Towards a culture of nuance and dialogue 

The term ‘radicalisation’ is in itself a problematic concept. There is nothing wrong with someone who holds radical views. If your daughter suddenly starts eating strictly vegetarian and only reads about healthy herbs and vegetables, she won’t hurt anyone.

What is often meant by this in the government and in the media is ‘problematic radicalisation’. This concerns citizens who often have a long history of social exclusion. They have social, psychological, financial problems, etc. On social media, at school, on the street, they sometimes express their dissatisfaction through extreme views. In addition to extreme right and extreme left views, today we also distinguish jihadism and, since the Corona crisis, also anti-government sentiments or conspiracy theories.

Much has been written about this social phenomenon. But how do you, as a community officer or social worker, deal concretely with a young person who threatens others and who calls out; ‘The Prime Minister must die!’? What do you say to a student who yells ‘Gays are abnormal!’? How do you deal with polarization in our society in general?

In this training you will receive a framework with which you can better understand the phenomena of ‘polarisation’, ‘extremism’, etc. But we mainly practice with a model and with cases so that you are prepared to deal with these fellow citizens or students.

In company

For your school or organisation, we offer workshops and training courses on dialogue skills, de-radicalisation, and influential group speaking. The offer is also extremely suitable for teachers in function of an educational activity or study day. The basis is the book ‘Apprentice or Convert. Discussing radicalization in the classroom’ (Kristof Van Rossem, Acco, 2017)

If you are interested in a program on communication and dialogue, please send an email to kristof@socratischgesprek.be and we will contact you.

In

In open offer

In open offer there is the following program:

HOW TO DEAL WITH POLARIZATION IN THE CLASSROOM?

How do you deal with students who no longer seem to be interested in nuance or in the true facts of the conversation? How do you react as a teacher when you hear a student say racist or sexist statements in a class? Or how do you deal with ‘Woke’ students who silence others?

On this training day you will be presented with all kinds of cases. We work very practically on the basis of a model of influence. You learn to listen better and ask more specific questions. And you learn how to monitor the safety of a group without losing focus in a conversation.

Target group: secondary and higher education teachers

Leader : Kristof Van Rossem

practical

The training will take place on Saturday 21 January 2023 on the fourth floor of the Holocaust museum, at the Dossin barracks in Mechelen. Before the training, we visit the permanent exhibition about the Holocaust.

Costs : 195 € excl. 21% VAT. Register before 15 December, it will cost 150€.

You can receive a certificate of participation upon completion.