News
Catch up on what’s happening in the world of global citizenship education.
245 results found
Estudio de prácticas en educación no formal para el desarrollo sostenible será presentado en la Cumbre del C20 2020-10-09 El jueves 8 de octubre la Oficina Regional de Educación para América Latina y el Caribe, la Oficina de la UNESCO en México y la Fundación SES de Argentina presentarán en el panel de Economía y justicia social de la C20 Summit (Sociedad civil 20, uno de los ocho grupos de compromiso oficiales del G20) los resultados del Estudio de prácticas de educación no formal vinculadas con la meta 4.7* del Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 4 (educación de calidad). El documento al que hará referencia esta presentación será lanzado próximamente por la UNESCO. El estudio visibiliza las prácticas de educación no formal que las organizaciones y grupos de la sociedad civil de América Latina y el Caribe han implementado en torno a las dimensiones de la meta 4.7. La pesquisa sistematiza experiencias, desafíos y lecciones aprendidas para formular recomendaciones que inspiren a entidades similares a iniciar o fortalecer el desarrollo de iniciativas. La meta 4.7 se refiere a los atributos de la educación y a las aspiraciones centrales del Programa de Desarrollo Sostenible para 2030, al tiempo que destaca la importancia de la educación para la construcción de sociedades más democráticas, pacíficas, inclusivas y con mayor justicia social. Una educación que capacite a las personas para llevar a cabo una agenda que "no deje a nadie atrás". Se espera que tanto las prácticas estudiadas como las recomendaciones sean también informativas para otros actores sociales que llevan a cabo programas en el ámbito de la educación no formal, como las instituciones de educación terciaria y/o universitaria e incluso los organismos gubernamentales. Estas recomendaciones ayudarán a la UNESCO y a otras organizaciones a seguir profundizando en el apoyo que prestan a los países, y a todos sus actores sociales, para avanzar en el objetivo mencionado, en particular, y en el Programa de Educación para 2030, en general. La pesquisa sistematiza experiencias, desafíos y lecciones aprendidas para formular recomendaciones que inspiren a entidades similares a iniciar o fortalecer el desarrollo de iniciativas. En el evento de este jueves la UNESCO presentará los hallazgos del análisis de 27 iniciativas de organizaciones de Panamá, Perú, Paraguay, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, México, Guatemala, Argentina, Jamaica, República Dominicana y Chile. Asimismo, se dialogará sobre la promoción del intercambio de oportunidades y desafíos identificados por estas organizaciones para avanzar hacia el cumplimiento de la Meta 4.7 en América Latina y el Caribe y se compartirán las recomendaciones que las organizaciones participantes hicieron a la UNESCO con el fin de fortalecer los esfuerzos de los Estados Miembros de la UNESCO en estos temas. La sesión tendrá una duración de 90 minutos, donde en un primer momento los panelistas presentarán los resultados y será seguido por un panel de discusión abierto. Las propuestas que surjan de este panel participativo serán sistematizadas. Regístrese para participar en https://c20.summit.tc/enrollments * Para 2030, garantizar que todos los alumnos adquieran los conocimientos teóricos y prácticos necesarios para promover el desarrollo sostenible, entre otras cosas mediante la educación para el desarrollo sostenible y la adopción de estilos de vida sostenibles, los derechos humanos, la igualdad entre los géneros, la promoción de una cultura de paz y no violencia, la ciudadanía mundial y la valoración de la diversidad cultural y de la contribución de la cultura al desarrollo sostenible, entre otros medios. URL:https://es.unesco.org/news/estudio-practicas-educacion-no-formal-c20 
Primer diálogo subregional sobre una política para la educación en ciudadanía 2020-10-09 Resumen de la reunión. Vea el evento en diferido al final de esta página El 17 de septiembre de 2020 se llevó a cabo el primero de dos diálogos virtuales sobre educación para la ciudadanía mundial (ECM) organizados gracias a la alianza entre la Coordinación Educativa y Cultural del Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (CECC-SICA), la UNESCO y la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito (UNODC). En el primero de estos eventos en línea, representantes de alto nivel de los ministerios de Educación de los países del Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA) –Belice, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panamá– y jóvenes líderes de redes y grupos intercambiaron experiencias sobre los desafíos en la implementación de la educación para la ciudadanía mundial y respecto de iniciativas que fortalecen el rol de los jóvenes en los sistemas de educación y justicia en el futuro post COVID-19. En su mensaje inicial para el diálogo, Carlos Staff, Secretario Ejecutivo de la CECC/SICA, señaló que es importante pensar la educación como un proceso social desde el que se reflexione cómo fortalecer los sistemas educativos desde un enfoque de aprendizaje vivencial. En su rol de Presidenta Pro Tempore de la CECC-SICA, la Ministra de Educación de Nicaragua, Miriam Raúdez, habló de la necesidad de vincular la ECM a los derechos humanos, los valores en la escuela y la comunidad. La Ministra indicó la importancia de crear conciencia a través de estrategias curriculares que promuevan la participación protagónica de los jóvenes para una vida sana, armoniosa y basada en el respeto. Educación para la ciudadanía mundial y la transformación de las sociedades La UNESCO y UNODC, iniciaron el debate con una conceptualización de la educación para la ciudadanía mundial. Reflexionaron sobre los desafíos de su implementación en el contexto de la pandemia por COVID-19, y comentaron iniciativas y experiencias que ambas organizaciones llevan adelante en los países del SICA. Cecilia Barbieri, jefa de la Sección de Educación para la Ciudadanía Mundial y Educación para la Paz de la UNESCO, habló sobre la importancia de la meta 4.7 del Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 4 (Educación de Calidad) desde donde se contribuye a asegurar que todas y todos los estudiantes adquieran los conocimientos teóricos y prácticos necesarios para promover el desarrollo sostenible, a través de la educación en el tema y la promoción de estilos de vida acordes, los derechos humanos, la igualdad de género, la promoción de una cultura de paz y no violencia, la ciudadanía mundial y la valoración de la diversidad cultural y la contribución de la cultura al desarrollo sostenible. “La educación para la ciudadanía mundial es para transformar el mundo y lograr la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible creará sociedades más democráticas, pacíficas e inclusivas con justicia social” señaló. Por su parte, Ricardo Martínez Brenes, Oficial Nacional de Educación de la Oficina Multipaís de la UNESCO en San José de Costa Rica, habló de experiencias concretas de trabajo de la UNESCO para apoyar los esfuerzos de los ministerios de Educación y otros actores clave de los países del SICA, con el fin de avanzar en la implementación de la ECM. José Vila del Castillo, Representante regional de la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito (UNODC) para América Central y el Caribe, centró su conversación en la necesidad de aprender sobre la cultura de la legalidad, que no es solo conocer y reconocer de manera crítica los derechos humanos. Esto implica también que los jóvenes vean su participación desde el respeto, los valores y las actitudes sociales, para que puedan ser resilientes y críticos en su participación social. Por otra parte, Marco Teixeira, Oficial Senior de Programa, y Coordinador del Programa Global de Doha de la UNODC, indicó que es un momento desafiante para la comunidad educativa y la reconstrucción de las sociedades. Señaló la importancia de promover la cultura de la legalidad a través de materiales educativos para todos los niveles. Las y los adolescentes hablan sobre su experiencia en Educación en Ciudadanía Bajo la moderación de Diego Manrique (Guatemala), quien lidera la Red Mundial de Jóvenes de Educación para la Ciudadanía Mundial, líderes de grupos y espacios juveniles de Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala y República Dominicana comentaron acerca de sus experiencias de participación comunitaria y la importancia de acceder a una educación que les brinde herramientas y conocimientos. Lucía Morales, quien integra la Red Niñas Lideran de Guatemala, explicó que la ECM contribuye a preparar a los jóvenes para un mundo mejor, para tomar conciencia de su entorno y desarrollar el pensamiento crítico. Compartió una encuesta virtual que emanó datos como que el 71% de los jóvenes reconoce que en sus escuelas sí se aborda la ECM y que el 19% no quiere participar en la vida política de su país. Reinaldo García, miembro de la Red de Jóvenes para la Ciudadanía Mundial de República Dominicana indicó que la ECM inculca valores para ser ciudadanos, para participar en las sociedades locales y a nivel global. Para él existen debilidades en la participación estudiantil y lo óptimo sería que hubiera una participación responsable e inclusiva. Para Alicia Paola Umaña de El Salvador, la ECM permite el derecho a opinar y ser oído. Para ella la educación en ciudadanía abre espacios que enriquecen conocimientos y principios para fomentar la participación heterogénea donde cada uno tenga un lugar, “he aprendido que toda opinión es válida”, expresó. Valeria Morales y Kendall Corrales de Costa Rica hablaron de la experiencia en su colegio, donde aprenden a solucionar conflictos e indicaron que es importante que las clases sean más participativas y que las y los estudiantes sean protagonistas. Políticas y programas de educación en ciudadanía mundial en la región SICA En esta sesión participaron representantes de siete ministerios de educación de los países del SICA que expusieron sobre sus esfuerzos en la implementación de la educación en ciudadanía y los principales desafíos, con énfasis en temas de desarrollo curricular, formación docente, participación del estudiantado, desarrollo de materiales educativos y evaluación. En el caso de Honduras, Gloria Menjivar, Subsecretaria de Asuntos Técnico-Pedagógicos, describió que en su país se realiza la formación en valores para la ciudadanía a través de programas como gobiernos estudiantiles, congreso infantil y formación para el desarrollo humano sostenible. Por su parte Héctor Cermeño, Viceministro Técnico de Educación de Guatemala, habló del concepto integral e incluyente en la promoción de la cultura de la paz. Contó que instalaron una comisión ministerial de formación ciudadana con representantes del ministerio y de otras entidades y colectivos con experiencia en dicho tema. Ricardo Cardona Alvarenga, Viceministro de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología de El Salvador, indicó que, si bien el país realiza algunas acciones encaminadas a desarrollar el sentido de pertenencia ciudadana, no se ha tratado de manera integral desde una política de Estado. El Salvador se encuentra en un proceso de transformación de la gestión educativa, explicó. María Alexandra Olate, Directora de Desarrollo Curricular de Costa Rica habló sobre la política curricular “Educar para una nueva ciudadanía” y el fortalecimiento de aprendizajes para la renovación de oportunidades. Por parte de Panamá participó en el diálogo Isis Nuñez, Directora Nacional de Educación Media, quien señaló que durante la crisis han tenido que priorizar aprendizajes, dando énfasis a los derechos humanos para garantizar el desarrollo de una conciencia social en favor de la paz, la tolerancia y la concertación. Héctor Morales, Oficial de Educación de Belice, indicó que el concepto de ECM no es nuevo para ellos, que antes se impartía como educación cívica y que ahora están reformulando el currículo nacional en la materia de estudios sociales para hablar de gobierno y ciudadanía. Sin embargo, aún no existe una política nacional en ECM. Mendi Arauz, Directora General de Conserjería de las Comunidades Educativas de Nicaragua, señaló que en el marco de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible, el país avanza con un compromiso social del gobierno en Cultura de la paz desde el programa “Paz para vivir bien”, desde donde desarrollan tres pilares fundamentales: 1) fortalecer los valores, 2) familia, escuela y comunidad y 3) convivencia pacífica de respeto en unidad y armonía. El segundo diálogo, que tendrá lugar en la primera semana de noviembre de 2020, buscará, con base en las reflexiones del primer diálogo, promover la discusión sobre recomendaciones para la acción que fortalezcan el desarrollo de la educación en ciudadanía en los países del SICA. URL:https://es.unesco.org/news/primer-dialogo-subregional-politica-educacion-ciudadania 
En el Día de la No Violencia, el Secretario General reitera su llamado a un alto el fuego global 2020-10-09 El líder de la ONU apeló nuevamente a un alto el fuego global en su mensaje para la jornada internacional que busca el fin de la violencia en el mundo. Este año, el día se conmemora en un entorno marcado por los efectos devastadores de la pandemia de COVID-19. "Este Día Internacional, en el aniversario del nacimiento de Mahatma Gandhi, resalta el notable poder de la no violencia y la protesta pacífica”, dijo este viernes el Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas. En su mensaje para el Día Internacional de la No Violencia, António Guterres recordó el deber especial que todos tenemos de detener la lucha “para centrarnos en nuestro enemigo común: el COVID-19”. “Durante una pandemia, los conflictos sólo tienen un vencedor: el propio virus”, enfatizó Guterres. Recordó que cuando la pandemia del coronavirus se fue afianzando llamó a un alto el fuego global. “Hoy necesitamos un nuevo esfuerzo de la comunidad internacional para que el alto el fuego se haga realidad antes de que termine el año”, añadió. Guterres consideró que el alto el fuego aliviaría el inmenso sufrimiento, ayudaría a reducir el riesgo de hambruna y crearía un espacio para las negociaciones destinadas a lograr la paz. “La desconfianza profunda es un obstáculo en este camino; sin embargo, hay motivos de esperanza”, dijo, destacando que en algunos lugares se ha detenido la violencia. El Secretario General citó el apoyo que ha recibido su exhortación de parte de muchos Estados miembros de la ONU, de líderes religiosos y de redes de la sociedad civil, entre otros actores de la sociedad en todo el orbe. Guterres afirmó que éste es el momento de redoblar esfuerzos para que las hostilidades cesen en todos los rincones del mundo. El ejemplo de Gandhi “Inspirémonos en el espíritu de Gandhi y en los principios permanentes de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas”, instó. Tras hacer alusión al poder de la no violencia y la protesta pacífica, Guterres se refirió al ejemplo de Gandhi. “Debemos esforzarnos por defender los valores por los que se guio Gandhi: la promoción de la dignidad de las personas, la protección igualitaria para todos y la convivencia pacífica de las comunidades”, recalcó. La Asamblea General de la ONU adoptó en 2007 una resolución en la que proclamó la celebración del Día Internacional de la No Violencia cada 2 de octubre para coincidir con el aniversario del natalicio de Mahatma Gandhi, quien lideró el movimiento de independencia de la India y abanderó la filosofía de la transformación por medio de la resistencia pacífica. URL:https://news.un.org/es/story/2020/10/1481722 
BID y socios lanzan Hub de Desarrollo Infantil Temprano en América Latina y el Caribe 2020-10-09 EL HUB ES LA PRIMERA PÁGINA WEB QUE REÚNE Y FACILITA EN UN SOLO LUGAR RECURSOS Y CONOCIMIENTOS SOBRE LA PRIMERA INFANCIA PRODUCIDOS EN TODA LA REGIÓN. ESTA INICIATIVA DE APRENDIZAJE COLECTIVO ES IMPULSADA POR EL FONDO DE INNOVACIÓN DE DESARROLLO INFANTIL TEMPRANO, CONFORMADO POR EL BID, FUNDACIÓN FEMSA, FUNDACIÓN MARIA CECILIA SOUTO VIDIGAL, OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS Y PORTICUS. El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), junto a sus socios del Fondo de Innovación de Desarrollo Infantil Temprano, lanza el Hub de Desarrollo Infantil Temprano: Conocimiento e Innovación para América Latina y el Caribe , una página web que promueve el intercambio de aprendizajes, muestra al mundo la riqueza de conocimiento que se produce en la región y ofrece recursos y herramientas prácticas para implementar acciones a favor del desarrollo de los niños de 0 a 5 años. La iniciativa está dirigida a gobiernos, organizaciones nacionales e internacionales, sector privado, sociedad civil, academia, estudiantes, familias y a todos aquellos interesados en conocer y aprender sobre desarrollo infantil temprano en la región. Disponible en español, inglés y portugués, el Hub presenta una gran variedad de recursos entre los cuales destaca un mapa interactivo de la región de programas innovadores en desarrollo infantil, con una descripción sobre cada uno y enlaces a información adicional relacionada. Además, facilita el acceso a múltiples recursos producidos por distintas organizaciones que operan en la región: publicaciones, blogs, materiales para intervenciones, estudios de medición del desarrollo infantil y calidad de servicios, eventos, webinars, entre otros. El lanzamiento del Hub de Desarrollo Infantil Temprano llega en un momento fundamental para la primera infancia. Ante la suspensión de muchos servicios de desarrollo infantil y los casi 19 millones de niños en edad preescolar fuera de las escuelas a causa del COVID-19 en la región, urge la creación de espacios que permitan el intercambio de ideas y referentes para repensar, crear y articular servicios de calidad que sean flexibles y resilientes. Servicios que garanticen la continuidad del desarrollo y el aprendizaje de los niños y niñas más pequeños, especialmente aquellos de los hogares más afectados por la crisis económica como consecuencia de la pandemia. La evidencia indica que la calidad de los servicios de desarrollo infantil es la mejor garantía de un buen comienzo para todos los niños y niñas que nacen en América Latina y el Caribe. Los datos disponibles permiten documentar que en la región se observan brechas en los niveles de desarrollo desde muy temprana edad entre niños que crecen en hogares con diferentes niveles de estatus socio económico. Estas brechas persisten y aumentan con la edad y, cuando los niños ingresan a la escuela, resultan en diferencias significativas en el desarrollo de los aprendizajes. Es imperativo buscar mecanismos para garantizar que los más de 50 millones de niños de 0 a 5 años en la región, en particular, aquellos de hogares más vulnerables, tengan la oportunidad de desarrollar su potencial desde los primeros años de vida a través de experiencias significativas, ricas en interacciones de calidad en el hogar, en centros de cuidado y el preescolar. Para lograr esto, los gobiernos han reconocido la importancia de invertir en la primera infancia. Sin embargo, todavía es necesario lograr la calidad en los servicios a gran escala por medio de la generación de conocimiento, la articulación de sectores, el fortalecimiento de redes y la creatividad en el diseño de programas innovadores y costo-efectivos. El Hub de conocimiento de Desarrollo Infantil Temprano es un esfuerzo único enfocado en contribuir a este propósito a través del aprendizaje colectivo a nivel regional. Te invitamos a explorar la iniciativa en http://desarrollo-infantil.iadb.org/ Acerca del BID El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo tiene como misión mejorar vidas. Fundado en 1959, el BID es una de las principales fuentes de financiamiento a largo plazo para el desarrollo económico, social e institucional de América Latina y el Caribe. El BID también realiza proyectos de investigación de vanguardia y ofrece asesoría sobre políticas, asistencia técnica y capacitación a clientes públicos y privados en toda la región. Acerca del Fondo de Innovación de Desarrollo Infantil Temprano El Fondo de Innovación de Desarrollo Infantil Temprano es una alianza para financiar, diseñar, implementar y evaluar soluciones innovadoras y escalables para mejorar la vida de los niños de 0 a 5 en las poblaciones más desfavorecidas de la región. Coordinado y administrado por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, el Fondo de Innovación en DIT es una alianza con Fundación FEMSA , Fundación Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal (FMCSV) en Brasil, Open Society Foundations , y Porticus en Colombia y en Brasil. URL:https://www.iadb.org/es/noticias/bid-y-socios-lanzan-hub-de-desarrollo-infantil-temprano-en-america-latina-y-el-caribe 
Educar para la ciudadanía 2020-10-09 Se acaba de publicar por parte del Laboratorio Latinoamericano de Evaluación de la Calidad de la Educación (LLECE), el análisis de los planes de estudio de dieciocho países de América Latina y el Caribe, el estudio registra los objetivos de aprendizaje más comunes en las áreas de lenguaje, matemáticas y ciencias. Así mismo, se analiza qué tan presentes están los contenidos, los conceptos y las propuestas para desarrollar una educación para la ciudadanía mundial y una educación para el desarrollo sostenible. Es un documento valioso que permite una visión de conjunto acerca de la educación básica en Latinoamérica, el lector lo puede encontrar en la página web del LLECE o en la página de la UNESCO con en nombre de análisis curricular. Por ahora, sólo nos ocuparemos del área de la educación para la ciudadanía mundial. La UNESCO considera la ECM como “una educación que nutre el respeto por todos, construye un sentido de pertenencia a una humanidad compartida y ayuda a los estudiantes a ejercer una ciudadanía global, responsable y activa” (UNESCO 2019). Este programa reconoce que la escuela está ligada a la crisis compleja y profunda del mundo actual y por tanto, debe promover valores universales de solidaridad, paz, justicia, igualdad, así como la defensa de la dignidad humana y la promoción de los derechos humanos en lo local y lo global. El Estudio realizado por el LLECE y la Universidad de Chile, encontró vacíos en la formación para la ciudadanía, aspectos como la libertad, la fraternidad, la equidad apenas se asoman en los planes de estudio de manera muy tímida. Los estudiantes de América Latina carecen de entrenamiento para desarrollar el pensamiento reflexivo, la toma de decisiones y el pensamiento lógico. Los valores esenciales para la convivencia que hacen parte fundamental de la ciudadanía como la dignidad, la empatía y la felicidad reciben muy poca atención por parte de los currículos latinoamericanos. Cuando las instituciones educativas carecen de utopía y de una visión de largo plazo, como es el programa de una educación para la ciudadanía mundial, están negando a los niños y a los jóvenes la oportunidad de desarrollar una comprensión crítica y transformadora de un mundo que marcha aceleradamente en la dirección de su propio funeral. AutorGonzalo Ordoñes Gomez URL:https://www.vanguardia.com/opinion/columnistas/fundacion-participar/educar-para-la-ciudadania-LN2843973 
لمديرة العامة لليونسكو تضم صوتها إلى قادة العالم في دعوتهم لتوطيد الالتزام السياسي لتحقيق المساواة بين الجنسين 2020-10-07 UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has cautioned that much remained to be done for gender equality as world leaders gathered at a High-Level Meeting during the UN General Assembly to mark the 25th anniversary of the visionary Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) that set a global agenda for the empowerment of women and girls and called for the recognition of women’s rights as human rights, "Much has been achieved since the 4th World Conference on Women took place in 1995, and yet the struggles to achieve full Gender Equality remain dire in all societies [...] I call upon women worldwide to be inspired by the extraordinary achievements of the Beijing Declaration and to take control and full leadership in every aspect of life and domain of society to build back a better future for all." --- UNESCO's Director-General, Audrey Azoulay Evidence suggests that women and girls are hit hardest by economic down-turns, violence, conflict and climate change, and the COVID-19 crisis has proved no different. The pandemic and its associated school closures and lockdowns have had a disproportionate impact on the life and wellbeing of millions of women, putting many of the Beijing Declaration’s objectives at risk. The exacerbated burden of unpaid care has further limited the time women and girls are able to dedicate to learning; more than 767 million girls were out of school due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, 11 million of whom are unlikely to return to school. According to UN-Women, the pandemic will push 47 million more women and girls below the poverty line. Gender-based violence increased dramatically during lock downs around the world. Women scientists, journalists, artists and creators found and continue to find themselves at increased risks of different forms of harassment, censorship and abuse, both online and offline. We also learned how wide the gender digital divide really was with only 54% of women connected to mobile internet. This limits the access of millions of women to information and to a diversity of information sources that is necessary to sift out disinformation. 767 million girls were out of school due to the COVID-19 lockdowns 11 million of these girls might never go back to school 47 million more women will be pushed below the poverty line Only 54% of women are connected to mobile internet Recognizing the vision of the women who made history in Beijing in 1995, UNESCO’s Director-General declared that “The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action are the most powerful examples of how the global agenda can be written for women and by women. Twenty-five years after their launch we still owe a lot to those visionary women leaders, and we remain accountable to the new generations in ensuring that the multilateral system amplifies their voices and strives towards full equality in all societies.” With signs of an impending recession likely to have a devastating impact on the poorest and as social spending appears likely to shrink, decision makers worldwide have a collective responsibility to prioritize work on gender equality. Ambitious legislation, measures and policies to ensure gender equality are needed to avoid detrimental economic, social, cultural, political and environmental consequences that will jeopardize the achievement of the internationally agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNESCO is determined to work with its partners to make gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls a central driving force in optimizing recovery from the socio-economic and cultural impact of COVID-19. Now is the time to defend and advance women and girl’s human rights. Now is the time for the Beijing Declaration and its legacy to be fully delivered. Now is the time to work toward a new Generation Equality. URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-director-general-joins-world-leaders-call-highest-political-commitment-achieve-gender 
جائحة كوفيد-19: حثّ البلدان على اتخاذ إجراءات أكثر قوة لوقف انتشار المعلومات الضارة 2020-10-02 The World Health Organization (WHO) together with the UN, specialised agencies and partners today called on countries to develop and implement action plans to promote the timely dissemination of science-based information and prevent the spread of false information while respecting freedom of expression. WHO, the UN, UNICEF, UNAIDS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNESCO, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Global Pulse initiative and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), together with the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and Uruguay held a webinar on the margins of the 75th UN General Assembly to draw attention to the harm being done by the spread of misinformation and disinformation, the latter being deliberate misinformation to advance an agenda. “As soon as the virus spread across the globe, inaccurate and even dangerous messages proliferated wildly over social media, leaving people confused, misled and ill-advised”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. ”Our initiative, called “Verified”, is fighting misinformation with truth. We work with media partners, individuals, influencers and social media platforms to spread content that promotes science, offers solutions and inspires solidarity. This will be especially critical as we work to build public confidence in the safety and efficacy of future COVID-19 vaccines. We need a ‘people’s vaccine’ that is affordable and available to all.” “Misinformation and disinformation put health and lives at risk, and undermine trust in science, in institutions and in health systems,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “To fight the pandemic we need trust and solidarity and when there is mistrust, there is much less solidarity. False information is hindering the response to the pandemic so we must join forces to fight it and to promote science-based public health advice. The same principles that apply to responding to COVID-19 apply to managing the infodemic. We need to prevent, detect and respond to it, together and in solidarity.” “On top of the immediate impact on pandemic responses, disinformation is undermining public trust in democratic processes and institutions and exacerbating social divides”, said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “It’s one of the most concerning governance challenges of our time. UNDP is actively collaborating with Member States, fellow UN agencies, and other partners to find holistic responses which respect human rights.” “Misinformation is one of the fastest growing challenges facing children today,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “It takes advantage of the cracks in trust in societies and institutions and deepens them further, undermines confidence in science and medicine, and divides communities. In its most pernicious forms, such as when it convinces parents not to vaccinate their children, it can even be fatal. Because misinformation is more a symptom than a sickness, countering it requires more than just providing truth. It also requires trust between leaders, communities and individuals.” “We can beat COVID-19 only with facts, science and community solidarity,” said Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “Misinformation is perpetuating stigma and discrimination and must not come in the way of ensuring that human rights are protected and people at risk and those marginalized have access to health and social protection services.” “Since the start of the pandemic, UNESCO has mobilised its international networks of media partners, journalists, fact-checkers, community radio stations, and experts, to give citizens the means to fight against false information and rumours — phenomena that have been exacerbated by the pandemic,” said Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO Director-General. ”Collective mobilisation to promote quality and reliable information, while strictly ensuring respect for freedom of expression, is essential. A free, independent and pluralistic press is more necessary than ever.” “Trust is a cornerstone of our digital world,” said Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union. “Building on the long-standing WHO-ITU BeHe@lthy BeMobile initiative, ITU has been working with national ministries of telecommunications and health and mobile network operators since the beginning of this crisis to text people who may not have access to the internet, providing them with science- and evidence-based COVID-19 health advice directly on their mobile phones.” WHO and partners urged countries to engage and listen to their communities as they develop their national action plans, and to empower communities to build trust and resilience against false information. “Engaging communities on how they perceive the disease and response is critical to building trust and ending outbreaks,” said Jagan Chapagain, IFRC Secretary General. “If our response does not reflect the communities’ concerns and perceptions, we will not be seen as relevant or trusted by affected populations, and the epidemic response risks failure. More than ever, local responders are at the forefront of this crisis. We need to recognize the incredible role they play in understanding and acting on local knowledge and community feedback.” The co-hosts also called on the media, social media platforms, civil society leaders and influencers to strengthen their actions to disseminate accurate information and prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Access to accurate information and the free exchange of ideas online and offline are key to enabling effective and credible public health responses. "UN Global Pulse was set up a decade ago inside the UN System to pioneer the use of real-time and predictive insights to protect vulnerable communities in times of crisis”, said Robert Kirkpatrick, Director of UN Global Pulse, the United Nations Secretary-General’s initiative on big data and artificial intelligence (AI). “During this pandemic we have seen a tremendous increase in requests for advanced analytics from across the UN System and Member States. We will continue to work with WHO and other partners to help identify and combat mis- and disinformation.” Note to Editors WHO defines an infodemic as an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It includes accurate information as well as mis- and disinformation. In May 2020, WHO Member States passed Resolution WHA73.1 on the COVID-19 response at the World Health Assembly. The Resolution recognises that managing the infodemic is a critical part of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic: it calls on Member States to provide reliable COVID-19 content, take measures to counter mis- and disinformation and leverage digital technologies across the response. The Resolution also called on international organisations to address mis- and disinformation in the digital sphere, work to prevent harmful cyber activities undermining the health response and support the provision of science-based data to the public. URL:https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/23-09-2020-covid-19-pandemic-countries-urged-to-take-stronger-action-to-stop-spread-of-harmful-information 
The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities welcomes 54 new member cities from 27 countries 2020-09-24 23 September 2020, Hamburg. Today, 54 cities* from 27 countries will join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC). These cities are outstanding examples of how lifelong learning can become a reality at local level. They have proven that effective lifelong learning policies and practices can support the development of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and contribute to the 2030 Agenda. Today’s new members bring the total number of cities within the UNESCO GNLC to 229 in 64 countries. The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), as coordinator of the network, admitted the new members following their nomination by the National Commissions for UNESCO in the concerned countries. A strong commitment to lifelong learning by the mayor and city administration is a key prerequisite for becoming a learning city. As part of their application process, potential UNESCO GNLC members must demonstrate a clear vision for providing lifelong learning opportunities for everyone in the community. Once admitted, cities are expected to take part in the activities of the network and to produce a biennial report outlining their achievements as learning cities. The new member cities will be presented in an online event on 23 September 2020. UIL Director David Atchoarena explains: ‘With unprecedented urgency, the COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the necessity to build more resilient education systems for the future. With more than half of humanity living in urban areas, cities must be at the centre of this undertaking.’ ‘During the pandemic, UNESCO learning cities from around the world have shown that they are well placed to make lifelong learning a reality, also under harsh conditions,’ Mr Atchoarena continues. ‘I warmly welcome the new members of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities and very much look forward to working with them on further advancing our goal of ensuring lifelong learning for all.’ BackgroundThe UNESCO GNLC is an international policy-oriented network geared towards knowledge production and sharing, peer learning and capacity-building. UNESCO GNLC members benefit from sharing lifelong learning policies and practices with other cities in the network, developing and exchanging knowledge on key challenges and solutions, taking part in training initiatives, and participation in regional and global events. Within the framework of the strategy for 2019–2021, the activities of the network focus on seven key priorities: education for sustainable development; equity and inclusion; educational planning, monitoring and evaluation; education for global citizenship; entrepreneurship; learning for health and well-being; and literacy. For further information, visit:Website of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning CitiesInformation about UNESCO learning cities’ responses to COVID-19 *Following a further review, one of the cities was removed from the list as it did not entirely fulfil all the required criteria. UIL apologizes for this oversight. URL:https://uil.unesco.org/lifelong-learning/learning-cities/unesco-global-network-learning-cities-welcomes-54-new-member 
Call for Exhibitions and Edutainment Content – Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2020 2020-09-24 Acquiring media and information literacy (MIL) competencies often takes place outside the classroom, through art, storytelling and entertainment. In the framework of Global MIL Week 2020, UNESCO is calling for exhibitions and edutainment content related to MIL to be showcased throughout the Week, in an effort to enable citizens to resist disinfodemic. Call for exhibitions Stakeholders in the field of media and information literacy (MIL), including museums, libraries, archives, academia, media organizations and private sector organizations, are invited to submit proposals for MIL-related exhibitions in the framework of Global MIL Week 2020. The exhibitions will be in line with the theme “Resisting Disinfodemic: Media and Information Literacy for Everyone and by Everyone”. Proposals should present good practices, historical content, social and real-life stories, and educational resources related to the topic. They should be integrated and packaged in the format of curated audiovisual materials, giving audience a virtual exhibition experience. Selected exhibitions will be showcased virtually on the main online platform of Global MIL Week 2020. Participants can access them through the virtual exhibition booths on the platform. Submit a proposal here, by 2 October 2020. Submitters of approved proposals will be contacted for submission of full exhibition content. Call for edutainment content MIL learning can be more enjoyable when done through a combination of education and entertainment. Global MIL Week 2020 calls for such edutainment content related to MIL, as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to the increasing need to build citizens’ resilience to the disinfodemic. Think how you could teach children, youth, adults and the elderly MIL skills in an informal and entertaining manner, create content, and share it with us. The accepted formats include song, video, poetry, meme, GIF, illustration, and dance. Give free reign to your creativity! Submit your content here, by 9 October 2020. UNESCO will publish and promote selected content on its social media channels. Under the theme “Resisting Disinfodemic: Media and Information Literacy for Everyone and, by Everyone”, Global MIL Week 2020 will respond to the exponentially increasing demand for MIL worldwide. It highlights the necessity of recognizing our shared interest in improving everyone’s competencies to interact with media, technology, and information, in order that they can be engaged in societies as critical-thinking citizens. It also underlines the pivotal role of MIL in fostering quality journalism, critical access to information and freedom of expression, which all have implications on how the war against disinformation can be overcome. Contact Alton Grizzle, a.grizzle@unesco.org(link sends e-mail) Xu Jing, ji.xu@unesco.org URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/call-exhibitions-and-edutainment-content-global-media-and-information-literacy-week-2020 
Fernando Reimers: “Giving priority attention to the most vulnerable students is essential if we are to provide opportunities for all” 2020-09-23 Venezuelan academic Fernando Reimers, director of the International Education Policy Program at Harvard University, is conscious that this is a crucial time for the teaching community to ensure that children and young people in vulnerable situations do not drop out of the system. With the Covid-19 pandemic worsening and the opportunity gap widening, Professor Reimers is working on a number of international projects seeking to ensure education for all through leadership, innovation and teacher training. An early conclusion: there is still hope. He tells us why, in this interview for Equal Times. In a recent webinar you said that, when the pandemic is over, members of the health and education community will ask their colleagues, “Where were you during the pandemic?” What did you do during that time? Allow me to put the same question to you now: what have you been doing during the pandemic? Even before the pandemic was declared, it did not require much foresight to see the potentially devastating effects it could have on education systems, given the serious limitations it would place on the ability of schools to continue to operate in the way they are accustomed to. Equally clear was the fact that its economic impact would affect the ability of families to keep up their children’s schooling and the ability of states to fund the education system. In the early 1980s, education systems in the developing world were severely impacted by a serious economic crisis, and that impact was the subject of my doctoral thesis. I expect the pandemic to have a more profound impact because its economic impact will be greater. This led me to ask myself what I could do to mitigate that educational impact on my own students and on the various educational institutions. As for my own students, we turned our postgraduate studies in education at Harvard into fully online programmes. The result has been to open up the opportunity for students from outside the US to take part in our graduate programmes, and for us to have the most diverse and experienced cohort of students I’ve seen since I began teaching at Harvard. It is undoubtedly the largest educational experiment Harvard has conducted in many decades. As regards the Global Education Innovation Initiative, I redirected my efforts towards producing information that might help to support educational decision-making. Then we launched our Schooling Disrupted, Schooling Rethought: How the Covid-19 pandemic is changing education report, in partnership with the OECD. This is a crucial time to prevent the education gap from widening and to stop too many children and young people being left behind. Based on your research on different educational experiences around the world, do you think governments are prepared for this historic moment? Or to be more specific, is there any country that has shown itself to be particularly adept in its management of education during the crisis? The widening of educational opportunity gaps between children from different social backgrounds is undoubtedly one of the greatest risks of the pandemic. The gap is widening, all over the world, and its growth is partly the result of poor leadership. Some families with greater purchasing power are making their own arrangements in response to the shortcomings of both public and private schools, such as organising themselves into small groups and hiring a person (in many cases a trainee teacher, recent graduate or retired teacher) to tutor their children. These so-called learning pods are a good idea, but that good idea is not within every student’s reach. Such arrangements are therefore likely to increase the social inequalities in the educational opportunities that students have access to during the pandemic. Ways must be found to provide more support to socially disadvantaged students so that their only option is not between attending school in conditions that put their health and that of their teachers at risk (when health conditions make face-to-face education high risk) or spend hours in front of a computer screen, listening to classes via Zoom, with teachers who have not been properly trained to provide quality education remotely. In some cases, the less privileged children do not have an adult at home in a position to support them with these tasks. This is a unique opportunity for the other institutions in society to show solidarity with those who need it most, an opportunity for universities around the world to involve their students in assisting teachers with the work they are doing to support the education of the most vulnerable children in primary and secondary schools. For education to reach everyone, it is essential that in-class schooling be increased but, as we are seeing in a number of countries, like Spain, where the rate of Covid-19 infection is rising to high levels again, many families are afraid to send their children to school. Is it possible to ensure both universal access to education and the safety of families? Ensuring educational opportunities for all under conditions that are adapted to the health situation in each region or local area is crucial. Giving priority attention to the most vulnerable students is essential to achieving opportunity for all. If the local health authorities establish that school attendance is contributing to the spread of the epidemic, and if infection rates are increasing to public risk levels, alternative ways need to be found to continue providing educational opportunities. Education can be provided in many ways, and it is certainly possible to do so even more effectively with adequate teacher training and the provision of students with the connectivity and equipment required. The efforts to develop alternative emergency arrangements during the months of April, May and June clearly show that they cannot completely replace face-to-face instruction in terms of its full potential to develop cognitive and social-emotional skills. It also has to be acknowledged that this potential is diminished by the adoption of social distancing measures in schools. What educational principles should never be lost sight of in the midst of urgent containment measures, remote education and a cautious return to school? The number one principle is to ensure the students’ psychological and physical wellbeing. The pandemic is affecting the health and the incomes of many families, creating a great deal of understandable anxieties. Prolonged anxiety has a detrimental effect on people’s mental health. Education should contribute to the wellbeing of students and teachers. The second principle is the need to maintain the continuity of students’ learning, to create enabling conditions for them to learn and to do so with pleasure. There should also be much greater emphasis on students developing knowledge and skills rather than on ‘covering content’. A third principle is the need to lead educational systems that foster dialogue. In those places where I have seen the most interesting innovations, I have also found humble educational leadership that encourages collaboration. The pandemic creates the risk of more authoritarian forms of leadership as an understandable response to uncertainty. In your book Empowering Students to Improve the World – and in your global curriculum – you argue in favour of complex lessons, discussing the cross-cutting issues of conflict – poverty, identity, nation, religion – to avoid infantilising students. But these issues are usually very close to one’s value system and there is often a fear of ideological debate in the classroom. How can this fear be overcome? The purpose of the three global citizenship curricula I have developed is to effectively engage students in active and collaborative learning experiences that enable them to develop the skills needed to tackle important issues that concern them, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, etc. The curricula are in use in many schools in various countries around the world, and the books are translated into many languages. I find there are, in fact, many educators who understand that empowering students to take charge of their own lives and equipping them with the skills to collaborate with others to improve the world is indeed the most important educational goal of our time. I think this pandemic has prompted many educators to reflect on these issues. What I am presenting in these curricula are opportunities for students to think, to debate, to develop their own ideas. The aim is not to indoctrinate students in one way of thinking or another. Disinformation, fake news, denialism, extremist discourse: what role does education – or the lack of it – play in the proliferation of all these destabilising forces? Is educating for democracy more important than ever? I honestly don’t know. When Germany’s Weimar Republic was replaced by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime in 1933, the country had one of the most highly educated populations in Europe. When the Latin American dictatorships reached Chile and Argentina in the 1970s, these countries had the highest levels of education in the region. So the connection between education and democracy or authoritarianism is complex, and it certainly takes more than years of schooling to develop the skills and the will to effectively engage in democratic citizenship. There is indeed an increase in intolerant movements around the world, often linked to a resurgence in nationalist populism, which are a challenge for pluralist democracies that respect the human rights of all people. Part of the ideology of this new populism is a mistrust of scientific expertise and institutions. Its attacks on educational institutions have been most clear-cut against universities, which it considers to be ‘elite’ institutions. It is not unusual for authoritarian governments to distrust institutions that cultivate critical thinking, and to attack universities, scientists and intellectuals. Hitler did it, Franco did it, Pinochet did it and many other autocrats have done it, ever since the first modern research university was established, in Berlin, in 1811. School is synonymous with hope, and I would like to end with this question. Is there any project, undertaken in a country of the Global South, that has raised your interest during the pandemic? Of the innovations I’ve been studying, I have found those that institutions or governments have come up with to keep teaching in areas where resources are hugely lacking very inspiring. The Alianza Educativa (Education Alliance) in Colombia, bringing together private universities and schools providing support for public schools attended by students from low-income families, has come up with ingenious ways of continuing to teach, remotely, during the pandemic, for example. In India, Reality Gives, a non-profit organisation that works with very vulnerable children living in the slums of Mumbai, has found a way to continue giving its English classes using mobile phones. In Brazil, the State Secretariat of Education in Maranhão has established a partnership with a non-governmental organisation to make use of technology to help mothers to provide quality early education. And as for government bodies that have demonstrated a capacity for innovation in educating vulnerable populations, the Municipal Secretariat of Education in Bogotá, Colombia, or the Secretariat of Education in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, come to mind. These and other examples clearly show that it is possible, that in the extremely difficult conditions created by the pandemic, it is possible to continue educating children living in highly vulnerable conditions. It is a matter of being aware of what we can do with all the resources at our disposal, of asking ourselves the question that we addressed at the beginning, that is, in the midst of this serious crisis that all of humanity is experiencing: “What am I doing to alleviate the suffering caused by the pandemic?” I am sure that if we ask ourselves this question and we do all we can to answer it, within the bounds of our own capabilities, it may be that, at the end of the long night that this pandemic represents, we will wake up to a better, more inclusive, more sustainable and more just world. This article has been translated from Spanish. By Claudio Moreno URL:https://www.equaltimes.org/fernando-reimers-giving-priority?lang=en#.X2oh5897kcR