The new EFIL online learning course “Developing Intercultural Competence through E-learning (DICE)”, prototyped in 2018, is set for further growth and improvement this year!
The course aims at supporting the application of intercultural competences in everyday life. Its contents and activities touch upon aspects of intercultural competences which can be helpful in facing current society challenges and which might not be yet addressed by existing AFS tools and curricula. The pedagogical approach builds on the principles of non-formal education: experiential learning and interactions between participants, with small input mostly based on existing free resources. The contents are built around thematic “stations”, of which five are already developed: Power in intercultural encounters, Identities, Intercultural Media Literacy, Inclusion and Discrimination, Othering.
Following the work of the 2018 DICE project team, a refreshed group of volunteers committed to continue the development work in 2019. It consists of partly the same, partly new members: Bojana Ilic (AFS Serbia/AFS Denmark), Nicolas Martig (EFIL/AFS Switzerland), Stephan Winiker (AFS Switzerland), Lea Schaumann (AFS Germany), Erik-Jan Kuipers (AFS Poland), supported by Izabela Jurczik-Arnold (the EFIL office).
The project team met for their kick-off meeting on 10-13 January 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia, and is scheduled to meet several more times this year. The bulk of their work, however, is happening virtually throughout the year.
Their task is to fine-tune and further develop the course, train new facilitators and try it out with new target groups. The next pilot edition of the course will be offered to AFS volunteers in May-June, in preparation for the Volunteer Summer Summit. Then in the autumn we have the ambition to pilot the course with a more external group of teachers and educators. We are also exploring possibilities of upscaling the DICE idea and setting up a sustainable course use in further future.
Just like in 2018, the DICE development is possible thanks to the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe, this year within the annual Work Plan “Social impact – AFS volunteers as educators, changemakers and advocates for a better world”.
Stay tuned for further updates along the way!
For more information contact izabela.jurczik-arnold@afs.org
