Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 88 ] — INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE FOR PEACE — religious responsibility, community involvement, and polit- ical literacy. Let us deal with these in turn. Firstly, from the very beginning, children should learn self-confidence together with socially andmorally responsible behaviour, both in and beyond the classroom, towards those in authority and towards each other. This learning should be developed, not only in but also beyond school, whenever and wherever children work or play in groups or participate in the affairs of their communities. We can assume that this aspect of citizenship lies at the heart of the matter. Here, guidance on moral and/or religious values and personal development are essential preconditions of citizenship. Secondly, children should be learning about, and becom- ing helpfully involved in, the life and concerns of their communities. This process includes learning through com- munity involvement and service to the community. This, like the other two branches of citizenship, is by no means limited to a child’s time in school. Students and adults might perceive many of the voluntary groups as non-political, but it is probably more accurate to designate them non-partisan, as voluntary bodies, while exercising persuasion, interacting with public authorities, publicizing, fund-raising, recruiting members and trying to activate (or placate) them, are clearly using and needing political skills. Thirdly, students should learn how to make themselves effective in public life through knowledge, skills and values, acquiring what might be called political literacy, or a kind of wisdom that is wider than political knowledge alone. The term ‘public life’ is used in its broadest sense to encompass realistic knowledge of, and preparation for, conflict resolution and decision making related to the chief economic and social problems of the day, including each individual’s expectations of and preparations for the world of employment, discussion of the allocation of public resources, and the rationale of taxation. Such preparations are needed whether these problems occur in locally, nation- ally or internationally concerned organizations or at any level of society from formal political institutions to informal groups, both at local or national level. Effective teaching and learning processes require well- trained teachers, positive learning environments and high quality learning materials. A good education policy underpins each of these dimensions, including thorough curriculum development and review. Working with religious and educational institutions will primarily include independent and joint exploration of current trends, facilitation of an exchange of experiences and improvement of access to expertise in advancing curriculum development and reform in dialogue and social cohesion. While there are many different ways of collaboration, due to the diversity of contexts in the global environment, there are also a number of commonalities. Thus, it is possible to identify key steps in the development of the curriculum and planning for implementation. There are also fundamental processes that reflect the very principles of dialogue and social cohesion, including active consultation with all of those concerned and efforts at objectivity. Inclusive processes for developing curricula in this area help to ensure the legitimacy and effectiveness of the policies that could be adopted for practical application. Each individual who plays a role in education processes, be it student, parent, teacher, school director, policymaker, curriculum developer, or planner, makes a vital contribu- tion by translating the curriculum and aims of dialogue and social cohesion into everyday experiences. Several models for translating the curriculum are used throughout the world, such as: v Australia — curriculum development phases for civics and citizenship. v Colombia — organization of competences for living together, democratic participation and plurality. v South Africa — external actors and cross-curricular reform; applying a human rights perspective. v Nigeria — structural change; adoption of the Japanese 6–3–3–4 system of education to catalyse human capacity building in technology. A good example of this step into interreligious education is a New York-based programme, Seminarians Interacting. It brings Christian, Jewish and Muslim theological students together in a setting of mutual engagement and exchange. Students and staff of various theological schools spend several days visiting each other’s institutions, immersing themselves in classes, worship and dialogue. At the end of each exchange, the students come together for an inten- sive weekend of debriefing. They share what the experience meant for them, both personally and in light of their own religious tradition/training. Obviously, the students learn as much about themselves and their own tradition as they do about the Other, because they are forced to work ecumeni- cally as well as interreligiously. The students find unexpected allies in other faiths as they recognize common challenges in explaining doctrine and policy.