jef - Barcelona seminar 2009

Barcelona seminar 2009

JEF international seminar in Barcelona

"Europe's Youth in Dialogue - Cultural Diversity in the Society of Tomorrow" was the topic of the international seminar organised by JEF-Europe and supported locally by JEF-Catalunya. The event took place in Barcelona (the capital of region of Catalonia in Spain) from 23 till 29 November 2009.

The participants from various European countries and with very interesting multi-cultural experiences engaged in lively discussions, interesting workshops and different non-formal education tools. The seminar was completed by visits to the Catalan National Youth Council and the Catalan parliament. Of course the participants also had a chance to experience the night life in Barcelona and do some sight-seeing in this beautiful city.

The theme of the seminar

The core theme of the seminar was Intercultural Dialogue (ID) and its role in overcoming rejection, segregation, conflicts and violence within our European society. Multiculturalism is an asset and ID the tool to discover and enhance this asset as opposed to turning it into a hurdle or burden.

Key questions tackled within this overall theme were:

How shall we respond to diversity in order to maximize the richness a multicultural society offers and overcome the challenges which can lead to exclusion and segregation?
How can we deal with problems of mutual ignorance and stereotypes?
How can we guarantee human rights for each and everyone within a multicultural society and what is the role of Europe in safeguarding these rights?

Our activity aimed to treat the above questions by:

trying to understand the intercultural situation in Europe by meeting the differences,
learning about possible instruments to deal with these differences,
treating the question of stereotypes, prejudges and discrimination,
experiencing intercultural aspects of society in everyday life.

The detailed programme of the seminar can be found here.

1260465474_bcn logo.jpg The methodology

The used methodology was characterised by a high degree of interaction among the participants and adapted to the different programme contents. Special focus was laid on means of non-formal learning such as on-site experiences and excursions, the use of innovative creativity techniques (i.e. structured brainstorming workshops), and independent learning in groups and workshops. The methodological approach was based on resources provided by the CoE T-Kits, the All Different All Equal campaign and other modern literature in this field.

The outcomes

At the end of the seminar participants had the opportunity to evaluate it (the topics, trainers, programme etc.). The analysis of their submitted evaluation forms shows that they were very satisified with the topics discussed and method applied.

The participants were encouraged to produce a video about the seminar, the two results can be found here and here.

An article about the seminar written by a participant was published at the online webzine TheNewFederalist and is also available here.

Moreover the participants engaged in creating a pocket manual on intercultural dialogue "ID in your pocket" which can serve as a helpful tool while organising all kinds of youth events. You can download a small version of the manual here, or get printed copies in the European Secretariat of JEF.

The seminar also served as the basis for the 'JEF position paper on Intercultural Dialogue' which will be submitted as a draft resolution during the next JEF Federal Committee meeting in Bratislava. Once submitted, the final version will be available her.

All photos from the seminar can be found here.

1259850436_barcelona 02.jpg

Other documents

Barcelona seminar Info Kit

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Contact the JEF-Europe Secretariat - info(at)jef.eu for more information - Regular Mail Address: JEF-Europe, Chaussee de Wavre 214d - B-1050, Brussels - Belgium TEL +32 2 512 0053 / FAX +32 2 626 9501
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