#SRtRCSpotlight: Challenging Harmful Narratives with schools in Perth
Recently our team in Scotland have been delivering a series of ‘Challenging Harmful Narratives’ workshops across secondary schools in Perth. So far they have worked with pupils from Perth Grammar, Perth High School & Bertha Park High School – primarily with 1st and 2nd year pupils.
These workshops focus on the impact of harmful narratives in our society particularly within this council area. The pupils have been learning about the roles our biases play in shaping ideas around certain communities, particularly looking at the influence of social media and misinformation. In the workshops completed this far, the pupils have engaged incredibly well with many thought provoking ideas and questions shared which is key in breaking down narratives.
Topics covered also include stereotyping, discrimination, forms of racism and an online fact checking toolkit. With these sessions, we aim to equip young people with the knowledge of challenging information that they encounter every day in social media spaces as well as further understanding of the real life impacts our thoughts and views may have.
We are extremely grateful to Perth Council for both their for funding these vitally important workshops to the young people of Perth and their continued support.
“Overall, the sessions were very well received by the pupils. The content was engaging and pupils responded positively to the opportunities to discuss the issues raised. The workshops complemented our wider work with young people and supported our aims around promoting equality and inclusion. The facilitators were professional and engaging and worked well with our pupils. Thank you again for delivering the workshops and the positive partnership working.”
– Greg Duncan (Deputy Head Teacher at Perth Grammar School).
Councillor Peter Barrett, Perth and Kinross Council’s Equalities Lead commented:
”We are proud to have been working with the Show Racism the Red Card campaign locally for around 18 years, with their education materials and support in schools being particularly invaluable. This year, in response to local anti-asylum protests and associated heightened tensions within the area, we have increased the input from Show Racism the Red Card to deliver the ‘Challenging Harmful Narratives’ workshop within some of our secondary schools, as it is important that our young people are fully informed about the risks of negative behaviours and the impact this can have on communities.”
To find out more about how your school or Local Authority can get involved with Show Racism the Red Card in the Scotland, please complete our enquiry form, with details of the issues that you are looking to tackle.