Advancing Diversity Through Global Citizenship Education and Interfaith Dialogue

Abstract

Global citizenship education (GCE) has been the response of governments and educational systems around the world to address issues resulting from globalization in contemporary society. Some of these issues include a lack of social cohesion, parallel living, and religious intolerance. While GCE is viewed by many as a vehicle to develop students as empathetic and caring global citizens, the effective implementation of GCE programs for students remains a challenge. Interfaith dialogue (IFD), which can be understood as a structured conversation designed to foster respect and cooperation among individuals of different faiths, offers a way to address some of the challenges in implementing effective GCE for students. Both IFD and the global consciousness approach to GCE have similar intended outcomes, with dialogue seen as important learning experience in GCE. Similarities between the intended outcomes of both GCE and IFD will be noted, as this information may add further weight to the hypothesis that both concepts are complementary. Finally, an IFD experiential framework and example will be presented as a way to respond to some of the challenges of GCE.