The Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) is holding an online meeting on 24 and 25 September (1 pm-4:30 pm CET), and they are currently looking for participants! The RAN Youth and Education meeting will focus specifically on polarised (Post-)COVID narratives.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, narratives blaming people of specific nationalities or religions for the crisis arose. Such narratives have the power to divide youth in society and can become the breeding ground of radicalisation. With this meeting RAN aims to equip youth workers and teachers with the tools and methods to deal with polarising narratives among the children and youth they work with.

Call for Participants

RAN is looking for youth workers, school counsellors, teachers, and principals among others, who have experienced polarised narratives whether it be at youth centres, online, and/or in the virtual classroom. During the meeting, teachers and youth workers will have the opportunity to discuss the challenges they face with children and youth concerning this topic. The main outcome of the meeting will feed into a post-COVID Q&A Handbook against polarisation.

Some questions that will be asked are: Which polarising narratives do teachers and youth workers encounter in their classroom and their work? How to respond as a teacher or youth worker to hateful statements or narratives in the classroom/among children and teenagers? How to educate children and teenagers about these sensitive themes? And how to deal with fake news or conspiracy theories that are related to COVID specifically?

If you have experienced any related challenges, we invite you to send your motivation to the Radicalisation Awareness Network to take part in the meeting. Note that the organisation requires you to complete their survey, as this will help them find the best-suited participants.

Deadline

Fill in the survey before 18 August. Keep in mind that only 30 participants will be accepted, therefore, participation is not guaranteed. Note that the webinar on the outcomes of this meeting will take place in December 2020, and will allow for more participants to participate.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Pomme Woltman (p.woltman@radaradvies.nl) and Annelies Jansen (a.jansen@radaradvies.nl).