RICK’S café is a network for teachers and professionals in education who see the value in the internationalisation of schools. The concept was born a number of months ago during informal discussions between specialists in intercultural education and it is now partly funded by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme.
The network is lead by CECE - Confederación Española de Centros de Enseñanza of Spain and by Opportunities Aid Foundation of Malta. Together they coordinate a consortium of 15 founder partner organisations from all over Europe. It is a growing network and it is now represented in 20 countries in Europe.
To date the network has met in Madrid and in Malta and is now preparing for its activities in Citta’ della Pieve in Umbria. Over the last ten months the network has been active in training sessions, discussion forums and in the collation of data that is helping the network map trends in the internationalisation of education, perceptions and strategies. Future activities will include international workshops, audiovisual production activities and European Intercultural Youth Days.
Professionals in education and organisations including schools, providers of training for teachers and school management professionals can join the network and partake of this international family of professionals who share the vision of our schools becoming an open door to the world.
The concept behind RICK’S café is that whereas universities and commercial organisations have the luxury of deciding when, how and to what extent they may decide to internationalise themselves, schools are generally passive recipients of the influx of immigrants. This tends to make schools reactive rather than proactive in their internationalisation process.
At RICK’S café we are developing a Readiness for Intercultural Change Model for schools and this is because we believe that schools need to offer our children a wider perspective of the world without compromising with its local, regional and national identity. Together we are exploring possible optimum strategies to make the school become a knowledge space that helps students think and form opinions about cultural heritage, religious cultures and issues that are better understood if taken into global perspective.
Schools and professionals in education are invited to join the network free of charge from www.rickscafenetwork.eu or contact the local RICK’s café team at rickscafe@oafmalta.org / 2730 0458.
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