Partap College of Education, Ludhiana, organised an International webinar in collaboration with Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia on the topic “Art and Art Education in the context of Intercultural Interaction” under the noble guidance of Prof. Radif R. Zamaletdinov, Director, Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communication. Veteran educationists, teachers and research scholars from different continents were the keynote speakers. The webinar was attended by nearly 60 teachers, scholars and researchers from India, Russia, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Prof. Balwant Singh, Director, Partap College of Education and Dr. Manpreet Kaur, Principal, Partap College of Education were the key note speakers. Prof. Svetlana V.  Karkina, Associate Professor, Kazan Federal University, Russia, welcomed all the key note speakers and attendees.

Eminent keynote speaker, Prof. Balwant Singh shared his valuable knowledge on the topic ‘Art and Art Education in the Context of Intercultural Interaction’.  He expressed that recognising culture and developing respect, interaction and empathising among people from different cultural backgrounds and reflecting on intercultural experiences are the key factors for intercultural understanding.  He shed light on various forms of arts and arts education that assist in grooming international relations and collaboration. He also narrated a few fundamental patterns of cultural differences and explained how the practical approaches and applications can be followed to eradicate the differences and develop harmonious intercultural interactions.

Dr.  Manpreet Kaur, spoke on the topic ‘Preparing Teachers for Multicultural Education’. She enlightened the attendees with detailed knowledge of history of multiculturalism and its importance. In her keynote, she also emphasised on preparing teachers for multicultural classrooms as it is the demand of increasing international integration and global linkages. Not only this, she asserted that in order to be effective and equitable teachers, it is pertinent to understand and appreciate human diversity. Appreciation and understanding evolve from direct interpersonal contacts and from knowledge of the history and culture of diverse groups, including their values, stories, myths, inventions, music, and art.

Other keynote speakers from different countries also throw light on various aspects of conference theme. A healthy interactive session was all the more important and interesting as scholars from Russia, India and other nations interacted with the keynote speakers and asked various questions related to respective topics. The webinar ended with the vote of thanks. extended by Prof. Svetlana V. Karkina.