The third synergy event, Cultural Diversity in the School Classroom, took place in Heraklion on 29 June 2026 and was organised by Step Into Youth with the support of Etz Hayyim. The workshop brought the TCZ methodology into an educational setting, focusing on the kinds of cultural differences, assumptions and tensions that can shape everyday life in the classroom.
The programme was based primarily on Module 4 of the TCZ Curriculum, which focuses on cultural mediation. Participants worked with the idea that educators are often mediators themselves, especially when different identities, experiences and expectations meet in the same learning environment. The workshop invited them to reflect on how their own position can influence the way they read a situation and how they respond to conflict, exclusion or misunderstanding.
One of the central exercises was the Intersectionality Web, which encouraged participants to look at the different aspects of identity that shape a person’s experience of privilege, vulnerability and belonging. From there, the group explored how these dynamics can appear in the classroom and how certain voices or perspectives can become dominant while others remain less visible.
The workshop also gave participants practical space to think about conflict management. Through guided exercises, they explored de-escalation, active listening and ways of responding to difficult situations without losing sight of the people involved. Attention was also given to the emotional demands of mediation and to the importance of care when working through sensitive issues in educational settings.
Training for the Contact Zone is co-funded by the European Union within the framework of Erasmus+ Adult Education.
