UNESCO Intercultural Dialogue masterclass

Project description:

In 2025, KCA London helped UNESCO develop and deliver a week-long Intercultural Dialogue masterclass. The aim was to encourage the use of museums and heritage sites as platforms for intercultural exchange by introducing museum professionals to the practice of intercultural dialogue and how to embed it in their institution’s activities using tailored, practical tools and methods.

Our collaboration with UNESCO utilised both our visitor engagement expertise and our experience in training teams to engage in meaningful conversations with visitors. On UNESCO’s behalf, we designed and led sessions that introduced the role of intercultural dialogue in today’s museums and heritage sites, and contextualised the training in Story Circles techniques provided by experts such as Dr Darla K. Deardorff. We then delivered further sessions during which attendees worked on designing visitor experiences that encourage intercultural dialogue, using the Design Thinking method, and developed personal action plans to take back to their institutions.

The masterclass, held in Paris, welcomed 12 attendees from seven institutions worldwide. By the end, each attendee was equipped to apply the theoretical principles of the week to creating a tangible, actionable offering in their own institutions.

Since the masterclass, UNESCO have worked with attendees to pilot intercultural dialogue-based programmes in their institutions. They have also developed an online training session that uses some of the principles and approaches of the masterclass.