According to Plato, “those who tell and claim the stories, control the world”, and the stories we are told and tell are the flesh on the bones of power. The question is, who tells these stories today?
Today, global conflicts, resource disputes, and cultural, ethnic, or religious tensions often result in catastrophic consequences for the marginalised ‘other’, depending on who is telling the story. Migration, particularly in Europe but equally in the global south and north, exemplifies this, with 120 million displaced people losing homes and educational opportunities. In the United Kingdom, the sixth-largest economy in the world, renowned for its prestigious education system, two narratives are increasingly conflated: one of immigrants, refugees, and illegal migration with that of the positive cultural and financial contributions of international students.
Activism on campuses has always been a driving force for political change and, thus, encouraged as a form of expression for the marginalised and the stories they have to tell. However, rising global campus protests, like those concerning Ukraine and Gaza, raise concerns about extreme activism, which can harm social cohesion, but also the same international students who contribute significantly to the UK.
Higher education and university campuses have traditionally been the spaces provided for healthy intercultural dialogue and expression of ‘otherness’ while protecting the marginalised. It is arguably a key responsibility of higher education to promote debate on contested narratives, fostering justice, equity, and humanity to maintain an uneasy but essential peace.
In this context and through the lens of IAFOR’s international, intercultural, and interdisciplinary mission, this panel presentation will discuss conflicting narratives within migration and the role global citizenship and peace education play in navigating through these issues.
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