Equality and democracy are strengthened by an inclusive society, and positive cross-cultural connections play a crucial role in fostering such society. However, these connections can be difficult to achieve due to persistent avoidance and lack of interaction between groups in everyday life. Therefore, building an equal and welcoming society requires promoting positive interactions in both face-to-face and the digital world. This session explores both the barriers to and bridges for cross-cultural connections. Barriers can prevent social relationships from forming, while bridges can facilitate successful interaction between different groups. These barriers and bridges can be material, social, or psychological, and they can be found in various local contexts, such as neighborhoods, local services (e.g., schools, kindergarten), workplaces, NGOs, informal relationships (e.g., friends, acquaintances, family), and digital services and platforms.
We invite presentations that examine these everyday barriers and bridges from diverse perspectives, disciplines, and methodological approaches. The session aims to foster constructive dialogue and a fruitful exchange of ideas. Presentations are welcome in both English and Finnish. We especially encourage the use of multimodal and arts-based methods as well as other innovative methodologies.
Language of session: Finnish and English.