Where Do You Stand?

This publication takes up the many and often controversial debates about the nature, content, methods and political significance of intercultural learning in and for the European youth field. Its starting point is the current depoliticisation of intercultural learning in this field, and especially in the programmes of the European Commission and the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe over the last several years. At the same time, the elevation of ?intercultural dialogue? to panacea for all societal problems, from civil war to educational failure, is putting the mobilisational value of intercultural learning to the test.

Ongoing debates about the changed conditions of contemporary multi-cultural societies, and the failure of state policies to integrate people deemed from elsewhere in inclusive, just and empowering ways, point to the need for renewal of the founding principles and re-conceptualisation of intercultural learning as political learning in the context of youth work in Europe, and even further afield.

A full-scale publication bringing together retrospectives and latest thinking on this theme specifically thought through for the European youth field has not appeared. The time is ripe for more recognition of the added value of self-reflective and self-critical intercultural educational approaches, that take into account the many pitfalls and inadequacies of the conceptual development and practice in this educational field, and make an effort to be a vehicle for educational renewal and improvement.