The European Union is founded on the principles of diversity, inclusion, and equality. Article 10 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2007) explicitly acknowledges the Union's obligation to combat discrimination based on various grounds, including race, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation. This commitment to diversity is reflected in the EU's policies and initiatives, which aim to foster a society that embraces pluralism, tolerance, and non-discrimination.
As stated in the EU anti-racism action plan (European Commission, 2020), promoting diversity goes beyond simply acknowledging differences. It is about understanding and appreciating the rich mosaic of cultures, experiences, and perspectives that characterize the European Union. By creating an inclusive environment that embraces diversity, the EU can achieve true unity in diversity, where everyone feels valued and respected.

Moreover, in a recent report adopted by the Committee on Culture and Education (2022), the European Parliament outlined a comprehensive strategy to combat racism and discrimination. The report emphasized the decisive role of education and training in dismantling structural racism, fostering inclusive societies, and promoting tolerance, understanding, and diversity. Indeed, racism needs to be addressed at all levels, from individual attitudes to societal structures. A holistic approach is essential, involving collaboration between various stakeholders, including governments, educators, civil society organizations, and individuals.

Literature tells us that, while racism remains a pervasive issue, colorism, a system of inequality that privileges lighter-skinned individuals, often operates alongside racism and deserves specific attention (Crutchfield et al., 2022; Hunter 2008). Colorism has a long history and permeates various aspects of life, including education, social services, and healthcare (Jablonski, 2020; Hannon, DeFina & Burch, 2013).

According to Peterson et al. (2016), despite the significant impact of colorism, much of the research has failed to adequately address this issue, focusing primarily on race, “and often what’s perceived as a racial gap is really a color gap, as studies indicate negligible difference in outcomes among very light African American and Latinx people, for example” (Crutchfield et al., 2022, p. 470). Even children are not immune to this phenomenon, as highlighted by numerous studies conducted in various contexts, both national and international. For example, research has shown that children as young as six months old can categorize people based on skin color (Katz & Kofkin, 1997). Additionally, the well-known study by Clark and Clark (1947) has demonstrated that children can express a preference for lighter skin. To effectively address stereotypes about skin color, a holistic approach is needed that addresses the underlying societal and psychological factors that perpetuate it.

In the context of Intercultural Education, it becomes imperative to examine these issues to equip teachers and prepare children to embrace cultural diversity. Indeed, the aim of this research is to explore children's conceptions of diversity and otherness as shaped by skin color perceptions. Our primary source of inspiration is the work of Italian anthropologist Paola Tabet (1997), who conducted a nationwide study by inviting children from various Italian regions to write short essays beginning with the prompt "If my parents were black…".

Initially, the research team tested various prompt sentences to determine which approach was most effective. In accordance with Cardellini (2015), because there is a large diversity of familial structures in modern society, we opted to exclude parents from the stimulus, instead asking children to imagine "If your classmates were black...". As a result of the collaboration between six Italian schools, specifically in Padua and Vicenza, we were able to collect 494 essays written by children between the ages of eight and eleven in the northeast of the country. Specifically, 65 essays were collected from third-graders (age 8/9), 173 from fourth-graders (age 9/10), and 256 were written by fifth-graders (age 10/11). Furthermore, the data will be analysed based on gender, citizenship, eventual migration background, and skin color. To streamline the research process, a comprehensive research protocol was developed which covered all stages of the investigation, including the initial outreach to schools and the data analysis. Data analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti and involved a three-phase approach: Thematic analysis: we started the analysis by thoroughly reviewing the essays and generating bottom-up codes. These codes were derived directly from the text and aimed to capture the overarching themes and patterns that emerged from the children's responses. Coding based on stimulus responses: in the second phase, we applied a top-down approach to code the essays based on their responses to the stimulus prompt. This involved classifying the essays into categories such as positive, negative, neutral, ambiguous, essentializing, and not essentializing. The classification of essentializing responses was adapted from Srinivasan and Cruz (2015), who define essentializing as the tendency to attribute universal traits to individuals simply because they are considered members of a particular group. Codes’ categorization: in the final step, the sentences selected and coded in phase one were grouped according to their emotional, social, or rational significance. This allowed us to further differentiate the children's responses and gain a deeper understanding of their underlying motivations and perceptions.

The data analysis for this study is still ongoing, but this paper will present some preliminary findings. The presentation will combine quantitative and qualitative data, including short quotes from children's essays that express their conceptions about diversity and otherness related to skin color. These findings can be used to make educators and teachers more aware of the phenomenon and to inform them on how to promote intercultural education that encourages open-mindedness about cultural diversity through dialogue and activities that are based on children's own perspectives.

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