Awareness in intercultural training and communication Erasmus Project

Project Title

Awareness in intercultural training and communication

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

Constant accessibility, the ability to connect with the whole world, the mobility of goods, services and people characterize our world. Young people today open horizons that no other generation had before them. However, this leads to hopes, but also fuels fears. These can be fears about one’s own professional opportunities, but also fears about the loss of cultural identity. In turn an increasing defensive attitude might develop, in society and in private.
Protectionism, xenophobia, (indifference to) discrimination, demarcation and rejection of “being different” are the consequences. Many young people do not take up the opportunities that are offered to them. Often, they see threats rather than opportunities – born out of these fears.
In contrast, intercultural skills are now required at all levels – from employers when working with colleagues, with suppliers and customers all over the world, in private life, in clubs, in the neighbourhood, etc.
Our project aimed at developing and expanding the intercultural skills of the participants and at reducing the fear of mobility and international experience. It was about a professional context, but also about personal development, and intended to strengthen the European sense of unity in the sense of the European motto “United in Diversity”.
Knowledge and acceptance of other ways of life and cultural identities cannot be taken for granted concerning young people; rather, there are often biases and experiences of foreignness. If increasing international interdependence is to lead to mutual understanding, a conscious dialogue between cultures and the desire to learn from one another must be encouraged. “Awareness” in the sense of conscious perception is the essential basis of a successful intercultural dialogue and an associated learning from one another.
The participants expanded their intercultural skills in a guided process. They reflected upon prejudices and stereotypes, experiences of foreignness and fears of being mobile. In addition, the students have lost their shyness to apply and improve their language skills. Cooperative, self-organized learning was an important part of the project to initiate a lifelong learning process.

The project was originally divided into four parts, each of which was to focus on one goal under the common issue of conscious perception (“awareness”) as a central theme. Due to the current situation, the last part could no longer be carried out.
In the first three parts, the participants learned to be aware of their own and of foreign cultures and of ways of discrimination, and they learnt to recognize, accept and appreciate different forms of communication. Student-centred methods that made it possible to experience and experience themselves were the focus in all parts of the project. The aspect of conscious, reflective, and self-competent perception ran through all three parts of the project. At first, the participants learned to recognize and classify different factors influencing cultures. The conscious perception of different aspects – visible and invisible – forms the basis for acceptance and appreciation. In the second part, they dealt with various types of discrimination and recognized them as an essential part of misunderstandings, conflicts and disputes. The third and fourth part was meant to be about the awareness of the elements of verbal and non-verbal communication that we all always carry with us. Unfortunately, only the third part, which dealt with non-verbal communication, could be carried out. In particular, the potential for conflict contained in non-verbal communication was addressed to prepare the students for future situations, to prevent conflicts or to enable conflict resolution. Surveys, observations, role plays and simulations, which gave rise to possible conflicts, solutions and reflections, were the focus of all three project parts. Each part of the project corresponded to the criteria of a complete action from planning, implementation and checking. Particularly in the implementation phases, care was taken to ensure that the participants went from observation to reflection and understanding to internalize the findings. The last part of the project, which would have dealt with verbal communication, could no longer be carried out due to the current situation – even when the project was extended by six months.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 41127 Eur

Project Coordinator

Handelslehranstalt Hameln & Country: DE

Project Partners

• istituto istruzione superiore arcangelo ghisleri