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Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles: EU Values and Citizens at the Centre of Digital Transformation 2022-11-15 Interinstitutional declaration on digital rights and principles for the digital decade: Member States, Parliament and Commission concluded the negotiations on EU values in the digital world. Member States, the European parliament, and the Commission negotiated the European declaration on digital rights and principles for the digital decade. The declaration aims to promote European values within the digital transformation, putting people at the centre, with digital technology benefiting all individuals, businesses, and society as a whole. This declaration sets out a European way forward for the digital transformation of our societies and economies. Promoting and protecting our values in the digital environment is essential, be it privacy, individual control over data, equal access to services and education, fair and just working conditions, engagement in public space or freedom of choice. I also hope the declaration will set up an international benchmark and inspire other countries and organisations to follow our example. Ivan Bartoš, Czech Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalisation and Minister for Regional Development The EU way for the digital transformation of our societies and economy encompasses in particular digital sovereignty in an open manner, respect of fundamental rights, rule of law and democracy, inclusion, accessibility, equality, sustainability and respect of everyone’s rights and aspirations. The text recalls all pertinent rights in the context of the digital transformation and should serve as a reference point for businesses and other relevant actors when developing and deploying new technologies. The declaration should also guide policy makers when reflecting on their vision of the digital transformation: putting people at the centre of digital transformation; supporting solidarity and inclusion, ensuring connectivity, digital education, training and skills, as well as access to digital services online. The declaration emphasises the importance of freedom of choice in interactions with algorithms and artificial intelligence systems and a fair digital environment. It also appeals to increase safety and security in the digital environment, in particular for children and young. The member states, the Parliament and the Commission also commit themselves to support development and use of sustainable technologies. Next stepsToday’s outcome of negotiations is now subject to approval by the Council, the European Parliament, and the Commission. On the Council’s side, the Czech presidency intends to submit the agreement to the Member States’ representatives (COREPER) as soon as possible allowing its signature by the three co-signing institutions during the December European Council. BackgroundThe Commission’s communication "Digital compass 2030: a European way forward for the digital decade" of 9 March 2021 presented the vision for a digitally transformed Europe by 2030 in line with European values. The EU’s ambition is to be digitally sovereign in an open and interconnected world embracing empowered citizens and innovative businesses in a human-centred, inclusive, prosperous, and sustainable digital society. In their statement of 25 March 2021, the members of the European Council underlined the importance of digital transformation for EU’s growth, prosperity, security, and competitiveness, as well as for the well-being of our societies. It identified the communication on the digital compass as an important step towards mapping Europe’s digital development for the next decade. It invited the Commission to use all available instruments in the field of industrial, trade and competition policies. In light of these ambitions and challenges, the Commission proposed on 26 January 2022 a European declaration on digital rights and principles for the digital decade, as a follow-up to its communication of 9 March 2021. URL: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/11/14/declaration-on-digital-rights-and-principles-eu-values-and-citizens-at-the-centre-of-digital-transformation/?utm_source=dsms-auto&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Declaration+on+digital+rights+and+principles%3a+EU+values+and+citizens+at+the+centre+of+digital+transformation 
Dublin Declaration a Milestone for Global Education 2022-11-15 Global Citizenship Education at heart of tackling global challengesThe Irish Development Education Association (IDEA) welcomes the adoption of the milestone European Declaration on Global Education to 2050 by ministers from across Europe, at the European Congress on Global Education to 2050, #GE2050, hosted by Irish Aid in Dublin Castle today. The process leading to the adoption of the Dublin Declaration was co-chaired by Ireland and Luxembourg over the past 18-months. The Declaration was developed by GENE, the network of Ministries and Agencies with national responsibility for Global Education in European countries, with input from civil society, youth organisations, research and educational institutions and a number of global critical friends. Speaking at the Congress, Frank Geary, Director of IDEA, said: ''We welcome the commitments by the ministers today towards achieving access to quality Global Citizenship Education (GCE) for all by 2050. This Declaration is a milestone for GCE and for education more broadly. It clearly positions GCE as central to developing the critical thinking, skills, attitudes, and values we need to tackle the many challenges ahead. It also provides a strategic framework that takes us beyond the United Nations’ Sustainable Development. Goals. The Dublin Declaration recognises the importance of GCE in responding to the growing necessity to put global and local justice, solidarity, and other issues at the heart of education system reform, curricula, and learning. This is something that is already visible in Irish education – through the second National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development, the Irish Aid Global Citizenship Education Strategy (2021-2025) and the plans to introduce a new Leaving Certificate subject on Climate Action and Sustainable Development in 2024.Ireland has already been recognised at European and international level as a leader in GCE because of the quality of the organisations and programmes being run, and the support structures that are in place for the sector. We in IDEA look forward to playing our role in the further strengthening and growth of GCE both here and in Europe in the coming years.” Further Information: IDEA, the Irish Development Education Association, is the national network for Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in Ireland representing over 90 organisations involved in the practice of GCE across the formal, non-formal and informal education settings. IDEA members include Development NGOs, such as Concern, Trócaire, GOAL, Plan International; youth organisations such as the National Youth Council of Ireland and the YMCA; community and voluntary organisations such as Comhlámh, Development Perspectives; educational institutions and networks such as the Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education in DCU, Dept of International Development Maynooth University, trade unions such as the Association for Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), and other civil society organisations such as Children in Crossfire and Poetry Ireland. Full list of our members available here. The Dublin Declaration (attached) was endorsed by Governments from across Europe. It will involve the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms Jutta Urpilainnen, has already strongly endorsed the process. In addition to Governments and International Organisations, the Congress and Declaration involved civil society and youth organisations, research and educational institutions and local and regional authorities URL:https://www.ideaonline.ie/press-release-dublin-declaration-a-milestone-for-global-education 
Global Citizenship Education: Declaration agreed in Dublin 2022-11-15 The fifth-ever European Congress on Global Education took place in Dublin from 3-4 November. It was a joint initiative of the Council of Europe’s North South Centre and the EU’s Global Education Network Europe (GENE) with the aim of building broader and deeper political support and commitment to global education. The Congress signed and ratified the Dublin Declaration, which is the culmination of an 18-month process to develop a new framework on global citizenship education to 2050. The negotiations in Dublin were co-chaired by Ireland’s Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and the Diaspora Colm Brophy, and Luxembourg’s Minister of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs Franz Fayot. Minister Brophy said: “It is more important than ever for us to ensure everybody has access to education and information to help them build an understanding of the critical issues facing the world today. The Dublin Declaration commits Governments across Europe to strengthening global citizenship education across society.” The Dublin Declaration sets out how education will encourage the public to act, individually and collectively, to help build a fairer, more tolerant and more sustainable world for all. It focuses on youth, adult and community education, including reaching those marginalised from mainstream education. Signatories included stakeholders across youth organisations, civil society, local governments, academia, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the OECD, UNECE, and UNESCO. They committed themselves to a Europe where access to quality global education is a right. In doing so, the Declaration champions the role of education in contributing to international solidarity, human rights, global social justice, sustainability and peace. This was the final event of the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers to take place in Ireland. Ireland officially hands over the Presidency to Iceland in Strasbourg on 7 November. URL:https://www.coe.int/en/web/presidency/-/global-citizenship-education-declaration-agreed-in-dublin 
UNESCO GCED Roundtable on the Role of Sports in Fostering Global Citizenship Education 2022-11-14 APCEIU co-organized the UNESCO GCED Roundtable on the Role of Sports in Fostering Global Citizenship Education with the Group of Friends for Solidarity and Inclusion with GCED, the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Korea (ROK), UNESCO, and UNESCO on 14 October. The event, which was conducted as an in-person event at UNESCO HQ in Paris, France, aimed to highlight the role of sports in fostering values and virtues embraced by global citizenship, share practices of GCED through sports and discuss practical challenges, and make GCED friendlier and easily accessible for the wider public. Approximately 90 participants from 40 countries participated in the event. H.E. Ms Bak Sang Mee, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Korea to UNESCO and Ms Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO, delivered opening remarks to begin the event. In her speech, Ambassador Bak stressed the need to enhance the visibility of GCED and make GCED more easily and broadly accessible to the public through interesting themes such as sports. Ms Stefania Giannini expressed concern over reduced accessibility to education and sports for disabled children and young girls as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted the critical role of GCED in transforming education to foster critical thinking and be inclusive. After the opening remarks, Mr Lim Hyun Mook, Director of APCEIU, moderated presentations from the speakers, a panel discussion on the practices of GCED through sports and challenges in strengthening the role of sports in fostering global citizenship, and a Q&A session. Ms Khalida Popal, former captain of the Afghanistan Women’s National Football Team and founder/director of Girl Power Organization, shared her experience in using soccer as a medium to advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Dr Simon Darnell, Associate Professor of Sports for Development at the University of Toronto, offered his insights as an academic, proposing that sports and GCED offers each other mutual benefits, where GCED offers sports a conceptual framework for sports to have a positive impact on humanity, and sports offers GCED a popular and tangible cultural form through which it can be realized. Ms Jane Njue, Assistant Director of Applied Research at the Kenyan Institute of Curriculum Development summarized Kenya’s experience in implementing a GCED-integrated curriculum in the post-conflict county of Baringo. Finally, Mr Izzat Jandali, shared his experiences in teaching soccer to refugees in Za’atari, Jordan. In the panel discussions, the presenters emphasized the need for both sports-related organizations to encourage athletes to demonstrate their global citizenship, as well as the need for community-based changes. In his concluding remarks, Mr Lim Hyun Mook expressed that as GCED should be realized through our actions and attitudes in all aspects of life, sports should also provide platforms for cooperation and solidarity. He also introduced APCEIU’s plans to publish a GCED material, “Learning GCED through Soccer” with the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. URL:http://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/4610 
Capacity-Building Workshop on GCED for Pakistani Educators (12-21 October) 2022-11-14 From 12 to 21 October, Capacity-Building Workshop on GCED for Pakistani Educators was held upon the request of the UNESCO Islamabad Office. APCEIU provided a 10-day training programme for 15 district education officers from Pakistan on GCED, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and educational development in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The workshop was composed of two modules. The first module focused on raising awareness about GCED/ESD in the context of SDGs, deepening their understanding of core themes of GCED/ESD, and introducing innovative policies and practices in Korea related to GCED/ESD. Through the second module, experiences of Korean education, including teacher development models, good cases, and innovative educational policies and practices were shared to broaden the participant’s perspectives on educational development. Each module was composed of lectures, discussions, hands-on workshops, and study visits to relevant sites in Korea. The participants learned about the concept of GCED, its principles, policies and practices. Through the relevant sessions, they were able to understand the interconnectedness and interdependency of the society we live in and the challenges we face, recognizing GCED as a transformative educational initiative to effectively deal with the global issues. This inspired the participants to rethink what it means to be a global citizen. Moreover, through sessions on the thematic areas, including gender equality, human rights, and climate crisis, participants could deepen their understandings of global issues and important role of education in coping with global challenges. To observe educational practices in Korea, the participants visited schools and educational institutions, including Daejeon Seobu Office of Education, National Institute for Lifelong Education, Seoul Munsung Elementary school, and Daejeon Moonjung Middle School. Through the study visits, participants witnessed educational system and practices in Korea and learned about how GCED/ESD is practiced at institutions and schools. Also, through active Q&A, they could learn details of school curriculum, culture and learners’ experiences at schools in Korea and how they coped with challenges, including learning gaps caused by COVID-19. Through the Workshop, participants were empowered and motivated to take the lead and help their communities to work together towards sustainable development and quality education. After the workshop, one of the participants said, “I could get to know new concepts of GCED/ESD and moreover how these are practiced in schools and communities. Visiting various institutes/organizations not only broadened my horizon but also helped to observe the innovative and technology oriented methodologies being followed there.” The participants shared that they will share their learning experiences with fellow educators in their regions and incorporate GCED/ESD in education policies of their respective districts. URL: http://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/4606 
Social and emotional learning must be a priority for transformed early education 2022-11-14 The growing international attention to early childhood care and education (ECCE) is given new urgency following the UN Transforming Education Summit (TES) in September, whose global calls to action have a clear connection to young children’s education. The teaching profession will be a core driving force in achieving these calls to action. It will need much support and unique skills development to enable such change, especially as young children undergo rapid learning and development at the ECCE level. As pre-primary teachers are enhancing their expertise with 21st century teaching and learning strategies, social and emotional learning may prove a cross-cutting skill to enrich all pedagogies for young children and build a more resilient ECCE workforce. Benefits of social and emotional learning for young children’s COVID-19 recovery Social and emotional skills are part of everyday life and begin developing from birth. Children’s social and emotional development often looks like a child’s forming close and secure relationships with others and understanding their own, as well as others’ emotions within their homes, cultures and societies. Like other skills such as language and cognition, which begin to develop before children enter schools, social and emotional skills must be taught and understood as the skills can positively impact one another and together promote lifelong learning and peaceful societies. Social and emotional learning emphasizes the developmental process of learning and using knowledge, skills and attitudes for building relationships, making decisions, showing empathy, achieving goals and regulating their emotions. Well-designed social-emotional learning programs have been found to yield an average return of US$11 for every dollar spent, and to improve a range of student outcomes, including social and emotional skills, academic performance, social behavior and conduct, and attitudes. Social and emotional learning is essential to ECCE teachers for supporting young children when they come to school for the first time, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic took away critical opportunities to develop young children’s cognitive, social, linguistic and emotional skills, simultaneously exacerbating pre-existing inequalities and negatively impacting all learners, especially those from vulnerable and marginalized backgrounds. Pandemic lockdowns of schools caused at least 7 million children across Asia and the Pacific to lose access to pre-primary education. Children in the region also lost important opportunities for social interaction and consequently have exhibited increased levels of stress due to a variety of factors, including isolation, uncertainty and fear of the future, thus having a negative impact on their resilience and cognitive skills. Social and emotional competencies such as managing emotions, building resilience and caring for others will play an important role to help young children recover a sense of overall wellbeing and their learning capacity in the wake of the pandemic. Asia-Pacific teacher training handbook and modules for teachers’ social and emotional learning Teachers require new pedagogical skills to support young children’s holistic development for lifelong learning in the 21st century. At the same time, social-emotional competencies may also benefit teachers themselves. Such skills and competencies are particularly important for teachers at the pre-primary level to support young children’s foundations for lifelong learning. Social-emotional competencies may help reduce and prevent teacher burnout by providing coping skills needed to navigate teaching demands and manage their classrooms. The UNESCO Asia and Pacific Bureau for Education, with the financial support of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust (JFIT), created the Asia-Pacific ECCE Teacher Handbook and Training Modules for Social and Emotional Learning (APETT-SEL) as part of the Empowering Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Teachers with a Transformative Vision of Education project. Field tested in Cambodia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Vietnam, the APETT-SEL handbook and its 10 modules consist of key themes on self-care for teachers, social and emotional learning competencies for children and adults strategies and practices to build a pro-social classroom for a safe and supportive environment, understanding cultural diversity and differences, and assessment and measurement. The regional example of pre-service and in-service teacher training strengthens social and emotional skills for teachers and their students, which can be extended to benefit others in the ECCE workforce, as well as education leaders and education policymakers. Social-emotional learning to transform education systems As ECCE provision returns, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that social and emotional learning is just as important as other foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy and should appear throughout children’s education, starting in the early years. It is not, however, a short-term solution in the learning recovery process as children around the world face challenges to continue their education amid increased conflicts, displacements, disasters and emergencies. Now more than ever, discussions on transforming education systems must include the pressing needs of young children and the ECCE workforce, such as social-emotional competencies in long-term change. Social and emotional learning will be playing a larger role in transforming education systems. The APETT-SEL handbook and modules will be featured in a side event for the upcoming World Conference on ECCE, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where Member States will soon convene with multilateral stakeholders from around the world for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.2, to ensure all children have access to ECCE so they are ready for primary education. It is hoped that the outcomes of the World Conference, together with the ongoing efforts by Member States, will make social and emotional learning a priority in its commitments to, and investments in, transformed, resilient and sustainable ECCE. This slightly adapted article originally appeared in the Education for All Blog, of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) on 10 November 2022 at https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/social-and-emotional-learning-must-be-priority-transformed-early-education Brandon Darr, International Consultant, is based at the UNESCO Bangkok office, where he supports initiatives in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Inclusive Education (IE), particularly for activities under the Asia-Pacific Multilingual Education Working Group. He holds a Master’s degree in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor’s in Educational Linguistics from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. URL:https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/social-and-emotional-learning-sel-must-priority-transformed-early-education 
[Sessions Available Online] The 7th International Conference on Global Citizenship Education: GCED in the Face of Digital Transformation that Connects and Divides 2022-11-14 The 7th International Conference on GCED (IConGCED) was successfully concluded on November 3rd to 4th, 2022. Co-organized by APCEIU, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, and in partnership with UNESCO, the Conference gathered about 3,320 online participants on the first day and 3,103 online participants on the second day.In the 7th IConGCED, participants had the opportunity to discuss the mixed effects of technological innovations and how GCED should be implemented to address the digital divide, which brings inequality and exclusion issues and to enhance digital and media literacy in order to secure just and peaceful societies through education while making good use of the digital technologies. In addition, the Conference held a special session on the progress made in the revision of the 1974 Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which is to improve its relevance and effectiveness as a strong instrument to keep it reliable and applicable towards the achieving the SDG Target 4.7 in particular.You can now view the recordings of the Conference on the IConGCED Youtube channels except Plenary Session 1, 2, and Concurrent Session 1.2 (these sessions will be accessible soon). To view the recordings, please click the title of the sessions below: [Day 1]OpeningOpening address Sang-Yoon Jang, Vice Minister of Education, Republic of Korea Sang-hwa Lee, Ambassador and Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCOCongratulatory address: H. E. Khondker Mohammad Talha, Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of Bangladesh to UNESCO; Group of Friends for Solidarity and Inclusion with GCED Welcoming address: Hyun Mook Lim, Director, APCEIUModerator: Jeongmin Eom, Head, Office of Research and Development, APCEIU Moderated Conversation: The digital transformation and the future of GCEDModerator: Soon-Yong Pak, Professor, Yonsei University, Republic of KoreaSpeakers: Neil Selwyn, Professor, School of Education Culture & Society, Monash University, Australia Shamah Bulangis, Co-chair, Transform Education hosted by UNGEI, Philippines Elisa Guerra, Teacher and Founder, Colegio Valle de Filadelfia, Mexico; Member of UNESCO's International Commission on the Futures of Education PART I. Digital transformation recaptured by GCED - What are significant issues, possibilities and challenges brought by the digital transformation from the perspective of GCED?Plenary Session 1. GCED in the digital world that connects and dividesModerator: Dylan Wray, Director, Center for Learning, Human Responsibility AcceleratorSpeakers: Janice Richardson, International Advisor, Insight SA Alton Grizzle, Programme Specialist, Section for Media and Information Literacy and Media Development, UNESCO Peck Cho, Chair-Professor, Institute of General Education, Korea University, Republic of Korea Lisa van Wyk, Global Communications Manager, World Wide Web Foundation Concurrent Sessions 1Session 1.1. Addressing emerging issues: digital divide, polarization, and the emergence of new ethics and digital citizenshipModerator: Kevin Kester, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Seoul National University, Republic of KoreaSpeakers: 'Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative, Nigeria Sunyong Byun, Professor, Department of Ethics Education, Seoul National University of Education, Republic of Korea Diego Manrique, Coordinator, Core Team, GCED Youth NetworkDiscussant: Rachel Parker, Senior Research Fellow, Education and Development, Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) Session 1.2. Building up digital citizenship and media and information literacy (MIL)Moderator: Lisa van Wyk, Global Communications Manager, World Wide Web FoundationSpeakers: Cecilia Barbieri, Chief of Section for Global Citizenship and Peace Education, Division for Peace and Sustainable Development, Education Sector, UNESCO Josaphat Tjiho, Acting-Director, MiLLi Trust, Namibia Bushra Ebadi, Social Innovator; Co-Founder, HILA Alliance Special Concurrent Session. Street dialogue: Empowering youth, empowered by youthCo-Moderators: Tina Trdin, Coordinator, Association Lojtra Bastien Fillon, President, Officine CittadineSpeakers: Project introduction: Jihong Lee, Head, Office of Education and Training, APCEIU Case Presentations [Day 2]PART II. Futures of GCED: Digital transformation and beyond Introduction Concurrent Sessions 2 Session 2.1. Policy and advocacyModerator: Neil Selwyn, Professor, School of Education Culture & Society, Monash University, AustraliaPanelists: Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Director, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat Marco Pasqualini, Education Programme Specialist, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States Phinith Chanthalangsy, Unit Head of Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa Md Walid Bin Quashem, First Secretary, Permanent Delegation of Bangladesh to UNESCO Session 2.2. Curriculum, pedagogy and practice Moderator: Shamah Bulangis, Co-chair, Transform Education hosted by UNGEI, PhilippinesPanelists: Dylan Wray, Director, Center for Learning, Human Responsibility Accelerator Rowena Hibanada, Director, Community Partnership and Extension Office, Philippine Normal University, Philippines Jihong Lee, Head, Office of Education and Training, APCEIU Session 2.3. Monitoring Panelists: Chair: Esther Care, Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia Roshan Bajracharya, Senior Regional Advisor for Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Ralph Carstens, Senior Research Advisor, International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Rachel Parker, Senior Research Fellow, Education and Development, Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) Hwanbo Park, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Chungnam National University, Republic of Korea & Daehoon Jho, Professor, Department of Social Studies Education, College of Education, Sungshin Women’s University, Republic of Korea Plenary Session 2. Wrap-up & Recommendations for actionModerator: Elisa Guerra, Teacher and Founder, Colegio Valle de Filadelfia, Mexico; Member of UNESCO's International Commission on the Futures of EducationPresentations from each session: 2.1. Policy and advocacy: Neil Selwyn, Professor, School of Education Culture & Society, Monash University, Australia 2.2. Curriculum, pedagogy and practice: Shamah Bulangis, Co-chair, Transform Education hosted by UNGEI, Philippines 2.3. Monitoring: Esther Care, Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, AustraliaDiscussants: Carolyn Wilson, Executive Director, McLuhan Foundation; Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, Canada; Former Chair of the UNESCO MIL Alliance Antonia Wulff, Director, Research, Policy and Advocacy Unit, Education International (EI) Special Session. Sharing the Progress on the Revision of the 1974 Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Cooperation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental FreedomsPresentation by UNESCO: Lydia Ruprecht, Team Leader for Global Citizenship Education, Section for Global Citizenship and Peace Education, Education Sector, UNESCO Panelists: H. E. Khondker Mohammad Talha, Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of Bangladesh to UNESCO; Group of Friends for Solidarity and Inclusion with GCED Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh, Secretary-General, Ghana National Commission for UNESCO Rilli Lappalainen, Chair and Founder, Bridge 47 Daehoon Jho, Professor, Department of Social Studies Education, College of Education, Sungshin Women’s University, Republic of KoreaCo-Moderators: Hyun Mook Lim, Director, APCEIU Lydia Ruprecht, Team Leader for Global Citizenship Education, Section for Global Citizenship and Peace Education, Education Sector, UNESCO ClosingConcluding remarks: Cecilia Barbieri, Chief of Section for Global Citizenship and Peace Education, Division for Peace and Sustainable Development, Education Sector, UNESCO Hyun Mook Lim, Director, APCEIU Moderator: Jeehyeon Kim, Senior Programme Specialist, APCEIU 
Why early childhood care and education matters 2022-11-12 © Tuane Fernandes The right to education begins at birth. But new UNESCO data shows that 1 out of 4 children aged 5 have never had any form of pre-primary education. This represents 35 million out of 137 million 5-year-old children worldwide. Despite research that proves the benefits of early childhood care and education (ECCE), only half of all countries guarantee free pre-primary education around the world. UNESCO’s World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 14-16 November 2022 will reaffirm every young child’s right to quality care and education, and call for increased investment in children during the period from birth to eight years. Here’s what you need to know what early childhood care and education. Why is early childhood care and education important? The period from birth to eight years old is one of remarkable brain development for children and represents a crucial window of opportunity for education. When children are healthy, safe and learning well in their early years, they are better able to reach their full developmental potential as adults and participate effectively in economic, social, and civic life. Providing ECCE is regarded as a means of promoting equity and social justice, inclusive economic growth and advancing sustainable development. A range of research and evidence has converged to support this claim. First, neuroscience has shown that the environment affects the nature of brain architecture – the child’s early experiences can provide either a strong or a fragile foundation for later learning, development and behaviours. Second, the larger economic returns on investment in prior-to-school programmes than in programmes for adolescents and adults has been demonstrated. Third, educational sciences have revealed that participation in early childhood care and education programmes boosts children’s school readiness and reduces the gap between socially advantaged and disadvantaged children at the starting gate of school. From a human rights perspective, expanding quality early learning is an important means for realizing the right to education within a lifelong learning perspective. ECCE provides a significant preparation to basic education and a lifelong learning journey. In 2021, only 22% of United Nations Member States have made pre-primary education compulsory, and only 45% provide at least one year of free pre-primary education. Only 46 countries have adopted free and compulsory pre-primary education in their laws. How has access to ECCE evolved? Overall, there has been significant global progress in achieving inclusive and high-quality ECCE. Globally, the ratio for pre-primary education has increased from 46% in 2010 to 61% in 2020. The global ratio for participation in organized learning one year before the official primary school entry age also increased to reach 75% in 2020. However, in low- and lower-middle-income countries, fewer than two in three children attend organized learning one year before the official primary entry age. Furthermore, the proportion of children receiving a positive and stimulating home environment remains significantly low with only 64% of children having positive and nurturing home environments. Great regional disparities remain the biggest challenges. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 40% of children have experienced a positive and stimulating home learning environment compared to 90% of children in Europe and Northern America. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted ECCE? The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effect on ECCE and amplified its crisis. Young children have been deemed the greatest victims of the pandemic, experiencing the impact of on their immediate families, and because of stay-at-home orders of lockdowns, having been deprived of essential services to promote their health, learning and psychosocial well-being. Some children will start basic education without organized learning experiences to the detriment of their readiness for school. It was estimated that the closure of ECCE services has resulted in 19 billion person-days of ECCE instruction lost with 10.75 million children not being able to reach their developmental potential in the first 11 months of the pandemic. What are the consequences on foundational learning? ECCE is a pre-requisite for meeting the right to learn and to develop. In particular, access to pre-primary education is a basis for acquiring foundational learning including literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional learning. Yet, according to the recent estimate, about 64% of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story at age 10. The roots of this learning poverty start in ECCE and its lack of capacity to make children ready for school. What is the situation regarding ECCE teachers and care staff? As the calls grow for higher quality ECCE provision, teacher shortages and quality has received increasing attention. The number of teachers who received at least the minimum pedagogical teacher training, both pre-service and in-service, increased from 68% to 80% between 2010 and 2020. It is estimated that ECCE services need another 9.3 million full-time teachers to achieve the SDG target. Most Member States have established qualification requirements for ECCE teachers, while far less attention has been focused on ECCE teachers’ working conditions and career progression. The low social status, poor salaries and job insecurity of ECCE teachers and care staff tend to have an adverse impact on attracting and retaining suitably qualified early childhood educators. What are the obstacles to ensuring access to quality ECCE? Policy fragmentation: In many countries, ECCE policies and services are fragmented and do not leverage whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to addressing the holistic needs and rights of families and their young children. This is particularly challenging for national governments with limited resources, low institutional capacities and weak governance. Lack of public provision: Non-state provision of ECCE continues to grow in many contexts, and the role of non-state actors in influencing policy development and implementation is evident. Non-state actors provide a large proportion of places in pre-primary education. In 2000, 28.5% of pre-primary aged children were enrolled in private institutions, and this rose to 37% in 2019, a figure higher than for primary (19%) or secondary (27%) education. Insufficient regulation of the sector: Specific regulations and standards for ECCE are not in place in most countries. Regulations usually do not establish quality assurance mechanisms and those that do, tend not to focus on outcomes. Chronic underfunding: An average of 6.6% of education budgets at national and subnational levels were allocated to pre-primary education. Low-income countries, on average, invest 2% of education budgets in pre-primary education, which is far below the target of 10% by 2030 suggested by UNICEF. In terms of international aid, pre-primary education remains the least funded sector. What are the solutions? Political will and ownership are key to transforming ECCE. UNESCO’s review highlights progress in some countries, giving an indication of what is required to successfully strengthen the capacity of ECCE systems: Expanding and diversifying access: Increasing investment and establishing a legal framework to expand ECCE services are essential steps. Innovative ECCE delivery mechanisms such as mobile kindergartens with teachers, equipment for learning and play, have been deployed in some countries to reach remote areas and provide children with pre-primary education. Enhancing quality and relevance: ECCE curriculum frameworks should cover different aspects of early learning and prepare children with essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions to transit smoothly to formal education. Making ECCE educators and caregivers a transforming force: For the transformation of ECCE to take place, ECCE educators need to be adequately supported and empowered to play their part. Improving governance and stakeholder participation: Countries have adopted different modes of governance. There are generally two systems that are followed, an integrated system and a split system. Using funding to steer ECCE development: Strengthening domestic public financing is important for providing affordable ECCE. Since ECCE services are offered by different ministries, there must be a clear demarcation of funding and financing rules for different sectors and different ministries. Innovative financing may include earmarking resources from economic activities and other sources. Establishing systems for monitoring and assessing whole-of-child development. System-level action in strengthening the availability and reliability of data obtained from assessments enables efficient and timely monitoring of programmes and child developmental milestones. Galvanize international cooperation and solidarity. The World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education is an opportunity to mobilize existing global, regional, and national networks to increase focus on identifying and sharing innovations, policies and practices. UNESCO’s World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education UNESCO’s work in early childhood care and education URL:https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/why-early-childhood-care-and-education-matters 
Kenyan women lead peace efforts in longstanding conflicts 2022-11-11 Mary Mariach and Christine Lemuya come from two tribes that have been involved in continual clashes in Kenya's ASAL (Arid and Semi-Arid Lands) regions where resources are scarce. Photo: UN Women/Luke Horswell Across Kenya, local conflicts driven by diverse factors have one thing in common: they’re increasingly being mediated by women. From ethnic tensions to land disputes, some of these conflicts stretch back decades; remaining unresolved despite the lasting instability and violence they create among communities. So women are stepping up to end longstanding strife through local dialogues and outreach, approaches male-dominated leadership has not always been willing to take. But in order to build lasting peace, they need support from both their communities and the state—which some are receiving, and many are not. Old conflicts, new harm In the country’s western region, longstanding tensions are driving new security risks in the neighbouring counties of Kisumu and Nandi. Their predominant ethnicities mirror the tribal background of the two leading presidential candidates in this year’s election, and the border region has been identified as a hotspot for elections-related violence. Dorothy Bonyo, treasurer of the sub-county peace committee in Muhoroni, a town in Kisumu, is witnessing the escalation first-hand: "Tension is increasing […] Our neighbours are effectively political opponents and in the marketplace we are beginning to see hate speech.” Beneath these simmering tensions are sustained economic pressures that continue to plague the area. It once thrived from a sugar industry that employed around 20,000 people—until corruption and misappropriation of profits decimated the trade, leading to job losses and low cash flow for many families. Oscar Ochieng, secretary of the Muhoroni sub-county peace committee as well as the Kisumu and Nandi cross-border peace committee, explains that in addition to political factors, there is a historical disagreement over land: "With low employment and little cashflow, kids drop out of school, and there’s a large number of disengaged youth. This leads to stock theft and eventually violent conflict. These companies are located right on the borders and much of the land is fallow. But it is also highly fertile and both communities feel it belongs to them." Oscar Ochieng, 35, explaining the region's conflict dynamics in front of a near-derelict sugar mill—one of the drivers of crime and stock theft. Photo: UN Women/Luke Horswell Among Kenya’s pastoral communities, several hundred miles to the north, competition over resources also drives strife. These tribes rely almost exclusively on livestock for their livelihood: moving with their herds, communities have significantly limited access to state provisions, often reporting the highest levels of poverty in the country. Scarcity of water, food and land leads to violent conflict between the tribes—a situation being exacerbated by the current drought crisis in East Africa. Armed bandits launch attacks to steal livestock and property, with people dying in the process. In the neighbouring communities of Turkana and Pokot, these clashes have been going on for decades. “The two tribes continually raid each other and the other seeks revenge, and it continues,” says Mary Mariach, a member of the Pokot tribe who has been the chairperson of the West Pokot County Peace Committee for 15 years. “This is the main cause of conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities.” Christine Lemuya, a peace activist from the Turkana community, describes how the violence spills over into the lives of uninvolved community members, including women and children: “In 2019 I was stopped during a car journey by the Pokots. They stole everything and wanted to shoot us. I persuaded them to take our phones and possessions and let us go.” But, she adds, not everyone is so lucky: “Recently, there was a shooting on the highway and a boy of 13 was killed.” Building peace and tearing down patriarchy In Kisumu and Nandi, community action—particularly from the community’s women—has been crucial in negotiating peace. "Our women’s contribution to local peace infrastructure is what has contributed to the little peace we have enjoyed,” says Oscar. “For example, in 2014, a month-long conflict halted trade between the two communities. It was the women from both sides who met and brokered peace.” Community dialogues, called barazas, have been effective platforms for discussing such concerns. “My recommended approach has always been consistent dialogue—plenty of meetings—to drive home that there are alternative means to resolve our differences,” says Dorothy. A recent meeting between the two communities was joined by voices young, old, male and female, with state security actors and religious leaders also in attendance. A local choir performs during a community dialogue or "baraza" in Kisumu County, Kenya. Ethnic groups from Kisumu and neighbouring Nandi County have been experiencing increased tension ahead of the country's general elections. Photo: UN Women/Luke Horswell One of those voices was Maureen Omwiti, single mother of three and bar owner in Muhoroni. Ethnic tensions have been the source of intense trauma for Maureen and many others, but she is committed to showing her community that vengeance is not the answer: "As an ambassador of peace, it starts with yourself. The community see me, and they know that I was once a victim. It makes them think, reflect, and that has an impact." Oscar agrees: “Women play a fundamental role in peace advocacy in this region," he says. Maureen Omwiti at a community peace dialogue in Kisumu County. She is a member of a voluntary arts performance group that uses theatre to approach sensitive topics and promote peace. Photo: UN Women/Luke Horswell In Turkana and West Pokot, however, women have not always been allowed to play that role. For Mary and Christine, leading peacebuilding efforts has meant confronting fast-held patriarchal norms that marginalise the role of women. “In pastoral communities, women are considered like children,” explains Mary. “They’re not included in conversations on peace. The men hide their issues from the rest of the community, particularly when they are planning raids across the border. They feel that women might try to stop these activities.” In fact, that’s what Mary and Christine are trying to do. In 2016 the two women, with a wider group of like-minded individuals, set up the POTUMA Women’s Forum—an organisation bringing women from the Pokot, Turkana and Marakwet communities together to try and deescalate the shared insecurities of their tribes, as well as to challenge the patriarchy that limits women’s participation in peace and security issues. The group has allowed the women “to establish our shared experience of the same problem—losing family members, livestock, and property”, explains Mary. “Women are also the ones treating those injured in the fighting.” The POTUMA women have had some success in creating peace through dialogues with young men and boys. “We’ve been securing community radio space in local radios in local languages,” explains Christine. “Raising simple questions like ‘why are we killing each other?’ has an effect. People call the station, and it creates discussion.” Mary Mariach and Christine Lemuya during meeting of the National Women's Peace Committee Network in Naivasha, Kenya. Photo: UN Women/Luke Horswell But conflict in the region remains in flux, with periods of relative peace revolving into periods of heightened violence. Both women call for more involvement from state actors to help broker peace, particularly during the election year. “We need more dialogue on the ground,” says Mary. “We need to share the situations in our areas. Since COVID-19, we’ve only met once, and it depends on funds. When there are no resources, it’s hard to facilitate a simple village meeting.” For Mary, it is important to be able to understand and localise available policy frameworks like the Kenya National Action Plan: “It clearly shows women have a place in their community’s peace and security development—it is recognised in national policy. This policy is supposed to ensure active participation of women in peace and security spaces at the grass roots.” Christine adds, “Around 80 per cent of people in Turkana are below the poverty line, according to government data, and it has been increasing. Only 9 per cent of children are enrolled in secondary school; 11 percent of homes have access to electricity. At the end of the day, conflict always erupts. We need to uncover the root causes. We therefore need to address issues of poverty and the scarcity of resources in this region.” UN Women efforts to strengthen the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda in Kenya is supported by the Governments of Finland and Japan. Working with over 1,000 grassroots peacebuilders since 2019, Kenya’s National Action Plan (KNAPII) is being localized across the country to foster meaningful inclusion of women in community conflict issues. URL:https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2022/10/kenyan-women-lead-peace-efforts-in-longstanding-conflicts 
La UNESCO renueva su compromiso en favor de la educación inclusiva en un mundo plurilingüe 2022-11-11 "Language is a tool, but the goal is not simply to exchange one language for another, but to have an educational and social project", explained Adama Ouane, former staff at the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning (UIL), in Hamburg, Germany. In a world where 7,097 known languages cohabit and 2.3 billion people lack access to education in their own language, making education inclusive is a challenge. The challenge becomes bigger in a multilingual country, where learners’ mother tongues are different from the language of instruction. Due to this lack of diversity in languages of instruction, many learners are disadvantaged in mainstream education systems. “Multilingual education must be anti-racist and anti-discriminatory”, explained Tarcila Rivera, Quechua activist and member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “One of the many reasons why parents and grandparents from indigenous and minority societies do not pass on languages to new generations is because of the persistence of racism, discrimination, Eurocentrism and the coloniality of power, knowledge and speech.” A multilingual education is a challenge that requires solutions relevant to learners needs and the reality of their lives. UNESCO encourages and promotes multilingual education based on mother tongue or first language. It is a type of education that begins in the language that the learner masters most and then gradually introduces other languages. This approach enables learners whose mother tongue is different from the language of instruction to bridge the gap between home and school, to discover the school environment in a familiar language and thus learn better. UNESCO convened language experts, including indigenous language experts, to advance multilingual education based on mother tongues, multilingualism, and linguistic diversity. Discussions explored the challenges and opportunities surrounding multilingual education, its fundamental role in the development agenda as well as UNESCO’s guidance on multilingual education. Today, more than half of all languages are in danger of falling into disuse. When a language disappears, the knowledge and socio-cultural diversity of a language community disappear with it, particularly among indigenous communities. To address this, an updated position paper by UNESCO will integrate additional areas of work such as the recovering of languages or language revitalization. Aligning with recommendations made during the Transforming Education Summit, an emphasis was also placed on Indigenous people’s education and languages. In his Vision Statement on Transforming Education, the United Nations Secretary General calls for equitable investments in education, to reach those who have been traditionally excluded from quality education, including Indigenous people. Similarly, a discussion paper on inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools calls for textbooks and curricula to be inclusive of all groups, and teacher training curricula to better address inclusive education principles. What’s next?The updated UNESCO Position Paper “Education in a Multilingual World” will be published in early 2023 and support countries to implement multilingual education and respond to the needs of marginalized and excluded learners, including indigenous peoples. To further support the work on multilingual education, UNESCO will publish a language and inclusion Policy brief as well as a background document on early childhood care and education and languages for the UNESCO World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education in November 2022. UNESCO will also celebrate International Mother Language Day 2023 around promising policies and practices on Multilingual Education focusing on indigenous and other languages. UNESCO work in Inclusion in education UNESCO work in Languages in education URL: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-doubles-down-its-commitment-inclusive-education-multilingual-world