Building an intercultural pedagogy for higher education in conditions of conflict and protracted crises: Languages, identity, culture

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Conditions of conflict, civil war, siege and occupation, and other forms of protracted crises have resulted in the forced migration of refugees and internally displaced people, especially youths, who are then marginalised or excluded from formal education. These conditions created educational challenges in low and middle income countries (LMICs). How can researchers, educators, teachers, and students in (formal) higher education (HE) develop the capabilities and resources to support the learning of youths (and their families) who are marginalised and excluded from formal education, or who lack certain aspects of education for employability? What resources do they and local community support groups need to facilitate intercultural communication and education across these differences and divides? How can the arts and humanities support intercultural dialogue and understanding through non-formal education? How can intercultural pedagogies that promote the awareness and understanding of individuals' multiple languages, multiple identities, their culture and heritage, and self-representations be developed in and for these contexts? How can formal and non-formal education prepare young people to become global citizens: to take responsibility and participate in civil society, and act in the face of all forms of injustice?This research network, responding to the AHRC GCRF highlight notice for education in contexts of conflict and protracted crises; aims to develop locally-generated, context-specific intercultural pedagogies and understandings of global citizenship in the LMICs of Columbia, Gaza, and Turkey. The network of multilingual, multi-/interdisciplinary researchers (in applied linguistics, education, intercultural communication, languages, and theology) will initiate exploration and dialogue to develop conceptualisations and methodologies of intercultural education-intercultural pedagogies-and global citizenship in these contexts. The network is led by researchers in the UK, and supported by academic advisors in the UK and Turkey and a researcher in Brazil, all of whom are experts in languages, intercultural communication and education, and the creative arts. The network-through collaboration and intercultural dialogue-will build capabilities among researchers, teachers, students, youths marginalised or excluded from formal education and work (and their families), and community support groups. Together, they will co-construct activities that draw on arts and humanities (languages, intercultural communication, and the creative arts) and deliver them via workshops in four case-study sites (Bogota, Gaza, Istanbul and Durham). The research will also facilitate improved understanding of the role of researchers' multilingual resources, translation, and intercultural communication in multilingual, intercultural research contexts.The emerging new conceptualisations of intercultural education, intercultural dialogue, and global citizenship, and associated pedagogies will be useful to researchers and educators who are developing formal and non-formal education in LMICs where similar conditions prevail. The activities, available on the project website, will provide a practical resource. The intercultural pedagogies will be useful in teacher education and training in preparing teachers and community workers (e.g., in NGOs and charities). Pedagogies grounded in multiple languages and the creative arts-that recognised individuals' multiple languages, identities, cultures and cultural heritage-will be useful to teachers and community support groups to build intercultural dialogue and understanding across diverse groups of people, and to professional teachers' associations. Finally, the research will be important in shaping educational policy (in both LMICs and the North) that responds to the aims of the UNESCO 2030 education strategy (underpinned by SDG4 and SDG4.7).