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British Council ICD projects

Policies and Programmes: an introduction to the portfolio of projects in the Intercultural Dialogue Programme Area

Achieving our ambitions means being successful in designing and implementing projects with partners in the many local contexts in which we operate.

The mechanisms for engagement must be activities and experiences of real use and value to those directly involved and to the wider professional or social communities they serve: skills, knowledge, viewpoints or inspiration to which they might not otherwise have access. The British Council ICD portfolio is designed to address a set of strategic criteria about working with younger people and those who influence them, about working with and through partnerships, and about focusing on the key issues of our time for human development: be that migration, urban living, climate or citizenship.

Most of the world’s population is young (25 years or younger) and the percentage is growing. Responding to the aspirations and concerns of young people is therefore a priority for the British Council’s work, which is fully compatible with respect for diversity and equal opportunity. Much of our work is clearly targeted on young people and different mechanisms are needed to reach and bring together the relatively privileged, the frequently disadvantaged and the potentially or effectively alienated.

The British Council portfolio of work in intercultural dialogue comprises a few large programmes – designed as global initiatives, but applied in a very local way.

It is a portfolio better referred to as ‘Intercultural Action’.

We reinforce our cultural relations mission by placing emphasis on international (global) linking and exchange. Growing capacities and constructing agendas within global (or at least international) networks must be central to our business models. This helps us explain why working with schools, young ‘leaders’ and communities is so important for cultural relations, as helps make more powerful the dialogues that we sponsor.

Global Schools.    

Linking schools across the world – our unrivalled offer and involvement with international school links for the UK. We combine management of programmes for HMG DFID, DCSF, the UK devolved governments and EC with our grant-supported ‘Connecting Classrooms’.

The school exchanges within the Connecting Classrooms project are a powerful mechanism for pupils, teachers and education policymakers in Britain and almost 50 countries (to date) to share understanding of one another’s societies and work on joint projects. Through actual visits and virtual connections the viewpoints and ideas of schoolchildren in diverse societies across Africa, south Asia and the Arab world, among other regions, are in dynamic interplay with those of their counterparts across the UK.

Global Citizens    

Empowering and connecting young people –high profile and world leading programmes which recruit and mobilise young people as individuals, create communities and networks for enhancing intercultural understanding, opportunity and for positive social change (Global Changemakers, Transatlantic Network 2020, Skills for Social Entrepreneurs, Global Xchange)

The Global Changemakers project offers highly motivated young professionals insights into the arenas where decisions affecting millions are made and enables them to work together to understand and influence policy formulation: a new network of relationships the British Council is building for the UK in the 21st century.

Real engagement at a local level is only accessible through partnerships at a local level and with experts. Global Xchange has proved to be a powerful tool for intercultural dialogue developed jointly by the British Council and Voluntary Service Overseas: this six-month exchange programme gives young people from different countries a unique opportunity to contribute together in response to needs within local communities.

Global Communities    

Engaging communities internationally – reaching and engaging directly with large numbers of aspirant global citizens internationally through community leaders as influencers and multipliers. Recruiting through communities, our Active Citizens Programme,  Community Exchange together with major Youth and Lifelong Learning projects managed for the EC offer scale as well as a commitment to working more attentively with young people less inclined to engage internationally.

Active Citizens draws on best practice at local level in disparate projects around the world. Built around partnerships in the UK, Active Citizens will provide a new framework for dynamic exchanges of experience, enabling young people worldwide to contribute more fully to their societies. This innovative project defines participants by their disposition to engage in international relations – thereby helping to engage with the ‘less-inclined’ or more marginalised communities.

Global Dialogues     

Creating space and reason for debate and dialogue – provoking and supporting debate and dialogue on current concerns focusing on critical global questions and supporting a cultural relations role as a cultural catalyst; Our Shared Europe, Atlas of Islamic Innovations, Belief in Dialogue and the developing Arts Festivals in Africa work draw on strong partnerships in Science, Art, language and cultural history and our portfolio of technical assistance contracts in social justice, institutional capacity building and good governance provide powerful additional contributions to our outcomes.

Partnerships with London’s Royal Court Theatre and a range of arts organisations working throughout the Near East and North Africa – built on the mutual trust which open discussion and respectful listening engender - have made possible a rich and continuing exchange between young Arab playwrights and contemporary theatre in the UK.

Across the world, more people live in large conurbations than ever before. The British Council’s activities in many of the world’s major urban centres give us direct access to a rich array of partner organisations: we will work with them to increase the potential of cities as a space for cultures to meet and learn from each other.

English language is important across the portfolio.

Summary analysis of good practice

 

The British Council’s work in ICD aims to:

  • Strengthen understanding and levels of trust between people in the UK and other societies
  • Strengthen the consensus for rejecting extremism in all its forms
  • Increase the ability of individuals and organisations to contribute to positive social change and the strengthening of civil society
  • Increase the use of English as a tool for international communication and intercultural understanding.
  • All international projects covered a range of themes, with cross-cutting themes and aims. This was enhanced by British Council projects aiming to incorporate international priorities into their work, as well as UK priorities.
  • Building trust and understanding is the core purpose at the heart of all ICD projects. Further objectives can include encouraging dialogue and interaction and reducing tensions between different groups.
  • ICD projects target a wide spectrum of audiences, ranging from students, young people, emerging artists, women, faith groups, think tanks, teachers, lecturers, the media, policy makers and many more.
  • British Council ICD projects engage with many different sectors, most prominently arts, education, governance, sports, and science.
  • Different local and national contexts require a wide range of approaches to ICD. The British Council addresses this by building projects around a number of activities. These include school linking, volunteering exchanges, networking, conferences, workshops, art exhibitions, sports camps, etc.
  • British Council ICD projects are mainly developed in partnerships with other organisations which complement the British Council’s expertise with their knowledge and experience. These organisations include governments, local government, think tanks, schools, universities, NGOs, charities, sports and arts organisations, businesses.
  • Most British Council projects work on a multi-lateral basis all across the world. Often projects involve clusters of countries. Regions with increased ICD activity include Central and South Asia, Near East and North Africa, South East Europe and the Middle East. These have been identified by the British Council as regions where intercultural dialogue is most important and can have its biggest impact.
  • Finally, although there are some one-off ICD events, British Council projects are now moving to ongoing schemes, lasting 3 years and longer.

Challenges

  • Issues around sustainability and evaluation have been recognised as the main challenges for ICD projects. These are addressed in a number of different ways.
    • Sustainability
      setting up networks to allow participants to remain in touch (OpenCities); working closely with communities to ensure local relevance of projects (Global Xchange); audience targeting through partnerships (Living Together), etc.
    • Evaluation:
      Self-assessment (Prime Minister’s Global Fellowship); corporate scorecard; anecdotal evidence (TN2020); questionnaires; interviews; feedback forms; Life Journals (Intercultural Navigators) etc.
  • Other challenges around ICD projects include: language and translation (Football 4 Peace); the role of facilitators; capturing conversations; funding; institutional support; incorporation of information and communication technologies (Pompey Double Club Indonesia), etc.