intervene in the intercultural learning process during an exchange and assess it throughout the experience?
- assessment by sending schools: how can a sending school assess the intercultural learning at the end of an experience abroad and include it in the overall pupil assessment?
- role that organisations with expertise in intercultural learning (like AFS and EFIL) may play in facilitating the learning assessment.
The preparatory team – Roberto Ruffino (Fondazione Intercultura), Melissa Liles (AFS International Programs), Elisa Briga (EFIL), Darla Deardorff (Duke University) and Uffe Gravers Pedersen (Educational Consultant of the City of Copenhagen) – has invited experts and international institutions to discuss the topic. AFS organisations in Europe have been contacted to reach out to schools with experience in assessement of intercultural learning, in order for them to share their precious experience at the Forum. Also some National Agencies of the Erasmus+ programme have been invited. The European School Heads Association has already confirmed its presence.
In mid-May a call for participants from the AFS network will come out to give to practitioners in the field of pupil exchanges the opportunity to learn and share about this topic with schools, international institutions and experts.
For more information: elisa.briga@afs.org