Schools have a role to play in promoting tolerance and preparing children to live in a multicultural society. The School in the World Project was created by the National Bureau against Racial Discrimination (LBR) to stimulate schools to pay attention to differences more systematically. One of the project’s starting points is the segregation problem in Dutch schools: if the majority of pupils in elementary schools and secondary schools has an ethnic minority background, almost 100% of the pupils have a native Dutch background in pre-university schools (gymnasium). As result, pupils with different backgrounds rarely meet.

The main idea of the project is to create opportunities for children from different cultures to meet and discuss together. To this aim, participating schools organize meetings in which pupils work in mixed groups and discuss about a specific topic. To be well prepared for the discussion, pupils receive in advance specific lessons that help them to build their argumentation. All primary and secondary schools can join the School in the World project. However, the project is especially important for the schools with many pupils from an ethnic minority background or pupils mainly from a native Dutch background.

In 2003, Schools in the World started with 7 primary schools which were joined by 4 secondary schools in 2006. Today 21 schools are involved in the project (17 World ‘s Cool and 4 Step4Step locations)

Not available yet. Please refer yourself to the contact person for more information.

Pupils in primary and secondary schools in Utrecht

• Annual budget: 100.000 EUR
• Staff: 1 policy officer and 1 project coordinator