The project “Bildmachen” promotes critical media literacy among adolescents and young adults in dealing with religious-extremist narratives in social media and encourages alternative approaches and perspectives to questions regarding one’s everyday life and environment.
As part of the “Highlighting Alternatives!” project (Alternativen aufzeigen!), we have created short films and exercises to support pedagogical work with students in grades 5 and up concerning Islam, racism, democracy, and Islamism. The films tap into current issues and developments in the media affecting youths and show the differing perspectives. The films and accompanying exercises do not seek to deliver simple answers. Instead they show that there are a number of diverse viewpoints and ideas when it comes to dealing with such issues. This comes with the invitation to develop one’s own point of view.
The heated debate about Islam and Muslims in Germany affects day to day life in schools in Berlin. Teachers and educators frequently tell us about discussions and disputes they have had with their students. Ufuq.de offers consultation and training for these educators and tries to offer them the tools they need to cope with these discussions in a positive manner.
Our workshops “How do we want to live?” offer a starting point for discussions on religion, identity and belonging amoung young people. The workshops encourage young Muslims to become active members of the society and aim at preventin anti-muslim sentiments, hatred and racism in the society as a whole. Our experience shows: who wants to talk about islamism should also adress the topic of anti-muslim racism. Our young teamers work with short videos and facilitate the discussion that follows. The videos touch subjects like Islam, Democracy, Human Rights, Sharia, Gender, Islamism, Salafisms und Jihadism. Religiously motivated Antisemitism as well as anti-Muslim populism and the participation of young Muslims in the society are topics as well.
‘What are you posting? Civic education with young Muslims online’ is a pilot project sponsored by the Robert Bosch Foundation. As part of this project, we take advantage of the experiences gained in the team workshops and transfer them to social networks. In this project, we develop content and civic education strategies in Web 2.0 and draw on the current issues that young Muslim-socialized individuals grapple with in their everyday lives. This project promotes and initiates reflection processes and indicates possibilities for participating in and shaping society. The project thus does its part in preempting radicalization processes, which are largely characterized by alienation and experiences of powerlessness.
The touring exhibition „What do you believe?! Muslims in Germany“ was conceived and designed by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education. It travels to schools and public institutions. Over the past few years, the exhibition was shown in Berlin, Bonn, Kiel, Hamburg, Bremen, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Dresden and Magdeburg, for example. The exhibition is geared at students from grades five and up. It features the facets of Islam and the everyday life of Muslims in Germany.
The project “Local Initiatives against Extremism” brings eight European cities together to devise prevention- and deradicalization measures at the municipal level. In doing so the project, which is run by the European Forum for Urban Security and sponsored by the EU, addresses not only forms of violent right-wing and Islamic radicalism but also football hooliganism and gang violence.
The lesson series “I, we and the others” was commissioned by the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg (State Agency for Civic Education of Baden-Wuerttemberg) and jointly conceived. At center stage is a discussion concerning the various forms of expression when it comes to group-based misanthropy (Gruppenbezogene Menschenfeindlichkeit). The series is conducted by teamers who have been trained by ufuq.de; it combines substantive debate with exercises and techniques that are meant to get students to reflect on their own experiences, perspectives and expectations.