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About voXmi educational network

voXmi is an Austrian educational network that has existed since 2008/09 and has been expanding ever since. The acronym voXmi means “learning and experiencing languages from and with each other”. The motivation for founding the network was to contribute to a culture of peace and social cohesion in Austria´s migrant society by valuing and integrating all languages of children and their families in educational processes. voXmi educational institutions actively counter all forms of exclusion, racism and linguicism and make human rights an issue.

In a whole-institution approach, good practice is developed towards a language-friendly school culture. Learning from and with each other takes place within and across institutions in pre-school, primary, general secondary and vocational schools. One of the main foci is to use digital media consciously and constructively for this purpose.

Currently, about 60 schools and 2 kindergartens throughout Austria are active members. The network is coordinated by four University Colleges of Teacher Education (and hopefully more soon) and offers educational institutions the opportunity for a regular exchange on good practice, topic-related webinars and further education.

Together, concepts around multilingualism are further developed and annual themes for educational and school development are formulated. In the network, social issues around multilingualism are discussed. This is done, for example, by working on common annual themes that address particular concerns of voXmi schools and kindergartens: How can language-friendly education help to promote participation in a democratic society? How can schools and kindergartens cooperate with parents in a multilingual migrant society? How can voXmi ​​contribute to create a strong narrative of the opportunities that linguistic diversity brings to society? How can it lead to a de-hierarchization of languages ​​and the world knowledge they contain? This shows also the importance of multi-perspective and intercultural dialogue for voXmi.

4 Principles form the basis for voXmi:

  • valuing and fostering all of the languages used by our learners, e.g. their languages at home, first and second languages, foreign languages, minority languages, …
  • a rich offering of language instruction.
  • carefully planned and accessible lessons that are ‘language-aware’ in all subjects in order to develop the linguistic competences of all learners.
  • innovative, forward-thinking methods and digital technology, supported by a wide-ranging network that transcends linguistic and geographical boundaries.

 

You can find more information here: voXmi & SDG 4.7_EN

Learning from and with each other in the voXmi network

Learning from and with each other implies that activities that facilitate encounters, discussion and the exchange of experiences are of central importance in the network. To make maximum use of digital opportunities for voXmi means that digital learning opportunities for educators are regularly provided including eLectures on the annual topics.

What kind of activities do learners and teachers carry out?

  • regular network meetings (regional and national)
  • peer learning and peer advice
  • eLectures on the annual themes
  • national and international conferences
  • presentation and discussion of good practice on site
  • supported school development by external experts
  • promoting multilingual literacy to future teachers at pre-school and school level
  • research and publications on voXmi
  • supporting each other in coping with emotionally and cognitively difficult situations in everyday pedagogical life and in the migration society.
  • developing strategies on how all partners can be involved in the voXmi educational process

 

The voXmi website presents both the theoretical foundations and support for their transfer into educational practice. It is the central platform for communicating voXmi expertise to the outside world. Here you can find

  • the voXmi quality framework voXmi_Quality Framework
  • learning impulses and good practice shared by voXmi educational institutions at https://www.voxmi.at – Aktuelles
  • educational materials developed by voXmi educators
  • references and links to other educational materials relevant to voXmi