Interculturality refers to the ability to recognize, respect, and value cultural differences, and to emphasize the importance of cultural diversity as a resource and not as a threat to social cohesion and to either the individual or collective identity.
Assuming an intercultural approach means recognizing that societies are composed of diverse cultural groups, each of them with its own values, beliefs, traditions, and ways of life. In the attempt to overcome an assimilatory and dominant positioning over other cultural identities, interculturality supports recognition and respect for all differences.
Moreover, interculturality acknowledges the existence of power imbalances between cultures, often due to historical, social, or economic factors. It seeks to address these imbalances by promoting equity, social justice, and inclusivity.
Therefore, if encountering diversity inevitably leads to conflict, at the heart of the intercultural approach is precisely not denying conflict, but rather acknowledging it, thematizing and bringing it to the light. In doing this, interculturality assumes its educational mandate which aims at resolving conflict in a nonviolent manner, through a parallel process of deconstruction and construction.
When we talk about intercultural integration, we mean a strategic reorientation of governance and policies to encourage appropriate representation, positive intercultural mixing and interaction, and institutional capacity to manage cultural conflicts in various spheres and levels of society. Within integration programs, specifically focused on the integration of the migrant person within the host society, interculturality plays a crucial role promoting a two-way collaboration.
During the last three decades, European institutions have also recognized the fundamental role of interculturality. The Council of Europe’s Model Framework for an Intercultural Integration Strategy at the National Level highlights the importance of intercultural integration strategies in managing diversity and ensuring that migrants become an integral and productive part of the community. The framework emphasizes the need for integration policies to create spaces and occasions for meaningful intercultural interaction to ensure a sense of belonging, active participation, and peaceful intercultural coexistence. The framework also highlights the need for integration policies to focus on the assets that migrants bring, and on harnessing their talents, skills, and knowledge for their own and the communities’ benefit. Also, the EU Commission’s Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027 underlines the importance of assuming “a two-way process whereby migrants and EU citizens with migrant backgrounds are offered help to integrate and they in turn make an active effort to become integrated”.
Diversity should therefore be promoted at all institutional levels as well as in all public spaces to counteract discrimination and exclusion. To operationalize interculturality towards the construction of a two-way collaboration among migrants and host communities, several key steps can be considered:
- The promotion of Intercultural Dialogue, which plays a crucial role in resolving conflicts that arise due to cultural differences and promote mutual understanding and respect.
- The development of intercultural competences in both migrants and host communities to effectively manage intercultural situations, and to be able to improve the sharing of everyday living and working spaces in diverse environments.
- The development of Multi-level and Multi-stakeholder Approach to guarantee a broad and inclusive framework of intercultural collaboration.
- The development of spaces and occasions for intercultural mutual interaction to foster social cohesion, a sense of belonging, and an active participation.
- The planning and promotion of intercultural training activities for stakeholders, civil society and third country nationals, implementing in this way intercultural competencies at all levels.
- The development of action-research with academic involvement in the co-construction of evidence-based best practices to be spread out at multiple levels.
In conclusion, the role of interculturality in integration programs is crucial for fostering mutual understanding, respect, and cooperation between migrants and host communities. The intercultural approach to integration involves recognizing and valuing cultural diversity as a resource, promoting meaningful intercultural interaction, and developing intercultural competence. A two-way collaboration approach to integration that emphasizes the role of interculturality can help to ensure that integration programs are effective in promoting social cohesion and inclusion in diverse societies.
https://rm.coe.int/prems-093421-gbr-2555-intercultural-integration-strategies-cdadi-web-a/1680a476bd
eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0758
