On January 1st, 2021, the INTERKULTURALNI PL Association started the implementation of the “New ABC – Networking the Educational World: Across the Boundaries for Community Building” research project. It aims to stimulate and promote bottom-up changes in the field of education. The project is financed by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. The University of Bologna is leading the consortium composed of academic and non-academic representatives from 9 countries, including association.
In this project, we want to give a voice to those who are usually not heard by political decision-makers – children. We will reach them through activities and practices that will be co-created and implemented with the active participation of children, youth, parents, teachers and local communities. Participation in this process will foster their integration and inclusion in the school community and the neighbourhood.
To achieve this goal, the researchers, teachers and intercultural assistants involved in the project intend to co-create a new reality together with children, youth and parents. We will implement several piloting activities under the project called “Together We Lear Our Worlds”, such as:
– providing migrant and local children with knowledge about the history of the neighbourhood, its multicultural heritage and how they can benefit from the cultural, linguistic, historical and religious layers of the city;
– extracurricular activities, educational trips and walks around the city, integrative city games, outdoor activities, workshops, presentations, art-based activities and other co-created with children;
– team-involved or individual tasks that will help participants translate their experiences about who they were and become in a new place through visual, fine or narrative arts;
– involving academics, teachers, local artists and intercultural assistants to mentor and assist children in these projects;
– providing stakeholders with a handbook of regional informal education; a sketchbook for children’s artistic expression;
The most important tool for us is our sketchbook. “Mapping words and cultures. Sketchbook for walking. Language and culture guide” created by Urszula Majcher-Legawiec. This is our most important tool in “Together We Lear Our Worlds” program – part of the international scientific project “New ABC – Networking the Educational World: Accross the Boundaries for Community Building”. The sketchbook is intended to inspire teachers to action. It contains 43 worksheets prepared for multilingual and multicultural groups or classes. Each card is a starting point for integration activities that can last several hours or several days. Each sheet is to inspire cooperation and co-creation. Every student can join the process by contributing their ideas. The sketchbook is the property of the student, it is his language and cultural portfolio. It perfectly documents the process of immersion in language and culture, but also the process of building relationships. It has a chance to be not only a good methodological tool, documenting certain stages of education and integration, but also a great souvenir for every participant in the process.
