The recent report on prevention of radicalization and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organizations (CE A8-0316/2015) pointed out the important role should be played by schools and education in preventing radicalization observing that enabling teachers to take an active role against all forms of discrimination and racism is crucial for this purpose. The increasing number of terrorist attacks, in and outside Europe, requires new strategies for prevention and construction of a new “sense of being in the world.” The fight against terrorism and radicalization must take place through the prevention, monitoring, information collection and the updating of rules and sanctions. Nevertheless, there is only one tool capable of defeating the radicalization before it takes place: the dialogue, particularly between religions, whose diversities, real or perceived, are often a justification for the radicalization and extreme forms of behaviour. Moving from the hypothesis that this condition of instability often arises from the lack of knowledge of the “Other”, especially among youth, the project aims to provide tools for the construction of inter-religious dialogue, starting from schools and actors involved therein. In this context, education plays a crucial role, as well as the presence of teachers with competences and skills to strengthen social ties, foster sense of belonging, develop knowledge, skills, and competences, integrate the core values, enhance social, civic, and intercultural skills, critical thinking, but also to help young generations in becoming active members of the EU intercultural society. New expressions of radicalisation, such as foreign fighters are increasingly spreading by the mass media, it seems useful to consider that the starting point in the battle against youth radicalization have to be played from the ‘inside’ of the EU educational system. In our view, the school is considered as a place for a constructive dialogue on the positive value of diversity. Moreover, school strengthen students’ resilience to radicalization, offering a safe environment and time to discuss and examine controversial and complex issues, especially during adolescence/pre-adolescence. The project aims to launch a dialogue focused on a better understanding for the prevention of radicalization, designing and implementing an integrated set of activities and OER to promote inter-religious dialogue at school in cooperation with relevant stakeholders and religious communities in the partner Countries. The project will consist of several steps and will provide for a mixed strategy of advancing knowledge on youth radicalization risk factors and for the implementation of experimental educational activities and workshops carried out in some leading-schools in order to provide teachers with useful tools for their classroom work. NORADICA aims to provide channels of dialogue for cooperation between schools and religious presence in the construction of shared vision for training EU teachers in spreading religious dialogue among students in anti-radicalisation sense. NORADICA Project wants to connect youths with the heterogeneous religious groups interacting with their daily-life contexts, fostering the process of understanding the structural diversity of EU society as a value instead of a barrier to peaceful coexistence. The fight against youth radicalisation must be played at European level in order to construct a common socialization approach in dealing with this urgent need. NORADICA implements this approach into the main socializing institution, the school, with the upbuilding of a network based upon sharing informations, good practices, research-based knowledge. All these elements work as a social-constructed antidote to exclusion and radicalisation dynamics among youth empowering teachers and schools with tools and practices related to religious issues. The main project outputs are: O1 - Set of Educational Info graphics O2 - Learning for Teaching Tools - Interactive ebook app for teachers O3 - Learning eduCartoons “NORADICATOONS” for Students O4 - Recommendatory Highlights for Schools and Communities
Context/background of the project: NORADICA pointed out the crucial role played by education schools and communities in preventing radicalization, following the report on prevention of radicalization and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organizations (CE A8-0316/2015), enabling teachers to take an active role against all forms of discrimination and racism. NORADICA stressed also the strategic importance of the different religious communities representing the European socio-cultural milieu. In this context, teachers and students and religious communities activate competencies and skills to strengthen social ties, enhance social, civic, intercultural skills, to become active members of the EU intercultural society. Objectives: These issues were implemented by NORADICA project proposing a composite layer of intervention based upon the involvement of schools and religious communities in order to prevent radicalization dynamics in the participating countries. The project was configured as an evidence-based system designed to foster dialogue focused on a better understanding of how to prevent radicalization. NORADICA introduces inter-religious dialogue at school by implementing an integrated set of activities and Open Educational Resources (OER) in order to start the construction of a shared vision for training EU teachers in dealing with inter-religious issues as an antidote to radicalisation. Number and type/profile of participants: The project was specifically addressed to - religion and citizenship teachers or teachers spending most of their work time in the classes (around 100 per partner); - 15 Religious community leaders reflecting the most relevant presence in NORADICA countries; - students 12-16 years-old enrolled in schools of the NORADICA network (around 50 per partners) Description of undertaken activities: The project provided an original mixed-methods action-research strategy for advancing knowledge on youth radicalization risk factors and implemented experimental educational activities carried out in the NORADICA network of leading schools to open debate for religious dialogue involving religious communities, thus providing teachers with useful tools for their classroom daily work. The project outputs fully implemented were: O1 - Set of Educational Infographics NORADICA Infographics have been developed thanks to the cooperation among partners, by investigating the current religious frame in NORADICA Countries. The set of Infographics is based on National Desk Researches about religions, radicalism, youth awareness and policy actions; Surveys addressed to teachers dealing with multi-religious classes, interviews to religious leaders and focus groups with religious communities carried out in partners countries. O2 - Learning for Teaching Tools - Interactive ebook app for teachers Web application offering interactive materials on religious diversity and on countering the radicalization process of young people at school, with particular emphasis on religious issues. Contents are designed for teachers and constitute a unique compendium of interdisciplinary knowledge on the subject. The “NORADICA Web-App” is linked (and extends) the initial results of the infographics mixed-methods action-research. O3 - Learning Edu-Cartoons “NORADICATOONS” for Students Web series of cartoons implemented the results coming from O1 and O2 intellectual outputs. The main idea was to create an innovative, catchy and friendly “tongue” in order to present, explain and discuss anti-radicalization narratives at school. O4 - Recommendatory Highlights for Schools and Communities The set of recommendations are a meaningful summary of the project’s findings. Recommendations are divided into 4 parts and each one focuses on a specific topic about radicalism with links leading directly to the other resources of the project. Recommendations were translated into the partner's languages and 12 more languages related to the major migrant communities in NORADICA countries. All the NORADICA outputs are freely downloadable at www.noradicalism.eu Results and impact attained, longer-term benefits: NORADICA Project connected youths with the heterogeneous religious groups interacting with their daily-life contexts, fostering the process of understanding the structural diversity of EU society as a value instead of a barrier to peaceful coexistence. It implements this approach into the main socializing institution, the school, with the upbuilding of a network-based upon sharing information, good practices, research-based knowledge. All these elements work as a social-constructed antidote to exclusion and radicalization dynamics among youth, empowering teachers and schools with tools and practices related to religious issues. The appreciation of final results made by the end-users and main actors indicates long-term benefits for the implementation of religious dialogue as a social practice.