- Country
- Belgium
- Target Audience
- Youth/pupils/studentsFirst responders or practitionersEducators/academics
- key themes association
- (Early) preventionAlternative and counter narrativesMulti-agency cooperation
- Peer Reviewed practice
- No
- Year
- 2021
Project description
The CCA-Method is a co-developed strategic communication methodology used in situations where young people are influenced by narratives that are potential threats to our shared democratic values.
The following three narratives are used consecutively:
- Connective Narrative – a story with the focus on shared values, used when connecting with students and pupils for the first time. This is reflected in the attention to a strong sense of belonging through a connective school climate and shared values. Teachers are trained to develop their connective communication skills to students through training sessions based on the pyramid of Bateson and a democratic school ethos (based on: RAN Collection – Identity & Communication).
- Counter Narrative – to counter a substantive problematic (radical) standpoint via a contextual and/or historical analysis based on the Socratic methodology.
- Alternative Narrative – to take away the pressure that might come up when implementing counter-narratives as young people might feel singled out and/or targeted by the arguments brought forth. It shifts away the focus to a completely different case that shows how young people can address their grievances in alternative ways. Alternative pathways are provided by:
- strong participation of students themselves in student councils, civic activities and art projects at school (see also RAN Collection – Athena-syntax, https://athenasyntax.org);
- alternative historical, political, economic and/or religious readings on the subject at hand by experts.
The GO! Atheneum of Antwerp developed this strategy in collaboration with Ceapire, a Centre of Expertise, in the area of intervention and prevention of radicalisation and extremism. Ceapire is made up of theologists, psychologists and a range of other experienced experts in the field, whom the school collaborates with to connect with their students, and the communities these students belong to.
This strategy has been disseminated amongst the different GO! (public Flemish education system) schools in Flanders.
Deliverables
EUROGUIDE (Flemish version)
Book: ‘Mijn Kleine Jihad’ by Karin Heremans, Houtekiet 2017.