education for international understanding: an idea gaining ground

Contents

Preface, p. 3

Foreword: a common will p. 4

Towards the new millennium—an ideagaining ground p. 5

For a new philosophy of education p. 10

A world that is many and one: the other’s viewpoint p. 17

Development and a culture of peace p. 24

From rhetoric to practice for an applied peace p. 29

Conquering new areas for education for peace p. 45

The author expresses her gratitude to the UNICEFOffice in Geneva for allowing free access to itsphoto library in order to illustrate this brochure.

Published in 1996by the International Bureau of Education,P.O. Box 199, 1211 Geneva 20, SwitzerlandReprinted 1999

Printed in France by SADAG, Bellegarde

© UNESCO:IBE, 1996

A lifetime to learn

In favour of international understanding?

Published for the first time in 1996,this brochure describes the efforts car-ried out over a number of decades byUNESCO and its International Bureauof Education in favour of education forall and international understanding. Itillustrates the wealth and the diversityof ideas, experiments and opinionsabout such matters of importance tonations in the present-day world ashuman rights, peace and democracy.Written in a direct and easily readablestyle, it is intended for a broad range ofreaders, and especially teachers andstudents. It has already become a valu-able tool for teachers in the key rolethat they play among children broughtup on images of violence and prey tocopying or resorting to aggression.

Everyone agrees today that edu-cation is the key to the future. This hasbeen confirmed by numerous publica-tions and conferences. And when wesay A school for life we are thinkingnot only about the fundamental rightsof each human being to primary andsecondary education, but also to theopportunity accorded to each individ-ual to learn and to develop by acquir-ing knowledge throughout life.

The examples presented in thisbrochure, whether innovative actionsundertaken within the education sys-tems of numerous countries or extractsselected from the speeches of ministers

attending the International Conferenceon Education, are perfect illustrationsof the conclusions of the report by the International Commission onEducation for the Twenty-firstCentury. Indeed, the objective is to cre-ate world citizens capable of livingtogether. Peaceful co-existence in a cul-ture of peace is a duty for each one ofus, regardless of our role, our status orour work. This duty requires us to be amodel of solidarity, sharing and toler-ance: solidarity with the most under-privileged; sharing knowledge; andtolerating our differences.

In this year, which is the fiftiethanniversary of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, UNESCO assumes itsresponsibilities: to make people aware, toinform them and to educate them so that aculture of peace becomes a need, an aspira-tion and a reality all at the same time. Theyear 2000, declared the International Yearfor the Culture of Peace by the UnitedNations, is nearly upon us. There is notime to lose to make human rights, sustain-able development and democracy realities,to eradicate injustice, poverty and vio-lence, and to teach love, care and brother-hood in all their forms. We have borne thisidea for so long already …

FEDERICO MAYOR

3 December 1998

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Preface by the Director-General of UNESCO

The author herself is Lucie-Mami Noor Nkaké, our colleague from the WorldAssociation for the School as an Instrument of Peace (EIP). While expressing itsgratitude for her contribution, the International Bureau of Education wishes toremind readers that she is responsible for the choice and presentation of thefacts contained in this publication and for the opinions expressed therein,which are not necessarily those of UNESCO:IBE and do not commit theOrganization. The designations employed and the presentation of the materialdo not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNES-CO:IBE regarding the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of itsauthorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The forty-fourth session of theInternational Conference on Edu-cation (ICE), organized by theInternational Bureau of Education(IBE), was held in Geneva from 3 to 8October 1994. It was attended bynearly 800 participants from the worldof education, including 102 ministers.

The major debates on the general theme of the Conference,‘Appraisal and perspectives of educa-tion for international understanding’,were introduced successively byFederico Mayor, Director-General ofUNESCO, James Grant, Director-General of the United NationsChildrens’ Fund (UNICEF), JacquesDelors, Chairman of the InternationalCommission on Education for theTwenty-first Century, and the fivechairpersons of the Conference’s preparatory meetings.

The ministers of education,together with the educators and non-governmental organizations takingpart in the Conference, reviewed the

achievements of education for inter-national understanding and identifiedthe remaining obstacles in its way.They noted the urgent need to includethe subject in school curricula and inteacher-training courses.

Despite the complexity of thechallenges facing a rapidly changingworld, the range of actions describedin this work reflects a common willand offers further suggestions for a‘new philosophy of education’, whichwould incorporate some positivemoral values common to all countries.At this dawning of the twenty-firstcentury, which is so often mentioned,bringing people closer togetherthrough what they have in common,through the incomparable wealth oftheir diversity, could be one of thekeys to the creation of ‘A lifelongschool, open to the world, in theservice of mankind’ (JacquesMühlethaler,1 founder of the WorldAssociation for the School as anInstrument of Peace).

Foreword:a common will

Left:James Grant (1922–95);right:Jacques Mühlethaler(1918–94)

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PHOTO: UNICEF/91 – 0005/Joe Rubino PHOTO: Max Vaterlaus, Genève

the scourge of war [. . .] bringing

destruction and disillusion in

its wake

From 1925 to 1974, the foundersof peace through education

In 1925, at a time when the bittermemories of the First World War andthe destruction it caused still hauntedpeople’s minds, the prospect of anotherconflict was already looming on thehorizon. More than ever, the need wasfelt to establish an institution in the ser-vice of education for closer contact andharmony between peoples, the precon-ditions of international understanding.It was against this backdrop, where thehopes of peace were mingled with thefear of war, that the InternationalBureau of Education (IBE) was founded.

Four years later, in response to apressing desire to alleviate the crisiswhich was gradually adding plausibilityto the idea of another war, the foundersof the Bureau changed its status. TheIBE ceased to be a non-governmentalorganization and, in 1929, became anintergovernmental organization. Oneof its priority tasks is defined in thepreamble to its new statutes, whichclearly states its purpose:

Considering that the development of educa-tion is an essential factor in the establishmentof peace and in the moral and material pro-gress of humanity, that the collection of dataon research and application in the field of edu-cation and the assurance of extensiveinterchange of information and data by whicheach country may be stimulated to benefitfrom the experiences of others is important tothis development.2

Ten years later, the scourge of waronce again devastated the world, brin-ging destruction and disillusion in its wake. At the end of this con-flict, which was made even deadlier than the previous one by scientificadvances, the faith in humankind wasrekindled in those who sought to build peace through education. The nations decided to hold an ‘assembly’. It was 1945, in San Francisco, and the United Nations Organization wasborn. The preamble to its Charter,beginning ‘We, the peoples of theUnited Nations’, reaffirms its faith inhuman rights, an ideal which takes itssource in the major currents of humanthought which have always nourished

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Towards the new millennium—an idea gaining ground

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the quest for liberty and justice. Oneyear later, the ‘peacemakers’, convin-ced of the essential role played byeducation in the achievement andmaintenance of peace in the world,founded the United NationsEducational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization—UNESCO—in London.In 1946, at its first GeneralConference, UNESCO launched anddefended the idea of education forinternational understanding. Theorganization’s constitution highlightsits ethical mission in these terms:‘Since wars begin in the minds of men,it is in the minds of men that thedefences of peace must be construc-ted’. In its programmes, UNESCOintroduced the foundations of educa-tion for international understanding.The ideal took shape more clearly stillin 1948, when the United NationsGeneral Assembly proclaimed theUniversal Declaration of HumanRights, the first part of the future‘International Bill of Human Rights’,which was to be of moral as well as oflegal significance.

In 1953, an experimental project was launched by several countries, UNESCO’s AssociatedSchools Project (ASP). Looked uponas ‘navigators’, the Associated Schoolsexplore new ways and new means ofadapting education to the needs ofsocieties.

From 1974 to 1994,towards a culture of peace

Three decades after the appeal forpeace beginning ‘We, the peoples ofthe United Nations’, the great humanrights movement added a further

stone to its edifice. At the eighteenthsession of UNESCO’s GeneralConference, the Member States adopted the ‘Recommendationconcerning education for internatio-nal understanding, co-operation andpeace and education relating tohuman rights and fundamental free-doms’, better known as the ‘1974Recommendation’. In 1976, theInternational Bill of Human Rightsbrought with it three legal instru-ments of great importance for theStates which ratified them: theInternational Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights; theInternational Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights; and the OptionalProtocol to the latter Covenant.Unrestricted respect for the rights ofthe individual was thus instituted as a prerequisite and a sine qua noncondition for the achievement andmaintenance of peace, both withinand between States. Rulers and sub-jects alike were made aware that itwas not sufficient to allude to theideal of peace or to invoke humanrights in order for these to material-ize. The awareness took hold that aform of education was needed to establish lasting peace and inter-national understanding. In that spirit, UNESCO convened a meeting ofexperts in 1977 with the task of studying ‘the constituent elements ofpeace founded on respect for humanrights’. The teaching of human rightsbecame one of the organization’spriorities. The first steps were takenin 1978, in Vienna, where theInternational Congress on HumanRights Education firmly recalled thatthose rights were indivisible. In 1987,Malta provided the setting for theInternational Congress on Human

6Towards the new millennium—an idea gaining ground

poverty spread in the major cities and

the spectre of war was ever present

Rights Teaching, Information andDocumentation, while in 1989, theInternational Congress on Peace inthe Minds of Men, whose title recalled the principle of UNESCO’sethical mission, was held inYamoussoukro (Côte d’Ivoire). Thiscongress proposed a new goal, namely the development of a ‘cultureof peace’, which would be based onvalues recognized as universal by allcultures, in order ‘successfully toachieve the transition from a cultureof war to a culture of peace’ (FedericoMayor).

Times changed, and somemajor events occurred after SanFrancisco, London, Vienna, Maltaand Yamoussoukro. The world wasplunged into upheaval. The BerlinWall fell. Totalitarianism retreated.Geopolitical maps were redrawn.

New technologies emerged. At thesame time, however, the gap betweenrich and poor nations widened,poverty spread in the major cities andthe spectre of war was ever present.Now that world problems are interrelated, concepts can no longerbe considered in isolation and there isan urgent need to review the objec-tives of education, to heed the newaspirations of peoples and to redirectthe means of action.

In 1991, UNESCO’s GeneralConference called for the conveningof an international commission,whose mandate would be to reflect indepth on the challenges facing educa-tion in the twenty-first century and to formulate suggestions for appropriateactions to meet those challenges. InMontreal in 1993, the InternationalCongress on Education for Human


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Rights and Democracy devoted alarge part of its discussions to humanrights and democracy and their relations with education, develop-ment, cultural diversity and tolerance.It would express the idea of a ‘culturaldemocracy’.

One of the founders of modernpedagogy, Jan Amos Comenius(1592-1670), a writer and a huma-nist, already during his lifetimestressed the importance of universalliteracy for the harmonious develop-ment of society. He advocateduniversal education for girls and boysand asserted the principle of equalaccess to instruction, without distinc-tion as to religion, social class andeven ability. Following the fourthcentenary of his birth, the Czechauthorities and UNESCO created theComenius Medal in 1993, to rewardwomen and men who achieve distinc-tion in the field of educationalresearch and innovation. The medal is awarded at sessions of theInternational Conference on Educa-tion.

In this same year, confirmingthe importance it attaches to pedago-gic thought, UNESCO published a

series on 100 ‘thinkers on education’,which appeared in Prospects, its inter-national review of comparativeeducation, now produced by the IBE(see sources). In the series (taking upfour double issues of the review), phi-losophers, politicians, sociologists,scientists, theologians, novelists, his-torians, poets and essay writers of alltimes and all cultures are described inmonographs. There they are free tohold a dialogue, contradict each otherand rebut each other.

Towards the new millennium:a more holistic view

While it cannot be denied that human rights are indivisible and interdependent, the need for a type ofeducation adapted to present-day circumstances, marked as they are bythe expression of all forms of intole-rance, violence and inequality,compelled UNESCO recently to develop an Integrated Framework ofAction on Education for Peace,Human Rights and Democracy.

These concerns lay at the heartof the debates during the forty-fourth session of the InternationalConference on Education (1994), atwhich the ministers of education tooka substantial step forward by adop-ting the Integrated Framework ofAction. This framework, which isboth a legitimate and a logical sequelto the 1974 Recommendation, offersbasic guidelines which can be convert-ed, at institutional and national level,into strategies, policies and actionplans, taking account of all aspects ofculture, such as history, religion and

Towards the new millennium—an idea gaining ground

Jan Amos Comenius (1592–1670),a European writer and humanist

8

custom. In the Declaration which theyadopted at the forty-fourth session,the delegates expressed MemberStates’ determination to achieve thechangeover from the twentieth to thetwenty-first century with force anddetermination in the following terms:

Mindful of our responsibility for the educationof citizens committed to the promotion ofpeace, human rights and democracy in accor-dance with the letter and spirit of the Charterof the United Nations [San Francisco, 1945],the Constitution of UNESCO [London, 1946],the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[1948] and other relevant instruments such asthe Convention on the Rights of the Child[1989] and the conventions on the rights ofwomen, and in accordance with theRecommendation concerning Education forInternational Understanding, Co-operationand Peace and Education relating to HumanRights and Fundamental Freedoms,[. . .] Convinced that education should pro-mote knowledge, values, attitudes and skillsconducive to respect for human rights and toan active commitment to the defense of suchrights and to the building of a culture of peaceand democracy,[. . .] Consequently, we, the Ministers ofEducation meeting at the 44th session of theInternational Conference on Education, adoptthis Declaration and invite the Director-General to present to the General Conference aFramework of Action that allows MemberStates and UNESCO to integrate, within acoherent policy, education for peace, humanrights and democracy in the perspective of sus-tainable development.

Tirelessly pursuing this ob-jective, the UNESCO GeneralConference, at its twenty-eighth ses-sion (November 1995), adopted theDeclaration of the ICE’s forty-fourthsession and the Integrated Frameworkof Action. Taking account of the Rec-ommendations of the conferences

held since 1974, the session paid par-ticular attention to the Culture ofPeace programme and called on theOrganization’s sectors (education,science, culture and communication)to introduce this interdisciplinaryapproach into their programmes.

UNESCO, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its founda-tion (1945–95) at its twenty-eighthGeneral Conference, renewed itscommitment to its Constitution. Thatsolemn gesture should be seen as asymbol of ‘beginning again’, the beliefthat nothing is ever achieved for goodand that a constant effort of spirit andenergy is needed. The relevance of thisprinciple, which is rooted in themyths and beliefs of all countries,should bring together the countlesssegments of mankind, without diminishing their individuality, inorder to achieve the ideal of peace,which is merely waiting to advanceacross the earth.


THE FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES TO ACHIEVING GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

The General Conference ofUNESCO, in redefining thefoundations of the educa-tional mission, did not hesi-tate to raise the essentialissues which will have to beaddressed in order to arriveat last at a truly global citizenship:• cultivating the values on

which the practical imple-

mentation of peace, humanrights and democracydepend;

• no longer only empha-sizing cognitive learning,but also affective andbehavioural learning;

• learning citizenship, basedon universal values andknowledge to be applied inpractice.

Teaching values for learning to be

While we witness the triumph of science and technology, some effects of which tend to reify humanity, wehave come to a turning point between two centuries, when our thoughtsmust find inspiration in the ethical principles underlying the world’s philosophies: ‘There is, therefore,every reason to place renewed empha-sis on the moral and cultural dimen-sions of education’ (Learning: thetreasure within, UNESCO, 1996). Ashe introduced the debate at the ICE’sforty-fourth session on the theme‘Education for the twenty-first centu-ry’, Jacques Delors—more than twentyyears on—recalled the influence of thereport of the Commission chaired byEdgar Faure in 1972, Learning to be.At that time, the report focused on thediversity of educational situations inthe world. Faced with the problem ofconducting an overall analysis andputting forward recommendations

acceptable to all at the political andphilosophical levels, Delors refers tothe principal changes that have takenplace in the world since Learning to bewas written, such as the nature andnew forms of relations between Northand South, the emergence of ‘severalSouths’, and the growing importanceof information: ‘anything that takesplace in one place [for better or forworse and in all areas] cannot be ignored by the remainder of human-ity.’ The changes which have occurredin the major political blocs, whose prevailing ideologies infiltrated thewhole world for several decades, have resulted in a ‘major ideologicalvacuum’. Jacques Delors offered participants his vision of a new philos-ophy of education through what hereferred to as his double faith: ‘myfaith in education as a factor of improvement, to varying degrees, ininterpersonal relations, relationshipswithin societies, relationships betweennations; and my second faith [. . .] inthe role of international organizations

The right to education:a human right

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For a new philosophy of education

SHOULD VIRTUE BE TAUGHT? THE POINT OF VIEW OF LUXEMBOURG

Should virtue be taught? According toSocrates, there is no need to teach virtue, sincegood is derived directly from a knowledge oftruth. Protagoras, on the other hand, believesthat there is a need to teach virtue (Plato).

On this philosophical issue,Luxembourg sides with Protagoras. Since theschool cannot provide all the answers,Luxembourg advocates devising a new philo-sophy of education which is adapted to thespecific requirements of our time and whichwould sacrifice neither society nor the indi-vidual. The aim would be to ‘train respon-sible, useful citizens, but at the same time freeand as far as possible happy individuals’, tooffer education which would strike a balance

between a scientific culture ‘without which we would feel inevitably alienated from modern times’, and a literary humanistic culture, ‘without which we would forfeit thewisdom of our ancestors’.

‘If the sciences cannot provide answers to ethical problems, they have to besought elsewhere. If ethical values are notderived from a truth which is recognized byall, as in Christian civilization, then they haveto be constructed on the basis of a consensusamong men who are living henceforth as partof a global community. All hope of universalethical values is therefore not lost. This theoretical universality can and must give wayto practical universality.’

to convey into a universal consciencethe most commendable ideas, whichwill be increasingly oriented towardsthe understanding of others.’

The initial teaching of values,the initiation to ‘peaceful’ attitudes,should logically be the responsibilityof the family, as the first link betweena young person and society. Owing to the resignation, shortcomings or inability of parents, however,which may be ascribed to many origins (or causes) and situations, theresponsibility for education some-times rests entirely on the teacher,who, whether disillusioned or mili-tant, has to replace the first link in thechain of the educational process. Onthe other hand, parents never, or veryrarely, replace the teacher. Somecountries have made an effort toimprove this situation with pro-

grammes to educate parents, whichinclude methods of inculcating anearly sense of democracy in the fam-ily. The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-firstCentury quite rightly recalls thehuman dimension of those who havethe task of transmitting values, andmore particularly the inescapableneed to upgrade the role of the teacher.

Confirmation of education’srole in development and, for this purpose, the fundamental mission of the teacher have determined the theme of the next session of the International Conference onEducation (1996): ‘Strengthening ofthe role of teachers in a changingworld.’

‘In this disturbed world inwhich higher values seem to be re-

11For a new philosophy of education

‘UBUSHINGANTAHE’: IN BURUNDI

Despite the tragic events that have takenplace in the country, the educational author-ities have for years been introducing valuestaken from a deep-seated culture—to whichoutside contributions are added where relevant—into their education system. TheFaculty of Letters and Human Sciences hasstarted research into the concept ofUbushingantahe, which means ‘a personable to settle differences impartially’. Theprinciple therefore incorporates the notionsof probity, impartiality and justice. If it is

properly understood and then assimilatedby the population as a whole (at all levels ofeducation, whether formal or informal), thisconcept should in the long run instil andstrengthen national understanding throughthe peaceful settlement of social and politi-cal conflicts. The aim of this research is tointroduce the values of Ubushingantahe ineducational programmes, in the first placethrough the families, in order to create an environment which is propitious to a culture of peace.

THE MOST VALUABLE ASSET: IN VIETNAM

At the top of the scale of values inVietnamese tradition, man is the mostvaluable of assets, the measure of all things.For a country with such a vivid experienceof conflict, as the delegate recalled in his

address, the three ancient aspirations whichunderlie all thinking—namely happiness,prosperity and longevity—can only be propitious to education for internationalunderstanding.

ceding in both individual and nationalpriorities, there is no doubt that it isonly education that may graduallyreplace the growing void in spiritualand moral values, and help us to facethe new threats and challenges of thepresent as well as of the near future’,according to Ivan Pilip, Chairman ofthe forty-fourth session.

Culture and thought,and culture of peace

Some of the national reports on thedevelopment of education presentedby Member States recall that lifestylesto some extent resemble identity cardsbearing the characteristics of the culture concerned and are derivedfrom people’s perception of them-selves and their surroundings, from

their attitude towards their originsand their future, and from their ability to anticipate. According to thedelegates at the forty-fourth sessionof the ICE, these notions may be expressed in different ways in different cultures, and are part of thethought system typical of each.

The replies to the IBE’s surveyof education policies in the area ofinternational understanding and thework of the five regional meetingspreceding the forty-fourth sessionoutline specific aspirations and ob-stacles which arise in different cultural areas. The Ministers ofEducation, gathering at the Con-ference, without overlooking the criti-cal aspect of current economic,political and social situations, consid-ered that one possibility would be totake greater advantage of individual


the inescapable need to upgrade the role of the teacher

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PHOTO: UNICEF/94–1018/Betty Press

it is always the thinkerswho have actually changed the world

cultural heritages. For instance, somecountries describe how their moralityimposes the obligation to seek aconsensus before resorting to openconflict or taking up arms, or theprinciple of calling truces and obser-ving them; these are ‘modes of life’that enshrine practices such as thenon-violent resolution of conflictsand the principle of ‘keeping one’sword’, attitudes which are presumedto be favourable in keeping the peace.Thus, centuries-old and even some-times thousand-year-old traditionsadvocate values and attitudes whichdo not appear to have been harmed,at least not irremediably, by the tur-bulence of modern times; such valuesinclude honesty, respect for oth-ers, pacifism, citizenship, sincerity, responsibility, sharing, solidarity,consensus and justice. And yet theresurgence of all kinds of violence andconflicts appears to indicate thatthese values, which exist in the collec-tive memory of peoples, have becomeincreasingly inoperative. One is eventempted to refer to them as passivevirtues, when one thinks of the fact,as one delegate pointed out, that sincethe last world war, which killed over50 million people between 1939 and1945, conflicts of all kinds have cau-sed almost 200 other wars.


KOMO AND DOMO: IN MALI

Komo and Domo are initiation societieswhich are responsible for teaching and protecting perennial values, such as courage,responsibility, respect, honour, open-mind-edness and the understanding of other cultures. The ordeal which every initiate hasto overcome solely by peaceful means, for instance, serves to perpetuate this ethic,

on the basis of which Mali, calling on its cultural heritage, can look upon the forth-coming twenty-first century ‘as an era whichwill be propitious to building bridges between the education system (ranging frombasic to higher education) and endogenousexperience with a view to promoting genuinedevelopment’.

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The threats and obstacles toworld peace do not arise only fromarmed conflicts. The tendency todepreciate the human person, partlydue to excessive individualism, produces mentalities leading tomodern forms of slavery, such as for-ced labour, forced prostitution,trafficking in human beings, childlabour or the recruitment of childrenin armed conflicts.3 This erosion ofvalues, aggravated by a loss of bench

marks, encourages states of mind andbehaviours that are opposed to anyefforts undertaken in the area of education for international under-standing. The participants at theforty-fourth session expressed thesame acute awareness of the urgentneed to teach the sort of values andattitudes that can give human rightstheir universal dimension.

The Conference emphasizedthe perennial nature of values and the



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BUILDING THE MIND: IN MEXICO

It is never too early to inculcate positivevalues which preserve a person’s humanqualities. These concepts are introduced inearly childhood, at the pre-school stage, assupport for the learning received within thefamily unit. In the course of game activity,infants learn autonomy, to perceive theirphysical and mental identity, and their relation with nature and the elements.

Children gain social awareness throughgroup activities, where they take their firststeps in learning to agree and to co-operatewith others. An early initiation to the principles of tolerance, understanding andrespect for others and shared activities willhelp to prepare fertile ground, on whichfuture students will be able to plant theseeds of peace.

THE EARTH SCIENCES, AN OVERALL PERSPECTIVE: IN INDIA

In secondary school, young people attendnatural science courses, where the sciencesare presented as a discipline which pro-gresses through an exchange of knowledgeand experiments between researchers in allcountries and which is a true part of inter-national co-operation and understanding.The courses show young schoolchildren thatall human beings belong to the same species;they are taught that all people, regardless of colour or race, have the same biologicalmake-up, at all levels, even molecular (genetic grouping, blood groups, etc.). Allhuman beings, who are subject to the same

biological and psychological developmentprocess, are therefore concerned in the sameway by the changes occurring in the world.This holistic approach is deep-rooted inIndian lifestyles, according to which individ-uals are never dissociated from either theirimmediate or their distant environment. Thecourses describe the earth, whose resourcesare not unlimited, as a whole incorporatingall forms of life, including human life.Science and thought come together, as theyoung people are taught that man cannotchange the laws of nature without affectinghis own ability to survive.

The right to education:

a human right

need for thought to recover its fullimportance. The solutions invokedincluded ethics, morality, civic duty,conscience, humanism and philoso-phy and, finally, resorting to thinkers:

We sometimes forget all those people whosecreative capacity became a turning-point fortheir countries: the writers, artists and philoso-phers. In retrospective, we see that it is alwaysthe thinkers who have actually changed theworld.

These words of Federico Mayor addfurther emphasis to the call to restore

the influence of thinkers, who canhelp forge a universal culture of peace.

This search for meaning, whichruns through the IBE’s survey, reposi-tions man, the measure of all things,at the heart of the educational dynamic, and with this return tohumanism, education for all emergesas a priority. Some countries decided awhile ago—and others are now takingthe necessary measures—to introducemore justice in their societies by providing free education, free schoolmaterials and textbooks, and contin-


VALUES, RATIONALITY AND EDUCATION: IN CAMEROON

The National Centre for Education inYaoundé refers to a study made on thetheme ‘Values, rationality and education inpresent-day society’. The aim of the study isto consider the relations in modernCameroonian society between traditionalvalues and the rational requirements impliedin theory by all societies’ desire for modern-ity. The study notes that the absence of ethical standards in the beliefs and immediate concerns of individuals leads toirrational behaviour, which gravely detracts

from the efforts to develop and build anation where citizens live in harmony. Hesuggests that the education system should be reconsidered in the light of a triple objective, training to live, training to partici-pate and training to act. This national goal,which requires substantial material andhuman resources, should provide the foundation of a reform of the education system. Only if this goal is achieved can aninternationally oriented education be addedas well.

A POSITIVE IMAGE OF THE SELF: IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Trinidad and Tobago, like most countries in the Caribbean, is a multi-ethnic society.The country favours the harmonious devel-opment of all its cultures and interculturalunderstanding. The guidelines of the coun-try’s education policy, which take their inspiration from the principles of the 1974Recommendation, advocating the holisticdevelopment of the individual and of societyas a whole, amount to a real philosophy of

education. The objective, for the period1993–2003, is to place the emphasis on theself-fulfilment of the individual at all levelsof his/her development—spiritual, intel-lectual, creative, emotional and social—byencouraging a person to learn attitudes andacquire abilities which will generate a posi-tive image of the self, confidence in one’sown creative abilities and, hence, the wish toshare them with others.

uous in-service training. Elsewhere,efforts are being made to introducepositive ancestral values, attitudes andpractices in the content of curriculaand textbooks, as a means of incul-cating knowledge beyond mere aca-demic facts, such as learning to be andlearning to participate.

Insofar as it remains attached topositive moral values, this outlookcould give rise to a universal ethic,which teachers could then use as alever in the area of education for inter-national understanding, transcendingwithout difficulty the specific charac-ter of national education systems.


to introduce positiveancestral values,attitudes and practices in the content of curricula and textbooks,as a means of inculcating knowledge beyond mere academic facts

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FOR A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION: IN NORWAY

The end of the century is witnessing a renewed belief in the power of educationfor the development of the individual andsociety. Fully endorsing the view ofUNESCO’s Director-General that ‘it isalways the thinkers who have actuallychanged the world’, Norway has opted fora new philosophy of education, wherebyeducation and knowledge are considered to

lie at the basis of all change, all innovationand all prosperity in society. The country is meeting the educational challenges of the twenty-first century by introducingsound education policies aimed at acquiring a store of knowledge and talent.The improvement of education has beco-me the focus of the country’s politicalagenda.

PHOTO: UNICEF/95–0377/David Barbour

The cultural dimension of education

Broadly speaking, the replies to theIBE’s survey call for a recognition of the specific nature of different cultures. In the field of education, universal concepts are not alwaysapplicable everywhere and in thesame way. The countries point outthat an effective strategy must be ableto learn from the lessons of the past,either distant or recent, and to takeinto consideration as many of theexisting socio-cultural parameters aspossible. Present-day societies, owingto the mobility of individuals andgroups, are increasingly characterizedby a great diversity of micro-cultures.Some studies show that enhancingthese cultures is a way of instillingcoherence into the education systemand of strengthening national bonds.The survey sheds a new light on cul-tural differences, in the sense thatthese are not seen as hermetic divi-sions preventing the peoples of theworld from communicating, but, onthe contrary, as expressing the wealthof diversity:

We have forgotten the cultural dimensionof personal and collective development.Instead of believing that wealth lay indiversity, we imagined that it was unifor-mity which, at least in economic terms,ought to prevail, forgetting that differ-ence is wealth—as long as it unites us(Federico Mayor, The UNESCO Courier,February 1996).

There is a noticeable tendency tostress the link which must be es-tablished between the universal andthe local dimension, and that betweenthe common good and the individual.

The reforms which have been under-taken in education systems since the 1974 Recommendation, and theoriginality of the approaches andinteractive methods employed toachieve their objectives, are the reflec-

17

PHOTO: UNICEF/Fran Antmann

A world that is many and one:the other’s viewpoint

the link [. . .]between the

common good and the individual

tions of a multi-faceted mirror: thecultures of a multiple world. Severalcountries have pointed out that theaims of education for internationalunderstanding must be realistic if they are to achieve its objectives ofdefining clear guidelines for teachersand encouraging the evaluation ofresults.

In countries which have beenundergoing upheavals in their politi-cal systems, the ‘accelerated’ changesin structures have not yet had time toimpregnate the cultural fabric indepth. This delay can produce a stateof uncertainty which is conducive toconflicts of different kinds. It is not easy to promote the cultures ofdifferent peoples within the samecountry while opposing the nation-alistic ideologies conveyed by xeno-phobic movements. This kind ofproblem again illustrates the fact thatinternalizing systems of values andknowledge on which to build a cul-ture of peace is a complex process,which must be based on practice andliving experience.

With regard to democracy, theministers of education attending theforty-fourth session all agreed on theneed to strengthen the gains alreadymade in this respect and to spread

democracy further through educationwherever it still meets with obstacles.Some delegates referred to the specificdifficulties encountered by their countries in the transition from totali-tarian regimes to a pluralist society. It was also pointed out that demo-cratic values can take on differentforms in practice. In its report, the International Commission onEducation for the Twenty-firstCentury, endorsing the views ofUNESCO’s World Commission onCulture and Development, raisedsome questions regarding a worldwhich is both many and one:

How can we learn to live together in the‘global village’ if we cannot manage to livetogether in the communities to which wenaturally belong—the nation, the region,the city, the village, the neighbourhood? Do we want to make a contribution topublic life and can we do so? The will to participate, it should be remembered,must come from each person’s sense of responsibility; but whereas democracy hasconquered new territory in lands formerlyin the grip of totalitarianism and despoticrule, it is showing signs of languishing in countries which have had democratic institutions for many decades, as if therewere a constant need for new beginningsand as if everything has to be renewed orreinvented (Delors et al.).


18

IMAGES AND RESEARCH: IN BELARUS

The Minsk Institute of Education forForeign Language has undertaken researchto identify the psychological and social obstacles to pupils acquiring an appropriateperception of the world and internationalunderstanding. Among the many psycho-logical obstacles, researchers have found atendency to evolve a simplified, ‘black-and-

white’ image of the world and to dividepeople and nations into ‘good’ and ‘bad’;and a tendency to idealize one’s own be-haviour and reject the positive elements inother people’s. The aim of the MinskInstitute’s research is to train future teachersto inculcate in pupils the spirit of peace andco-operation.

A world that is many and one: the other’s viewpoint

The right to education:

a human right

The media and the promotion of peace

At the round-table on ‘The media andinternational understanding: infor-ming ourselves in order to understand(ourselves) better’, attended by educa-tors and journalists, the participantsraised the issue of the role and re-sponsibility of the media in educationfor international understanding: ‘Arethe media a unifying mortar on thesocial level? Are they the most appro-priate means for inculcating values? If this is the case, what can be saidabout their social responsibility?’ Theeducators present called for moreethics in journalism. In this respect,training to inform oneself through themedia could be a means of broad-ening attitudes which may be narrow-ed by the influence of certain images

or terms. The importance of themedia nowadays in our daily lives andespecially their influence on themanagement of international affairsalso raises the question of their responsibility in promoting inter-national understanding. This was also one of the factors which the International Commission onEducation for the Twenty-firstCentury and the World Commissionon Culture and Development bothtook into account. In the discussion,the journalists described the pressuresto which they were sometimes sub-jected (such as restrictions on the freecirculation of information, censorshipor violence) and which constituteboth a denial of freedom of expres-sion and a denial of the right to beinformed.

In a world where the new tech-nologies manage to reconcile the real

19A world that is many and one: the other’s viewpoint

IMAGE OF THE SELF—IMAGE OF THE OTHER: IN AUSTRIA AND IN HUNGARY

The underlying idea of the bilateral projectfor a film with the significant title: ‘Image ofthe self—image of the other’, was to investi-gate the image which each country makes ofitself and of others, from the viewpoint ofchildren and young people. The images, opinions and prejudices portrayed in the filmwere identified by the young people and thendiscussed. The project was carried out in twophases. The youngsters selected items fromtheir own personal experience, collecting ormaking up documents, objects, drawings,stories, personal experiences, reports fromthe media, etc. These comments and docu-ments were then used as the raw materialsfor two films, in which the young Austriansand young Hungarians, acting both as performers and co-producers, each gave theirviews of the other country. The first phase

ended with a filmed discussion on the work produced in Vienna by the youngHungarians. In phase two, video correspon-dence was exchanged, and both groups wereable to criticize, analyse, correct or revisetheir partners’ viewpoint in the light of theirown self-image. The themes suggested by theyoung people ranged from the artistic andcultural (architecture, music and dancing), tolandscapes, business (e.g. second-handarticles, luxury goods), town traffic (road-way design, the way to school), housing,the world of work, etc. Different forms ofpresentation, such as the filming of authenticscenes and situations, interviews, games,video extracts and television programmes,were used to complete the second phase. Thefilm produced will then be used in teachingand teacher training.

and virtual, there must be affinitiesbetween the technical and the ethical.Stereotypes, we find, induce univocalperception and reductive interpreta-tions, which produce distortions inthe mental representation of values byindividuals or peoples. From one cul-ture to another, as one participantpointed out, opinions, insofar as theyreproduce clichés, may be condi-tioned or predisposed to developing aspirit of intolerance. For some minis-ters of education, the clearestexpression of the rejection of others isthe growth of xenophobia, exclusionand, more cruelly still, the massacreswhich have bereaved the end of this

century. Some delegates urged jour-nalists to stimulate communicationbetween individuals and amongpeoples, and pointed out that, inorder to achieve a balance, thesources of information had to bediversified and it had to be acceptedthat one could look with differenteyes at any phenomenon or event,situation or story, and at other cul-tures coming from elsewhere.

Aggressive characters in literature,films and games

Information and communication arenot the only sectors concerned byethics. In connection with the promo-tion of peace, ministers drewattention to the fact that fiction films,cartoons, comic strips and works of literature sometimes containedaggressive characters, who bran-dished weapons of a new age, capableof exterminating the whole of hu-manity at the push of a button.Warlike toys and games are equally toblame in this respect. Armed, some-times to the teeth, with realisticreproductions of weapons of war, orpromoted pilot for a day of an inter-galactic spaceship which is capable ofannihilating planets by the dozen,children sitting before a video screen,whose sense of perception is in fulldevelopment, may be surreptitiouslyinitiated to hatred and a wish to destroy others. They are the most vulnerable targets, since more oftenthan not they reproduce first whatthey see and what they hear. There isthus a danger, as one minister re-called, that the younger generations

A world that is many and one: the other’s viewpoint

Armed, sometimes to the teeth,with realistic reproductions of weapons of war

20

PHOTO: UNICEF/94–0976/Jim Craig

History,perceived as the mirror and

guardian of memory, embodies

cultural referents

may be prepared to accept the fatalityof violence as the one and only way of resolving conflicts.

Faced with this problem, somecountries have begun to react. Somedelegates reported that an educa-tion-for-peace day had been held intheir countries in recent years, atwhich there was a symbolic destruc-tion of warlike toys. In othercountries, it is forbidden to displaysuch toys in shop windows. Quiterecently, new electronic chips havebeen developed which can detectscenes of violence in television pro-grammes. According to one delegate,this new product, which is currentlybeing experimented in Canada, canreduce the consumption of suchscenes by young children. The respon-sibility of adults who either purchasedsuch toys or allowed children towatch television without any controlwas again called into question. In theDeclaration they adopted at the forty-fourth session, the ministers ofeducation undertook to give priorityto children who were exposed to thesereal or fictional war scenes: ‘We aredetermined to increase our efforts togive a major priority to children andyoung people who are particularlyvulnerable to incitements to intole-rance, racism and xenophobia.’

Some countries have alreadytaken action and make use of films,books and art to circulate materialwhich can combat prejudice. Othershave launched research programmeswith a view to identifying psycho-logical and social obstacles exerting a negative influence on the perceptionof the world and hampering theconstruction of a global society. Inseveral regions it is reported that new technologies (such as television

or more recently the Internet net-work) are being used for the exchangeand transfer of knowledge.

The other’s viewpoint in history textbooks

The effect of history books and textbooks on mentalities is even moresubtle and pernicious. History, per-ceived as the mirror and guardian ofmemory, embodies cultural ref-erents. Its content is therefore, bydefinition, likely to induce an opinion


PHOTO: UNICEF/5761/Lauren Goodsmith

on differences, which can be eitherobjective and peaceful or subjectiveand aggressive. It may be worth recal-ling that the first World Conferenceon the Teaching of History was heldin The Hague in 1932, with the aim of‘encouraging discussion on the idea ofcloser contact and better understan-ding among peoples’.

Some history textbooks all toooften convey a negative image of ‘theforeigner’, predisposing students toperceive him/her as a ‘natural enemy’.The 1974 Recommendation, whichthe ministers of education once againendorse, clearly stipulates the need torevise school textbooks:

Member States should encourage widerexchanges of textbooks, especially history andgeography textbooks, and should, whereappropriate, take measures, by concluding ifpossible bilateral and multilateral agreements,for the reciprocal study and revision of text-books and other educational materials inorder to ensure that they are accurate, balan-ced, up to date and unprejudiced and willenhance mutual knowledge and understandingbetween different peoples.4

Research has been started, in con-junction with higher education establishments and specialized non-governmental organizations, toidentify the referents, images, termsand illustrations in history textbookswhich are conducive to the devel-opment of prejudice and suggest anegative representation of particularindividuals or groups. History pro-grammes are being restructured,placing more emphasis on comple-mentarity. Courses about the historyof humankind are started much earlier on in the curricula, simulta-neously with national histories.

‘We should disarm history’,Federico Mayor urges, and he adds:‘There are too many battles in history,too much power, generals and sol-diers. We must therefore provide ourchildren and peoples with a differentvision of history.’ For countries whichhave begun to revise history text-books, the aim is to bring up to datethe contribution of all peoples to thedevelopment of humankind and their

A world that is many and one: the other’s viewpoint22

HISTORY SEEN FROM THE SOUTH: UGANDA’S POINT OF VIEW

Real goals, such as the promotion of tolerance, consensus-building, or respect forhuman rights as a prelude to democracy,have in practice been almost totally ne-glected in most countries of the South. Thechallenges which these peoples should havemet have at times been granted a subsidiaryranking in decision-making and the allo-cation of resources. Owing to limited attitudes, these countries have been seenoverwhelmingly through the rhetoric of theirideological dependence on the major geo-political areas, combined with an image of

poverty, to the detriment of a proper appreciation of the cultural wealth ofpeoples living in that part of the world. Asfar as international understanding is con-cerned, ‘the only concern of those countrieswas supposed to be fighting other people’swars’. While expressing this opinion of theviews long held of the South and, implicitly,of the way the South might have seen itself,the delegate of Uganda expressed the wishthat such attitudes might be changed by thenew education for international under-standing and peace.

‘We should disarm history [. . .] there

are too many battles in history,too much power,

generals and soldiers’

participation in that development,and to identify the cultural inter-actions which have resulted and resultfrom exchanges between them. If thisuniversal history can ever be final-ized, it will enable a turning point

between two eras to be marked: theera of dominations and that of cre-ative interdependence, and it will giveexpression to the truth that: ‘It is inthe minds of men that the defences ofpeace must be constructed.’


DIVERSITY IN UNITY: IN AUSTRIA

An effort is currently being made to write and publish texts studying the historicaland cultural parallels and differences in the development of Czechoslovakia (now theCzech Republic and Slovakia), Austria andHungary. Teachers and teacher trainers areto be supplied with teaching material, in apractical and accessible form, containingnew information concerning the historicchanges which occurred in that part ofEurope. Through co-ordinated extracts, thesimilarities, differences and diversity ofdevelopment of the three nations are showncomparatively, thus filling in the gaps in thecultural exchanges between these countries:• the development of myths, legends or

origins, genealogy, national cults;

• treatment of minorities, anti-Semitism;• ecology, nature, territory, landscape;• secularization, religion, popular beliefs;• pathos, passion, heroism, war (armed

forces), death;• forms of socialization, education sys-

tems, methods of upbringing;• crime, prison systems;• literary and artistic culture and its

significance: music, theatre, literature,fine arts;

• sport, popular culture, the process of transnational communication;

• cleanliness, health, civilization, thedomestication of violence;

• political culture: political systems, par-ties, groups, clubs; business and politics.

PHOTO: UNICEF/DOI93–1149/Senad Gubelic

The nature of education versus the challenge of globalization

Reminding the participants of theforty-fourth session of the ICE ofUNESCO’s mission, Federico Mayoremphasized the urgent need for ‘theintellectual and moral solidarity ofmankind’ and access to education forall, everywhere in the world. Thedemocratization of education shouldnot be restricted merely to universalaccess to learning, but should also bereflected in the content of education,which should transmit universalvalues at all stages of the learning process. He also drew attention toeconomic and social development as aprecondition for the construction of areal culture of peace, and recalled theterms of article one of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowedwith reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

The Conference described the featuresof the new political, economic, socialand cultural situation which it con-sidered to constitute a general ob-

stacle for peace. There are clear signsthat violence is slowly but surely eroding the fragile gains achieved interms of understanding betweenpeoples; the major ills of our time arerooted in segregation (ethnic, cul-tural, religious, linguistic, social,sexist, etc.) and economic inequali-ties. The current trend towards a‘global economy’ is not new; it is thethird stage of a process that beganwith the internationalization of eco-nomies following the expansion ofexports, and continued with theirtransnationalization and the increasein foreign production and investmentsites . The round-table discussions on‘Economic globalization and educa-tional policies’ showed that the verynature of education was challenged,to the extent that it was often pres-ented in economic terms, while thehuman and cultural dimensions of theeducational process became obscured.Education International (EI), a non-governmental organization, did notlose sight of the essential nature ofeducation:

Investment in education—not just narrow,production-oriented training, but educationin its broader sense, education which is thesubject of this Conference, the education ofthe founder of this Conference, JeanPiaget—is an investment not only in the

Development and a culture of peace

24

EQUAL CHANCES: FRANCE’S VIEW

A nation is not only a group of citizens holding individual rights. It also constitutesa shared destiny, an ideal which is foundedin the first place in the school, the ideal placefor education and integration, where youngpeople learn to live together and respecteach other. Our difference, provided that it

respects the other’s difference, offers anopportunity for real universality based onmutual recognition and respect for people.This sort of difference is quite the oppositeto exclusion, and far from producinginequality, it will encourage us to fight forequal chances for all children.

the noticeable effects of the

economic situation of parents on the

quality of family life and on the

education of the child

economic development of each society, worthy as that objective might be, but in itsvery survival.

Another issue which was much de-

bated at the session was the

noticeable effects of the economic

situation of parents on the quality of

family life and on the education of the

child. More and more children nowa-

25Development and a culture of peace

PH

OTO

:UN

ICE

F/C

arol

ine

Pen

n

days live in family units which are

deeply upset and where different

forms of violence often prevail;

whether the violence be moral, af-

fective or physical, personal or col-

lective, the inescapable fact is the

violence itself. Injuries, such as hu-

miliation, a feeling of abandonment,

or the loss of corporal integrity

through physical ill-treatment, con-

stitute serious attacks on the rights of

the person. Violence tends to be aggra-

vated in periods of upheaval and its

areas of choice may be said to lie in a

succession of concentric circles, star-

ting with the family and extending

outwards to the school, the neigh-

bourhood, the town, the country and

the world itself. Being both individual

and collective, it is awesomely uni-

versal in its effects. Economic and

social inequalities, especially at a time

when peoples are stressing their cul-

tural individuality, favour violence

and are likely to engender rising

tension both within societies and

between them. The World Summit on

Development, organized by the United

Nations in Copenhagen in 1994,

referred specifically to this link bet-

ween education, progress, peace and

the maintenance of peace. Educating

Development and a culture of peace26

EQUAL CHANCES: THE AFRICAN VIEW

Several African delegates expressed the sameconcerns regarding education in their coun-tries. They said that the implementation ofeducation for peace, human rights anddemocracy faced many constraints. Themost striking of these was undoubtedlypoverty, which was spreading and in someplaces worsening, and for which the Africancountries had no ready solution. The structural adjustment programme, which for

years had been cutting back on publicexpenditure budgets, had obviously beenaffecting the education sector. Factors, suchas unfavourable terms of trade, the debt burden and the devaluation of their cur-rency, had made the limitation and reduc-tion of their countries’ basic resources empirical, with significant repercussions onthe rate of school attendance and the educa-tion system as a whole.

children when they are still young to

resolve conflicts without violence is

one objective which several ministers

of education are determined to intro-

duce in educational programmes.

The right to education,a human right

Among those excluded from educa-tion, considering that professionalrequirements increasingly includeboth general culture and specializedskills, a person suffering from ill-iteracy, or even functional illiteracy,will inevitably be more exposed tothe effects of recession in the job market. Joblessness and its corollary,the lack of income, sooner or laterinitiate the chain of social exclusion;first the loss of independence and lossof dignity, and later non-participa-

27Development and a culture of peace

EQUAL CHANCES: ISRAEL’S POINT OF VIEW

Since computers and technical equipmenthave become part of the classroom andschool laboratory, the cost of education has continued to rise. The gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, between the rich, industrialized world and the developing countries is likely to increaseand to aggravate the vicious circle of pov-erty-ignorance-poverty. For this reason, oneof the most obvious ideas which shouldcome to mind is that the developing coun-tries, which place education as a top

priority above all others and are increasingtheir educational budgets by delving intoother resources—especially their armamentbudgets—need support and deserve everykind of backing by the industrialized world.Undoubtedly, education is a great equalizer,according to the Israeli delegate, not onlybetween nations but in the first place withinsocieties, since at the same time as teacherschange the mentality of their students, they also change that of the society in whichthey live.

EQUAL CHANCES: FINLAND’S POINT OF VIEW

Very often, especially in the industrializedcountries, the emphasis has been placed onthe acquisition of knowledge as a factor of production. On the other hand, less at-tention has been given to the fact that theinformation society has made substantialchanges in the prevailing division of power.Knowledge is the most democratic and eventhe most variable source of power for allcitizens. And yet the gap between the poorlyeducated and the well educated is much

wider than that between the rich and thepoor. This is why the power struggle hence-forth is likely to centre increasingly on thedistribution of knowledge and who hasaccess to that knowledge. Soon the acqui-sition of knowledge in all structures of society will have to be looked upon as the central, long-term objective in the fightagainst poverty in the world; it might be saidthat ‘education provides the weapons todefend the future’.

tion in communal progress. How canindividuals who have been excludedfrom society, and relieved of theirrights, responsibilities and dignity,have a conscience and a commitmentto a principle of which they are aliving denial? How can they be persuaded to act as a fully fledgedcitizen, for instance, by taking part indemocratic elections, when in factthey have become a fully excludedcitizen and the living expression of acontradiction in that democracy?Being left out of the res publica orcommonweal, by what wave of amagic wand can they be persuadedvirtuously to accept differences whenit is on account of their own differ-ence that they are in danger of beingcrushed by the economic juggernaut?

Some parts of the IBE surveydwell on the eradication of illiteracy,as so fervently promoted in 1990 atthe Jomtien Conference on Educationfor All. The Declaration issued bythat Conference, which was referred

to by some of the ministers of educa-tion at the forty-fourth session of theICE, is still a development priority inmany countries. Clearly educating forpeace, human rights, democracy andfundamental freedoms presupposes apolitical will, backed up by the com-mitment and responsibility of allplayers in society, and remains strong-ly dependent on the degree of accessto basic education and on its quality,as well as on the human and materialresources allocated to the task, interms of continuous teacher training,the publication and distribution ofteaching material, the creation ofareas suitable for education for peace,and the dissemination and promotionof human rights in their entirety.

The ministers of education hadno doubts regarding the importanceof access to knowledge and reaf-firmed that education for all, the rightto development, freedom of expres-sion, movement and information—allthese human rights precede and

Development and a culture of peace28

EDUCATION FOR ALL: THAILAND’S POINT OF VIEW

Thailand, which hosted the WorldConference on Education for All in Jomtienin 1990, reiterated its profound convictionthat education was the key to development.Its commitment is reflected in its policy ofimplementing basic education for all.

Referring more specifically to article 10 ofthe Jomtien Declaration, the Thai dele-gate said that unifying all basic educationrequirements had become a human, com-mon and universal responsibility.

Obstacles and hindrances to peace

James Grant, Director-General ofUNICEF, reminded participants at the forty-fourth session of theInternational Conference on Educa-tion, with the same conviction thathe had expressed throughout hiscareer in the service of the childrenof the world, that still today about a fifth of the world’s population—over a billion people—are illiterate;of whom two-thirds are women.About 130 million school-age chil-dren are not in school, of whomagain two-thirds are girls. In thelight of those facts, literacy for alland schooling for the greatest number of children possible shouldbe the first priority when it comes to

education for mutual understandingand tolerance.

The obstacles to education forpeace, human rights and democracyare also rooted in epistemology, the handling of concepts such as ‘international understanding’,‘international co-operation’, or‘international peace’. Ninety percent of the replies to the IBE surveystress the need to nurture the seeds of peace first of all internally,that is, at the local level. The difficulty of putting the theory ofeducation for international under-standing into practice is franklyrecognized and expressed. While the concept of peace is no longerinterpreted as a mere absence ofconflict or war, the remaining dif-ficulty is being able to implement in

29

From rhetoric to practice for an applied peace

THE YEAR 2000, A FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING: IN CANADA

The reform of the education system inBritish Columbia has introduced substantialchanges in the Ministry of Education’s poli-cies and goals. A new philosophy is con-tained in the plan: ‘The year 2000, a frame-work for learning’. Initially, a secondaryschool survey in 1990 showed that 92 percent of students considered that the schoolshould provide instruction in social respon-sibilities, tolerance and respect for others;half of them thought that the school wasable to teach such subjects; 70 per centexpressed the view that school programmesshould include subjects such as the environ-ment, particularly with regard to deforest-ation, industrial waste treatment and globalwarming. In the light of the results of thisimportant survey of learners, the ministryintroduced substantial changes in its

programmes. One of the most significant ofthese was to initiate a human rights policysupported by the development of new teaching material. The latest program-mes emphasize the promotion of multi-culturalism and antiracism, fairness accor-ding to the principle of gender equality, andthe right to education of indigenous peoples.Other objectives in the area of socialsciences, more concerned with universitystudies, have also been added. Act 12, theCurriculum, deals with the Canadian charterof rights and liberties and other humanrights instruments. The Ministry and theCouncil for Human Rights of BritishColumbia have established units of values in the social sciences and courses of law linking theory and practical exercises basedon case studies.

practice what is more akin to an inspiration, an ideal, or the fine rhetoric which has been heard for so long: ‘How can internationalpeace be achieved through educa-tion, at all levels?’ The first solutionto this problem lies in teacher training and the production of tea-ching materials. Other areas inaddition to schools, however, shouldbe opened up to education for peace,through the early learning of humanrights and democratic values.

Continuous teacher training

According to the International

Commission on Education for the

Twenty-first Century, all the great

classical thinkers who have consid-

ered the problem of education have

said it again and again: It is up to the


It is up to the teacher to pass on to the pupilwhat mankind has learned about itself and about nature,and everything of importance it has created or invented

30

PHOTO: UNICEF/93-1704/Roger Lemoyne

teacher to pass on to the pupil what

mankind has learned about itself and

about nature, and everything of

importance it has created or inven-

ted. Moving away from the world of

philosophy, replies to the IBE survey

point out that the public authorities

are aware of the fact that such educa-

tion is strongly dependent on the

quality and abilities of those respon-

sible for inculcating values. The

subject matter is there, but how

should it be transmitted, and how

should it be taught so that the know-

31From rhetoric to practice for an applied peace

TEACHER TRAINING: IN SWITZERLAND

The need to promote education for human rights and peace by new pedagogicmeans has been a concern of the World Association for the School as anInstrument of Peace (EIP) since its foun-dation in 1967. One great innovation, in1978, was to produce a simplified versionof the full text of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, which was carried outby a mixed team from the University ofGeneva, including educators, psycho-logists, linguists and lawyers. Making theDeclaration accessible to all, however, wasnot sufficient to anchor its principles firmly. As teacher training was one of itspriorities, in 1983 the EIP set up theInternational Training Centre for theTeaching of Human Rights and Peace(CIFEDHOP) in ‘Genève internationale’(so called because in 1920 it hosted the headquarters of the United Nations’predecessor, the League of Nations, andhas hosted many other organizations sincethen).

Every year since its foundation,CIFEDHOP, with the support of the Swissauthorities, the United Nations Centre forHuman Rights, UNESCO and the Councilof Europe, and in conjunction with tradeunions and NGOs, has organized an inter-

national meeting on teacher training.Participants come from all over the world.They normally teach in primary, secondaryand vocational schools and include spe-cialized educators, cultural organizers,social workers and university staff. Thesessions touch on all sectors of formal edu-cation, and take two forms: round-tableson specific themes, which provide anopportunity to exchange information onthe contents and methods applied in dif-ferent countries and provide material fordiscussions on trends in education andmajor social issues; and teaching work-shops (in three language sections, English,French and Spanish), which introduce participants to the terminology of inter-national legal instruments, and developand implement active teaching methods,each in relation to a particular socio-cultural environment. The Centre’s teaching team, which is made up of instructors and researchers specializing ineducation for human rights and peace, ismulticultural, which facilitates the exchan-ge of knowledge between its members.After the sessions, educators are often stimulated by the positive results obtainedduring the activities to set up networks forthe exchange of experience.

ledge is truly acquired? Training

centres specialized in education for

human rights have developed specific

teaching methods, and educators are

experimenting with other methods.

When they come back to their classes,

their lecture rooms, their laboratories

and their workshops, they will be

ready to apply what often seemed

to them—before they receive this

training—as pure fantasy. More

attention is being given to training

teachers in education for human

rights, so that, with the help of

appropriate teaching methods, lear-

ners can develop a thirst for learning

and a taste for acquiring knowledge.

Initial democracy in schools

Institutional measures have beentaken. More and more, the ministersare leaving to the local authorities(municipalities) and their educa-tional establishments the responsi-bility of defining and planning theways and means of implementingnational objectives. Teachers arebeing given increased freedom ofaction in the exercise of their duties.One effect of the greater autonomy isto make the school system moredemocratic. Under the new system,the sense of trust and the sharing of

From rhetoric to practice for an applied peace32

REGIONAL TRAINING SESSIONS: IN GUINEA, TOGO AND NIGER

The ministries of education of Guinea,Togo and Niger have asked CIFEDHOP(see page 31) to organize a training sessionin their countries. It may be rememberedthat the Recommendations of theInternational Congress on Human Rights Teaching, Information andDocumentation, organized by UNESCO inMalta in 1987, emphasized that MemberStates had a duty to educate their citizensin human rights and to teach the latter atall academic levels, on an equal footingwith other disciplines. The same intentionis expressed in the African Charter ofHuman and Peoples’ Rights5 which OAU

member States adopted in 1981. Awarethat recognizing an individual’s rights andresponsibilities is not enough, the educa-tion authorities of the three countries had anumber of teachers trained so that thesecould pass on training in human rights andpeace. Apart from learning the terms andconcepts contained in the main inter-national treaties on human rights, theregional meetings adopted a comparativeapproach to studying the universal systemand the regional systems. So far, almost700 teachers have received training combi-ning pedagogy and international law.

Election of a school council

responsibilities (while ensuring thatcollective responsibility does notdetract from personal responsibility)are transforming formal educa-tion into a laboratory for peace.‘Democratizing the school’ and ‘theclassroom’ are terms which recuragain and again in the IBE survey.

Allowing the students themselves toestablish local rules places themdirectly before their responsibilitiesand gives them a feeling of beingreally involved in the problems oftheir class (and their school), insofaras they take an active part in the pro-ceedings. It has been found that


DISCOVERING THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: IN BELGIUM

In its reply to the IBE, Belgium reports onthe experiment of the teaching team of theBelgian section of the World Association forthe School as an Instrument of Peace: theproduction of a strip cartoon and a teaching file, Discovering the Convention on

the Rights of the Child.6 This file, which ismade up of five parts so as to allow teachersto take children through the various stepsunhurriedly, can be used with pre-schoolchildren and in primary and secondaryschools.

PHOTO: UNICEF/90–0022/Ellen Tolmie

students tend to comply with andrespect rules which they have them-selves planned, discussed andformulated. Such experiments createself-discipline, self-management anda respect for the common good. Theshadow of the repressive teacherrecedes as a result, opening the wayto more independence for the stu-dents, stimulating them in their quest for cognitive, affective andbehavioural knowledge.

Some countries report that theresults achieved so far are quiteconclusive: learning in all disciplinestakes place in a climate based on theexercise of responsibilities and res-pect for the rights of all. As theseschool rules depend mainly onconsensus, they can be readjustedand provide the students with goodtraining in democracy. The exerciseis extended in practice to the elec-tion of governing bodies among thestudents. This initial form of demo-cracy, with elections, the preparationof rules for the classroom or theschool (subject to compatibility withthe outside world), discussions aboutproblems that arise, mediation in thecase of open conflicts and anticipa-tion of possible future conflicts—allthese features of incipient democracyprepare students through practice forthe exercise of a more complex formof democracy awaiting them when

they leave the school system. Someteachers say that they feel more available mentally to teach whenthey are partly relieved of the burdenof having to impose discipline, andthey say it helps them to establishbetter communication with their students.

Educating to be informed and to inform

For the young and for the old, for

children as well as for adults, at

school or at work, information

plays an important role. With the

enormous quantity of information

made available by the new technolo-

gies, knowing how to discriminate,

analyse and evaluate beyond the

passing circumstance can no longer

be taken for granted. Educating

people to be informed and to make

up their own opinions in order to


STUDENT GOVERNMENTS: IN COSTA RICA

Each year, the schools in Costa Rica elect agovernment of students. The procedure issimilar to that of national elections, withthe appointment of an electoral tribunal,debates, secret ballots, etc. The aim is to

teach children how one of the tools ofdemocracy works: expressing the voice ofthe majority and ensuring a fair represen-tation of all opinions.

PHOTO : UNICEF/92-0092/Giacomo Pirozzi;4776/Sean Sprague; Edgar Koh; 95-0135/Franck Charton


achieve a state of well-thinking and

well-being should be started as soon

as possible. Experiments in founding

and managing newspapers, a real

school press, along similar lines to

the rules referred to above, or pro-

ducing documentary films for which

the students themselves imagine and

write the scripts, shoot the pictures

and edit the film, are all ways of edu-

cating young people for democracy.

They learn to decode information

received in bulk and then to express it

for the benefit of others in terms

which are in conformity with the

humanistic principles of human

rights. For the teachers, such ac-

tivities can shed light on the inter-

dependence of different events and

sometimes critical situations, and

provide a means of apprehending a

world which must be seen no

longer as fragmented but as a whole

with countless components. The

Integrated Framework of Action, in

its section on ‘Co-ordination between

the education sector and other agents

of socialization’, highlights the

importance of training teachers to

prepare students for the critical

analysis and use of the media, and to

develop their ability to profit from

the media by a selective choice of

programmes, ‘avoiding programmes

and other products that incite hatred,

violence, cruelty and disrespect for


THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD CLUB: IN SENEGAL

The Ndatte Yalla de Saint-Louis School hasopened a ‘rights of the child’ club with theobjectives of making human rights knownand applying them in daily life. Games suchas the children’s circle and the baobabconvey lessons about rights and responsibi-

lities, stigmatize violations, condemn racismand encourage the defence of human rightsand fundamental freedoms. These activitiesare backed up by correspondence betweenschools, and other facilities, such as a solidarity fund and a school library.

human dignity’.7

Teaching materials,tools for peace

While no one nowadays would rejector oppose the values of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and thenormative instruments relating tohuman rights in the exercise of civilpeace and peace between States, itmust be admitted that these texts,prepared and drafted in legal lan-guage, can have a dissuasive effect ontraining for international under-standing. One of the first snagsencountered by the teacher or trainerarises from the difficulty inherent ininterpreting, understanding the scopeand measuring the limits of inter-

national instruments, includingagreements, conventions or recom-mendations, which make use of very specific terminology. Furtherobstacles arise from differing codesof cultural interpretation. Severalministers and observers, as well asrepresentatives of NGOs attendingthe ICE, drew attention to recentlypublished collections of basic texts,which explained what they were in simple language, how they hadbeen drafted, whether they were binding or not, their scope and their limitations.8

Researchers in the educationalsciences, through a network of specialized NGOs, have preparedhandbooks on methodologies toguide teachers in their work as educa-tors for peace. Ministers are


A JOINT LANGUAGE SCHOOL: IN FINLAND AND IN SWEDEN

This project was launched in 1987 to pro-mote genuine bilingualism (in Finnish andSwedish), the strengthening of ties offriendship and co-operation, mutual respect for each other’s cultural achieve-ments and a common responsibility onenvironmental matters. The target groupsare children of compulsory school age. The

children are taught the language of theneighbouring country by working in pairs,with one native speaker in each language.According to teachers, this type of ex-change opens the way to genuine bilingual-ism and a new cultural tolerance, so thatthe border between the two countries isturned into a resource.

SINHALA, TAMIL AND ENGLISH: IN SRI LANKA

A trilingual language-teaching programmeis designed to teach Tamil to Sinhala pupilsand Sinhala to Tamil pupils. Sinhala andTamil are official languages of Sri Lanka.English is also taught as an optional subjectin years four and five and as a compulsory

subject in years six to ten. Depending ontheir choices, pupils are tested either inSinhala or Tamil at the ‘ordinary-level’ ex-amination (at the end of year eleven),which qualifies students to proceed tohigher education.

considering releasing substantialfunds to ensure that this new form oftraining is available to as many students as possible. In the area of legal science in particular, theconventions, agreements, recom-mendations and declarations of theUnited Nations and its specializedagencies are studied in some lawfaculties. Further training facilitiesare provided by reference centres,databanks and the publication of specialized didactic material.

Areas for education for peace

According to the results of the IBEsurvey, in some countries educationin human rights, peace, democracyand fundamental freedoms is (or was until recently) mainly left to the discretion of teachers, throughprogrammes of civic or religious education, sport, organized travel,extra-curricular activities and schoolcorrespondence. There is no doubtthat overloaded programmes havethe effect of blunting teachers’ keenness and enthusiasm. Many curricula need to be completely revised in order to achieve a morebalanced distribution of subjects,allowing for the introduction of teaching modules such as ‘dem-ocracy’ and ‘fundamental freedoms’.Increasing attention is being given tothe possibility of introducing educa-tion for international understandingin national programmes as a fully-fledged discipline, as is the case forphilosophy, history, economics andgeography, or foreign languages.Teacher-training colleges, vocationaltraining institutes and faculties of

educational or human sciences arecurrently including the study ofhuman rights as a separate disciplinein their study programmes. Therecent foundation of UNESCOChairs offers the possibility in thisrespect of opening up areas speciali-zing in research, without which thenew science of peace is bound toremain at an intuitive level.

The replies to the IBE surveyshow a marked tendency towards areconciliation of formal and non-formal education. Several countriesstate that formal education coursesare not enough to train young peopleon understanding between peoples.They add that there is an urgent needto ensure that education for peace isextended to all areas of social organi-zation pertaining to the community.

Trade unions and political parties, in particular, are expected tointroduce extracts of texts concer-ning fundamental freedoms in thepolitical and corporative training oftheir militants. A form of training forthe non-violent settlement ofconflicts is also desirable for policeforces, who are responsible for en-suring the safety of citizens, and whoare still referred to in some countriesas ‘guardians of peace’.

In countries where religionoccupies a dominant position in cul-ture, comparative theological andanthropological studies and inter-disciplinary research are being under-taken in order to list some principleswhich are shared by the different systems of belief in the world, with aview to ending the era of so-called‘religious’ wars, which have left theirmarks throughout human history.Examples given in the nationalreports also point towards a simi-



38

larity of purpose, which seeks,through programmes of ethical orreligious education, to promote arediscovered understanding betweenpeople. Some courses of religious instruction intend to approach edu-cation in human rights by adding totheir ancient teaching (based onconcepts such as ‘inner peace’) thelanguage of the universal instrumentsof the United Nations. Courses aregiven at which religious precepts arejuxtaposed with articles of theDeclaration of Human Rights, theConvention on the Rights of theChild and other normative texts:tolerance/accepting the beliefs ofothers; respect for human life/notkilling or not harming the phys-

ical and moral integrity of others;sharing and equity/charity; sincer-ity/recognizing one’s wrongs; under-standing/pardon.

But before going to school, joining a trade union, going aboutthe streets or one’s work, most of usbegin life in the home and in thefamily. This is a domain which educational thinkers know is unavoi-dable. The role of the familystructure and—it should be repea-ted—parents’ responsibility is neverfar removed from the decision-maker’s concerns. In some countries,special attention is given to parentaleducation, especially for women,owing to the very important partthey play in the education of their


SCHOOL FOR LIFE: IN BOLIVIA

The name ‘School for life’ (Escuela para lavida, in Spanish), rich in symbols, has beengiven to an intercultural education program-me based on bilingualism. The objectives ofthe programme are to strengthen the cul-tural identity of the country through the preservation of indigenous languages, and toencourage greater participation by ethnicgroups in national life and development.This pilot project is designed for pupils inpre-primary and primary education. Based

on the government’s plan of action forextending basic educational opportunities toall, the programme’s overall objective is togenerate a system of participative educationin the service of the community. The pro-gramme has had considerable success amongthe Guaraní, thanks to the active involve-ment of the Asamblea del Pueblo Guaraní(APG), which in all phases of the project hashelped by maintaining vital links betweenthe Guaraní communities and the State.

RAINBOWS OVER THE YUKON: IN CANADA

In the Yukon province, sixteen studentswrote a play together which they called‘Rainbows’. This experiment in multiplewriting, in which each student writes a part,expresses the diverse aspects of a multi-cultural society. In order to avoid intro-

ducing ‘racial’ stereotypes, the studentsused the colours of the rainbow on stage.They are now travelling around to presenttheir play in the schools of the Yukonregion.

children and in the development offamily structures. The recent UnitedNations Inter-national Conferenceon Women, which was held in Pekingin 1995, was well aware thatwomen’s lack of access to basic edu-cation is one aspect of the manydiscriminations of which they are alltoo often still the victims. It is wellknown that people who are ignorantare inevitably unaware of their mostbasic rights and hence are unable tohave them respected. For women,this denial of the right to education leads to chain reactions: exclusionfrom paid employment and lack ofincome when they try to shoulderalone the burden of meeting the vital requirements of their families;exclusion from decision-making inpublic affairs; and even sometimesdifficult contacts with their own children when they do manage despite all obstacles to send them toschool. The Peking Conferencenamed women’s education as thepriority of priorities.

Languages to learn to dialogue

In some regions where the humanlandscape is made up of a multitudeof microcultures, an effort is beingmade to enhance cultural media, forinstance, by making use of mother-tongues to acquire basic knowledge.According to preliminary assessmentsof these experiments, education hasgained greater coherence and nation-al harmony has been strengthenedthanks to respect for other identitiesand linguistic differences.

The accidents of history havesometimes divided peoples speaking a


PHOTO: UNICEF/5391/John Isaac

A school for life

common language, leaving them oneither side of frontiers separating different countries. The desire forcloser cultural ties may then providea stronger motivation than a mereconcern for national cohesion; countries may subsequently open uptransfrontier language schools andeven common language schools, in aneffort to strengthen ties with theirneighbours.

There are many programmeswhich give prominence to languagesother than the mother-tongue. Lessand less they are described as foreignlanguages, but rather as ‘second’ or‘third’ languages. The methods bywhich they are taught have also been

making progress. It is no longerconsidered enough merely to teachgrammar and vocabulary. The scienceof linguistics is called upon to pro-vide access to other cultural referents.The more subtle aspects of differentcultures are studied (for instance,through literature and the history ofcivilization) in order to go beyond the superficial. Overcoming languagebarriers helps to mitigate the ‘cul-tural monologue’ and ‘talking toone’s self’ and leads to ‘talking toothers’. This dialogue with otherpeoples can also be started by teaching second languages in primaryschool, a form of study which is thenfollowed up throughout the student’s


KUKATONON THEATRE OF PEACE: IN LIBERIA

In 1992, the children of Monrovia who are members of the ‘Kukatonon Theatre ofPeace’ presented their first songs anddances. Through the theatre, workshops fortraining in the techniques of peacefulconflict resolution are being developed. Theworkshops use role-play, in which the children in turn either defend or fail to

respect certain human rights, and presentactive listening and reconciliation exercisesto encourage the children to educate eachother. This training in conflict resolution,based on live shows, has attracted the at-tention of the Ministry of Education, whichwants to include the project’s activities inthe school system.

CIRCUS OF PEACE: IN MOZAMBIQUE

With the support of local government,NGOs, religious groups and the media, atravelling group of teachers, made up of adozen professional artists and educators,has been set up to use theatre, art, dance,puppets and the techniques of radio jour-nalism to help young people staunch thewounds left by two decades of war. Thetraining site is called a ‘circus of peace’(circo da paz) because, like a circle, it

symbolizes the community structure anduses the strengths and talents of all itsmembers to create a local production.Various activities introduce conflict resolu-tion techniques emphasizing basic concepts,such as tolerance, self-esteem and non-violence. The youth training takes placeover two months, at the end of which thecircus sets off again on its peace journey forthe next site.

educational career. Language lear-ning is, needless to say, a positivefactor when it comes to startingwork, either at national or at trans-national level.

Intercultural education

Global citizenship through inter-cultural education is one of the educational pillars of UNESCO’sinternational network of AssociatedSchools, which have just celebratedthe fortieth anniversary of their foundation. The increasing number ofschools throughout the world whichhave joined the network (almost3,000 in over a 100 countries) pro-vides fertile ground for experimentingpilot projects in the area of education


Street school

42

STREET SCHOOL: IN JAMAICA

The Kingstown Half-Way-Tree Programmeis a project for the resettlement of children,aged between 3 and 18, who have beenexcluded from the formal school system andfrom society at large. The originality of themeasure resides in the fact that the projectgoes to the children, who are catered forwhere they actually live, i.e. in the street.Educators and educational counsellors meetyoung boys living in their area and offeradvice. Points for discussion are selected bycommon agreement, such as self-protectionagainst the dangers and abuses inherent instreet life, food, love and respect for othersand how to exist in one’s environment.Once a week, the young people are offereda sports programme to play table-tennis,football or basketball. These regular sportssessions train them, while providing amuse-

ment, in a spirit of discipline and co-operation with others, removing from theirminds the hostility often following fromprecarious living conditions and their situa-tion of insecurity. The children acquire survival skills and especially self-confi-dence, which help them to settle or inte-grate in the formal system. This school set-up in the street is, of course, always preceded by attempts to integrate the chil-dren within a formal structure, where theycan be taught basic reading, writing andarithmetic. The programme is part of amuch broader programme introduced inJamaica to improve the failure rate in theschool system, where approaches have traditionally tended to be too formal, and toreconcile young people as far as possiblewith education and with society.

PHOTO: UNICEF/Francene Keery

for international understanding; prac-tically all countries, including thosewhich have been undergoing complextransitions, support the network andwould like it to be extended, especial-ly for the preparation of schoolcurricula, teaching methods, text-books and teacher training. Newdisciplines, such as comparing reali-ties, experience, difficulties andsolutions, as well as environmentalissues, such as global warming orexcessive deforestation, sea-bed pol-lution and wildlife depredation, serveas meeting points, give rise toexchanges and give expression to theAssociated Schools’ interculturalapproach.

It is said that travel is a form of teaching. This principle can be putto good use as a real training method.Physical mobility could lead to mo-bility of the mind, ideas and behav-

iour. Organized travel in school pro-grammes is one of the methods whichteachers are using more and more.The discovery of places outside theirlocal environment helps studentsmove on from cognitive to affectiveexperience, while actually staying ina country other than their own oftenenables them to compare what theysee around them with what they learned in their textbooks and in theclassroom.

Travel is either preceded or fol-lowed by correspondence. In manycountries, correspondence betweenschools creates relationships from avery young age. Its impact on inter-nationally oriented education showsthat it is still a useful means for stu-dents to give expression to values,such as friendship, fraternity andsolidarity, at the same time as teach-ing them to develop and deepen


INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT: IN EGYPT

An integrated rural development project hasbeen started in the villages of Atris and El-Katta to offer basic education, such asreading, writing and arithmetic. By intro-ducing practical learning in daily life, thisactive and participative method provides anunderstanding of health-related and eco-

nomic problems which arise in the villages.Aged between 15 and 35, the inhabitantsinvolved remain in close touch with thesocial and economic priorities of their environment and are equipped through education to undertake the most appro-priate forms of action.

LITERACY IN NATIONAL LANGUAGES: IN BURKINA FASO

UNESCO’s Upper Volta Project is centredon teaching literacy in national languages,as well as adult education. In effect, learning in a language which is not familiarand in which the learner does not think canslow down the acquisition of knowledge.

Learning in the communal language, on theother hand, by strengthening self-esteem,provides positive results. The programmesunder this project are designed for the 15 to50 age group, including 50 per cent ofwomen.

human relations through a steadyexchange of contacts.

Environmental education

Science throughout the ages hastaught us that the earth is part of alarger whole, poetically referred to as ‘the Universe’. As we stand on the brink of a new millenium, envi-ronmental concerns, which are verymuch in the forefront of UNESCO’sProgramme (exact sciences, socialsciences, education), add a certaintangible quality to the concept of uni-

versality.The earth maintains a delicate

balance (physical, chemical and ecological), because it harbours somany different forms of life. Throughits ingenuity and its ability to designtools, as well as through its expres-sive language, mankind has become adominant species in the biosphere. Ithas acquired the ability to modify theenvironment more than any otherorganism. As a result of a short-sighted outlook, mankind’s needs andsometimes its greed have damagedthe ecological equilibrium. In somecultures, where man is still consid-ered to be part of a greater whole,


freeing the creativepotential which is latent in us all

44

PHOTO: UNICEF/5911/Roger Lemoyne

The Ministers of Education takingpart in the forty-fourth session of the International Conference onEducation discussed the objectives of international education, its achieve-ments and its problems, which mightbe individual or shared, but which inno way detracted from the tacitunderstanding achieved by the minis-ters. This discipline should aim todevelop independent thought, judgement and a critical mind; itshould awaken the desire to act, toachieve and to seek self-fulfillment; it should create or strengthen allexpressions of solidarity, such asdirect transmission from learner to

learner, and the pleasure of learning.There is no particular age for startingto understand other people, and theclassroom and the lecture room arenot the only places where this discipline can be practised. The newwatchword is educating at home, atwork, in the street or at a distance. Inother words, the aim is to establishlinks between the different stages ofan individual’s development.

Education in values, whichwould be unlimited in time andwould be incorporated in all areas ofsocialization, is a clearly markedtrend to emerge from the ICE’s recentwork; it consists of a continuous, life-

45

Conquering new areas for education for peace

‘We, the peoples of the United Nations’,

PHOTO: UNICEF/Ruby Mera

long educational process, in whichthe alternation of studies with profes-sional activities can lead not only to an uninterrupted intellectual development of the individual, main-taining a constant coherent linkbetween thought and action, but alsoto a sharing of work and resourcesfor more social justice, going beyondmere pious intentions. There isundoubtedly a danger that the endobjective may only be half achieved if no effort is made to reduce in-equalities, a form of social injusticewhich is a real denial of humanrights. Peace should first be practisedon a small (local) scale before ar-riving at a greater (international)peace.

Once the objectives have beendetermined, the obstacles identifiedand the new aspirations expressed,there must be an enthusiastic effort toconquer new areas for lifelong educa-tion. The range of educational

actions, extracted from the IBE’s surveys and described in this work,shows that the experiments whichobtained the most positive results,over time, were firmly based on thecultural referents of the target popu-lations. In any small- or large-scaledevelopment project, the real drivingforce is taking cultural dimensionsinto account and especially the in-volvement of the project’s benefi-ciaries, through which they becomethe thinkers and actors of their owndevelopment. From north to south,from east to west, culture, participa-tion, co-operation, development andpeace must be combined to restorethe prestige of universal humanism,which has been constricted by theerosion of values and tarnished by thesometimes uncontrolled effects ofmodernism.

Honouring each link in thehuman chain, by giving it back itsrights and responsibilities, is anotherway of seeking peace. Major ideas inthe realm of thought sometimes taketime to find shape in practice. This isprobably because they are derivedfrom the events and the changes andupheavals of our societies. In view ofthe seriousness of world problems,however, educators cannot just standby and wait. Our world is shaken byconflicts of all kinds. These can onlybe settled by achieving the ideal ofinternational understanding, whichwe might now refer to, drawing aparallel with scientific theory, as‘applied peace’. The transition fromrhetoric to practice is a challenge foreducation for human rights and peacein the world which the forty-fourth session of the InternationalConference on Education has ac-cepted.

46Conquering new areas for education for peace

Honouring each link in the human chain,by giving it back its rights and responsibilities, is another way of seeking peace

PHOTO: UNICEF/90–0025/Ellen Tolmie

Delors, J., et al. Learning: the treasure within.Report to UNESCO of the InternationalCommission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. Paris, UNESCO, 1996. 266 p.

Integrated framework of action on educationfor peace, human rights and democracy.In: UNESCO. General Conference, twen-ty-eighth session, Paris, 1995. Records of the General Conference. Vol. I :Resolutions. Paris, UNESCO, 1996, p. 63–68.

International Bureau of Education World dataon education / Datos mundiales de educa-ción / Données mondiales sur l’éducation,1993-1994. Geneva, UNESCO:IBE, 1996.[A databank presented on CD-ROMcontaining ninety-eight reports on the evo-lution of education submitted byUNESCO’s Member States at the forty-fourth session of the ICE (1994) and twel-ve reports submitted at the forty-third ses-sion (1992).]

Pérez de Cuéllar, J. et al. Our creative diversity.Report of the World Commission onCulture and Development. Paris, UNESCO,1995. 309 p.

UNESCO. General Conference, twenty-eighthsession, Paris, 1995. Records of theGeneral Conference. Vol. I : Resolutions.Paris, UNESCO, 1996. 150 p.

UNESCO. International Conference on Edu-cation, forty-fourth session, Geneva, 3-8 October 1994. Final report. Paris,UNESCO : International Bureau ofEducation, 1995. [As well as the text of theIntegrated Programme of Action, theDeclaration and the Recommendations,this document also includes summaries ofthe four major debates, the six round-tables, and the texts of the main speeches.]

United Nations. Centre for Human Rights, Geneva.A compilation of international instru-ments, Vol. 1 (two parts). Geneva; NewYork, 1993-94. 950 p.

100 Thinkers on education. Prospects (UNESCO,Paris), vol. 23, 1993; vol. 24, 1994.

47Notes Sources

With the objective of changing schooltextbooks, which perpetuate prejudice,and teaching human rights in schools,Jacques Mühlethaler founded theWorld Association for the School as anInstrument of Peace (EIP) in 1967.UNESCO awarded him the ComeniusMedal in 1993 for his work on educa-tion for peace.Statutes of the International Bureau ofEducation, 25 July 1929.United Nations Organization, Modernforms of slavery, New York, 1992.(Information sheet No. 14).Recommendation concerning educa-tion for international understanding,co-operation and peace and educationrelating to human rights and funda-mental freedoms, chapter X, article 45,Paris, UNESCO, 19 November 1974.(‘The 1974 Recommendation’)African Charter of Human andPeoples’ Rights. The idea of setting upan African Human Rights Commissionoriginated in 1961, at the LagosConference (Nigeria) on the primacy oflaw. The final document, known as theLagos Acts, can be considered as thefirst step towards a regional document,which was to be signed in June 1981 in Nairobi (Kenya) by the Conferenceof African Heads of State andGovernment. The Charter entered intoforce on 21 October 1986.Découvrons les droits de l’enfant: dos-sier d’exploitation pédagogique, jointlyproduced by the teaching team of EIP-Belgium, Brussels, Editions Labor,1995.Integrated Framework of Action onEducation for Peace, Human Rightsand Democracy, para. 32, Paris, UNESCO, 1995.R. Gilliquet; D. Casten; F. Walthéry, Laconvention des droits de l’enfant,Brussels, Editions Lombard, 1993, 64 p. Colour illustrations.

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education for international understanding: an idea gaining ground

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