Why Intercultural Education? Approach of the project

We consider interculturality as a paramount dimension of social life, not only in countries with a difficult recent past, but worldwide. Borders are becoming loose, distances smaller, global economy already affect most of the world, immigration is increasing. Exposure to different cultures is becoming much higher that in the past, and citizens of the world need intercultural skills in order to face this new reality in a constructive manner.

Interculturality is about knowing and accepting differences and their values; is more than tolerance, more than just living near others, but with others, being of a different ethnicity, religion, life-style, etc. In Romania, the dialogue between different ethnic groups never took place in a constructive manner. The 50 years of dictatorships put a lid on the inter-ethnic relations (pretexting the “equality among all”), then the transition toward democracy was more focused on economic conditions than root causes of discrimination.

Intercultural education in schools and communities is an approach we consider as the best way to prevent and solve underlying conflicts, and for teaching responsible citizens for the future society. Combining intercultural education with community development gives the premises for empowering right-holders and for building accountability with duty-bearers.

The Mosaic project aims "an increased intercultural community spirit, linking minority and the majority population", meaning to create an intercultural community space, as meeting point between the minority and the majority population. In such manner we agree together with partners to attend three specific objectives:

1. Intercultural education is a new study field in Romania at the academic level through the Academy for Economic Studies

2.There are 4-5 intercultural working networks linking the relevant institution (schools, didactic staff’s houses, school inspectorates, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, representatives of the communities at the local and county level);

3. The role of the community in the diversification of the educational offer in schools, by creating an intercultural learning climate, is increased.

 

To which problems / issues of the country / region does the project respond to?

There are around 22 minorities living in Romania, depending on definition of minority, summing for around 20% of population. The most important ones are Hungarians and Roma, but the most respected are the Germans, even if almost all of them left Romania in the last 25 years. There are some specificities of Romanian Roma, comparing with the ones of neighbouring countries: one is the fact that they were slaves till 1856, and the other, derived from the first, is that half of them are rural, the rest urban.

Roma were slaves mainly on the lands of monasteries and big landlords. After they were liberated (in the aftermath of the 1848 European Revolution), the Romanian government designed and started to apply a national plan for empowering Roma (allotting land, teaching different jobs etc.). Unfortunately, the progresist government was removed from power, and all reforms stopped before having any chance to show a result.

Since then there was no coherent national plan for the integration of Roma in Romania (as well as in other countries where they represent an important minority). Roma also lived the Holocaust in Romania during WWII, massive deportations of Roma being organised at that time. The effects of the Holocaust are still visible in the Roma mindset, and governmental initiatives face a lot of mistrust from them.

After the abolition of slavery, Roma remained on the lands they worked, few of them resettling in urban areas (mainly on the outskirts) or continuing their nomad existence, travelling around the country and Europe. Only during the forced industrialisation of Romania, important numbers of Roma, together with non-Roma, were sent to work in the new factories and to live in the fast growing cities. The main jobs they got were the ones requiring low qualifications, but during socialism everybody had to have a job (meaning also a payment, even if minimal) and a house. From this point of view, the situation of Roma was improved. The policy was to assimilate them, and discrimination and prejudgements were not addresses, but were enforced during that period.

After the political changes known as Revolution, 20 years ago, the industry was collapsing. First to be fired were Roma, not only because discrimination, but also because their low qualifications. The whole Romanian society felt in deep poverty, but Roma were the first to feel it, and the ones who went the deepest. Social tensions at different levels arouse around Romania, including fights, arsons, police injustices against Roma in early 90s. Highest tensions were between Romanian and Hungarians, and between Roma and the rest. Tensions were very high in early 90s, and violent clashes occurred between Romanians and Hungarians and Roma, resulting victims, and showing that the minorities’ issues were not tackled for too many years, keeping under pressure the whole society. Romania didn’t had a civil war, but the tensions are similar with the ones that triggered wars elsewhere. The egalitarism declared during socialist times was only a blanket covering long lasting and deep-rooted conflicts, never assumed and discussed before, or since.

The tensions and conflicts between Romanians and Hungarians last also since centuries. An important difference between Hungarians and Roma is the fact that Hungarians have a country of origin to report to, and they are much more organised, at different levels, including a very important political representation (the Hungarian party was always in a position to balance the political scene, being in the different governments since early 90s). If the conflicts between Romanians and Roma are mainly rooted in long lasting discrimination, the ones with the Hungarians are mainly fuelled by politics and extremists from both parties. Even if so, the tensions and conflicts are still real and go down to people perceptions and real lives. Due to the political influence, Hungarians succeeded to gain most of cultural rights they claimed for. Now the problem is the implementation and how to do that without discriminating the population of other ethnicity in the regions massively inhabited by Hungarians (out of 42 districts in Romania, 4 have Hungarians as majority of population – in two of them representing over 85%). If problems are not openly discussed and solved, one discrimination is replaced with another when times changes. That happens for instance in the regions were Hungarians are in majority, one of which is Odorhei, a location of Mosaic. In such situations there is also the danger of self-segregation, as Hungarians lack confidence in Romanian authorities, and tend to reject anything that is not Hungarian, including the Romanian language, which narrow the chances of youths to find a job outside the region. Language is seen as an important issue in the region, going up to divide communities. The activities done in the first phase and foreseen for the second are aiming at compensating the lack of public debate over minorities issue, by easing cohabitation through intercultural education in schools, diminishing the gap between the two communities. In the same time, the relations with the other groups will be debated, as also isolated and quasi-compact communities need to deal with differences.

The combination of intercultural activities in two of the most important tensioned settings in Romanian society, the conflicts between Romanians – Hungarians – Roma, give strength to the Mosaic project, as tackles Interculturality not only from the relations with Roma, but also with other minority, showing a broader picture of the whole setting and matter. The 5 regions where the project will develop are chosen based on FP’s experience and relations with relevant institutions and persons, as well as in correlation with other initiatives, which might support the development of the project (Soros), and represent a significant picture of Romanian society with its ethnic representation. Activities are done mainly in schools, seen as a meeting place between community development and intercultural coming together.

 

What is the relevance for children and youth of this project?

Given the above mentioned aspects, which endanger the peaceful cohabitation of people of different background, the second phase of Mosaic will contribute at the improvement of various aspects relevant to the matter, through:

The children and youngsters will be raised in the spirit of tolerance, of diversity acceptance and of children’s rights’ respecting. They will be able to pass over to their friends and to the community they belong to the intercultural education concept.

The intercultural activities’ projects they will take part in, where they will be the main actors, will abilitate them face the challenges of their life, in a society where interculturality is constancy.

The education and schools became relevant for children and family. The schools became the "centre of communities". Through the activities implemented, children will become an active presence in the community, over passing the school’s strict framework and expressing themselves so that their friends and the adults from the community should be able to hear them.

The parents will be more involved and interested by quality of education in schools.

 

Project organisation

The role of Fundatia Pestalozzi:

-          Setting up and developing of the project in the new schools in the 2nd stage of the project;

-          Signing the Partnership Agreement with the Strategic partners and local partners;

-          Coordinating the team work from ASE which are create the curricula, handbook, notebook, tools and procedures for evaluation;

-          Coaching the experience exchange between the resource centres from the 1st project’s stage and the schools newly involved in the project;

-          Performing internal evaluation, monitoring and reporting;

-          Project Cycle Management & Community Development training preparation, implementing and evaluation;

-          Organize the workshops in every project areas;

-          Co-ordination and technical assistance provided for project activities by FP project team (logistics, field visits, budget administration etc.)

 

Services

-         Post academic courses provided by ASE with FP support for teachers from high school (training), secondary school (permanent training) in ASE network;

-         Permanent training provided by ASE with FP support for teachers from high school (training), primary school, secondary school (permanent training) in ASE network;

-         Project co-ordination and technical support provided by FP;

-         Training on Project Cycle Management and Community Development (PCM&CD) for members of 4 - 5 networks done by SOROS and FP;

-         Workshops on ICE working network for new locations;

-         Technical support and coaching provided by FP for networks and partner schools to become Resource Schools in intercultural education;

-         Networking with members of the intercultural network in order to monitor access to education;

-         ICE training for teachers from partners schools and other persons form networks;

-         Granting and technical support for teachers project on intercultural education and their implementation in schools;

-          Project co-ordination and coaching provided by FP to partners in ICE activities, child rights and participation to their education and management.