Resulting from the EU-funded Accept Pluralism project, the Handbook on Tolerance and Cultural Diversity in Europe is designed to serve the needs of high school and university students as well as teacher trainers.
The main purpose of this Handbook is to clarify terms commonly used to talk about diversity such as nationality, national identity or citizenship but also concepts such as integration, multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue. Secondly, the Handbook introduces the concepts and phenomena underpinning fear of diversity. Finally, the Handbook proposes answers to the challenges of ethnic and religious diversity in everyday life.
Alongside its many helpful definitions, the handbook includes statistical information on native minorities and migrant populations in 14 European Union Member States plus Turkey. It also provides capsule summaries of case studies, describing how diversity conflicts have been handled in different cultural settings, especially in schools. Topics of contentious public debate - such as those involving religious symbols and apparel - are carefully explored. Taken as a whole, this Handbook seeks both to clarify important terms associated with its subject matter and to clearly articulate the principles that should guide democratic life in European societies.
