Education plays a key role in addressing the root causes of anti-refugee and migrant hate speech. However, public and civil society actors in the field of anti-discrimination face a lack of research, communication materials and educational resources to better understand what type of messages, contents and formats are best placed to establish successful educational programmes around this issue.
Against this background, the International Dialogue Centre published a new report that explores the strategies and contents of different educational programmes and provides practical guidelines for relevant actors seeking to counter hate speech. The study draws on case examples of educational programmes implemented by civil society organisations between 2015 to 2021, with a particular focus on faith-based organisations, as such organisations are particularly active in the field of anti-hate speech education.
The education initiatives examined on the report are classified into six general categories: 1) encounters with refugees and migrants to foster individual connections; 2) positive messaging; 3) dialogue; 4) advocacy; 5) reporting and counter-narratives; and 6) inclusion.
The report particularly highlights the importance of creating education material that also takes into account the historical contexts and root causes of discrimination in different countries, such as Europe’s colonial past. It also explores how educational programmes can benefit from knowledge sharing and collaboration between public institutions, schools and civil society.