8th November 2002

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A team of Russian academics has been visiting the UNESCO centre at UUC this week as part of a three-year partnership agreement.

Lecturers from the College of Multicultural Education in Sochi, Russia, hope to draw on the experience of educators in Northern Ireland in developing a multicultural curriculum in a diverse location.

During their visit they will be analysing the educational response to the conflict in Northern Ireland and applying our methods of best practice to their own developing system.

Sochi is a multi-ethnic region in southern Russia with over 100 minority groups. The Sochi College of Multicultural Education is seeking to address ethnic tensions in the area through the development of a multicultural ethos and teacher training.

Through a partnership with the UNESCO Centre, the Russian team has successfully undertaken professional development training in conflict transformation and intend to use this experience to develop a curricular module.

Lorraine Heffernan, UNESCO said: “Not only are our Russian colleagues gaining a lot of experience while in Northern Ireland but we too at the University of Ulster and beyond are learning from their experiences and methods of conflict prevention within the Sochi region.

“The College of Multicultural Education is undertaking important work and is a very unique institution which underpins values related to human rights and democracy. We at the UNESCO Centre are proud to be partners to this important body of work.”

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk