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The Intercultural Navigators project is a three year programme run by the British Council which aims to develop groups of young leaders in Europe who can easily ‘navigate’ within and between different cultures – who have an understanding of their own cultural background and who are able and open to accept, respect and understand other cultures.
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Who are the Intercultural Navigators?
The Intercultural Navigators are 450 young people in 19 European countries with a desire to make a significant positive contribution to society; people who want to learn, are open minded, curious, and willing to share their own experiences and at the same time actively seek new perspectives. The programme aims to achieve a balance of diversity in terms of religion, gender, disability, ethnicity, class, sectors (private/public/civil society) and geographical balance (rural/urban and regional/provincial), in order to reflect and impact across society at country level.
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The structure of the programme is simple: the Navigators met together for four two day training workshops in each participating country during 2008 and 2009. They developed their leadership potential and were inspired to lead change in their communities. The training is now followed by international attachments involving public and non-governmental institutions and the business sector. To turn new knowledge and experience into action the British Council and its international partners also encourage the participants to develop and implement their own projects in the field of intercultural dialogue. This website is a showcase of the fascinating initiatives of the Navigators.
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Why is the programme special?
The bedrock of this programme is appreciative inquiry, an approach which gets people to focus on what works in every situation and to be positively curious about situations that are unfamiliar. However what gives the methodology its real impact is the added value that has been gained from working in collaboration with a team of experts from the UK and across the region with a rich and diverse knowledge of working in intercultural environments. A wide variety of skills, tools and techniques have been introduced, strengthened and practiced during the training. These include: Appreciative Inquiry, Ubuntu, Questioning, Systems Thinking and Conflict Management
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- Over 600 people from across Europe and beyond representing diverse communities and fields of interest and expertise.
- Influential and pasionate future leaders with the potential to lead social change. People who realise the importance of intercultural dialogue for the future success of communities
- project participants or Navigators have already started to implement projects that are affecting real change. In the UK, Navigators are working to integrate Poles working in the UK, while in Serbia group organised a performance called “New Beginning” aimed at bringing together divided communities.
- A growing list of influential partners highlights the importance of intercultural dialogue. Partners include the City of Helsinki, the Danish Red Cross, the FCO’s Developing Democracy project in Ukraine, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in Slovakia, Ibn Rushed, a leading Islamic study centre in Sweden, the Open Estonian Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Culture in Hungary.
  
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