Promoting interculturalism through non-formal approaches

Abstract

In the present paper we will discuss the contribution of non-formal initiatives to the promotion of an intercultural education, in a holistic perspective of interculturalism and fostering global citizenship. Deepening the analysis of intercultural contexts by taking non-formal initiatives as targets of analysis, it is our objective to propose a framework of observation and evaluation of intercultural initiatives taking place outside the formal educational system. The brief analysis of three intercultural initiatives in two different fields of action – family hosting within an educational context and urban tourism –, taken as examples of non-formal approaches, allowed us to propose a grid analysis as a useful instrument for observation of intercultural relations outside the formal context. This tool can be used within Intercultural Education Platforms on a straight monitoring collaboration with an Observatory of Migrations, complemented by an Observatory of Tolerance that could disseminate the best practices of the considered territory.