Norway
VOX, the Norwegian Institute for Adult Learning, is an agency of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The institute works to improve basic skills in the adult population in the area of reading, writing, arithmetic and the use of ICT, and finances educational projects aimed at improving basic skills in the adult population. Vox is responsible for the curriculum development in Norwegian and socio-cultural orientation for adult immigrants, and cooperates with other agencies which provide initial training for this group. Vox is also an authority on the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning and on the statutory rights of adults to basic education. The institute initiates surveys and spreads new knowledge about adult learning. We organise conferences, courses and workshops on adult learning, and initiate and participate in networks for the exchange of experience and for further development. We administer governmental funding directed towards educational non-governmental organizations and open and distance learning institutions, and we finance pedagogical development in this field.
VOX has an extensive experience in international co-operation, particularly in European projects under the Socrates and Leonardo programmes (now the Lifelong Learning programme). We have coordinated several international projects.
Contact details:
Diana.alnas@vox.no
Tel: +47 23 38 13 65
Randi.husemoen@vox.no
Tel: +47 23 38 13 48
Homepage: www.vox.no
Tel: +47 23 38 13 00
Fax: +47 23 38 13 01
France
The GRETA du Velay - certified ISO 9001:2000 - is a regional group of 21 public educational establishments under the wing of the Ministry of National Education. It is specialised in continuous and vocational education in various areas: audiovisual, catering, cooking, tourism, building, healthcare, vocational integration, rural development, environment, services, languages, industry, etc. It co-ordinates a network of open and flexible learning centres in rural places. The transversal expertise includes training needs analysis, course design, community development, tutors training, development of e-learning services (http://diese.net, http://guidemploi.velay.greta.fr, http://citim.velay.greta.fr…). The GRETA du Velay is a member of the GRETA network that gathers 288 of them making this network one of the main training provider in France. Since 1992, the GRETA has implemented several actions in the field of diversity management for various target groups and sectors (eg. to promote the participation of women in non traditional sectors, the participation of migrants to work and society, the welcome of disabled persons in the tourism sector, senior workers…). The last activities include the participation to the All-Tall Leonardo projects to promote diversity in the classroom, Citim and Epitome to facilitate the integration of migrant workers in the French SMEs.
More information on all activities is available on http://cri.velay.greta.fr
Contact details:
Pierre L. Carrolaggi: pl.carrolaggi@velay.greta.fr
Phone: +33/4 71 09 80 30
Fax: +33/4 71 09 80 38
Spain
A short presentation of our institution
Manresa is a town of 75.000 inhabitants, located in the centre of Catalonia, at 70 km west from Barcelona. Manresa City Council participates in the M2M project, specifically the Units of ICT, immigration, CIO and CEDEM
CIO: The Centre for labour Initiatives is a public facility of the Manresa Town Council that offers employment services and manages active employment policies. The centre provides full-scale services such as information, job guidance, employment, outreach and training.
CIO aims to improve employment potential for those who are unemployed and individuals who wish to change their jobs, placing special emphasis on groups with difficult access to the job market.
CEDEM: The Business Development Centre offers specialised services, preferently geared towards micro, small and medium-sized companies, as well as to entrepreneurs who wish to create their own business.
The objectives of this centre are to promote the entrepreneurial culture and creation of companies, to help improve the competitive edge and development of the company fabric, and to promote and facilitate the establishment of new industrial activities in the region.
URL of Manresa City Council: http://www.ajmanresa.org
More information (in English) about Manresa: http://www.eurotowns.org/?q=node/27
Contact details for the project:
Marta Serra Salazar (coordinator)
Ajuntament de Manresa - Manresa City Council
Placa Major 1
08241 Manresa (Barcelona) – Spain
Phone: 00-34-938782300
Fax: 00-34938782322
Email: mserra@ajmanresa.org
Cristina Amat
CIO (Centre d’Iniciatives per a l’Ocupacio)
Placa Cots 1, 3, 5
08241 Manresa (Barcelona) – Spain
Phone: 00-34-938786490
Email:camat@ajmanresa.org
Belgium - CIMIC – KHMechelen
CIMIC – Centre for Intercultural Management and International Communication
CIMIC is a specialized service centre within a private higher education college in Mechelen (the Catholic university college Mechelen). CIMIC’s expertise lies in facilitating, mediating and training in the field of intercultural management and communication. CIMIC is becoming involved in training, consulting and coaching trajectories with a wide variety of client organizations and individuals, as well as in applied research projects for government or international agencies. Its current portfolio consists of 48 client organizations: NGO’s, schools, trade unions, hospitals, government departments, and private enterprise, seeking professional guidance at all levels (management level and at the work floor) in order to organize themselves to deal more effectively with increasing cultural diversity.
Our vision – the strength of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue
People, organizations and societies worldwide are nowadays continuously confronted with ‘different’ cultural patterns and life styles. Within this globalized context, CIMIC explores the ways in which better insights in the deeper sense of the ‘other culture’ can contribute to enhanced intercultural competency and communication, and to more effective organizations and relationships. CIMIC, in sum, resolutely promotes cultural diversity and seeks ways to further a fair intercultural dialogue.
What we do?
I. Training trajectories
A. The Postgraduate Program in Intercultural Management (two year program)
This study program targets young and more senior professionals from various societal environments (e.g. business (wo)men, teachers, social workers, health professionals, civil servants, and international NGO’s …) who are seeking to prepare themselves to live in a world in which intercultural encounters are becoming increasingly prominent. Courses are scheduled on weeknights and Saturdays to accommodate a typical audience of adult learners. The program is officially accredited by the Flemish government and leads to an advanced degree.
The content of the program is structured along modular lines providing participants with a maximum of opportunities to develop their own learning trajectory. Theme oriented modules include: culture and economics; culture and international collaboration; culture and diplomacy; culture and health; intercultural communication. Regionally oriented modules include: Africa; Asia; Latin America; Eastern Europe. Finally, the special module on world cosmologies consists of a range of residential weekends that provide a platform for participants to explore Western and Non Western religions and forms of spirituality.
Apart from guest lectures and individual exercises, there are many seminars and group based discussions. Self-study, research projects, case studies and group dynamics take on a significant part of a training methodology, which values required outputs as much as effective process based outcomes. At the end of the two year program, participants go on practical training during a six week stay in a foreign community.
B. The Postgraduate program Intercultural Communication and Diversity Management
This program is directed to organizations sending their personnel for further training in the business of diversity. How to find a balance within the organization between equality and equity? Can organizations diversify without discrimination, positive or negative? What are equal opportunities, and how to put them into practice in my own organization? How to build leadership and management support for diversity within the organization? These are some of the core questions that the course tries to provide answers to on the basis of case studies and practical models. Starting point is the practical situation within the organization of the participant. Following are the modules in the program:
Module 1: intercultural communication
Module 2: teamwork in diversity
Module 3: diversity and policy
Module 4: train the trainer
Module 5: diversity and organizational change
C. Tailor made programs
- Next to the regular modules, CIMIC develops, in consultation with client organizations, tailor made training programs, which are exclusively geared towards the particular needs and the audience of the organization concerned.
II. Consultancy and international research projects
CIMIC is increasingly involved in consulting and coaching trajectories with a number of client organizations. NGO’s, schools, government agencies, trade unions as well as private enterprises are seeking professional guidance at all levels –both at the management level and at the work floor— in order to organize themselves to deal with issues of cultural diversity and intercultural communication. A full listing of our client organizations can be provided upon request.
CIMIC is also an active associate in a number of externally funded research projects and international collaborations with institutional partners in various fields (e.g. education, business, media, health…) and countries (e.g. Pakistan, India, Bolivia, Turkey, USA, Indonesia…). Funding agencies include government and international organizations (e.g. European Union, UNESCO…).
Contact details:
Jo Bastiaens
Jo.Bastiaens@khm.be
Denmark
The Association for Integration of New Danes on the Labour Market is a private, non-political and non profit memberbased organisation. The objective is to break down the barriers between the New Danes and the labour market.
The vision is diversity management with special attention to recruitment strategies, intercultural communication, development of competencies and carer opportunities.
The association works to create and demonstrate new tools and methods, promote activities and to exchange experience and competence – through building, maintaining, inspiring and supporting the network within the membership and to other stakeholders. The 150 members of the association count companies engaged in the integration effort – private and public organisations, the authorities, educational institutions, labour market organisations among others.
The scenario we base our work upon is demonstrating the complexity of the integration, barriers ie the possible benefits of the Danish state, the companies, the Danes and the New Danes. We analyse the potential short- and long term benefits of integrating the New Danes on micro and macro level. We demonstrate possible ways to diversity management and to share knowledge and ideas from other companies that have implemented steps towards diversity.
Contact details:
Torben Møller-Hansen, Director
tmh@foreningen-nydansker.dk
+45 33 93 43 83
Hanne Fuglbjerg, Senior Adviser
Hf@foreningen-nydansker.dk
+45 33 38 62 01
Homepage:
www.foreningen-nydansker.dk
UK - London
Westminster lies in the heart of London and is one of the most diverse and dynamic communities in the UK. Westminster Adult Education Service (WAES) reflects this diversity and dynamism. We are one of the largest adult education providers in the UK.
Our service is part of the education department of the City of Westminster with the majority of our work funded by central and local government.
Westminster Adult Education captures around 12,000 learners each year and currently delivers education to those learners from our Westminster campuses, community venues and in local businesses.
The training we offer ranges from basic non-accredited and accredited entry level courses through to specialist professional development courses at level 3/4. Due to increased immigration to the UK the main demand for our provision is in the teaching of English language.
We also offer a service to local businesses, provided through our sister organisation, Westminster Business Solutions, where we work in partnership with employers to develop the skills of their employees so that they can fully and effectively contribute to the success of an organisation. The national strategy within the UK for engaging employers with education is “Train 2 Gain” and more details of this initiative can be found by visiting the website http://inourhands.lsc.gov.uk/
Further information regarding our organisation can be found by visitng www.waes.ac.uk
Lauretta von Paulsen
Head of Learning
Westminster Adult Education Service
Amberley Road
London
W9 2JJ
Tel: 00442076418162
Email: lvonpaulsen@waes.ac.uk