Communication support for migrants, the majority population, and public institutions, as well as the strengthening of friendly coexistence in intercultural society are duties that have been carried out within social work since the 1990s. This was when the Czech Republic opened its borders and migrants started to arrive in large numbers. The establishment and elaboration of new approaches and services aimed at migrants can be observed from 2006. According to the need expressed by experts, migrants and public institutions for the provision of professional services in helping professions and within public institutions, these new approaches have been established within NGOs in particular. Their aim has been to break down linguistic and sociocultural barriers between the majority population and migrants, or contribute to effective communication in an intercultural environment and aid in the elimination of unprofessional intermediary services for migrants, which often border on exploitation. In this way, new concepts named intercultural work, community interpreting and intercultural mediation began to be institutionalized. Their backgrounds, goals and the situations in which they can be applied are shared, as are the uncertainties and challenges for further direction and development.
The Association for intercultural work aims to develop the concept of intercultural work and establish the profession of an intercultural worker in the Czech Republic.