#18 DARE conference on Intercultural Dialogue

“Face to face meetings are crucial for our work”

DARE, short for Democracy and Human Rights Education in Europe, organized the EDC/HRE meeting in Vienna. Orangelog.eu asked Daniela Kolarova, Chair of the DARE network, about the goals, challenges and ambitions of her organization.

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How did you get involved in the EDC/HRE programme?
I have been the EDC coordinator for Bulgaria in the Council of Europe since 2001. Some of us decided that the non-formal EDC/HRE sector really needed a lot more attention. We already had connections with NGO’s from different countries that are active in the fields of EDC and HRE, so we decided to establish the DARE network. Now we are cooperating with other agencies and NGO’s in order to introduce new methodologies and to try and bring proposals on EDC/HRE to policymakers.

What is the goal of the DARE network?
Our main goal is to increase the quality of education in the non-formal sector of adult learning. This can happen through the exchange of ideas between partner organizations, the development of existing methods and the introduction of new methods or the creation of new, innovative projects. We collaborate with a variety of people from different countries, backgrounds and ages because intercultural dialogue is fundamental to our network.

What are the most pressing challenges for your organization?
There are many challenges. One of them is providing means for communication and cooperation. Often these problems are related to a lack of funds, but for us international meeting are essential. We believe that direct contact and face to face meetings are crucial for our work. Other ways of communication are important, but phone calls can’t replace human contact. International meetings like this conference increase the dialogue and help us become much more informed and tolerant about other cultures.

How are your relations with the Council of Europe and the EU institutions? Do you cooperate differently with them?
Their work is complementary. Our projects are for example funded by the European Commission but we consult with the Council of Europe about our results. We have a strong relationship with both and they both strongly support NGO’s.

What do you expect from this conference?
I expect that it will create new opportunities for cooperation between the members of the network. The participants will have the opportunity to meet, exchange business cards and points of views and help each other out to clarify unanswered questions. There will be some really interesting and innovative workshops that will challenge the participants to discuss and reflect on important issues. And we will present new teaching methods for EDC/HRE which we hope will be helpful to the participants when they return to their organizations.

Are there any future projects in the pipeline?
We have a few ideas. One is organizing a spring academy for young people, multipliers of HRE/EDC, in Sonnenberg in Germany. We are also thinking about a campaign of dissemination of audio visual materials related to EDC/HRE through television and the Internet. Those methods are not being used enough yet, but they are powerful tools and we think that they will be helpful for EDC/HRE.

If you had one wish for EDC/HRE in Europe, what would it be?
I would like EDC/HRE to become a solid part of the educational system in all European countries. This would be a huge step into the right direction. Some issues related to EDC/HRE are already being dealt with in some schools across Europe, but that’s not enough. We are trying our best. We are training teachers, consulting politicians, providing tools and holding meetings, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Posted in 2008-11: DARE conference| 18.11.2008

By: Edval Zoto

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