Aprendizagem intercultural

CITIZENSHIP IN AN INTERCULTURAL EUROPE

Course created within the framework of a two year partnership of a Grundtvig 2 Project “An Intercultural Approach for an Active European Citizenship”

 INDEX Introduction 2

Part 1 ‐ Social relationships focussed on minorities 8 Part 2 ‐ Intercultural communication 37 Part 3 ‐ Developing interpersonal skills 62 Part 4 ‐ European Values 70 Part 5 ‐ The political dimension of citizenship 90

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INTRODUCTION Citizenship in an intercultural Europe Modern Europe – especially that part which constitutes the European Union – is often spoken of as becoming increasingly homogeneous with‐over regulation and a tendency to ever increasing conformity. Such pessimism, we suggest, fails to take account of the reality of a multicultural Europe which has a rich diversity of cultures, languages and religions often centered on distinctive geographic regions. It is not the sameness of Europe which should draw our attention but its variety. One of the ways in which this diversity makes itself apparent is through travel. Sometimes this can involve a short stay in another part of the continent, in which the difference is perceived as a pleasant diversion, or a source of cultural enrichment. For many people, though, movement around the European Union is a much more sobering search for a better quality of life and can lead to long term settlement in a new region or country. Such economic and social migration can cause tensions and misunderstanding between the incomers and those who