These guidelines were created to support organisers, trainers, facilitators of youth activities to consciously address intercultural dialogue in their projects. The guidelines refer to learning principles, methodologies and practices. While there is no universal recipe for addressing intercultural dialogue, the use of certain principles can help organisers of intercultural learning activities use a more coherent approach and enhance the quality of their activities. By ensuring a common understanding, the tool facilitates exchanges with organisers of youth activities from different parts of the world.
The tool can be used both by people with various level of experience regarding intercultural dialogue and those who are trying to find better answers to questions like: How to create learning settings in which intercultural dialogue can take place meaningfully? What are the principles of a transversal intercultural approach? How can we support participants to listen and appreciate other opinions instead of trying to impose their individual ideas? How can intercultural learning contribute to social transformation?
There are plenty of grants and programmes at European or national level that support initiatives to bring together people with different backgrounds and experiences and help them to share views on a topic that matters to them, that influences, to some extent, their common life, work or future. As an organiser of non-formal learning activities you can approach intercultural dialogue as the main topic of your activity or as a transversal aspect, regardless of what the main topic of your activity is. For example, if your activity is focused on photography, approaching it from an intercultural perspective implies that you support participants in understanding the functioning of stereotypes and avoiding perpetuating them, in choosing subjects that are culturally diverse, in engaging in intercultural dialogue prior or during their photography project and using their products for the purposes of intercultural dialogue.
The criteria and indicators presented in this document can be helpful for creating learning opportunities that contribute to a better world in which culture and other aspects of diversity are not used as reasons for exclusion.
