ISLAND

ISLAND project deals with the development of intercultural skills, which is of great importance in lieu of migrant movements across Europe. A large number of migrants is entering just a few European countries that have very little or no experience in accepting and resolving issues stemming from cultural differences.

Since cultural differences are also pronounced in the education sector, supporting teachers and learners to understand one another is key. Knowledge gained through this project will provide to teachers support and knowledge necessary to maintain high quality teaching, deal with classroom complexities, and acquire new methods and tools. Special attention is paid to integration of refugees and recently arrived migrants, so teachers and volunteers who connect people of many cultures are extremely important. The project will ensure they are trained as intercultural mediators, so they would better understand cultural issues arising from the arrival of foreigners. Also, they should be able to transfer elements of the host country culture, which is a key step in ensuring the efficiency of intercultural communication, knowledge and skills.

The goals of this projects are:

• to support teachers’ understanding of interculturalism, have them exchange best practices and methods of teaching adult migrants and refugees in different European countries, and help them turn issues into opportunities.
• to strengthen the network of partner institutions so as to exchange knowledge and experiences, and increase our ability to act at the translational level.