The Intercultura Foundation

The Intercultura Foundation was established in Colle di Val d’Elsa (Siena, Italy) on May 12th 2007 with an endowment of € 1,500,000.00 donated by the association that bears the same name (Intercultura), established in 1955 to promote pupils’ exchanges between Italy and the rest of the world. This a non-governmental organisation, recognised by the Italian government, operated by over 4,000 volunteers in 132 chapters all over Italy, and belongs to the international networks of AFS Intercultural Programs and of EFIL, the European Federation for Intercultural Learning. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has joined the Foundation and has appointed a representative on its board. The Foundation has been admitted to the Italian national observatory on intercultural education (at the Ministry of Education).

Mission statement

“Those who are locked in the cage of one culture, their own, are always in a state of latent war and do not know it” – This statement by anthropologist Robert Hanvey may be expressed also in another way: those who feel uncomfortable away from their homeland or away from their language are only half citizens and inadequate actors in the global market.

Opening up to the world without losing one’s roots; addressing reality from many perspectives; discovering the boundaries of one’s culture by interacting with that of others; experiencing the commonality of human links in spite of visible differences: these are the goals to which the Intercultura Foundation will give substance and support, by studying and developing structures and practices for intercultural learning.

The Foundation will offer concrete opportunities to people involved in education, not just to those who work at the integration of migrants, but to those who are concerned about the narrow nationalisms of many school systems in the world.”

Purpose of the Foundation

The aims of the Foundation are:

Activities 2010

The National Observatory on internalisation of Italian schools and pupils mobility

The project of the Observatory on internalisation of Italian schools and pupils mobility, was launched in September 2009. The website www.scuolerinternazionali.org collects all the information related to the Observatory and it is a useful platform for the schools interested in promoting international activities.

The survey 2010 has been conducted by IPSOS Public Affairs in the months of March and April, in cooperation with the Regional Offices of the Ministry of Education. The participation of the secondary school principals in the 5 Italian Regions involved (Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Puglia and Toscana) has been close to 50%.

The information collected will be available on the observatory web site www.scuoleinternazionali.org at the beginning of next school year (September 7th). On the same date the II Report of the Observatory will be presented in a public conference for teachers and principals to be held in Milan.

The pilot survey on a small group of secondary school teachers was successful and it will be completed by a quantitative survey to be conducted next fall.

The training sessions on line (Web seminars) provided by the Observatory, in order to support the schools involved in youth mobility programmes, have been very much appreciated and the participation was active and high. The first two seminars were held on April 14th and on May 10th and they will continue in the Fall, for a total of 6/7 events in 2010.

The research by SICESE/University of Rome Tor Vergata on "The role of teachers in promoting school internationalisation and pupils' mobility" is concluded. The study will be published as Volume 4 of the Foundation's Library. The results will also be presented during two public events:
- in Naples on September 30th - on the Intercultural Dialogue Day
- in Brescia on November 5th - at the National Assembly of Intercultura

Other researches to be conducted in 2010:

- "What secondary school I would like for Italy?" based on conversations with AFS returnees attending the second year of university. The research will be conducted by Susanna Mantovani, University of Milan Bicocca. The results will be ready at the end of the Summer and will be presented during a conference to be held in Milan on September 30th and possibly in the headquarters of the Ministry of Education, at a conference to be held in October.

- The "success" of Italian secondary school pupils in schools abroad by SICESE/University of Rome Tor Vergata - School years 2009/2010 and 2010/2011.

- The "success" of foreign exchange students in Italian secondary schools by University of Bari and University of Milan Cattolica - School year 2009/2010.

- The Kaleidoscope Project of AFS by Nicolas Geeraert. The survey will be conducted in cooperation with 48 AFS countries and will investigate the impact of the AFS experience on the participants to the year programme in the 2010/2011 school year.

- The narration of the AFS experience. The research will be conducted by Prof. Bachisio Bandinu of the Cagliari University (Sardinia).

Conferences/Seminars

Presentation of the results of the following researches:

- The internationalisation of the Italian schools and the pupils mobility - presentation of the II° report of the Observatory. Milan, September 7th

- The role of teachers in promoting school internationalisation and pupils' mobility
- Naples, September 30th - on the Intercultural Dialogue Day
- Brescia on November 5th - at the National Assembly of Intercultura

- What secondary school I would like for Italy?
- Milan, September 30th
- Rome, October at the Ministry of Education

The Foundation received positive feedback by the Ministry of Education to be recognised as an organization which can officially deliver training services to the school personnel (teachers and headmasters). We are still waiting for the official document of approval.

Publications

- "Intercultura" Quarterly
n. 56: The Observatory: the results of the 2009 survey
n. 57: Report of the Forum on Intercultural Learning and Exchange
n. 58: The perception of Italian school by the foreign pupils
n. 59: Annual reports

- Volume 4 of the Foundation's Library on the results of the study "The role of teachers in promoting school internationalisation and pupils' mobility"

International scholarships

The Foundation will continue the research of new sponsors willing to contribute to the project of the International scholarships. A new staff member has been hired.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will fund the project of scholarships for the 2010/2011 school year programme in Italy for pupils from Cina, India and Russia.

Other projects

1. Recognition of credits for study abroad during secondary school by Italian universities for students' admission, in cooperation with Fondazione CRUI.

2. Intercultural dialogue day: events will be held in 400 cities all over Europe on September 30th

3. Show Racism: a project run by the NGO Lunaria (Rome) in 10 classes of secondary schools in Rome. The project invites secondary school students to make an observation on racism and discrimination and share their experiences as actors or victims of this these topics.

2010 and beyond

The Foundation  is working at the preparation of the following projects to be held in 2011:

1. Training session for Intercultura volunteers (advanced level) on the main outcomes of the "Forum on Intercultural Learning and Exchange" and their application on the Intercultura programmes, January 2011

2. A national conference on "Reconciling Babel: Education for Cosmopolitanism" - that will focus on "cosmopolitanism as a way of living in a pluralistic society".
The conference will take place at Villa di Breme Forno in Cinisello Balsamo (Milan) from April 7th to April 9th 2011. The project is organised in cooperation of the University of Milano Bicocca (Susanna Mantovani), with the other Universities in Milan and with EXPO 2015. The invitations to the speakers have been sent out. You will be invited to attend this conference.

3. Repeat "Forum on Intercultural Learning and Exchange" in 2011 - also looking at priorities that will emerge from 2011-13 development plan of Intercultura.