On October 10, 2013 a round table on the issues of multicultural education for the members of the regional education departments and representatives of educational institutions of Grodno and Grodno region took place on the basis of the Grodno Region Institute of Educational Development. The event was organized by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Office in the Republic of Belarus, Education Department of Grodno Region Executive Committee and International Non-governmental Association for Scientific Research, Information and Educational Programmes «Evolutio». The event was held in the framework of the EU—UNHCR Project «Local Integration of Refugees in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine (phase II)».
The round table was opened by Elena Akimova, Head of the Office of Educational and Social Work of Grodno Region Education Department. In her speech she paid attention to the importance and urgency of the subject of the round table, expressed the interest of the members of the regional education departments and representatives of educational institutions of Grodno and Grodno region in the topic of the round table as the region has a large number of foreigners and has border with Lithuania and Poland. Also Grodno is a center, which gathers representatives of all nationalities residing in the Republic of Belarus within the framework of Republic Festival of National Cultures.
Then the floor was taken by the Viacheslav Bakhanovich, Programme Associate of the UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus, he welcomed the participants of the round table, thanked the organizers of the event and noted the importance of multicultural education in the modern world.
At the end of the introductory part of the event Andrey Selivanov, Executive Director of the INA “Evolutio”, welcomed everyone and indicated that the event is held to maintain tolerance in the Belarusian society and to promote interaction between the different nationalities residing in the Republic of Belarus. He expressed the hope that new knowledge and ideas acquired during the round table will be successfully implemented. One of the main roles in this process is played by teachers and representatives of educational institutions, who are multiplicators of the information, so the organizers hope that the received at the event information will go further to schools. Executive Director of the INA “Evolutio” drew attention to the fact that the event is not a seminar, but the round table where during process of sharing of knowledge and ideas all the parties can get from each other what they lack for further creative work on the subject.
Viacheslav Bakhanovich, Programme Associate of the UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus began the main information session of the roundtable. He made a presentation on the topic “Who are refugees?” and in his speech he drew attention to the definition of “refugee” in accordance with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, gave examples of commonplaces stereotyped definitions of the term “refugee”, and the fact how many people understood this definition. Statistics was given: in Belarus 867 persons received refugee status and 23 persons received subsidiary protection by the 1st of October 2013. V. Bakhanovich introduced the basic provisions of the Convention to the participants, and told about the UNHCR and the activities of the organization.
In his turn A. Selivanov raised the question of UNHCR powers and the history of this international organization, and also talked about famous refugees. The discussion started, and questions relating to refugees in Belarus and in the world were asked. However, it was decided firstly to listen to the following speaker, and then to ask questions.
Alexandr Nadeyko, Deputy Head of the Office on Citizenship and Migration of the Internal Affairs Department of Grodno Region Executive Committee, made a presentation “Foreigners and refugees in the Grodno region and in the Republic of Belarus”. In his speech A. Nadeyko presented general information about foreigners and refugees in the Grodno region and in the Republic of Belarus, and indicated that nowadays Belarus has effective legislative system relating the issues of forced migration. Among the basic legislative acts he named the Law of the Republic of Belarus from 23.06.2008 “On the granting of foreign citizens and stateless refugee status, subsidiary and temporary protection in the Republic of Belarus” and the Law of the Republic of Belarus from 04.01.2012 “On the Legal Status of Foreign nationals and stateless persons in the Republic of Belarus”. A. Nadeyko told about a mode of stay of foreigners in the Republic of Belarus: foreigners can stay temporarily (obliged within 5 days from the date of arrival in the Republic of Belarus to register at the place of residence for 90 days), obtain a temporary residence (make a temporary residence permit up to 1 year), and reside permanently on the territory of the Republic of Belarus (make a permanent residence permit and a residence permit — 7 years). In his presentation some statistics in the Grodno region was shown, 11 persons were recognized as refugees (1 Afghan and 10 Georgians) by October 1, 2013. Also Deputy Head of the Office on Citizenship and Migration of the Internal Affairs Department of Grodno Region Executive Committee explained the basic stages of consideration of applications for protection, and told the participants about the temporary accommodation center of refugees in Vitebsk, center of temporary accommodation, psychological and social adaptation of refugees in Gomel and place of temporary residence of foreigners in Brest. He drew attention to the rights and duties of foreigners applying for protection in the Republic of Belarus, and foreigners who have been granted refugee status in the Republic of Belarus.
Then the documentary “Refugees in Belarus” was shown to the participants.
After watching the film Andrey Selivanov, Executive Director of the INA “Evolutio”, and Maria Nekrashevich, Consultant of the INA “Evolutio”, proposed recommendations for the “lesson” on multicultural education. M. Nekrashevich paid attention to the importance of multicultural education and the education of the individual, in particular, to the Concept of continuous education of children and youth in the Republic of Belarus. It is noted in the Concept that the content of education is based on the human values, cultural and spiritual traditions of the Belarusian people, the state ideology. The concept also reflects the interests of individuals, society and the state, the need for “forming of students’ ability to live in a multicultural world, to resist political and religious extremism”. In accordance with the provisions of the Concept of the essence of multicultural education is to form a common cultural and intercultural competence. In her speech, she emphasized that multicultural education and education itself should be implemented in the system, i.e. it should be systemic in the school-wide level and at the level of each class. Then M. Nekrashevich presented recommendations for the lesson on multicultural education, told about the importance of this process in the integration of refugees, as well as activities in Belarus devoted to the World Refugee Day.
A. Selivanov introduced the publication of the INA “Evolutio” which can help in preparation of the lesson of multicultural education, in particular, manual for the teachers of secondary school “Refugees and Us”, manual “Multicultural education in the modern educational environment” and said that on the Internet site of the INA “Evolutio” everyone can find a large number of publications on the subject. A. Selivanov told about an updated manual on multicultural education, which will soon get a stamp of the Ministry of Education.
Then the participants of the round table were divided into five groups. Each group in 40 minutes prepared a detailed outline of a lesson on multicultural education. Various forms, techniques, and means for this lesson were proposed by each group. On results of work of the groups five drafts of the lesson on multicultural education were received, the presentation and the discussion of each of them took place, representatives of each group responded to questions on the presentations. Detailed outline of a lesson are presented below.
The first group presented a lesson “Tolerance ... and we”. The purpose is to create conditions for forming tolerant consciousness of students and multicultural skills. The concepts that will be used: stereotypes, tolerance, xenophobia, discrimination. The work takes place in groups. To determine the stereotypes children are encouraged to fill in the table “Which nation is consistent with qualities?” during the completing the table you can see the vision of the children. Then, with the game “Feel as a stranger” concepts of xenophobia and discrimination are defined. Children pull a card with the nation they represent, all the rest begin to turn to the person of that nationality in accordance with the stereotypes in the filled table. After that the questions are asked about how the child feels in the role. Thus, having experienced the situation and the attitude of others, the child understands the need to overcome the fear towards the people of other nationalities. The next stage is a brainstorming “I am a refugee”. Children are asked the following questions: “What can push you out of a comfortable environment? What qualities will you show? What attitude would you like to see from other people?” After answering these questions the definition of “tolerance” in different languages and in different countries is given, and a discussion is held. The culmination of the lesson is a reflection, children are encouraged to complete the sentence “For me tolerance is …” The lesson is completed with the Plato’s words: “A man in a foreign land, away from his compatriots and the family, deserves more love from people and the gods”.
The second group proposed program SSD (sixth school day) in the form of “Intercultural Cafe" with a “menu” on every Saturday. Subject of the first Saturday is “Art for All”, which includes literature contest (1—4 form), the contest mini-performances (5—7 form), and thematic disco with music of different peoples (8—11 form). The second Saturday is called “Health is great”, the program of the day included the games of the peoples of the world, the competition of national dishes, and talk shows “Sports stars”. The topic of the third SSD is “Traditions of the countries and peoples”, it includes a birthday party by ... (country), a toy store (the Toy Story), and a beauty salon (hair and make-up of different nationalities). The barmen of the “Intercultural Café” are the event coordinators.
The third group prepared a homeroom “Rainbow over the house”. The purpose is education of tolerant person, the objectives are the following: to introduce the concept of “tolerance” and the term “refugee”, to cultivate a sense of tolerance and responsiveness. Procedure of the homeroom: 1) protection of collages “different colors” (prepared before at home), 2) a mini-forum theater “Yellow Ramp”, 3) psychological game “Share the warmth”, 4) reflection is to fill the table with four kinds of colors (this is true — red tulips, there is something to think about — daffodils, I need to learn how to ... — green hydrangeas, I remained indifferent — purple squills).
The fourth group decided to organize the event in the form of traditional Festival of national cultures in the framework of the sis school day. Target group is 1—4 forms. The aim is to create conditions for forming multicultural consciousness through studying of national traditions of neighboring countries. The preparatory stage includes the drawing of lots of the participating countries, studying of culture of the countries (2 weeks) through the virtual tours and preparation of posts, training for competitions, and production of souvenirs. The main stage of the festival consists of the following: a) the visiting card of the team “My Country” (symbols, costumes, etc.), b) the national cuisine (a story about cooking, demonstration of courses), c) artistic performance, and d) fair and sale of the souvenirs. The final stage includes the awarding of all the teams by the nominations and publication of a booklet with photos.
The fifth group presented a program of a hike “Know homeland named Belarus”. The goal is consolidation of the multinational group. The objectives are the following: education of tolerance, responsiveness, kindness and familiarity with the culture and traditions of different peoples, the development of creative abilities and skills of a culture of healthy lifestyles. The first stage is preparatory stage. In the course of this stage the development of the route, the distribution of responsibilities, menus and discussion of cultural and entertainment programs are going on. The main stage of the hike consists of two days and includes following the claimed route, sightseeing areas, the formation of a camp, a competition “My national dish”, a bonfire homework “Let’s sing, friends”, and overnight stop. The second day consists of the sport competitions “Together we are strong”. The final stage is creation of a photo collage and placement of the photos on the website of the educational establishment.
At the end of the event the participants summarized the information, expressed recommendations and wishes for the lesson on multicultural education. It can be said that the round table on the issues of holding the lessons on multicultural education has been successful. Taking any of the scenarios, it is possible to conduct an entertaining and informative lesson on multicultural education, which will help to promote tolerance among students, to form positive attitudes towards representatives of different nationalities, foreign nationals, refugees and asylum seekers.