Education on inclusive citizenship, shared common values and co-existence has been suggested as a key strategy in combatting violent extremism (CVE) – a way to counter its narratives while preventing young people becoming radicalised and building a foundation for future peace and stability.
As the international community seeks to understand how best to combat violent extremism it is clear that, to be sustainable, solutions must go beyond traditional CVE strategies to tackle the conditions that are conducive to extremism. This event facilitated an exchange of case studies and approaches which aimed to build resilience to radicalisation and extremism through educational systems and curricula with a particular focus on Europe and the Middle East.
This roundtable built on our April 2016 event on Religion, radicalisation and CVE: towards better understanding, policy and practice, the Adyan Foundation’s Conference on ‘Educational Reforms to counter extremism in the Arab world’ held in September 2016, and the October 2016 conference on ‘Combating Violent Extremism by building inclusive and pluralist societies’ hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It brought together policy makers, education experts, business leaders, academics, and practitioners from relevant countries, to consider how education can foster citizenship and establish common values and discuss the impact this may have on building resilience against radicalisation and extremism. It aimed to:
- Critically explore the research evidence on the impacts of educational interventions which aim to build resilience to extremism;
- Highlight the impact of education on citizenship and common values as an effective tool for improved integration and a common national identity;
- Discuss the role governments, private sector, religious actors and educators can play in building resilience to extremism though education; and
- Explore ways to enhance further co-operation, develop trusted networks and promote further dialogue between stakeholders in the development and implementation of resilience-building strategies and curricula.
