February activities of the Strengthening Intercultural Skills project

The integration of foreigners is a highly significant topic in Czech society, and the organization Slovo 21, z.s. has been continuously addressing it for years. Our project aims to enhance the competencies of public administration employees and security forces through two-day training sessions for staff and focus groups for trainers. Communication between public administration employees and third-country nationals can often be difficult due to a lack of information on both sides, which sometimes leads to entirely unnecessary conflicts.

In February, we successfully organized 3 training sessions – for the Department for Asylum and Migration Policy (OAMP) of the Ministry of the Interior, the Labour Office, and municipal office employees. To date, a total of 200 people have been trained across 15 sessions. The training program is based on methodological materials developed by a team of experts specifically for public administration and security personnel. Two methodologies (for introductory and follow-up training types) and 4 videos were created for the training, aimed at illustrating model situations from the daily work of their colleagues, such as misunderstandings at the counters of the OAMP, the Labour Office, or the Police of the Czech Republic.

The training is interactive and tailored to the specific requirements of individual target groups. Participants have the opportunity to discuss various situations they have experienced during professional contact with foreigners, working together to find ways to improve communication and resolve conflict situations.

Here is how Labour Office employees who completed the course in 2021 evaluated it:

Participants rated the course very positively, primarily because it was an experiential course where they gained a wealth of information. They also appreciated the organizational arrangements, including accommodation and catering.

Let the course participants speak for themselves; here are the most frequently recurring comments from Labour Office employees regarding the content.

"Everything was great! Thank you, and I look forward to the follow-up. A perfect event after the COVID period, a great group, amazing meetings, and the practical situations were very enriching."

"Perfect approach, knowledge, and a fun, interactive format. Maximum satisfaction."

"I appreciate the service provided, as well as the materials and technical equipment. The facilities – accommodation and catering – were well taken care of. Thank you very much; I am very satisfied and can highly recommend the course to my colleagues."

As the participants' comments show, they consider the course beneficial and will be able to apply their newly acquired knowledge in practice. For the project team and the organization Slovo 21, z.s., this is excellent feedback. It shows that we are taking the right steps toward achieving our goal – the successful integration of foreigners.

On February 5–6, 2022, a focus group was held for 2 trainers of the follow-up course for the OAMP of the Ministry of the Interior, with the participation of 4 representatives from the target group, a foreign guest, and a project supervisor. The trainers conducted a "dry run" of the entire two-day course and received immediate feedback on the spot. The output of this activity also includes a supervision report prepared by the project supervisor. Our experience so far has shown that focus groups are a high-quality tool for trainers, allowing them to better prepare for training the target group.

What are our plans for the future?

We are currently preparing focus groups for two more trainers for the follow-up course. Labour Office employees will also participate in this focus group.

In March, we plan to conduct 4 training sessions: 2 introductory and 2 follow-up. The sessions will take place in Pardubice for the Labour Office, in Hostivice for the Labour Office, in Olomouc for police staff, and in Liberec for municipal office employees. For the latest information on the project "Strengthening Intercultural Competencies of Public Administration and Security Personnel," please follow our website.

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