Proposal for a regional project 2009-2011 Third Expert Meeting, 14 November 2008, Turin

1. Western Balkan regional cooperation for social inclusion of ethnic groups through education and training Proposal for a regional project 2009-2011 Third Expert Meeting, 14 November 2008, Turin

2. General framework • Address common (regional) problems • Be based on good practices which are transferable and mainstreamable • Target supranational, national and sub national levels of intervention in order to build capacity at all levels and to maximise the final impact of project activities

3. Objectives • Encourage a sustainable, system-based approach towards the social inclusion of ethnic minorities in the WBA region • Enhance policy convergence and thematic dialogue among the WBA countries • Empower local communities and increase the involvement of the civil society sector in the definition, implementation and monitoring of non-segregated, integrated, inclusive education and training policies in the WBA region

4. Territorial coverage • Albania • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Croatia • The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia • Montenegro • Serbia • Kosovo (as defined in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 )

5. Project components • Component 1: Western Balkan Regional Policy Networking advisory group on social inclusion of ethnic groups through education and training • Component 2: Western Balkan regional peer learning focused on the chosen themes for promoting intercultural education and training

6. Western Balkan regional advisory group • Composition: - 4 representatives per country + up to 6 representatives of the EC and EU institutions/agencies = 34 persons - Each WBA country will be represented by 2 persons from the government, one expert in the field and one – from the civil society sector • Main task: - To develop (by mid 2011) a regional approach with common benchmarks for improving the access to and participation of ethnic groups in quality intercultural E&T

7. Main activities of the regional advisory group • Identification of common challenges and promising policy approaches • Mapping of relevant policies, practices and problems in the EU Member States • Agreeing common objectives for the social inclusion of ethnic groups through education and training • Proposing steps and measures for promoting policy cooperation and transnational exchange of learning and good practice

8. Main activities of the regional advisory group • Provision of recommendations and guidelines to the WBA countries to rethink own approaches/practices and to translate the common objectives into national/local policies • Establishing common indicators as a means for comparing best practice and measuring progress • Multilateral follow-up, surveillance and peer review of national policies organised and conducted by and within the advisory group as a mutual learning processes

9. Peer Learning for promoting multicultural E&T • Aim: - To support innovative inclusive approaches and measures in the field of education and training • The regional advisory group to act as a selection committee • Call for proposals on the topics and themes once a year. Teacher Training as the chosen topic for 2009 • Eligibility criteria: - Proposals with regional dimension - min 3 partners from different WBA countries/ethnic groups

10. Topics/themes • Teacher/trainer training programmes providing knowledge and developing appropriate skills and sensitivity to work in intercultural learning settings • Improving of school/training curricula and teaching materials

11. Topics/themes • Initiatives for developing civic competence for life in increasingly diverse societies • Establishment of learning resource centres to act as a bridge between policy-makers, researchers and schools/training centres • Awareness-raising projects and events highlighting attitudes and ideas that facilitate or hamper intercultural dialogue and understanding in the field of learning

12. Expected results and outputs of the project • Regional networks of policy-makers and of civil society organisations established as a sustainable tool for pooling expertise and for sharing best practices and lessons learnt • Common benchmarks and indicators for steering the progress of implementation of the strategy agreed and tested • Regional network of policy-makers and of civil society organisations facilitated and supported to act as monitoring and evaluation peers for social inclusion of ethnic groups through education and training (testing phase)

13. Expected results and outputs of the project • Enhanced capacity of national authorities for policy-making and governance • Strengthened capacity of local actors and the civil society sector to act as an active and competent partner in the process of development and implementation of policies for social inclusion of vulnerable and marginalised ethnic communities • Improved economic and social conditions of living of vulnerable ethnic groups in the region through improving their skills and employability