Resources
- Toolkits
  - Intercultural dialogue
    - Conceptual framework
      - Literature review
        
        Interculturalism
        Multiculturalism
        Interactive multiculturalism
        Social identity theory
        Contact theory
        Group dynamics
        Post-colonial melancholia
        Diaspora space and identity
        Identity and freedom
        Social capital
        Community cohesion
        Summary

Contact theory

"Contact theory looks at how bringing people from different groups together for collaboration can reduce prejudice."

Contact theory argues that by bringing people from different groups together and encouraging collaboration between these people, prejudices towards the other will be reduced or eradicated. The important thing is that the collaboration is underpinned by a common goal and also that all participants are treated equally within this collaboration. Recent studies suggest that contact theory is successful in bringing about more positive attitudes towards others, reducing prejudice and also building long-lasting friendships. Contact theory supports the concept of Intercultural Community Bridge Building. This concept is based on the premise that everyone, individually and as a nation, benefits from knowing, experiencing and working with other cultures, as the focus with these projects are the commonalities that bind groups together, rather than their differences. Intercultural dialogue is one of the ways in which people can be brought together for such collaboration.

pdf Interculturalism: Theory and Policy (61.24KB)