Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) at UNESCO

Paris, France

On 26 June 2017, CELL presented at, and participated in, a workshop on the "Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) through Educational Media: Sharing Good Practices." The Permanent Delegation of Germany to UNESCO organized the workshop in cooperation with the Georg Eckert Institute for International Texbook Research.

The workshop focused on: "delineating the role of textbooks and other educational material in preventing violent extremism, and more specifically on developing the necessary competencies for young people to resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner and build their resilience to the message of violent extremists.... [Invited delegates] discussed achievements, existing practices and challenges, highlighting formal and informal experiences."

CELL President, Jo Ritzen, discussed the importance of revising textbook content as a key part of preventing violent extremism through educational media and announced CELL's initiative to establish an 'International Agreement’ to reduce divisive stereotypes in textbooks.

The workshop brought together national delegations to UNESCO, education officials, teachers, teacher educators, NGOs, and research experts.

For more information, here is a short brief by UNESCO.