ICD-Conferences

Intercultural Dialog and Lifelong Learning in South East Europe - Research meets Practice

Sofia, Bulgaria, Thursday 11th - Friday 12th March 2010

The 4th ICD-conference (Conference on Intercultural Dialogue) in the course of the project weReurope - European Lifelong Learning by Intercultural Dialogue took place in Sofia at the National Palace of Culture (Cinema Lumière) and was organised by Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI), Austrian Science and Research Liaison Office (ASO) Sofia, Bulgaria.

South Eastern Europe is one of the most remarkable world regions for complexity and broad cultural diversity. The recent historical developments have changed the ways and quality of respectful exchange substantially. Several pilot activities in SEE (South Eastern Europe) have shown the value of intercultural competences for the SEE societies and practical activities have helped to gain experiences. The organisers of the Sofia conference invited professionals:

practitioners running projects with an emphasis on ICD, LLL and Adult Education and identifying new approaches for an open dialogue in the context of SEE and
researchers dealing with LLL and Adult Education, intercultural dialogue, intercultural competencies and the underlying theories,

to bring them closer together and to inspire further cooperation.

Again, as in all previous ICD-Conferences, there was a focus on interactive tools, interweaving contents and methods. 54 persons from 12 EU and 6 non-EU member countries actively took part in lectures and workshops and the "Carpet of Symbols and Memories", this time with objects and stories from Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey. more...

When past is present - about how cultural heritage and learning can enhance each other

Stockholm - Friday, 20th November 2009

When past is present gave the chance to study problems and issues related to different forms of learning, particularly in the context of cultural heritage and to explore Sweden's rich educational tradition - a cultural heritage in itself. The conference also provided an opportunity to get inspired by other peoples' projects and experiences in the area:

How can cultural heritage be a driving force for learning?
Can individual memories and symbols be important "door-openers" to other worlds and values?
Is it possible to create common cultural heritages?
Do we want to?
How is cultural heritage used in order to build a sense of community or disunite?

50 persons had enrolled from 14 EU and Non EU countries, mostly working in the fields of cultural heritage, museums and education (university e.g.) and actively took part in lectures and workshops. They contributed to the "Carpet of Symbols and Memories" by adding their personal items and stories from Denmark (DK), Estonia (EE), Finland (FI), Lithuania (LT), Latvia (LV), Norway (NO) and Sweden (SE). more...

Culture and Arts - Lifelong Learning pathways and creative environments for intercultural growth and inclusion

Rome - Friday, 26th June 2009

The second model ICD-Conference (Conference on Intercultural Dialogue) in the course of the project weReurope - European Lifelong Learning by Intercultural Dialogue took place in Rome at the venue of Associazione ARCI - National Direction.

This ICD-Conference aimed at demonstrating that artistic expression is able to act as training source for promoting inclusion, motivation to learn, self consciousness and self esteem. In our approach, Culture and Arts:

Might empower learners
Use multiple languages and senses
Enhance curiosity and creativity
Provide opportunities to test one's abilities/attitudes
Are means of social inclusion and social recognition

55 participants and core partners from 16 nations (EU and non-EU) shared activating methods of artistic expression as they took part in one of the three workshops, lead by experts with different migrant background.

Of course, the growing "Carpet of Symbols and Memories" was spread again and this time personal items and stories originated from Italy (IT), Malta (MT), Spain (ES), Portugal (PT) and France (FR). more...

Overcoming Borders - Getting along with Diversity

Vienna - Friday, 30 January 2009, 9.30 - 18.30

The first model ICD-Conference (Conference on Intercultural Dialogue) in the course of the project weReurope - European Lifelong Learning by Intercultural Dialogue took place in Vienna´s Museum für Volkskunde (The Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art).
The overarching theme was "(Past and Present) Border Conflicts and Intercultural Competence" focusing on geographical as well as on social borders, different educational and cultural backgrounds and on European policy as laid down in the Lisbon Treaty. Following a philosophy of participation, all participants had an active role to play to make the conference a success. As a first of a series of five intercultural dialogue conferences (ICD), the Vienna conference combined relevant content with the presentation and application of innovative (inter)active methods for:

Getting Acquainted
Imparting Knowledge
Collective Delivery of Outcomes
as well as for gathering Feedback.

More than 60 participants and core partners shared innovative methods of getting to know each other through the (non-cognitive) metaphorical collection of a "Carpet of Symbols and Memories". more...