Young European Muslims: new British Council research examines poor participation in exchange programmes

Why do young Muslims often hesitate to get enrolled in youth exchange programmes? New research that the British Council conducted in the context of its Our Shared Europe project supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation looks at the accessibility of international exchange programmes to young Muslims.

Between December 2009 and May 2010 the British Council held a series of focus groups across the UK: a total of 79 young Muslims from five cities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales participated in the research. A variety of obstacles to enrolment emerged from the analysis. Among them are parental consent, perceptions in the local community, gender, Islamophobia, the impact of terrorism and the media. It also appeared that there are more obstacles for young Muslim women, some of very practical nature such as activities involving ‘immodest’ clothing.

The research not only identifies barriers which may prevent young people from participating in exchange programmes but also looks at incentives that might encourage them to do so. The recommendations range from offering tailored information on youth exchange programmes and providing halal food to involving parents in the programme design.

The research also has relevance to other marginalised groups, and to youth in general. “Indeed, we believe that the methodology, results and recommendations of this research have broader applications and implications”, says Humayun Ansari, Professor of Islam and Cultural Diversity and member of the research team. Thus an additional objective was to develop a research methodology that could also be applied to other locations and the intention is for this research project to be applied to other European countries after this initial UK-pilot.

The UK Youth Research project was conducted within the context of the British Council’s Our Shared Europe project. The project seeks to develop mutual trust and understanding between Muslim and other communities within Europe. One of the activities of the project to meet these aims is a youth exchange programme that brings together young Muslims with other young people from the UK, Europe and other countries across the globe. “We hope that participation in the youth exchanges by these young Muslims and their peers will contribute to the fruitful commingling of young people, their ideas and aspirations, and indeed the breaking down of barriers that is urgently required in order to achieve these goals”, says Guido Jansen, Project Manager Our Shared Europe.

“The most productive way to establish trust and understanding between people of different cultures is by bringing them together. This is the ambition of the British Council’s Our Shared Europe project, and accords with one of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s core aims – to help improve people’s perception of each other by providing opportunities for interaction through culture and between cultures. We are therefore delighted to support this important research which identifies and seeks to overcome the difficulties that prevent young Muslims from taking part in and benefiting from international exchange forums”, says Andrew Barnett, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in the UK.

In collaboration with the GlobalXchange programme, Our Shared Europe’s first multilateral youth exchange programme started in Egypt in March this year. For more information please visit: www.oursharedeurope.org

Download the Executive Summary (PDF)
Download the Full Report (PDF)

Contact:
Joanna de Jong-Keogh
Tel +31 (0)20 550 6065
E-mail Joanna.deJong-Keogh@britishcouncil.nl