A new report exploring the relationship between religion and security emphasises the need for faith literacy, an ethic of inclusivity and consultation with communities, as a precursor to sound policy. Written by Prof John Wolffe and Dr Gavin Moorhead of the Open University, the report also cautions against generalising about the effects that religious (and indeed secular) ideas or movements may have, and notes that ‘religious leaders are potentially effective agents for overcoming community tensions’ (p. 3). The report can be read in full at: http://www.paccsresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Religion-Security-Global-Uncertainties.pdf
Tag: Conflict resolution
Having posted a number of links to resources on reconciliation and good discussion/dialogue practice in recent weeks, readers may be interested to know that WMCFEC is considering running the third in its series of ‘faith literacy’ workshops for FE college staff on this topic in Spring Term 2014. Do you have any experiences or stories to share? Or have any views on what might be most helpful for such a workshop to include? If so, please get in touch!
If you are regularly dealing with issues of individual and community conflict in your college, some great resources are available from the West Midlands Quaker Peace Education Project – including some high-quality short films on their Vimeo pages, which can be used as discussion starters. The main focus of the project’s activity is the schools sector, but there’s plenty here that can be used in FE too.
We’re particularly glad to share this information as a tribute to Linda Pegler, much-valued Quaker representative on WM Churches’ FE Council and formerly involved in the WMQPEP, who sadly died earlier this year.