The Creative Youth for Tolerance (CREATE) program aims to improve pluralism and tolerance in schools using art and culture-based approaches. CREATE is designed to address alarming signs of intolerance and the promotion of exclusivism in the practice of religions and beliefs in schools that also threaten Indonesian democracy and values that respect diversity.
Artistic and cultural approaches are selected as the key entry points for the promotion of tolerance and pluralism among youth because these approaches are effective in building networks among diverse groups, providing social frameworks for the resolution of conflict as well as space for the development of shared experiences and cultural meanings among various groups. Artistic approaches can also provide a safe space for students to engage with sensitive issues of diversity, religious tolerance, gender equality and conflict, and imagine visions of a cooperative and peaceful future. CREATE is implemented in the provinces of West Java, South Sulawesi and East Java, where research has identified high levels of violations of religious freedom, as well as significant numbers of local regulations that are discriminatory toward women and minorities.
