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including hands-on report and interview Julia Brade, head of the Transfer IKÖ project in the IQ Network Thuringia

VielFalter* ensures networking and exchange

Online publication series encourages intercultural opening processes in organisations in eastern Germany

Starting point/challenge

Due to the pandemic, from March 2020 onward many providers were limited in how to address the theme of intercultural opening in public administration. This is because many projects were suspended due to restrictions or because project assistants had been deployed to coronavirus crisis teams.

The situation both structurally and in terms of the history of migration is also significantly different in the new federal states in eastern Germany compared to the old federal states of the west. There are plenty of examples of good practice of intercultural opening from the federal states in the west. However, in order to improve the perception and understanding of the subject area by organisations in eastern Germany, specific examples are also needed from these regions.

Implementation

As part of the IQ project Transfer IKÖ (Transfer of intercultural opening), stakeholders at the provider Interculture.de e.V. in the Thuringia Centre for Intercultural Opening developed a product which provides a platform for organisations in eastern Germany and their change processes. This was implemented in the form of the online publication series entitled "VielFalter*".

Since September 2020, the VielFalter* series has been regularly providing users with good practice examples – digitally and accessible online – of intercultural opening processes in public administration in the new federal states. Despite the fact that each change process occurs on an individual basis and that different challenges need to be overcome, the examples provide an insight into how intercultural opening can be managed and what things need to be considered.

Additional formats are used in order to highlight key findings from the various success stories and at the same time to present the processes in greater detail. The print version of VielFalter* (“im Print”) provides an overview of individual intercultural opening processes in public administrations, for example in the Oberhavel job centre in Brandenburg and in the Leipzig coordination committee in Saxony. The brochures can be read online or sent as hard copy by post.

In the VielFalter* “Webtalks”, process managers from the projects examined in print enter into a moderated dialogue. The virtual live events are available as videos. The VielFalter* “Impulsvideos” consist of short sequences from the webtalks which give interested parties a good, brief overview.

Conclusion

Intercultural opening is made more understandable as a result of the VielFalter*. Awareness of diversity-oriented processes is increased and the profile of those involved in the process is raised. The examples are used to stimulate existing and also future staff and organisational development processes. The visibility creates the basis for networking and exchange.

The product reaches significantly more interested parties than a one-off in-person event. So far, brochures have been read more than 1,300 times online, over 900 printed brochures have been sent out, and videos have been watched almost 1,000 times. 

Addressees for transfer:

Public administrations.

VielFalter* (online publication series)

The Thuringia Centre for Intercultural Opening regularly publishes good practice examples of opening processes from different areas of public administration in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia in the online series VielFalter*. The examples provide insights into how intercultural opening processes develop and the challenges that might arise in the process.

The VielFalter* are used on a regular basis in digital brochures, webtalks and videos. They are provided as hard copies and made accessible online as a source of inspiration for interested users. The examples are used as ideas for existing and future staff and organisational development processes. The visibility of the examples creates the basis for networking and exchange between stakeholders. Project: Transfer IKÖ (Transfer of intercultural opening)

Provider:

Interculture.de e. V.

Project contact:

Julia Brade
Neugasse 5 | 07743 Jena
Tel.: +49 157 80609688 | julia.brade(at)interculture.de

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