Integration of Foreigners

In addition to hundreds of core educational programmes for all target groups and age categories, the Education Department also hosts a variety of activities for foreign visitors each year, including foreigners, national minorities, communities, and tourists. These activities encompass art workshops, tours of exhibitions, displays and buildings, and public sculpture walks. Visual arts possess the unique advantage of being a “universal” and “international” language, making them, thanks to the emphasis on visuality, an ideal medium for facilitating the successful integration of foreigners. The gallery not only translates exhibition materials into English (texts in exhibitions, catalogues, leaflets and on the GHMP website, captions, promotional materials) but its Education Department also offers tours in multiple foreign languages such as English, German, French, Ukrainian, and occasionally others.  Educational initiatives focused on integrating foreigners receive strong support and appreciation from the Division of National Minorities and Foreigners of the Department of Culture of the Municipal Office of the City of Prague. Collaborating for an extended period, the Education Department and the Division of National Minorities and Foreigners promote both special and ongoing educational programmes. Basic materials on education have been translated into the five languages of the most important communities of foreigners in the Czech Republic – namely, English, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Spanish and Russian – in accordance with the materials of the Prague Municipal Office (graphics, content) within the framework of the Prague as a Metropolis for All project. Strongly promoted activities such as the Summer Art Workshops in the GHMP’s Eco-studio, offering all-day art workshops in July and August, also hold great promise for effectively integrating foreign visitors. Additionally, partnerships with foreign schools, involving excursions, internships like those under ERASMUS+, and engagement in international European research grant projects such as App Your School, serve as spaces for integration. The Education Department collaborates with a large number of important organisations including: UNICEF – United Nations, Integration Centre Prague, Association for Integration and Migration, The Counselling Centre for Integration, Ukrainian European Perspective, InBáze, AMIGA – Agency for Migration & Adaptation, ASHOKA, Consortium of Migrants Assisting Organisations (15 NGOs for integration of foreigners – People in Need, Adra, Charita, Diakonie, etc.), Regional Advisory Platform Prague, RefuFest, etc. Given the significant foreign population in Prague, addressing this topic remains crucial for the Municipal Office, and the gallery supports it by its diverse array of programmes and services.  Noteworthy is also the provision of the GHMP’s premises to many organisations for hosting conferences, seminars, training sessions, working groups, fundraising and charity events, supporting the integration of foreigners. Thanks to the support of UNICEF, a new educational programme called Art Workshops for Adults and Seniors / Integration and Intergenerational Programmes has been created for adults and seniors, but also for their children and grandchildren as part of intergenerational meetings. These workshops are also open to foreign visitors. GHMP instructors have nearly two decades of experience in organising events targeting integration of foreigners, of which nine years have been dedicated to activities for the Ukrainian community. In their professional development, they have attended training courses conducted by the Counselling Centre for Integration, focusing on interacting with foreign visitors in museums and galleries, and have earned respective certificates.  They consistently showcase successfully implemented activities and examples of best practices at various professional conferences and seminars, including events hosted by the National Museum, the Regional Advisory Platform at the Old Town Hall, the international project Integrating Cities, and UNICEF, among others.

Currently, a primary focus within the integration of foreigners lies in implementing activities and providing services for refugees from Ukraine.

Educational Activities and Services for Ukrainian Citizens

Photogallery from educational programs

ART INTERACTIVELY

• For schools
• For adults and senior citizens / integration and intergenerational programmes
• For families
• For parents on parental leave with their children
• For visitors with special needs
• Public sculpture interactively