The master’s thesis studies intercultural communication when working with refugees. The theoretical part introduces two subjects: refugees and communication. The terms refugee and migrant are defined, the reasons for leaving their home countries are given, and their road to Europe is described. The thesis is focused on unaccompanied adolescents and the process of seeking international protection in Slovenia is explained. Special attention is given to communication and intercultural communication and to the questions are raised as to what is the meaning of intercultural competencies and culturally competent social work practice. The empirical data analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with refugees and social workers from an asylum centre and non-governmental organisations. The results show that the interviewed social workers think they have sufficient intercultural communication competencies, while the refugees participating in the study state also some negative experiences in their communication with the professional workers. The biggest limitation of the study and the study findings is connected with small, unrepresentative samples of both populations. One of the suggestions, based on the thesis conclusions, is to carry out a survey among applicants seeking international protection in asylum centres regarding their satisfaction with social services at least once a year.
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