Cultural and spiritual resources are arguably essential to achievement of educational goals, both as economic and political initiatives and as human rights. This book addresses questions surrounding education and inter-cultural understanding in a broad global framework.

In a world where the global engagement and international dialogue intensifies, some areas of cultivated knowledge suffer from this dialogue and this has consequences for people and communities. We propose education to be such a case. The global dialogue in education tends to be restricted to and mediated by standardized measurements. Such standards are meant to measure qualities of education and of student behavior and create the sought for condition for normative comparability and competition. The obvious drawback is that cultural variability – in local living as well as in education – is rendered irrelevant. Are there alternatives? The book insists on maintaining the discussion about education on a global level, but rather than moving towards homogenization and standardization of education, the attention is drawn towards the potential for learning from creative fits - and misfits - between concrete local cultures, institutional practices and global aims and standards of education. This work brings together a group of educational and developmental researchers and scholars grappling to find culturally informed and sensitive modes of educating people and communities. Case studies and examples from four geographical contexts are being discussed: China, Brazil, Australia and Europe. While being embedded in these local cultures, the authors share a conceptual grounding in cultural developmental theorizing and a vision for a culturally informed globalized perspective on education. As the theme of the book is learning from each other, the volume also includes commentaries from leading scholars in the field of cultural psychology and education.

This report analyses all aspects of cultural diversity, which has emerged as a key concern of the international community in recent decades, and maps out new approaches to monitoring and shaping the changes that are taking place. It highlights, in particular, the interrelated challenges of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue and the way in which strong homogenizing forces are matched by persistent diversifying trends. The report proposes a series of ten policy-oriented recommendations, to the attention of States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, international and regional bodies, national institutions and the private sector on how to invest in cultural diversity. Emphasizing the importance of cultural diversity in different areas (languages, education, communication and new media development, and creativity and the marketplace) based on data and examples collected from around the world, the report is also intended for the general public. It proposes a coherent vision of cultural diversity and clarifies how, far from being a threat, it can become beneficial to the action of the international community.

This edited collection advances the call for continued multicultural dialogues within education. Dialogue and education are the two most essential tools that can help tackle some of the biggest problems we are facing across the globe, including fanaticism, chauvinistic nationalism, religious fundamentalism and racism. The contributors to this book explore the necessity of sustained dialogue within the wider social and political sciences alongside in national and international politics, where more multicultural voices need to be heard in order to make progress. The book builds on existing evidence and literature to advocate in favour of this movement, and highlights how important and significant multiculturalism and multicultural education remains. It will be essential reading for students and academics working in the fields of education and sociology, particularly those with an interest in social justice and multiculturalism.

Intercultural dialogue is a concept and discourse that dates back to the 1980s. It is the major means for managing diversity and strengthening democracy within Europe and beyond. It has been adopted by the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe as the basis for interreligious and interfaith initiatives and has become increasingly associated with a liberal theory of modernity and internationalism that presupposes freedom, democracy, human rights and tolerance. It is now the dominant paradigm for 'cultural policy' and the educational basis for the development of intercultural understanding. Governments have placed their hope in intercultural education as the way to avoid the worst excesses of globalization, especially exclusion and marginalization, and the problems of xenophobia and racism that afflict European societies. Interculturalism, Education and Dialogue is an international collection by renowned scholars who examine the ideological underpinnings of the European model and its global applications. It explores the historical, philosophical and educational dimensions of intercultural dialogue.

This book presents a structured yet flexible methodology for developing intercultural competence in a variety of contexts, both formal and informal. Piloted around the world by UNESCO, this methodology has proven to be effective in a range of different contexts and focused on a variety of different issues. It, therefore can be considered an important resource for anyone concerned with effectively managing the growing cultural diversity within our societies to ensure inclusive and sustainable development. Intercultural competence refers to the skills, attitudes, and behaviours needed to improve interactions across difference, whether within a society (differences due to age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, political affiliation, ethnicity, and so on) or across borders. The book serves as a tool to develop those competences, presenting an innovative adaptation of what could be considered an ancient tradition of storytelling found in many cultures. Through engaging in the methodology, participants develop key elements of intercultural competence, including greater self-awareness, openness, respect, reflexivity, empathy, increased awareness of others, and in the end, greater cultural humility. This book will be of great interest to intercultural trainers, policy makers, development practitioners, educators, community organizers, civil society leaders, university lecturers and students – all who are interested in developing intercultural competence as a means to understand and appreciate difference, develop relationships with those across difference, engage in intercultural dialogue, and bridge societal divides.

Modern societies are inconceivable as isolated and mono-cultural entities. The interaction of various cultures is not only a fact of life for most Europeans, it also enriches our societies. However, we also witness tensions between cultures. Intercultural dialogue is therefore one of the political priorities of the Council of Europe, as shown most prominently by the adoption of the White Paper "Living Together as Equals in Dignity" in May 2008. Higher education, by its history and contemporary practice, is a natural partner in and promoter of intercultural dialogue and understanding. Higher education institutions and campuses are themselves multicultural societies, and as such are the focus of the present volume. A second volume will examine the role of higher education in furthering intercultural dialogue and understanding in broader society.