Swanshurst School in Birmingham holds several conferences for its year 11 students each year. The events encourage students to learn and talk about a variety of ethical and religious topics, from rainforest destruction to abortion. The school invites speakers from a wide range of organisations to challenge the students' views. Their last event, themed on 'The Good in Religion', included representatives from Islamic Relief, Christian Aid, The Salvation Army and Sikh Aid amongst others. Students are split into workshops for much of the day, allowing them to interact with speakers and consider the issues in small groups.

Diversity and Dialogue ran sessions at Swanshurst in 2004 and 2005. Both years we have aimed to get the students thinking and talking about their own beliefs and values. For example, we asked the students to consider big global issues including the Middle East conflict, global warming and HIV/AIDS. We asked them to share their own views and then to think about how religion might influence their opinions. They then considered how people from different religions might think differently, where they might feel very similar and why.

Project type

• Schools

Region

• Birmingham