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Promoting freedom of speech to achieve shared values and prevent violent extremism on campus

22 January 2008

Shared values are at the centre of new guidance aimed at helping universities and colleges prevent violent extremism and promote good relations on campus, Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Minister for Further and Higher Education announced today.

The Government's assessment is that the biggest current threat we face is from Al Qa'ida influenced terrorism. Our judgement is that the threat in Higher Education is serious but not widespread. The guidance, published today, highlights five key areas, offering practical advice and issues for staff and students to consider. These are:

  • Promoting and reinforcing shared values: creating space for free and open debate; and listening to and supporting mainstream voices;
  • Breaking down segregation amongst different student communities: supporting inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue and engaging all students in playing a full and active role in wider engagement with society;
  • Ensuring student safety and that campuses are free from bullying, harassment and intimidation;
  • Providing support to vulnerable students and offering appropriate advice, guidance and sources of support to all staff and students;
  • Ensuring staff and students are aware of their roles in preventing violent extremism.

As well as welcoming the work the sector has done in this area, Mr Rammell said:

Since the vast majority of young people pass through Higher Education at some point in their lives, it is absolutely critical that these institutions promote our shared values of openness, free debate and tolerance.

By promoting this culture, we will provide an environment with the trust and respect in which communities can deal more productively and collaboratively with any conflict arising from differences of culture, ideology or faith. It will also enable us to seek to convince via rational argument, those who hold the sorts of extremist tendencies that are the enemies of rational argument. We prize academic freedom and freedom of speech as ends in themselves and as the most effective way of challenging the views which we may find abhorrent but that remain within the law.

This tool kit is aimed at helping universities ensure they are in a strong position to promote cohesion and prevent violent extremism. It offers practical advice, such as having clear policies on room bookings, translation of publications while educating students on how violent extremist groups operate and recruitment.

We should never overstate the menace we face from violent extremism. But the threat from terrorism in the UK is real. Although it is not widespread, there is evidence of serious extremist activity in higher education institutions. Therefore, together, we must ensure that our universities and colleges are not vulnerable to violent extremism and have the support and guidance they need to protect students and staff on campus.

Updated guidance for universities replaces advice published in 2006, reiterating the need to promote shared values and foster cohesion in our student populations. It highlights the clear role that Universities have in creating spaces for free and open debate to challenge violent extremism. It also reflects the government's increased knowledge of how violent extremist groups operate, how they recruit and what the scale and nature of this activity is within our communities.

A similar document for further education colleges will be launched for consultation shortly.

Notes to Editors

  1. Higher Education guidance 'Promoting Good Campus Relations, Fostering Shared Values and Preventing Violent Extremism in Universities and Higher Education Colleges' is available at www.dius.gov.uk.
  2. In his speech on Liberty in November 2007, the Prime Minister called on the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham and the Minister of State, to lead the university sector in debate on how to maintain academic freedom whilst ensuring that extremists can never stifle debate or impose their views. In this context, the document focuses on the key role HE must take in fostering shared values through free, open debate, underpinned by tolerance. These shared values are one of the most important tools available, for tackling violent extremism.
  3. The Government judges the main terrorist threat to the UK at this time to be from Al Qa'ida influenced terrorism. It is for this reason that in this guidance, we specifically focus in some areas on this form of violent extremism and in other areas, all forms of violent extremism. We recognise that Universities face similarly complex issues with regard to the activities of the extreme far right, animal rights activists, anti-semitism, Islamaphobia as well as wider issues of race, faith, sexual orientation and gender intolerance.
  4. Academic Freedom forms a key strand of our policy in preventing violent extremism in both Higher and Further Education institutions. Bill Rammell gave a lecture on Academic Freedom at the Fabians Society on 27 November 2007. This can be viewed online at http://www.dius.gov.uk/speeches/rammell_fabiansociety_271107.html.