Sweden

The Anna Lindh Foundation Swedish network would like to invite you to take part in this Intercultural Book Circle this Fall. 

It is for you who likes to read and discuss books with others. You join by bringing a book you would like to share with others; and in return you will learn about new books from others.

The meetings are highly interactive and all participants will be involved in conversations across countries and across literature genres. Each book circle becomes an opportunity for intercultural learning and networking. 

We are going to meet twice this Fall on 18 October and 16 November at 08.30 - 09.30 am CET.  

• Tuesday October 18 - share a book you read recently
• Wednesday 16 November - share a book with a story that takes place in your home country

Language: English. However, the book you choose to share can be in any language.

All you need to do is to bring a book and a drink with you. 

SIGN UP

Note: Registration closes on the day of the event. 

Hosted by: LärOlika, ALF member in Sweden 

For more information, please contact ALF Network Coordinator in Sweden Rasha Shaaban.

All activities of the ALF Swedish network are organised with the support of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Once again, the Anna Lindh Foundation Swedish network would like to invite you to take part in the Intercultural Book Circle this Sping. 

It is for you who likes to read and discuss books with others. You join by bringing a book you would like to share with others; and in return you will learn about new books from others.

The meetings are highly interactive and all participants will be involved in conversations across countries and across literature genres. Each book circle becomes an opportunity for intercultural learning and networking. 

We are going to meet 3 times this Spring at 08.30 - 09.30 am CET.  

Tuesday 7 February - share a book you read recently or a book that you read a long time ago and still remember well

Tuesday 14 March - share a book with an interesting main character (hero/heroine) 

Tuesday 2 May - A non-fiction book or a poetry collection book 

Language: English. However, the book you choose to share can be in any language.

All you need to do is to bring a book and a drink with you. 

SIGN UP

Note: Registration closes the day before every book circle. 

Hosted by: LärOlika, ALF Swedish network member 

For more information, please contact ALF Network Coordinator in Sweden Rasha Shaaban.

With the support of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

lntercultural competence is the ability to function effectively across cultures, to think and act appropriately, and to communicate and work with people from different cultural backgrounds – at home or abroad. Intercultural competence is a valuable asset in an increasingly globalised world where we are more likely to interact with people from different cultures and countries who have been shaped by different values, beliefs and experiences. (source: Monash University).

According to Professor Fethi Mansouri, UNESCO Chairholder, intercultural dialogue is in itself an essential tool that we will need in the post-COVID-19 environment. We will need to renegotiate a new global compact, a new social contract. Dialogue will have to play a key role in that. Perhaps it is being compromised right now, but it has a big role to play in the post-COVID-19 world that will emerge.

The Anna Lindh Foundation Swedish network held an interactive online training for civil society activists from the Euro-Med region. More than 30 trainees have learned practical intercultural skills and increased their understanding of intercultural competence and how to talk about and address intercultural opportunities and challenges.

TRAINING CONTENT

· Intercultural competence, what it is and how it works
· Identity and migration
· Culture and cultural differences - as a concept with benefits and limitations
· The danger of the single story – on stereotypes
· Dealing with value conflicts

METHODOLOGY

· A good balance between theory and practice delivered in two 2 1/2-hour- long online sessions via Zoom.
· Big group presentations mixed with small group discussions in break-out sessions
· Self-reflection exercises to do between the two Zoom sessions

TRAINEES PROFILE:

· resident of the 42 Euro-Med countries
· working in an international and/or intercultural setting
· Want to increase your knowledge about and understanding of intercultural communication
· Want to listen to and share ideas about diversity, culture and intercultural encounters

When: 16-17 June at 09.30-12.00

Language: English

ABOUT THE TRAINER - PATRICK GRUCZKUN (SWEDEN)

Patrick is a freelance trainer on intercultural competence and conflict resolution. His firm, Samarbetsbolaget is a member of the Anna Lindh Foundation Swedish network. He has long experience as intercultural projects manager and education leader. He was in charge of the Anna Lindh Foundation network coordination from 2011-2016.

With the support of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

This online training workshop is an introduction into intercultural learning, helping the participants to navigate intercultural encounters. In the first session, we will reflect about ourselves, our identity and values, as self-awareness is a key competence for good communication. We will also reflect on stereotypes, how to be aware of them and how to deal with them. In the second session, we will explore the relation between us and other(s), reflect on and experience intercultural encounter and give you tools on how to make these encounters easier to navigate.

The workshop will foster curiosity and openness towards diversity and tolerance of ambiguity. It will help the participants to develop skills in empathy, critical thinking and how to deal with conflicts.  

This workshop covers:

• introduction to the concept of intercultural competences
• introduction of concepts of culture
• introduction in basics of communication
• discovering one’s own identity, and their identity in relation to others
• understanding diversity and feeling its effects
• dismantling of stereotypes
• reflecting on and experiencing intercultural encounters

Participants will experience:

• a balance between theory and practical exercises
• an interactive workshop facilitated by two experienced facilitators
• space for peer learning among each other

WORKSHOP CONTENT

Day 1: My Identity

The first session will provide a short introduction into concepts of culture, communication, and intercultural competences. In practical exercises we will reflect on our own values and what shaped us to gain one of the key intercultural competences: self-awareness. We will also reflect on stereotypes, how to be aware of them and how stereotyping effects the ones experiencing it.

Day 2: Me and Others

The second session will explore the relation of us to others, being aware of our own values and identities and those of the ones we are interacting with. We will reflect upon intercultural encounters and experience one in a playful way. There we will develop skills like empathy and how to deal with conflicts in intercultural encounters.

PARTICIPANTS PROFILE  

• member or alumni of the Anna Lindh Foundation
• working in an international and/or intercultural setting
• want to increase your knowledge about and understanding of intercultural communication
• want to listen to and share ideas about diversity, culture and intercultural encounters 

When: Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 October 2022 at 09.00 - 11.30 CET

Language: English

You can apply until 18 October. 

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

The training is designed and will be led by the ALF network member, MitOst (Berlin). Horizontal School is the training academy of MitOst supporting active citizens to co-create and act in a democratic, participatory, sustainable, and resilient way. 

MEET THE TRAINERS

Marischa Weiser

Marischa is passionate about building communities, enabling co-creation, developing and applying methods to create social change in our societies. She is a coordinator, community builder and facilitator at MitOst, working in the field of culture and citizenship education. At horizontal school, she enjoys working with facilitators who spark new ideas, and building new connections between people and organizations to grow a community based on peer learning.

Sebile Yapici

Sebile is the head of the program “Intercultural Teacher Training in China” at commit gGmbh by MitOst in Berlin.

She experiences and facilitates intercultural encounters since 20 years in different ways: having a bicultural background and having lived in six different countries, working as a long-term volunteer as a trainer of intercultural learning at AFS Intercultural Programs, as a researcher of Central Asian migrant communities in the US and as a certified trainer and coach of intercultural competences. She is passionate about (empathic) communication as the most important skill for any relationship.

For more information/questions, please contact Rasha Shaaban, ALF network coordinator.

This event is organised thanks to the support of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Can arts and culture help to develop, protect and promote democratic values and processes? 

Democracy does not exist. WE MAKE IT! Join us in the second morning coffee discussion with three artists from Sweden, Italy, and Slovenia/Jordan on the International Day of Democracy. This is a chance to meet colleagues in the ALF Networks and beyond who share similar concerns and to be part of a wide-ranging discussion about the role of arts and creative industries in safeguarding and sustaining democracy.

Our guest Speakers on International Day of Democracy are: Sophia Alexandersson (ShareMusic, Sweden), Micaela Casalboni, (Teatro dell’Argine, Italy) and Samar Zughool, (Povod, Slovenia)

The Morning Coffee is moderated by Denise L Mellion, River of Light (Gothenburg) and ALF Swedish network advisory committee member.

When: 15 September at 08.45 - 09.45 CET (09.45 - 10.45 Helsinki/Beirut time)

Language: English

Open to Anna Lindh Foundation network members and beyond.

Sign up to receive the Zoom link. 

More information, please contact the Swedish network coordinator Rasha Shaaban 

Organised thanks to the support of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the ALF Swedish network

The Anna Lindh Foundation Swedish Network is organising a series of exchanges called the Intercultural Morning Coffee. We try to bring together researchers, civil society members and Euro-Med citizens to discuss up-to-date issues over a cup of coffee in the morning.

We will bring forward discussions about interesting topics around inclusion, youth engagement, migration, gender equality, climate action, etc. How can we enhance EuroMed cultural cooperation within the current social and regional context?

It is an opportunity for you to meet other members of the ALF network and engage in a constructive and thought provoking dialogue. 

Bring your coffee, tea, orange juice, glass of water, toast, croissant, friends, colleagues and join us for a one-hour morning exchange at 8.45 - 9.45 CET (9.45 - 10.45 Athens/Beirut time). Moderated by: Denise L. Mellion (River of Light - Sweden)

Intercultural Morning Coffee #1

Who is given permission to speak? Who is silenced by the dominant discourse, institutions and the media?

Our guest speaker educationalist Zahra Bayati, who leads our first Intercultural Morning Coffee on the topic of The Right To Be Heard will talk about the dangers of institutional silencing in critical times. Zahra Bayati, PhD in Educational Sciences, is a researcher and senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her current research interests include learning, multilingualism, minority education, diversity, identity issues, gender, intersectionality and racism; with focus on colonialism and globalisation. 

Join us in this interactive discussion if you are concerned by the lack of opportunity to discuss difficult or controversial topics. This is a chance to meet colleagues in the ALF Network who have similar concerns to you and to be part of a wide-ranging discussion about power, silencing and the ability to change the discourse through inclusion. 

With contributions from Swedish network member, Bertil Björk, STPLN - Malmö who will talk from his experience as a journalist and editor about the exclusiveness he has encountered in the media, as well as the opportunities social media offers to disrupt silencing. The ALF Network Coordinator, Rasha Shaaban, National Museums of World Culture - Gothenburg will share her experience from Mind the Gap programme about storytelling as a form of inclusion and active citizenship. 

The Morning Coffee is moderated by Denise L Mellion, River of Light (Gothenburg) and ALF Swedish network advisory committee member.

When: 2 June at 08.45 - 09.45 CET (09.45 - 10.45 Helsinki/Beirut time)

Language: English

Open to Anna Lindh Foundation network members and beyond.

Sign up to receive the Zoom link. 

More information, please contact the Swedish network coordinator Rasha Shaaban 

https://www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/en/projects/anna-lindh-foundation/activities/intercultural-morning-coffee/the-right-to-be-heard/ 

Organised thanks to the support of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the ALF Swedish network