"Addressing diversity is of great importance at an internationally orientated university like the University of Passau. We can all learn a lot from this forum, which is the result of many years of cooperation between Quebec and the Chair of Intercultural Communication," says Vice President for Internationalisation and Diversity, Professor Christina Hansen.
"We are very much looking forward to this event and – as we did last year – we want to bring together as many perspectives, ideas and target groups as possible and allow them to enter into dialogue. We want to discuss and shape the important social issues of education, immigration and integration from an intercultural perspective," says Professor Christoph Barmeyer, organiser of the event.
"In Passau, the City of Three Rivers, we know particularly well how important bridges are. With the Québec-Bavaria Forum, we want to build a bridge between society and research as well as between Bavaria and Québec – and thus bring Québec to Passau," says Marina Ortrud Hertrampf, Vice Dean for Internationalisation at the Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies.
Professor Christoph Barmeyer, holder of the Chair of Intercultural Communication and creator of the event format, which brings research and applied practice into dialogue with people from Québec and Bavaria, developed the topic "Intercultures and Immigration in Education and Careers" together with Professor Marina Ortrud Hertrampf (Chair of Romance Literary and Cultural Studies) and Professor Christina Hansen (Chair of Educational Science with a focus on diversity research and educational spaces in middle childhood). By focussing on migration and interculturality along with the correspondingly necessary approaches in school and vocational education, the potential of immigration and the recruitment of skilled workers is addressed.
In contrast to Germany and many parts of Europe, cultural diversity and interculturality are interestingly seen as an opportunity by the majority and by institutions in Québec, which has seen itself explicitly as a country of immigration since before the turn of the millennium. As a result, the approach to immigration and, above all, social integration is completely different and interculturality and diversity are seen as strengths here and utilised productively in education and work. It is precisely this approach of constructive interculturality that should be the focus of reciprocal, interactive intercultural exchange. In addition to this dialogue, opportunities for the development of good practices in different areas of education and work will also be opened up. By bringing together people from Québec and Bavaria with different target groups from higher education institutions, companies, research, public institutions and education, the aim is to promote and expand the networking of research and practice in an interdisciplinary and transcultural framework.