InterAct is a project to promote and validate the development of Intercultural Action Competences (IAC) for participants in international youth projects. It spans the entire length of international projects, including the initial project design, web tools to practice and deepen the learning result and digital group work to integrate the learning into the daily life. To react to the Corona pandemy, InterAct will also include virtual encounters such virtual volunteering or online workcamps. What is IAC? IAC is the competence to adeptly navigate complex environments marked by a growing diversity of people, cultures and lifestyles, in other terms, abilities to perform “effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from oneself ” (Fantini & Tirmizi, 2006). According to the UN universal declaration on cultural diversity (2001), intercultural competences complement human rights as a catalyst for promoting a culture of peaceful and harmonious coexistence. In that sense, they play an important role in achieving the goals of international youth work both on a global and European level. The competences that will be acquired not only contribute to the successful cooperation in international youth work, but also contribute to the role of intercultural dialogue as a positive narrative (report 2015/2139(INI)) as necessary facilitator for the integration of third country migrants. "There is a real urgency – in many aspects of our lives – for education, which can help citizens live together in our diverse societies. For this reason we all need to develop intercultural competence. The ability to understand each other across all types of cultural barriers is a fundamental prerequisite for making our diverse democratic societies work." (https://book.coe.int/en/root/4943-intercultural-competence-for-all-preparation-for-living-in-a-heterogeneous-world-pestalozzi-series-n2.html) What is InterAct? InterAct is a very ambitious project that will develop a complete collection of tools organised around a web based app, that offers an approach to IAC, that is both well researched and fun to use. It will allow • the young participant to dive deeper into the world of interculturality, to monitor, practice and validate their own learning progress (IO1), • the youth worker to easily integrate practical exercises, games and reflective elements into the creation of international projects, such as Erasmus mobilities (IO2), • include a policy paper to be used by decision makers to help promote and support funding of IAC and mobility projects (IO3) Why InterAct? InterAct makes intercultural action competence (IAC) • Understandable, • Measurable and • Validable. The main goal of InterAct is to transform the concept of IAC from theory to practice, to make it easily understandable for youth workers and participants alike and to make it fun to work with. "In multicultural societies one of the central aspects of education for democratic citizenship with its emphasis on “learning and living together democratically” must be education for intercultural competence if our vision of sustainable democratic societies is to come true." (Josef Huber, CoE 2012). The A in IAC stands for the attitudinal and behavioural component of the learning process and is crucial for the practical relevance of intercultural experiences in societies. It's On an individual level, it will increase the effect of mobillity participation on perceived self-efficacy, employability, self-esteem and openness to diversity. The combination of the encounter with our learning tool will deepen the learning effect on the cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral dimension. On a societal level, the dissemination of IAC will lead to an improved level of international cooperation, which is a key element for the future of the European Union and the Sustainable Development Goals. It makes our society more resilient against xenophobia and chauvinism and increases our capacity to integrate migrants. Who will use InterAct? IAC is a key competence that is required for and practiced in every international youth encounter. It contributes largely to the Competence in Cultural Awareness, but also to many other key competences. Although IAC is central to youth mobility, it is often not sufficiently understood, and learning progress in this field cognition-focussed andnot properly evaluated and recognized. Gender mainstreaming InterAct is a project that promotes equal opportunities for all. In the context of IAC, gender issues are particularly important as they help to understand, analyse and deconstruct gender related cultural stereotypes, that frequently get in the way of intercultural mobilities with participants of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. As InterAct starts with a module to integrate IAC in the project development, it will make sure that these aspects are part of the project design from the very beginning.
InterACT aimed to address the following needs: a. Making intercultural learning explicit & measurable: Youth needs both tools & an engaging framework to understand, assess & validate their IAC learning, in order to get better prepared for intercultural experiences & able to use these skills in daily life. b. Integration of IAC into youth work: Youth workers require simple tools to integrate IAC into mobility projects, to increase the impact & recognition of their activities c. Bridge between formal & non-formal learning: Formal education provides a foundation for intercultural competence, but genuine understanding requires experiential, non-formal learning. True intercultural competence is not something that can be fully achieved through simple memorization of facts; instead, it must be cultivated, felt, & internalized on a subconscious level, involving the development of attitudes & skills. Therefore, InterAct aimed to bridge this gap, by providing a validation tool that helps youngsters recognize & articulate their learning from international projects. d. Policy support & funding: Policymakers need to become better aware of the need to promote IAC & support intercultural learning initiatives in their communities, schools, etc
In today’s interconnected world there is a high societal need for IAC to empower people to cooperate across cultures, recognize non-formal learning that is a fundamental force for IAC, and facilitate purposeful cooperation in a globalized economy International youth exchanges are crucial for a future of peace and freedom. Mobility programs supported by Erasmus+ have played a significant role in this success story! The number of participants has been increasing year by year, and the inclusion of people from all walks of life has made them a valuable tool for promoting the ideals of the European Union and the principles of active European citizenship. By their very definition, each international youth mobility includes an element of intercultural communication, which makes them a perfect training ground for the development of intercultural action competence (IAC). However, this valuable form of learning often occurs implicitly and the learning progress in this field is not properly evaluated and recognized. InterACT project was conceived and applied for in the Erasmus+ framework to address this issue.