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Commitment of Stakeholders to the Realization of GCED Network in the Arab States 2017-11-07 Co-organized by APCEIU and the UNESCO Regional Bureau of Education for the Arab States (UNESCO Beirut) and King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), the 2017 Arab States Regional Global Citizenship Education (GCED) Network Meeting was held during 13-14 October 2017 in Luxor, Egypt. The meeting brought about 50 representatives from 30 GCED-implementing institutions in the region and this included participants representing the government, national, regional and global organizations, teacher training institutes, universities and civil society organizations. They gathered to develop strategies towards the scaling-up of efforts in the global promotion of GCED, especially in the context of the Arab region. The meeting was composed of plenary sessions and working group discussions to share good practices and effective implementation strategies for GCED. In particular, the meeting sessions were divided into three main topics: framing GCED within a global/regional agenda-setting process, scaling up of good GCED initiatives and developing network strategies. The meeting also facilitated institutions to form and strengthen a regional network for GCED. In the opening speech, Mr. Chung Utak, Director of APCEIU mentioned the goal of the GCED Network Meeting and emphasized the importance of network and partnership among the stakeholders, stating that “We are gathered here to take a step further in the realization of GCED by exploring potential collaboration through forming human and institutional network for GCED in the Arab States”. Dr. Hamed Al Hammami, Director of UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States emphasized new paradigm shifts in education, saying that “We need to have changes. If we need to have new pedagogies ? all should be based on human rights ?. Once again, we would be sincere to have a new form of education that focuses on new variables ? education that is human based ? we should focus on students ? to have social development.” During the session of ‘Scaling up of good GCED initiatives’, participating institutions provided presentations on GCED such as practices and activities. Dr. Reda Hegazi, First Under Secretary for Education from Egypt presented GCED in the New National Education Strategy. Also, Dr. Hassan Nazem, UNESCO Chair for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue at the University of Kufa in Iraq emphasized the role of youth as global citizens and presented about promoting citizenship among youth in Iraq. During the second day of the meeting, participants had an interactive group discussion in working groups on developing network strategies. Facilitated by Dr. Mohammed Abou Nimer, Professor of American University and Senior Adviser to KAICIID, led the working groups to discuss challenges, needs and upscaling opportunities and tools regarding the promotion GCED. Participating institutions agreed on Terms of Reference about the aim of the Network and identified role and responsibilities of network members. All agreed that the goals of the Arab States Regional GCED Network are to become “Accelerator”, “Bridge” and “Community” for GCED. Network members are expected to meet regularly through a webinar or e-conference and report about their work on GCED. Also, they are encouraged to share information about upcoming events and to collect publications and resources for the UNESCO GCED Clearinghouse. APCEIU expects that the Arab States Regional GCED Network would enable to promote the commitment of stakeholders through sustained advocacy and outreach, as well as continuous exchange of information on GCED and co-organization of collaborative activities such as meetings, conferences and research programmes in order to scale-up efforts on promoting GCED in the regional and global level.URL:Commitment of Stakeholders to the Realization of GCED Network in the Arab States > APCEIU News - APCEIU (unescoapceiu.org) 
UNESCO Forum on Global Citizenship Education provides a platform for innovative teaching 2017-03-17 The Third UNESCO Forum on GCED, which opened on 8 March 2017 in Ottawa, Canada, brought together leading experts, practitioners and policymakers from around the world to examine pedagogical approaches and teaching practices, and to ensure that practical change is brought into classrooms.“Teachers are on the frontlines of bringing GCED into learning environments. Without confident, qualified and well-prepared teachers, we cannot advance GCED,” said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Qian Tang, at the official opening of the Forum. Ambassador Elaine Ayotte, Permanent Delegate of Canada to UNESCO, underlined the essential contribution of educators in building competencies that foster awareness of today’s realities that affect all peoples from all cultures.Ambassador Choong-hee Hahn, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, described the momentum building among policy makers at the global level, and Member States’ commitment to equip the next generation with the tools of tolerance and cultural literacy.Utak Chung, Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding, renewed the Centre’s support towards global advancement of GCED and reaffirmed that fostering global citizenship is not just the UN or UNESCO’s agenda, but ultimately a global agenda. Teachers’ crucial role for achieving Target 4.7With teachers as the central theme of the third UNESCO GCED Forum, the focus has been to draw attention to educators’ fundamental role in improving learning about, and for, global citizenship. In a context where learners are increasingly learning through a diversity of channels, the role of teachers is bound to evolve. Teachers are not only the transmitters of knowledge. They have a role to play in developing learners’ knowledge, skills and attitudes that promote peace and sustainable development. Teachers are the agents of change who can ensure countries achieve of Target 4.7 of the SGD on Education. The event also included the active participation of teachers from UNESCO’s Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) along with 50 youth delegates selected by the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP).The UNESCO Week for Peace and Sustainable Development: the Role of Education (6-10 March 2017) also included the GAP Review Forum, as well as a joint day where the official opening took place. The UNESCO Week is organized jointly by UNESCO and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO with financial support from UNESCO, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan through the UNESCO Japanese Funds-in-Trust for ESD. Additional support for the Week is provided by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, the Global Centre for Pluralism and the Canadian Museum of History. Follow the GCED Forum on Twitter using #UNESCOweekED.Links: UNESCO Week for Peace and Sustainable Development website Global Citizenship Education Learning to live together sustainably (SDG4.7): Trends and Progress UNESCO Associated Schools URL:http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/resources/online-materials/single-view/news/unesco_forum_on_global_citizenship_education_provides_a_plat/