Concluded projects
of the Institute of Conflict Research
"Integration and Diversity in Education in Europe" - International Overview
| Implementation: | Mag.a Dr.in Brigitte Halbmayr |
| Financed by: | Open Society Foundation London |
| Concluded in December 2010 | |
The project entitled "Integration and Diversity in Education in Europe" (IDEE) is a joint venture of NGOs in five European countries: the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) and the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) in Belfast (Great Britain), the Intercultural Centre (IZ) in Vienna (Austria), the LIFE e.V. organisation in Berlin (Germany), Nadácia Škola dokorán (Wide Open School Foundation) in Žiar nad Hronom (Slovakia) as well as the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Association (RWCT) in Cluj-Naboca (Romania). These organisations have for many years been active in the field of education, mainly dealing with young people living on the margins of society - Roma youth in Slovakia and Romania and young people with migration background (especially from non-European countries) in Austria, Germany and Great Britain.
The project, which was co-financed by the Education Support Program of the Open Society Foundation in London and EACEA (Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency) and run under the European "Europe for Citizens" Programme, was launched with a view to stimulating the above mentioned young people to give thought to their living and educational conditions. In a process of exchange between young people, on the one hand, and experts, school and local authorities as well as politicians, on the other hand, modes of political participation were being rehearsed. For this exchange we used "citizens panels" - with key aspects as well as topics modified to accommodate our target group - as the method of choice. The aim was to apply the format of citizens panels not just as an instrument of direct participative democracy but also as an instrument of empowerment. In the implementation on local level, the consideration of the regional as well as the European dimension was sought to be considered during implementation at the local level.
The institute of Conflict Research was tasked with the methodological adaptations, with crafting the templates for organising and documenting the panels and with writing the international comparative report, in which preparation, agenda, aims, and local specifics of the citizens panels were analysed. The analysis shows that the young participants as well as the stakeholders highly appreciated this mode of exchange, which they found very inspiring and conducive to creating mutual understanding. They frequently expressed the whish for a follow-up of the encounter. Especially the young people acclaimed the often novel experience of being asked for their ‘expert’ opinions on their own living situation and for their ideas and wishes concerning ways of improving it. The main topics discussed in the citizens panels were: forms of segregation in schools and the demand for inclusive education; language problems and the demand for intensified language training; experiences of discrimination and the need for anti-discrimination measures, also in schools; the need for intercultural competence on the part of school teachers; the importance of empowerment and mentoring; the cooperation with media and networking.
The results were presented to the colleagues involved in the project and to professional audiences at the final project conference in Brussels in November 2010; the report is published under the title "Integration and Diversity in Education in Europe. Bringing Disaffected Youth to Policymaking." Open Society Foundations, New York 2010.
