EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - OPMA training sessions: learning deal with cultural differences

OPMA training sessions: learning deal with cultural differences

Introduction

OPMA is a training institute that focuses on recognising diversity and promoting multiculturalism. This institute gives training courses to civil servants and service providers in The Hague who are confronted with cultural differences in their daily work.

Problem

How can civil servants and service providers learn how to better deal with cultural differences via training?

Description

OPMA offers training to civil servants and service providers in the field of integration and cultural diversity. By means of exercises, participants learn to put themselves in another’s shoes and empathise. The general objective of an OPMA training course is the promotion of consciousness-raising using information and reflection.

Approach

The training is subdivided into four modules. Two modules are informative and two modules are interactive. For these interactive modules, the Dialogue method is used.

The themes of each module are:

an introduction to multicultural Netherlands;
the importance of diversity both in general and to the individual;
looking for one’s own identity;
a dialogue method to promote diversity.

Participants can also follow individual modules. The training is given by Teena Thomas from Utrecht and Antonio Peralta from The Hague. The training consists of six to eight discussions with a minimum of eight persons and a maximum of 16 persons. The meetings are held for all the participants or for small working groups.

Results

The envisaged results of the training were:
- offering a more efficient service to migrants;
- a lower incidence of friction when providing services.

Contact info

OPMA
A. Peralta, tel. +31 74 2435445

Project start date

01/05/2004

Links

The City of The Hague

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Training

Keywords

Vocational training