RETHINK – Our work goes on with the RETHINK Network

Tuesday 30 March 2021

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In a general climate of polarised identities and growing intolerance and collective violence towards others, radicalised and extremist narratives have an easy grip on those who are victims of exclusion and social disadvantage.

In order to reflect on the cultural and social mechanisms through which prejudice and discrimination are produced and nurtured, the RETHINK – Remembrance Education for THINKing critically project focuses on the use of Remembrance Education tools. The aim of RETHINK is to support teachers and educators to deepen students’ understanding of phenomena such as polarisation and identity and challenge their prejudices to prevent radicalisation of young people.

Remembrance Education provides an understanding of both the origins and the devastating consequences of exclusion and prejudice, as it combines the remembrance of past mass atrocities in a historical perspective with reflection on contemporary phenomena of violations of freedoms and rights. (For more information: UNESCO, 2013, Why Teach about the Holocaust?).

The work of RETHINK is based on the valorisation and dissemination of non-formal educational practices and programmes promoting tolerance and respect towards diversity and adopted by bodies and NGOs active in the field of Remembrance Education, and on the development of innovative tools to support teachers and educators. The generail aim is to facilitate the encounter between formal and non-formal education, supporting teachers in implementing non-formal educational practices and programmes in the classroom.

To this end, the RETHINK project has developed:

  • The RETHINK database, which collects validated educational practices designed by memorials and NGOs working for the promotion of tolerance and democracy.
  • A Teacher’s Guide to Remembrance Education, a handbook to support teachers and educators who want to improve their skills in dealing with remembrance issues.
  • The RETHINK e-learning platform, 8 training modules for the professional development of teachers and educators in dealing with issues related to Remembrance Education and phenomena that are constant between the past and the present.
  • Policy recommendations addressed to policy makers and the educational community to support teaching staff in prevention and global citizenship education initiatives and to develop new training programmes aimed at linking past and present, strengthening critical thinking skills and improving media literacy of young people.
  • The RETHINK Network, to facilitate collaboration between memorials, organisations and individuals working in the field of Remembrance Education in Europe.

In the last phase of RETHINK, the consortium partners together with experts whose work is connected to the project, presented the experience and results of RETHINK in a 3-day Final Conference. During the conference the topics of the historical persistence of collective violence and the importance of critical thinking were addressed, together with discussion about how to bring Remembrance Education into the classroom, and the role of public authorities.  More information, videos of the conference and materials of the speakers are available at https://rethink-education.eu/final-conference/.

We also discussed the results of RETHINK during our final online event “The role of the educational community in preventing youth radicalisation“. We talked about the phenomenon of radicalisation, the determinants of radicalisation and the importance of multilevel prevention, the role of the school and of the whole educational community, illustrating the role of RETHINK and its results. You can watch the event on YouTube or Facebook.

The results of the RETHINK project will remain available on the project website. The RETHINK Network will continue its activities of spreading information and promoting synergies between bodies and individuals active in Remembrance Education. You can sign up or register your organisation by filling in the online form on the project website.

About the project

RETHINK – Remembrance Education for THINKing critically is cofinanced by Erasmus+ – KA3: Support for Policy Reform – Social inclusion through Education, Training and Youth.

Partners

For further information

Read more about RETHINK and see the project website.

Contact Alessia Valenti: alessia.valenti@cesie.org.

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CESIE ETS