We regularly have postgraduate/master students working at our center, writing their thesis research by doing research at our organisation. Occasionally, we also receive professianal researchers who collect data and information for their research. Below you can find some of the research that was related (directly or indirectly) to Open Cultural Center.
Teachers in Crisis Contexts. Promising Practices in teacher Well-being, Management, and School Leadership (second edition).
Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies – INEE (2022)
Abstract | This is the compilation of case studies detailing promising practices in teacher well-being, teacher management, and school leadership carried out by the INEE, a global open network of members who are working together within a humanitarian and development framework to ensure that all individuals have the right to a quality, safe, relevant, and equitable education. Among other cases, the report highlights Open Cultural Center’s collaborative teaching model as a promising case, as OCC recruits local refugee young adult teachers to co-teach alongside other young adults from across Europe. According to the research, the outcomes of this model are three: (1) it provides refugee young adults with a sense of belonging and purposeful group attachment; (2) it increases their self-esteem and self-efficacy; and (3) it allows them to share about who they are without experiencing stereotype threat or prejudice.
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Rojava, a hope for the stability of the Middle East? History, domestic politics and diplomatic relations
Agnès Terral (2022)
Abstract | Rojava, located in northern Syria, is now a political testing ground. A direct democracy in the middle of a decennial conflict. Following a circumstantial agreement during the Syrian civil war (2011-), the PYD, a Kurdish party promoting multiculturalism, has taken power in the Autonomous Region of North East Syria (AANES). A victory for this people who, since the ratification of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which made them stateless, have been victims of policies of cultural assimilation in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq. Structured around the ideology of democratic confederalism theorized by Abdullah Öcalan, the AANES faces many internal and external threats in the implementation of its democratic project. The key actors in the Syrian conflict have in common the fact that they have ideologies as well as interests opposed to those defended by the AANES. Thus, in this essay, A.Terral examines the viability of the operationalization of democratic confederalism in Syria while questioning the weaknesses of nation-states representative democracies.
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Empowerment of the refugee migrant community through a cooperation project on art education in Greece
C. Escaño, J.M. Mesías-Lema, J. Mañero (2019)
Abstract | This article contributes to the inclusion of the refugee community located in Polykastro (Greece) through an art cooperation project between the University of Seville and the NGO Open Cultural Center. We suggest that art education promotes the full development of the individual and the community. This study examines the identification stage which took place in October 2019. Using a Logical Framework Analysis we explored agents involved, problems, objectives, and alternatives. We conducted interviews, participant observations, and SWOT analyses. The identified problems point to a lack of integration and an intervention strategy for an inclusive improvement is discussed.
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A Chronic of Idomeni: The influence of the refugee camp in northern Greece on refugees, migrants and humanitarian aid organizations
Antonia Mang (2019)
Abstract | The final eviction of the unofficial refugee camp Idomeni, located at the Greek border to the Republic of Macedonia, started in the morning of 24th of May 2016 (bordermonitoring.eu 2016). Idomeni is situated on the Balkan corridor, which has a long tradition for migration towards northern Europe, lasting at least since the 1970’s. For a long time the route was loosely monitored by border security and remained relatively accessible. Idomeni gained importance to refugees, especially after the Republic of Macedonia introduced a permit for migrants to reside in the country for 72 hours, in order to pass it. Shortly after the border got more and more restricted until its final shut down in early 2016 (bordermonitorin.eu 2917: 7 ff.). Up to 15.000 people stayed at the camp waiting for the border to open up again. Now, three years later, the chronic of Idomeni was reconstructed by several organizations working in the field of humanity. The Republic of Macedonia as well as Greece were accused of the violation of human rights. The camp of Idomeni influences today’s politics on migration in multiple ways. The changes of the camp imply the need for dynamic structures of humanitarian aid organizations.
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The Rise of the Extreme Right during the Great Depression and the Great Recession
Marcel Clària (2021)
Abstract | In this document I analyze the rise of far-right parties in Europe after the most severe financial crises in the last hundred years: The Great Depression (1929-33) and the Great Recession (2007-9). Assuming that there is a causation between deep economic crises and the rise of far-right parties, this document analyzes if it is possible to establish a link in the political strategy (arguments used) of the far-right parties in these two historical periods. Shows that, although there are similarities between the strategies of these parties after each of these economic crises, there are also important differences. The arguments of the extreme right parties of the twenty-first century are less revolutionary in character. The severity of the economic crisis does not allow us to predict the radicalism of the extreme right.
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The Demandingness of Multiculturalism and its Future Discourse
Vincent van Grondelle (2018)
Abstract | In this paper, I argue that multiculturalism, although its political and public support is steadily decreasing, is still the most promising approach to handle contemporary migration challenges. However, to fulfil its full potential, I will firstly address the demandingness of multiculturalism for current citizens, and following on that, I will argue for a more two-sided approach of multiculturalism in which both newcomers and current citizens are involved. By going back to its original framework of equality and human rights, I belief that multiculturalism has the capacity to regain public support for allowing diversity in society. Within this renewed concept of multiculturalism, refugees do not have to be abandoned in camps or at sea, and current citizens are not left to fend for themselves in dealing with cultural differences.
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The process of schooling of the refugee children in the Greek schools. The organization Open Cultural Center as a mediator and supporter
Clara Esparza Mengual (2018)
Abstract | Inclusive education, thus, appears as something indispensable in a context of constant change, during which new tools and methodologies should be conceived and applied in the educational system in order to work with children who do not necessarily speak the same language as the majority, as well as those who come from completely different social and cultural backgrounds. The only way to avoid the exclusion of these children and to contribute to their complete integration is to implement an inclusive education for diversity.
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The right to education for refugee children and teenagers: another failure for the European Union in the so-called ‘migration crisis’
Lucía Gómez Martín-Caro (2017)
Abstract | Every child has the right to a good quality education, without exception. The presence of newly arrived pupils is not an anomaly, but a norm to which schools in Europe must adapt to. That said, what does Europe do when there are children who have missed years of school and speak more than one language? Languages are a fundamental component of the educational project both when they are taught “for themselves” and when they serve to develop knowledge and skills. Additionally, there are also language-based advantages for the children themselves, in helping with their sense of identity. Finally, languages help us to discover the hegemonic systems and elements of domination. Imagining a single ‘correct’ form of a diverse and pluralistic language, such as English, reinforces hegemony, and excludes diaspora groups by denying the validity of their language, and therefore their experience.
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The EU-Turkey Statement On Refugees: A Necessary Solution To The Refugee Case Or A Violation Of Human Rights?
Vincent van Grondelle (2018)
Abstract | On March 18, 2016, the European Union (EU) and Turkey agreed on a deal in order to control the growing migration flows from the Middle-East and North Africa towards Europe. The agreement consisted of various measures to reduce the number of refugees arriving in Europe and also contained several financial and political advantages for Turkey. In this paper, I will describe the severe complications that have evolved after the implementation of this agreement. To do so, I shall use the methodology based on Yosef Jabareen’s knowledge on qualitative research and the instructions by Ricard Zapata Barrero on writing a conflict-based approach. By making a thorough analysis of the conflict as it has been advancing after the EU-Turkey Statement, the objective of this paper is to draw an accurate and comprehensive interpretative framework of all the related actors and interpretations.
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