Cultures in Contact transcultural training seminars in Krzyżowa (Poland)

Background of the project The Kreisau-Initiative Berlin e.V.and the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding are cooperating for years in the field of international youth exchange. One of our most important aims is to foster intercultural dialogue between Germany and Poland as well as in Germany and Poland. Since 2005, we started to develop several projects for cultural exchange via youth meetings, which are taking part in Krzyżowa (Poland). During our work we recognized the high potential of an even-handed intercultural dialogue between majorities and minorities as well as the benefits of intercultural learning for young people. That convinced us to proceed with our work to be able to react on the demographic change in European Societies. The world today is more global than ever before. The integration of young people with migration background into international youth exchange is on of our main aims, as scientific analyzes revealed that they are participating to a very low extend in international youth exchange. We are aiming to raise this quota to give everybody the possibility to internationalize their life. To avoid one-sided stigmatization we pursue the approach of dialogue between minorities and majorities in order to discuss possibilities for a peaceful and equal cohabitation. The training seminars Our transcultural training seminars are taking part in the international youth meeting center in Krzyżowa / Poland several times a year. The target group of those seminars are young people with and without a migration history wishing to develop their intercultural skills just for themselves or in the context of their working specialization. So we attract pupils, students and youth workers as well as people from migrant or youth organizations from all over Europe. Every seminar will be adjusted to one of those target groups in order to optimize the learning effects. We are working with the transcultural approach, using methods which are based on individual experience and reflection. We are aiming to connect our seminars with cultural practice, in order to reach maximum effects. Our team of international trainers is caring for optimal settings and productive learning process. Target group - young multipliers from Turkey, Germany, Slovakia, Romania and Poland - English language skills are necessary - five participants from each country = 25 participants - age of participants: 23-40 - young professionals, working with youth with different cultural backgrounds in a local context - those, who are regularly engaged in schooling of young people, who are leading international youth meetings - social workers from schools, youth clubs or other institutions working with young people, who would like to internationalize their local youth work by organizing international youth meetings - members of youth associations.