Skip to 0 minutes and 19 seconds JAMIE SPURWAY: There have been mass movements of refugees many times before. The World Wars saw tens of millions fleeing their homes. The partition of India and Pakistan, the independence of Bangladesh, the Rwandan genocide, and civil conflicts around the world have all created refugees and there are millions. They are a massively diverse group, speaking many languages, of age, religions, and ethnicities, men and women, young and old, rich and poor. In many ways, they may have nothing in common except the fact that they have had to leave their home, a decision that nobody takes lightly and one that impacts on every aspect of their lives.
Skip to 0 minutes and 59 seconds Many flee war, while others flee a risk of violence that is specific to them, their families, or the group they’re perceived to belong to. Critical to understanding this group of people is a recognition that they are not unusual. Refugees are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. In recent years, we’ve been inundated with images of refugees fleeing conflict and persecution in countries like Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. There is a situation of humanitarian crisis in many of the countries that refugees currently flee to. DR.
Skip to 1 minute and 32 seconds MARTA MOSKAL: In the current massive increase of refugees flows that have been perceived as a refugee crisis. Skill needs are changing rapidly, calling for updated training within a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach, combining the principles of psychological well-being, intercultural communication, and interpretation, conflict and crisis management in the reality of and in the work with refugees. DR.
Skip to 1 minute and 57 seconds GIOVANNA FASSETTA: Cultural mediators hold a central role in addressing the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the context of the current humanitarian crisis in Europe. Cultural mediators are directly involved in the facilitation of relations between newcomers under civil society, working towards the mutual exchange of knowledge and towards establishing positive relations between individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnic origins. This course aims to address the needs of interpreters, NGO practitioners, volunteers, refugees, researchers, and students. It will develop a set of skills needed to respond to this humanitarian crisis, which will include group management, intercultural communication, conflict resolution, counselling, and negotiation. DR.
Skip to 2 minutes and 52 seconds MARTA MOSKAL: The course is informed by a variety of resources developed by the Erasmus+ Reculm project consortium based in four European countries, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, and Spain. The course develops over three weeks. But attendance is flexible and self-paced. We look forward to working with you online.
