Intercultural mediation can be a key strategy for social inclusion and cohesion. It helps to support conflict prevention, increases mutual understanding between parties with different cultural backgrounds and beliefs. It also supports knowledge of rights and access to community services.
The IncludeMe project team has developed a guide to good practice where various institutional and individual initiatives have been analysed and, based on these insights, challenges that mediators may encounter have been identified. The Good Practice Guide provides examples of how mediation can serve as a tool for conflict resolution in social conflicts and highlights how to promote the social integration of migrants and refugees. It further introduces and identifies both formal and non-formal mediation activities as a tool for mutual knowledge, social cohesion and peaceful approaches to conflict resolution. It also shows how the role of mediator can more effectively influence and use the capacity of intercultural mediation methods to contribute to social change and social justice.
The IncludeMe consortium has also developed an innovative Training Course aimed at teachers and adult/community educators. Divided into five modules, the course encourages educators to integrate intercultural mediation training into their organisation’s activities and the training currently offered. The assignments are designed for classroom interaction and include case studies and ready-made discussion topics. The resources in the course are designed for teachers in higher education, particularly those working in in-service training departments and outreach roles, but are also suitable for volunteers and for anyone who wants to learn more about non-formal mediation. The course is also relevant for higher education managers and stakeholders in migrant education.
The final development of the IncludeMe project team has been a MOOC course consisting of five different modules covering 24 different areas, all of which are made up of short learning sections, exercises and learning links that provide a deeper understanding of what mediation is all about: being a present, fair and trustworthy person who helps in situations where difficulties may arise, for example due to bureaucracy, cultural differences or language. The course is primarily intended for online learning, it is freely available and free to use.
The poject ”IncludeMe: Inclusion through mediation” is co-funded by the Erasmus+ of the European Union. It has been led by Åbo Akademi University in Finland and project partners are: European Universities Continuing Education Network (eucen) in Belgium, European E-learning Institute in Denmark, Momentum Marketing Services Limited in Irland, Tuzla Kaymakamlığı in Turkiet and Fundacio Solidaritat UB in Spain.
