The Tony Blair Faith Foundation and McGill University are delighted to announce an intensive training course entitled ‘Education and Security: The Challenge of Religious Diversity’. The course will take place in Montreal, Canada from 15-20 June and applications are currently welcomed from security, policy, education and development professionals and researchers. The course consists of a series of workshops which will explore policy options for countering religious extremism through effective education that promotes open-mindedness, understanding and dialogue within often complex faith-based and secular contexts.
Applications are welcomed from security, policy, diplomatic, education and development professionals and researchers for an Intensive Training Course exploring policy options for countering religious extremism through effective education that promotes open-mindedness, understanding and dialogue within often complex faith-based and secular contexts.
The course consists of a series of workshops that will be collegial, constructive and highly interactive, with the goal of sharing expertise and resources, forging networks, generating policy initiatives and furthering research. At each stage of the seminar participants will be invited to apply the thematic discussions to the institutional, political, religious, cultural and educational parameters of their own regional contexts and to analyse the possible policy implications.
Over recent years conflict in the name of religion and conflicts between and within religious groups have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of people across the world. Prejudice that can lead to extremism and violence begins with misunderstanding and ignorance. A lack of education that counters misunderstanding, or education that perpetuates a close-minded worldview, will therefore perpetuate prejudice and its consequences.
The Faith Foundation provides the practical support required to help counter religious prejudice, conflict and extremism in order to promote open-minded and stable societies. Since its founding in 2008, the Faith Foundation has developed education projects based on a unique pedagogy of dialogue that counter the prejudices based in misunderstanding and ignorance about religion and religious ‘Others’, building resilience to extremism. The experience and expertise that was developed through this has led to the Faith Foundation working with the UN and international counter-extremism organisations in developing strategies for countering violent religious extremism through education initiatives. McGill University has been a core partner of the Foundation since 2009 helping to develop the intellectual grounding of its work. Its international reach and diverse and interdisciplinary approach to engaging with the Foundation’s themes provides a rich, inquisitive academic environment for the discussion of these themes.
The course costs CAD2700 (approximately £1500) covering tuition, accommodation (breakfast and lunch inclusive) and field trips. A limited amount of funding is available for scholarships and travel bursaries for participants from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
We are pleased to announce that Francis Campbell, formerly British Ambassador to the Holy See and Head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Policy Unit, will be joining the teaching team for this course.
More information can be found here.
Application forms can be downloaded here (please save the application form and open from your desktop before filling in your detials). Applications should be returned to fgi@tonyblairfaithfoundation.org no later than 19 April 2015.
A very limited amount of funding is available for scholarships and travel bursaries for participants from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. To apply for a scholarship or travel bursary download the form here and return with your main application to fgi@tonyblairfaithfoundation.org no later than 19 April 2015. Scholarship applications returned separately to the main application will not be considered