Building bridges between cultures in Hafnarfjörður

A bridge between cultures

Did you know that the municipality of Hafnarfjörður offers support to foreign families so that each family can quickly and thoroughly get to know their child’s school environment and how they can become a participant in society? Two cultural bridge builders work at the town’s preschools and three at the primary schools.

Just as cultural bridge builders help parents with foreign backgrounds to understand the school environment, they educate school staff so that they better understand the culture of the immigrant family. The employees create understanding on both sides.

• PRESCHOOL: Cultural bridge builders in preschools help with the integration of foreign children. They pay special attention to families with refugee experience. They speak a number of languages with a focus on Spanish and Arabic.
• PRIMARY SCHOOL: Cultural bridge builders in primary schools help foreign parents understand how school work is done and how the after-school activities work. They also encourage sports and leisure activities for the children and act as a bridge between cultures.
• You are welcome to the open house on Thursdays at Strandata 41, from 2-4 p.m. (14:00-16:00).

Support that matters

“We are all here to support you, parents of foreign origin,” says Aleksandra Kozimala, education officer for multiculturalism in preschools. She points out that a cultural bridge builder who works in preschools, talks directly to the children and helps parents enroll their child in a primary school, as well as giving them all the information needed on the Icelandic school system.

“But it’s also a great help to understand the Icelandic environment; clothes, when do you need rain clothes?” Many things are different from their home country. One thing that comes as a surprise to many, for example, is that children in Iceland go outside in bad weather. Then they need the right equipment. “Indeed, parents need to know how Icelandic preschools work.” Aleksandra also gives an example of how the cultural bridge builders educate the staff, for example, about Ramadan, a Muslim religious festival, just as they teach the parents about the great freedom that exists here.

“Everything is so free here. In many parts of the world, kids are never allowed to walk to school alone. In addition, the school areas here in Iceland are often not fenced, which many parents are not used to in their home country. This needs to be explained.”

Multiple roles

Aleksandra says that the role of the cultural bridge builders is multifaceted. They teach parents about the work of sports clubs and help ensure that the children can participate in leisure activities and sports. They teach the parents on Abler and other helpful programs that are used in school activities.

“Cultural bridge builders should reduce unnecessary problems and show how beautiful it is to have diversity. Enrich society,” she says. “We help parents solve the issues so they can do it themselves in the future.”

Do you want to contact a cultural bridge builder?

• Primary schools: bru@hafnarfjörður.is
• Preschools: bru.leikskoli@hafnarfjordur.is

Emails can be sent in multiple languages: Arabic, English, Polish and Spanish.

Image caption: The cultural bridge builders of Hafnarfjörður: Bjarki Rafn Andrésson, Anna Sigríður Sveinbjörnsdóttir and Hemn Hussein in the primary schools. Elisabeth López Arriaga and Rima Alhakeem in the preschools. There is a lot of experience and knowledge in the group.