INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCE: THE PRIMACY OF THE HUMAN is an Erasmus+ project that brought together 18 students and 4 teachers from Colegio San Ignacio (Spain) and 18 students and 4 teachers from Haci Sabanci High School (Istanbul) for a week-long immersive experience in the city of Istanbul.
More than a cultural exchange, the project was a transformative journey of encounter, dialogue, and shared humanity. Hosted by Turkish families, Spanish students lived day-to-day life in an environment where true intercultural friendship could take root. Through daily interaction, cultural visits, and spiritual experiences, they discovered that diversity is a gift, and that unity does not require uniformity.
📎You can access the project dossier and Padlet documentation here. The Padlet was used throughout the week to document the learning process, reflections, and key moments experienced by the students. Other news here.
The program included symbolic and meaningful activities: a visit to the Orthodox Seminary on Heybeliada Island, explorations of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, and Chora Church, as well as interfaith encounters with Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities in the inclusive neighborhood of Kuzguncuk.
Workshops in traditional Turkish arts such as Ebru and Kamemişi enabled students to express their identities and connect creatively across cultures. The week concluded with the production of a professional television program, giving students the opportunity to reflect publicly on what they had lived and learned.
INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCE: THE PRIMACY OF THE HUMAN is not just the title of a project — it is a call to place the human person at the center, to embrace dialogue over judgment, and to choose encounter over distance.
