Peace and the "Other" in Tunisian Schoolbooks: A Concise Final Report
Dr. Arnon Groiss, November 2009

IMPACT-SE has concluded a report on Tunisia's schoolbooks. The results are extraordinary: following reforms of revolutionary proportions carried out by the Ministry of Education, the Tunisian schoolbooks, in stark contrast with most Middle Eastern curricula, emphasize the importance of tolerance, peace and dialog with the “other,” equality between all human groups, openness toward the “other” and its culture (that is, the West), use of religion for universal rapprochement, and restriction of the ideals of (militant) jihad and martyrdom to historical events. Thus, provided they apply the above tenants within the context of the Middle East conflict, the Tunisian schoolbooks may serve as a model for Arab and Muslim countries regarding the attitude toward the "other" and to peace. A concise report has been compiled from the full report, which will be available here soon.

Read the Consise Report:
    English (pdf, 790 kb)

Related Event:

• IMPACT-SE European Tour - November 2009
  IMPACT-SE set out on a two-week tour to the UK, Belgium and Germany with the goals of raising awareness and demonstrating to European parliamentarians, policymakers, media and public the true nature of Hamas; and of promoting the Tunisian schoolbooks and their educational approach as a potential positive role model. As part of the tour, David Oman was joined by IMPACT-SE Director of Research, Dr. Arnon Groiss, who presented at the European Parliament the findings of his research on the Tunisian schoolbooks at a November 18 public hearing entitled “The Challenges of Education for Peace & Tolerance & the Attitude towards Diversity - the Tunisian Model & the Role of the EU.”