Dr. Vivek Venkatesh is Dean of the Faculty of Education and a James McGill Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Since 2017, Vivek has held the UNESCO co-Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism. Vivek is a filmmaker, musician, curator and applied learning scientist whose research and research-creation programs focus on community resilience and pluralism through a resolutely public pedagogical approach.

In his career, Vivek has secured more than $20 million (CAD) as principal or co-principal investigator on large-scale research, infrastructure and capacity-building projects in Canada, Mexico, Scandinavia, the Middle East and South-East Asia. Vivek is co-editor, alongside Nelson Varas-Diaz, of the book series titled Extremity in Society and Culture, published by Bloomsbury UK; the latest co-edited collection from 2026 in this series is titled "The Ethics of Extremity: On Hearing, Seeing and Feeling Each Other". He is the co-founder of the now-retired Project SOMEONE (Social Media Education Every Day) - an international initiative that worked directly with more than 21,000 people in 13 countries in its decade of work between 2014 and 2024- and which built online and socio-pedagogical spaces to promote pluralism and prevent xenophobia.

Vivek has co-produced and co-directed documentaries about underground cultural scenes including Blekkmetal (2016), Where in the hell is the Lavender House? (2019) and Enslaved 25 (2025). Vivek’s current research-creation works engage the multiple challenges of discrimination at their roots through the development of four unique  artistic projects: BANAL, Halka, Landscape of Hate and Landscape of Hope. All four projects expand knowledge mobilization activities far beyond traditional academic paths, and include film and music production, and curation of live performances by musicians, visual artists, filmmakers, and writers. These projects have reached more than 6,500 people at festivals in Canada, Norway, Mexico and Iceland. If you are so inclined, take a listen to the discography of BANAL and Landscape of Hate, and watch a documentary about Halka made by our youth collaborators. 

Seminar Abstract

In this presentation, I advance the foundations of a theory of social pedagogy within a framework grounded in humanism and community co-creation. I will outline my pessimistic unease surrounding the accelerating impact of identity politics on an uninspiring, narcissistic, and vapid form of social justice. Our collective apathy to the deleterious effects of structural and systemic societal imbalances has exacerbated existing intolerances and increased polarizations. Partisan politics that thrive on highly divisive debates catalyze the abuse and erosion of public trust through various disinformation campaigns resulting in the dismantling of the democratic functioning of our shared society.

Nevertheless, by standing with and amplifying the voices of our highly capable community allies, my team of researchers, community organizers, artists, and policy experts at Project SOMEONE and the UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism seek to refocus and reimagine the humanistic ideals of social cohesion. I will present examples of a range of arts and community initiatives that enable our partners to own and revolutionize their own understanding - as well as our collective understanding - of what it means to create pluralistic platforms for dialogue to combat the rhetoric of division and pave the way for restoring the principles of an inclusive society.