Education systems are crucial transmitters of both multicultural values and the prejudices which lead to the social exclusion of migrant communities. This proposed project aims at providing the Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Japanese Ministries of Education and Culture with concrete recommendations and educational materials to facilitate greater mutual understanding among children from different cultural backgrounds. Firstly, a childrens book promoting multicultural values, targeted specifically at local and migrant children in Thailand will be published in Thai, Burmese, Shan, Khmer and Lao. Secondly, more widely applicable lesson plans on the theme of migration will be developed for use in public and independent schools in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan in order to highlight the prominent role migratory processes play in shaping society. The materials will be produced in consultation with civil society organizations, education specialists and teachers, in addition to drawing on inputs from children. Finally, concrete policy recommendations for the promotion of multiculturalism in schools will be developed through these consultations, and formally presented to the respective ministries in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan.

Education systems are crucial transmitters of both multicultural values and the prejudices which lead to social exclusion. This project aimed at providing the Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Japanese Ministries of Education and Culture with concrete recommendations and educational materials to facilitate mutual understanding among children from different backgrounds. Firstly, a children’s book promoting multicultural values, targeted local and migrant children in Thailand was published in Thai, Burmese, Shan, Khmer, Lao and English. Secondly, lesson plans on the theme of migration were developed for use in public and independent schools in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan to highlight the role of migration in shaping society. These materials were produced in consultation with civil society organizations, education specialists, in addition to input from children. Finally, the theme of teaching multicultural values at school were discussed at a subsequent symposium, where representatives from the Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC), the Thai Ministry of Education, participated along with representatives from civil society organisations, public schools, universities and migrant learning centres. The OBEC representatives stated that the lesson plans were very relevant to their school curriculum and that they believed that they can be incorporated into the social studies curriculum. Participants further discussed the importance of, and barriers to, promoting multiculturalism in schools and developed joint recommendations. Participants also agreed to review current initiatives in their home countries, hold consultations, and make use of the educational materials developed through this project.