CQ+ – De-escalating Polarization in Europe

The project will develop innovative educational materials to support adult learners to develop their cultural intelligence and help address polarization in Europe.

Grant Agreement Number: 2021-1-BE02-KA220-ADU-000033662

Funded by: Erasmus+ Duration: 01/11/2021 – 01/11/2023

Challenge

Cultural intelligence or cultural quotient is the ability to recognise and adapt to cultural differences in order to work effectively in culturally diverse situations, bearing similarities to the term cultural agility. Cultural differences are not just about nationality, ethnicity or beliefs. Many of us work in multicultural and multi-generational organisations, alongside colleagues who have cultural references, beliefs and attitudes that may differ from our own and may cause cultural clashes between departments and teams in the same organisation. The ability to quickly interpret and adapt to behaviour that differs from our own is at the heart of the concept of cultural intelligence.

Innovation

The aim of the CQ+ project is to address polarisation in Europe by supporting adult learners of all ages, abilities, professions and backgrounds to develop their cultural intelligence and appreciation and tolerance of diversity. In order to do so, partners from all over Europe will develop a wide range of digital resources to explore practical ways to develop and enhance cultural awareness and international partnership.

Action

The CQ+ Interactive Infographics comprise a toolkit of 20 interactive infographics supporting adult learners to develop their cultural intelligence. The Toolkit addresses the following topics:

1. My Cultural Bias – Self-assessing our own cultural bias and intolerance.

2. My Culture, My Perspective – Addressing how our culture and our cultural values impact how we view and interpret the world, and other cultures.

3. Cultural Awareness and Appreciation – Promoting unique perspectives and lessons that we can learn from different cultures.

4. Intercultural Partnerships – Assisting learners to work in multi-cultural environments and to reflect on how we speak, act and interact in such environments.

The in-service training programme comprises a curriculum for training front-line adult educators to enable them to use the different digital resources that are part of the CQ+ Interactive infographics with learners in their group and to support them to develop their own digital resources. The CQ+ in-Service training includes training guidelines and learning units that refer to cultural intelligence issues, such as Cultural Intolerance in Europe, why is Cultural Intelligence Important, and Cultural Intelligence in Educational Practice.

The CQ+ MOOC (Massive Open Online Courseware) aims to host all learning materials developed by the partners, which will be accessible to all interested parties in any EU Member State. A CoP will be hosted on the MOOC platform to engage participants in a collective learning process where everyone can learn from each other’s knowledge and experience and participate in collaborative work.

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Partners

KMOP – Social Action and Innovation Centre (Greece)

Skills Elevation FHB (Germany)