Building inclusive communities through intercultural education in schools

In the societal needs that call for this project, we discern between 'problems' and 'underlying causes', following the theory of change logframe logic - the logframe we use as a backbone of quality assurance thoughout the implementation of the project. The problem is the sum of: - lack of knowledge of European values among third country national families - lack of feeling of connection with EU - no connection between sector of integration and educational sector - lack of key competences in teachers - teaching curricula not adjusted to teachers & students needs - lack of knowledge of culture & diversity in teachers - low degree of involvement of newcomers / TCN (Third Country Nationals) in schools (teachers/parent committees/boards/..) Underlying causes are the following: - ‘western centred’ thinking - teachers’ education - language barriers - gap between generations - upbringing - underrepresentation of diversity in teaching materials and in teachers room - lack of capacity in schools

The long term impact that we strive for by implementing this project, is - schools are safe hubs for integration - young people thrive and develop to their full potential - a more resilient society (~ power of the double double principle of massive change by Bruce Mau) - higher parental involvement among TCN (Third Country Nationals) families - involvement of national & EU policy makers in learnings and insights of this project - TCN youngsters and families escapes poverty more and quicker - lower rate of school dropouts among TCN students To this end, we produce the following outputs: - pedagogical toolkit & curriculum for teachers (SYNTHESIS) - online platform (SQUARE DOT) - (local) network (INTERAKTION) - communication plan (Innovation Hive, Blenders, SYNTHESIS) And we contribute to the following outcomes: - reinforced skills of teachers on the topics of interculturality and global citizenship & diversity management in the classroom - reinforced knowledge on the topics of inequality and cultural diversity among parents and students - parents & students take action on the topic of social inclusion (cognitive dissonance) - reinforced skills on the topic of global citizen education among project partners

We implemented the following planned activities: WP1: overall project management WP2: Pedagogical toolkit and curriculum for teachers 2.1 Desk research and Handbook for school teachers 2.2 Methodology and creation of pedagogical and educational content 2.3 Piloting and finalisation WP3: Online educational platform 3.1 Technical development of the BuddyMigrants e-learning platform 3.2 Continuous update of the platform's content WP4:Inclusive local networks and local actions 4.1 Creation of information material, induction sessions, set-up of networks 4.2 Continuous support to local networks 4.3 Implementation of local actions 4.4 Policy dialogue with local authorities and recommendations WP5 Communication and dissemination: 5.1. Communication and Dissemination plan 5.2. Creating the project’s visual identity and website 5.3 - 7 Project launch event and project visibility actions Belgium, Cyprus, Austria, Slovenia, Greece 5.8 -12 Dissemination actions and multiplier event actions Belgium, Cyprus, Austria, Slovenia, Greece

We have developped a pedagogical toolkit and curriculum for intercultural and global citizenship education, which we have tested and piloted with teachers. This includes the Handbook for teachers. We have set up an online educational platform that hosts the above curriculum and Handbook in all project languages. It also has sections that allow for sharing activities and for interaction by registered users. In each partner country we have established local networks of EU natives and TCN parents where they could meet regularly, share concerns, learn from each other and built friendly relationships based on mutual respect of the different cultures. We have drafted policy recommendations and tried to bring this under the attention of local authorities. We have created a communication and dissemination plan, developped our website, communicated via our social media accounts and engaged various groups of stakeholders in our launch and multiplier events that we have organised during the project to acchieve high visibility of the project and to pass clearly the relevant information and the right messages to external actors, increasing their knowledge about the project and triggering their active participation and support.