Cultural Diversity and Alterity: Central Prerequisites and Issues of European Citizenship Education

Abstract

Cultural diversity is one of the main issues of citizenship education in the expanding European Union. Europe’s future depends on the competence of its citizens to deal with cultural diversity and alterity. For that, contact with the ‘other’ is an essential precondition. Since the importance of alterity implies a new approach to key issues of education, this paper elaborates on some basic considerations concerning the ‘other’.

Keywords: cultural diversity, alterity, citizenship education