News

Catch up on what’s happening in the world of global citizenship education.

154 results found

© APCEIU A Guide for Policymakers published to navigate integration of Global Citizenship Education to national education policies 2018-07-20 The Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) has published Global Citizenship Education: A Guide for Policymakers in order to assist UNESCO Member States to integrate and strengthen Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in their national education policies and further achieve Target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goals. The Guide, which was developed in consultation with GCED experts, specialists from international education organizations and government officials from the countries’ ministries of education, suggests strategies in five priority action areas including policy review and development; curriculum review and development; capacity building; knowledge creation, sharing and dissemination; and monitoring and assessment. The strategies are designed to allow integration of GCED values and concepts into the countries’ current education system aligned with their priorities and contexts. While the Guide focuses on the formal education system, GCED principles and approaches it describes are equally relevant to non-formal education settings as well as projects and activities implemented by civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Guide was first released in English and Korean, and it will further be available in other languages including French and Arabic to be accessible for larger audience worldwide. APCEIU plans to introduce and disseminate the Guide through the GCED Global Network while at the same time organize related seminars at various venues on international education. Download link for PDF file: [English version] [Korean version] © USHMM How does education about the Holocaust advance global citizenship education? 2018-07-20 UNESCO has commissioned a paper entitled “How Does Education about the Holocaust Advance Global Citizenship Education?” to demonstrate how teaching and learning about the Holocaust and genocide can meet key learning objectives and provide added value to GCED, highlighting the potential to mainstream education about the Holocaust in this framework. This paper supports UNESCO’s Policy Guide on Education about the Holocaust and preventing genocide, informed by the Organization’s longstanding work in education about the Holocaust and genocide and Global Citizenship Education (GCED). Through GCED, UNESCO aims to empower learners to assume active roles to face and resolve global challenges and to become proactive contributors to a more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and secure world. "Working towards this goal requires both institutional and individual commitments”, expresses Doyle Stevick, the author of the paper and Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina. “Effective education can empower students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to advance and sustain this effort."  For UNESCO, this implies providing learners of all ages with the cognitive, behavioural and social-emotional skills that strengthen their resilience against violent extremism and forms of group-targeted violence and empower them as responsible citizens. Education about the Holocaust and genocide can align with this understanding of GCED. GCED and education about the Holocaust are historically linked and deeply interconnected, though they may vary in overall orientation, scale and scope explains Doyle Stevick in the paper.  “Education about the Holocaust and genocide and GCED both teach us that we all have a responsibility to act against injustice, whether in our own communities or in the global community.” The paper shows that the Holocaust’s historical significance and universal implications can provide an entry point to inform a longer process of dealing with the past. “People who study the Holocaust in places that are grappling with their own historical traumas often recognize commonalities that help them begin to engage their own experiences in new ways”, explains Doyle Stevick, underlining the global relevance of education about the Holocaust. The paper provides a critical examination of research regarding the contribution of education about the Holocaust to GCED’s three domains of learning, including examples of good practices, a terminology overview and an extensive bibliography. The paper is available via APCEIU’s GCED Clearinghouse. URL: https://en.unesco.org/news/how-does-education-about-holocaust-advance-global-citizenship-education-0 Why do education policymakers need to mainstream Global Citizenship Education: An Appeal of the 2030 Agenda 2018-07-20 New York, United Nations Headquarters: On 26 April 2018, the 2018 United Nations Global Citizenship Education Seminar was convened by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, United Nations Academic Impact, and the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) under the auspices of UNESCO. With the theme of “The role of global citizenship education in the 2030 Agenda and beyond”, this year’s Global Citizenship Education Seminar aimed to shed new light on Global Citizenship Education (GCED) by exploring relevant concepts and methodologies already applied in other areas, and to seek opportunities for GCED to enhance and advance progress toward realizing sustainable development. Addressing the opening session, Ms. Marie Paule Roudil, Director of UNESCO Liaison Office New York and UNESCO Representative to the United Nations, recalled that GCED promotes the principles and values that help ensure the human rights of every individual across all regions of the world. As she pointed out, mainstreaming GCED in the education systems would support the development of values such as learning to live together, solidarity, empathy and respect of the other, as well as resolving conflict through peaceful means. Committed to support governments and educational stakeholders through the promotion of GCED, UNESCO has been:  Leading the global advocacy and policy dialogue on GCED; Providing normative guidance, technical support, and capacity building on GCED; and: Focusing on Preventing Violent Extremism through Education.  Building on the unique national experience of the Republic of Korea, Prof. CHO Hyo-Je, Professor of Sociology at Sungkonghoe University, delivered the keynote speech and shared insights on the synergy between GCED and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the panel discussion and Q&A session followed, representatives from the academia, UN agencies, and NGOs exchanged views on the importance of the right to education, human rights education, GCED mainstreaming and branding, and the role of universities in experimental learning and research. In particular, Mr. Aaron Benavot, Professor of Global Education Policy at the State University of New York-Albany and former Director of UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, cited GEM Report’s examination of national educational frameworks and textbooks. He called for more teachers’ training on GCED, and highlighted a whole-school approach, more decentralized education systems, and a strong policy commitment as favorable conditions for GCED mainstreaming. Increasingly complex and protracted crises, especially the rise of violent extremism, has led to ever-greater need for the benefits of GCED. Situated within the SDG Goal 4–Target 4.7, GCED has a crucial role in fostering peaceful, just and inclusive societies. GCED aims to empower learners to engage and assume active roles locally, nationally and globally, to face and resolve global challenges and ultimately to become proactive contributors to a more just, peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable world. It builds on peace and human rights education and emphasizes the need to foster the knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviors that allow individuals to experience a sense of belonging to the global community and to take informed decisions. URL:http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco-liaison-office-in-new-york/about-this-office/single-view/news/why_do_policy_makers_need_to_mainstream_global_citizenship_e/ © UNESCO Promotion of Peace and Sustainable Development in the Sahel: A meeting held to develop the program's results framework and implementation schedule 2018-07-20 From 7 to 8 May 2018, Bamako hosted a planning meeting on the program "Reinforcement of Skills for Life and Work for Peace and Sustainable Development in the Sahel ". This two-day meeting enabled participants to develop a results framework, as well as an implementation schedule, through experience sharing with Sahelian countries, and with other countries such as Cabo Verde, the Gambia and Guinea Bissau. The opening ceremony was chaired by Mr. Tiéman Hubert Coulibaly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali, representing the Prime Minister, in the presence of Mr. Chang Gwang-Chol, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for West Africa (Sahel), Mr. Hervé Huot-Marchand, UNESCO's Representative in Mali, Mr. Kouldjim Guidio, representative of the Permanent Secretary of G5-Sahel, Mrs Diallo Kadia Maiga, Secretary General of the Malian National Commission for UNESCO and ISESCO, and participants from Sahelian countries, such as Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. Also in attendance were countries like Senegal, the Gambia, Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau, as well as Mrs. Mbaranga Gasarabwe, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Mali, who honored the ceremony with their presence. Mr. Chang thanked the Government of Mali for the warm welcome and accompaniment. “As we all know, youth is the lifeblood of a nation. It is the responsibility of all of us, governments, local authorities, traditional and religious leaders, social actors, international partners, etc., to accompany them in becoming responsible and resilient actors of change, citizens and leaders capable of taking control of their future and that of their country”. He welcomed the quality of the work and urged participating countries to have the various proposed activities validated by their competent authorities by the end of May 2018. Mr. Guidio reiterated the support and the principles of his institution, which are in line with the said meeting. “For the G5 Sahel, we cannot contain violent extremism and its consequences only through security measures alone. It will be vital to integrate governance and development aspects in the search for a lasting solution by member states," he said. For her part, Mrs. Mbaranga recalled that this meeting also supports the United Nations Secretary-General's Action Plan for the Prevention of Violent Extremism, adopted in 2016 and the UNESCO Executive Board's decision on the prevention of violent extremism. "If we do not envision where we are going, we will not be able to have either a steady culture or a lasting peace," she said. In his opening speech, Mr. Coulibaly recalled that Mali attaches great importance to this program, which concerns youth and sustainable development, adding that the first defense against barbarism, obscurantism is the strength of the spirit. “Beyond what must be cultivated in the hearts of men, it is obvious that we must arm all the Sahel countries, morally and intellectually, so that the development models chosen, especially the economic models can be solid”. Finally, he thanked UNESCO and the experts from other countries. The work took place in a participatory and interactive atmosphere. Participants unanimously recognized that problems were the the same in all Sahelian countries, hence the importance of joining efforts for an effective action. To do so, it is essential to rethink education systems, for all sections of the population and for all learners: students as trainers. During the meeting, the importance of considering the most vulnerable individuals was stressed, especially illiterate populations, so that they too could benefit from training and certifications, giving them a better chance to find a job. Participants also recalled that culture is an essential aspect that should not be neglected, thus it must be fully integrated into the implementation of the program through reconnecting young people to their heritage. Through this program, which will run for an initial period of three years, UNESCO will support countries in the Sahel, in particular Burkina Faso, Chad, the Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Senegal, but also Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde, under the overall coordination of the UNESCO Regional Office for West Africa (Sahel) and in collaboration with the UNESCO Regional Offices in Rabat and Yaoundé. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding under the auspices of UNESCO (APCEIU) and the United Nations. You can listen to the radio debate on Mikado FM (Radio UN) at the following link:https://soundcloud.com/mikado-fm/parole-citoyenne-promotion-paix-et-developpement-durable-dans-la-region-du-sahelLink to report Studio Tamani (EU Radio):http://www.studiotamani.org/index.php/journaux/15528-les-titres-du-07-mai-2018-soirLink to ORTM News (3mn45):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVPS4FGtufcLink to Flickr Photos:https://www.flickr.com/photos/155712355@N08/albums/72157695905250034 URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/promotion-peace-and-sustainable-development-sahel-meeting-held-develop-program-s-results