A management plan for an Intercultural Center for immigrants and refugees

Intercultural Education, Vol. 11 Supplement, 2000 A management plan for an Intercultural Center for immigrants and refugees INGE THORNING & GITTA SINDING Principles and Goals In this brief article we discuss the Intercultural Center in AÊ rhus, Denmark. For this Center the word intercultural implies that different ethnic groups live and work together, while they maintain their own cultural and personal values. It also refers to developing a joint responsi- bility for the world that we live in. The Intercultural Center is a center for adult education that has developed methods and programs focusing on the ª interculturalº since 1984. Fifty new students attend the Center each year (which has 41 weeks of courses). One of the main aims of the Center is to give its students the tools they will need to live a meaningful life, and to engage in active and responsible work (and leisure life) in a modern democratic and multiethnic society. The Intercultural Center gives people from different countries, ethnic minorities and the Danish majority as well, an opportunity to: · co-operate across cultures; · prepare for education and work in the civil sector as pre-school teachers, teachers, social advisers, social and healthcare workers, nurses and as law enforcement officials; · obtain the necessary qualifications to work in existing intercultural institutions and in the area of housing; · receive knowledge about, and insight into, societal relations, so that they are able to contribute to a variety of social and cultural initiatives. Goals and Vision The Center’s approach to teaching is intercultural. Teaching at the Center builds on the different ethnic groups that are present there and on their cultural views on life, norms and values. The different kinds of knowledge that one encounters in the very diverse group that studies at the Center form the pedagogical basis from which the entire life cycle is discussed. The following subjects are related to this approach: understanding culture, government, democracy and human rights philosophy, language in general, Danish as a second language, societal relations, pedagogy and psychology. The curriculum thus focuses on a variety of topics that deal with what it means to ª belong to a societyº . A major emphasis in the Center’s activities is to make the students aware of the importance that communication has in creating a greater understanding of another person’ s views and cultural background. The Center’s philosophy is that one’s personal development is strength- ened through interaction and the feeling that one can make a significant contribution to the group. This is also such a critical issue because many of our participants come from ISSN 1467-5986 print; ISSN 1469-8489 online/00/0300S40-02 Ó 2000 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/14675980020010872 D ow nl oa de d by [N ati on al Li br ary of C hin a] at 23 :13 25 N ov em be r 2 01 2 An Intercultural Center for Immigrants and Refugees S41 authoritative societies, where the norm is to have rigid authoritative structures that do not stimulate communication. To promote communication and interaction we developed international contacts and started to use co-operative learning strategies. The aim of co-operative learning is to utilize the various competences that participants take with them into the group in order to create a situation characterized by equal participation. After 10 years of ª bridge-buildingº the Center was recognized as an institution for advanced education. In the past, the Center has achieved surprisingly good results in placing its students in pre-nursery, social and health related professions. Students often end up doing internships at the many institutions (focusing on the young and the old) with which the Center has built up lasting relationships. The Center’s students tend to serve as trainees in these institutions and they also work for various teacher unions. The students are given a good deal of supervision while they take classes, but it does not stop there. They are still followed many years after they stop studying at the Center. Indeed, many perceive the Center to be the guiding light for their further development. Competences and Needs The Intercultural Center focuses on the competences and needs of its students. Regarding competences, a great deal of emphasis is placed on strengthening the students’ readiness to learning and to engage in cooperative activities. Other competences that are perceived as important are: tolerance, general education, openness, creativity, curiosity and self-respect. The road to gaining these competences is full of pedagogical challenges. Perhaps the main ones are: · addressing the fact that both the Danish and immigrants need intercultural understanding; · addressing the specific need of the Center’ s non-native speakers (immigrants) to read, write, speak and understand Danish. Each student receives a great deal of supervision in developing a learning strategy at the Center. A plan of action is set up for the students in conjunction with caseworkers/social advisers and instructors. The personal knowledge of the teachers also supports the ongoing process. As mentioned earlier, it is the Intercultural Center’s policy to closely monitor and supervise the students both inside and outside of the Center. Address for correspondence: Inge Thorning, IKC, Skolegade 23, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark; e-mail: inge@ikc.dk D ow nl oa de d by [N ati on al Li br ary of C hin a] at 23 :13 25 N ov em be r 2 01 2