Building a collective multicultural consciousness

Evidence indicates that old approaches to and paradigms of multiculturalism and multicultural education are struggling to meet the emerging needs of society. In response and drawing on international research, this essay presents two examples that seek to change how we do multiculturalism in order to build a collective multicultural consciousness in societies and in schools. The first example shows how social media is being used to end on-line, racist hatred by destroying the financial returns it generates. The second example shows how young people, in line with international research, are calling for schools to be transformed into social havens of belonging that support diversity, equity and social inclusion. Building a collective multicultural consciousness will inevitably involve multiple strategies, but these two examples testify to the growing momentum for educators and policy leaders to engage with the important conversations that are reframing contemporary multiculturalism and multicultural education policy and practice.