How to interact with foreign nationals: Slovo 21 to train 800 civil servants, police officers, and firefighters in intercultural communication

Over the next two years, a total of 800 civil servants, police officers, municipal police officers, and firefighters will undergo special training provided by the Slovo 21 organization. The program will help public administration and security personnel improve their communication skills when working with foreign nationals from third countries. Through experiential, interactive activities, workshop participants will, for example, find themselves in situations that migrants commonly experience when dealing with authorities or the police. Better communication leads to fewer misunderstandings.

The Strengthening Intercultural Competencies 2024–2026 project is primarily a response to the growing number of foreign nationals in the Czech Republic. According to Ministry of the Interior data, there were 836,000 people from different cultural backgrounds in the country at the end of 2023 who will sooner or later come into contact with Czech authorities. However, many of these employees have never received adequate training in intercultural and communication skills, which can negatively impact their work and their approach to foreign nationals. This is precisely why Slovo 21 developed this two-day interactive training concept.

"The main goal is to make working with foreign nationals easier for state and local government employees. We want to help them understand certain cultural differences and clarify that, at times, the behavior of foreign nationals may simply be due to their different cultural background," explains project methodologist Kateřina Kopečná. The training sessions are intended for employees of the Police of the Czech Republic, the Fire Rescue Service, the Labor Office, the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the State Labor Inspection Office.

The two-day training is not limited to dry information and theoretical lectures. The workshops include experiential and interactive activities that place participants in the position a foreign national would face in everyday practice. By switching roles, they have the opportunity to experience model situations through the eyes of migrants.

The training, which has been accredited by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, must also respond to the needs of participants, which vary depending on the nature of their work. "Different groups of employees need different information and knowledge. That is why we always try to tailor the training specifically to the participants. They actively get involved at the beginning and shape the final content of individual activities with their expectations," adds Kateřina Kopečná.

Slovo 21 has been training civil servants in intercultural competencies since 2011. Over that time, nearly 1,300 people have gone through these special workshops. Feedback shows that they found the training meaningful. They particularly appreciated the information on why foreign nationals behave the way they do. They also value the advice on how to communicate with migrants while maintaining dignity for both parties and mutual respect.

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The project is co-funded by the European Union.

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Contact person:

Marie-Anna Růžičková

732 268 201

propagace@slovo21.cz