British Council’s recent research shows that Europe’s next generation of leaders are truly concerned about intercultural issues. In response to their concerns, the British Council has initiated Intercultural Navigators – a project that will to deal with the challenges that we face in this multicultural world.
Intercultural Navigators project develops groups of young leaders in Europe who can easily ‘navigate’ within and between different cultures – who are aware of their own cultural backgrounds and who are able and open enough to accept, respect and understand other cultures. The project is organised in partnership with a diverse group of institutions and experts working in the area of leadership development and intercultural literacy from the UK, Europe and Africa.
The Intercultural Navigators project is now running in 18 European countries (including Ukraine and Belarus) with 30–70 participants in each country, who will all come together in a global on-line community and share experiences and knowledge in the field of intercultural dialogue. Participants will be supported to effect change in their own countries, institutions and communities based on participation, consultation and the creation of an enabling environment.
The Intercultural Navigators Programme brings together those with a desire to make a significant positive contribution to society; young 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 programme aims to achieve a balance of diversity in terms of religion, gender, disability, ethnicity, class, sectors (private/public/civil society) and geographical balance (rural/urban and regional/provincial), in order to reflect and impact across society at country level.
A wide variety of skills, tools and techniques have been introduced, strengthened and practiced during the training. These include: Appreciative Inquiry, Ubuntu, Questioning, Systems Thinking and Conflict Management. They will be applied in a number of different contexts, within the participants’ spheres of influence. The experiences are structured into 12 workshop days.
Navigators who successfully complete the training will be offered opportunities to attend international networking events, where they will discuss intercultural relations challenges posed by the increasingly globalised and mobile world, and to win a placement in an international organisation dealing with intercultural issues. Project participants will also design, develop and implement their own projects around the theme of intercultural dialogue. The British Council will provide support in identifying potential partners and by offering a virtual platform for finding the right co-Navigators, ideas and inspiration. The British Council will be able to support some of the best projects also financially. This is the most crucial and significant part of the Intercultural Navigators programme as the participants get to spread the benefits of their new knowledge, skills and spirit to wider audiences!
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