The Intercultural Navigators project seeks to bring together people with a desire to make a significant positive contribution to society from across Europe; people who want to learn, are open-minded, curious, and willing to share their own experiences and at the same time actively seek new perspectives.

The British Council is searching for a total of 450 young Europeans, between the age of 18 and 40, who can help pave the way towards more inclusive and diverse societies. The project will run in 16 European countries with 30 – 70 participants from each country.

To help young leaders to successfully engage in local and international issues, the British Council has developed an innovative intercultural leadership programme in collaboration with leading experts from Europe and Africa. If you are the right age and you share the objectives of the Intercultural Navigators project, we would like to invite you to join the programme.

In Slovenia, we want to recruit a group of 40 young leaders from diverse backgrounds who can easily ‘navigate’ within and between different cultures – who are aware of their own cultural backgrounds and who are able and open to accept, respect and understand other cultures, contribute to mainstream debate and to constructive action.

We are aiming to achieve a balance of diversity in terms of religion, gender, ethnicity, disability and geographical/regional representation (urban/rural) and other personal circumstance, including from different professional or study backgrounds, in order to reflect and impact across society at country and European level.

A 12 day training programme will be delivered between November 2008 and May 2009, one module of which will take place abroad. Upon successful completion of the training, participants may also have the opportunity to take part in international attachment programmes in public and non-governmental institutions and the business sector.

If you join this project the British Council will also encourage you to develop your own initiatives, both in-country or internationally, and provide support with fund raising to see them implemented.

A wide variety of leadership skills, tools and techniques will be introduced, strengthened and practiced during the programme. These include:

			Appreciative Inquiry,
			Questioning,
			Hearing and Listening,
			Valuing and Working with Difference,
			Systems Thinking,
			Conflict Management,
			Reframing,
			Communication, and much more.

These will then be applied in a number of different contexts within the participants’ sphere of influence.

You will also have the opportunity of becoming part of a national and international network of people who wish to make a difference in their communities as well as grow personally and professionally.

* The international module will take place in one of five European countries, with 90 participants each.

The selection criteria will be centred around your potential to make a genuine difference. We are looking for people who have:

			a commitment to improving intercultural understanding
			some record of relevant professional or personal achievement
			good team working and communication skills
			are self-starters and good motivators and have a passion for a cause
			are willing to commit to the dates given above
			are between the age of 18 and 40

Although the training will mostly take place in the Slovene language with British Council trained Slovene trainers, participants need to have a good enough command of English to be able to fill in the on-line application form and participate in the international module.   

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend a full-day selection workshop in Ljubljana on 15 November 2008, where you will get a taster of the training and be better able to decide if you wish to join. The British Council will cover all the costs of this, including lunch, but you will be expected to cover the cost of travel to Ljubljana.

The British Council will also cover all the cost of the entire training in Ljubljana and abroad, including accommodation for those living outside Ljubljana and meals. Candidates finally selected will be asked to pay a contribution of 60 Euros. If you would have problems paying this, please contact the local Project Manager, Danila Beloglavec.

You will be expected to raise funding for the cost of your travel to the international event in April 2009 and travel to the international attachments later in the year (although these are not obligatory). The British Council may be able to provide some additional financial support, but this cannot be guaranteed.

The application deadline was 3 November 2008; therefore we are unable to accept any additional application.

For any further information please contact: Danila Beloglavec, 01 300 20 39