Preventing Radicalization among Young People through “Diversity Education”? Exploration into Cross professional and Interfaith Collaborations in Educational Settings

International research has explored the conditions under which communities show resilience to poverty, crime, violence, extremism and radicalization. In contexts encountering such challenges, community resilience has been identified as a key tool and factor for the creation of safety and security (Ellis and Abdi 2017). As a way to strengthen community resilience research recommends a focus on the inclusion of young people in positive local community relations and social groups, particularly in schools, youth clubs, and associations, where they can experience acceptance and acknowledgement for who they are. (Trygfonden og CERTA 2016)

These research observations have informed a newly initiated development project called “Diversity Education”. The project is based on a cross-professional and interfaith collaboration between two primary schoo1ls, a local mosque, a local church and the interest group Danmission in a social housing area in Aarhus, Denmark. The project will develop teaching materials that support the strengthening of lower secondary school students’ digital literacy, i.e. understanding and tolerating diversity online and offline, and engaging critically with offline and online influences.

Building on multiple ethnographic data such as participant observation, interviews, informal conversations in two primary schools, and three action-based workshops, this paper explores analytical insights from the first try-out of the “Diversity-Education”. Focusing on the student’s perspective, the paper first explores the connections between the educational setting and the students' current critical thinking and tolerance towards diversity and polarizing messages online and offline. Secondly the paper engages in a critical discussion of how – and if – “Diversity Education” promotes intercultural education in terms of diversity sensitivity, critical thinking and inclusion of young people. In addition, the paper finally discuss how locally based cross-professional and interfaith collaborations can support preventive initiativ regarding radicalization. Here the paper explores how these collaborations evolves and what challenges and opportunities it gives rise to.