Equalling 2

Since September 2022, the EQUALLING 2 team has been made up of 6 partners from 4 European countries, with the aim of strengthening universal inclusion in adult training. To adapt training content to all audiences: learners with disabilities, learners with learning difficulties, etc... The aim is to work on three concepts - intersectionality, transculturality and universal design - and adapt them to the professional practice and needs of trainers and educators.

We are convinced that by adopting methodological approaches and using transversal tools related to intersectionality , transculturality and universal design adult learners will feel more included in their learning environment and thus become confident actors in the acquisition of skills.

Project objectives:

• Understand the intersectional, transcultural and inclusive approach to adult training in the 4 countries of the partnership.
  
• Develop a guide to universal design in adult education.
  
• Produce informative videos for trainers and the general public
  
• Open an “activity bank” containing educational resources on the project's themes: intersectionality, transculturality and universal inclusion.
  
• Strengthen the skills of trainers through online training aimed at promoting equality and inclusion in education. This 30-hour online training course provides access to resources, tools and methodologies developed and tested in training centers across Europe. The course focuses on three fundamental concepts: inclusion, intersectionality and transculturality. Over the next 30 hours, you will explore these concepts in depth and learn how to integrate them into your professional practices.
  

What exactly are we talking about?

Universal design:

The European Union promotes Universal Design (UD) - “Design for All”. This means that buildings, services, information and other products should be designed so that they can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities (PWDs), as far as possible and without the need for additional adaptation or specialized design, but does not exclude assistive devices for certain groups of PWDs in cases where this is necessary (e.g. low-floor bus transport with ramp).

When creating items and services, care should be taken to ensure that they are accessible to all categories of citizens, taking into account:

- Respect for the diversity of users.

- Security

- Absence of health risks.

- Functionality.

- Comprehensibility.

- Sustainability, avoiding abuse of natural resources to preserve the environment.

- Accessibility.

- Attractiveness.

In addition to universal design, the concept of inclusion is often mentioned, as it is one of the first prerequisites for inclusion and equality between all people. The term inclusion is often associated with inclusive education, but this is really only one type of inclusion in society - inclusion itself is a much more complex concept.

Intersectionality, or the intersection of different forms of discrimination:

Intersectionality aims to understand, describe and deconstruct multiple forms of discrimination. Some people experience several forms of discrimination simultaneously. People are disadvantaged on the basis of several characteristics such as gender, gender identity, ethnicity, skin color, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age...

These characteristics have not only to do with the way people define their own identity, but also often with an external attribution. To understand overlapping experiences of discrimination using the concept of intersectionality, we therefore need to find not just categories of identity, but also processes of differentiation that often stem from patriarchal, colonial and other oppressive structures.

AND transculturality:

Transculturality refers to the dynamic process of cultural exchange, interaction and transformation that occurs when different cultures come into contact with one another. It recognizes that cultures are not static (iceberg-like) entities, but constantly evolving and adapting through intercultural encounters. Especially in an age of globalization, a person belonging to “one culture” can simultaneously identify with other “cultures or lifestyles”. For example, a French student may have more in common with a Japanese student than with a French farmer in certain areas, such as pop culture, social networks, food tastes, beauty ideas and so on. Coming from the same country doesn't mean that you have the same culture, but rather that you have cultural facets in common that you voluntarily share in order to reinforce your identity. In France, people like to organize long meals with aperitifs, starters, main courses, desserts and... digestive; they like to mingle in public life and demonstrate in the streets whenever possible, and they hold fast to the values of the republic.

Transculturality enables us to find common ground with people with whom, at first glance, we have nothing in common. For example, our learners from South Sudan, Venezuela, Mongolia or Nigeria love being in nature, believe that a good education for their daughters is essential, and love the latest Taylor Swift song. In this way, we find common ground on which to plant seeds of cooperation and collaboration. Starting from the idea of Transculturality, which is fluid and flows through us, rather than from an idea of fixed cultures that are profoundly different from one another, profoundly changes the game when you find yourself training learners from the four corners of the world who don't speak the same language!

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Link to the project website: https: //www.equalling2.eu/

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