KAICIID, in partnership with UNESCO, will convene experts in education to test a tool to assist educators in writing textbooks that are free of stereotypes and prejudices based on culture, religion and gender. The tool is needed to assist in curriculum development worldwide as well as to assess current textbooks in circulation, and will eventually be used to communicate curriculum recommendations to textbook authors. KAICIID and UNESCO will host a workshop to test the tool in Vienna, Austria, from 1-3 July 2015.

Twenty participants, including experts, authors and publishers from more than 12 different countries and five continents will test the tool by examining samples of current textbooks in circulation in primary and secondary schools focusing on history, civic education and religion. These samples will then be examined for stereotyping based on the tool’s guidelines. The recommendations from the forum will be used to improve the tool before it is distributed for wider use.

The workshop is part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue and UNESCO, that established the “Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Programme for a Culture of Peace and Dialogue” and will build on outcomes from the UNESCO Forum on Global Citizenship.

As part of the workshop, the participants will also have an opportunity to learn about KAICIID’s work on intercultural and interreligious education and dialogue.

KAICIID’s educational program includes the Image of the Other Programme that focuses on building accurate representation of religious and cultural diversity through interreligious and intercultural education.  The programme supports the exchange of ideas and approaches, serving as a platform for public outreach, sharing best practices, ideas and materials trans-regionally.

It also includes the KAICIID Policy Network (KPN), a platform for experts and governmental focal points to discuss interreligious and intercultural education in formal and non-formal education. The focus includes interreligious education, curriculum development and evaluation tools, teacher training and new e-learning resources.