16 June, 2009

Dutch dialogue bench

Following a Danish example a class of ours from a minor tried out the dialogue bench set up by teacher Anna Hendrix. They talked in numerous pairs about their mutual similarities and when they felt a European. They also provided answers to the open-ended phrase: "intercultural is ......" .
Although our department is still busy designing and implementing an "international / intercultural corner" within the "meeting area" of our school of social work, the students just seated themselves on the new red furniture to start their dialogues.
This new idea is a result from European cooperation within the BLaID project, an EU funded Grundtvig project with 6 different EU partners.
In brief, the dialogue bench is in fact a bench or couch, or even just a corner within your institute or organisation, which invites you to communicate. It provides room for diversity and a variety of (inter)cultural expressions, the main aim being: promoting mutual respect. A fascinatingly simple initiative worth stimulating within our department.
Here's a short photostory of some of the BLaID activities that took place in Rotterdam.

BLaID project activities in Rotterdam from Jane Traveller on Vimeo.

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