UNESCO five themes four pillars one ASPnet Stijn Dhert 2011 April, 15

UN United Nations 1945: 51 countries 2010: 192 countries 2010: 192 countries International governmental organization International governmental organization Cooperation: Cooperation: international law international law international security international security economic development economic development social progress social progress human rights human rights achievement of world peace achievement of world peace

Created by the United Nations General Assembly UNESCO United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization

An overview What is UNESCO? What does UNESCO do? UNESCO on Education The Four Pillars of Education The Four Pillars put into Practice

What is UNESCO? Founded on 16 November 1945 The Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO: ‘Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” The ‘founding fathers’ believed:  in full and equal opportunities for education for all  in the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth  and in the free exchange of ideas and knowledge

What is UNESCO? Purpose of the organization  “To contribute to peace and security  by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and culture  in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms  which are affirmed for the peoples of the world,  without distinction of race, sex, language or religion,  by the Charter of the United Nations.”

Wat does UNESCO do today A laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter to forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues. A clearinghouse – for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge – while helping Member States to build their human and institutional capacities in diverse fields. The promotor of international co-operation among its 193 Member States and six Associate Members in the fields of  Education  Science  Culture  Communication

An overview What is UNESCO? What does UNESCO do?

UNESCO deploys its action in the fields of  Education,  Natural Sciences,  Social and Human Sciences,  Culture,  Communication and Information.

Education UNESCO works to improve education worldwide through technical advice, standard setting, innovative projects, capacity building and networking. UNESCO’s educational priorities:  Basic education for all, with special attention being given to literacy, HIV/AIDS prevention education and teacher training in sub-Saharan Africa  Secondary education, including technical and vocational education and training as well as science and technology education  Promoting quality education, with special reference to values education and teacher training  Higher education

Social and Human Sciences The social and human sciences have a vital role to play in helping to understand and interpret the social, cultural and economic environment. UNESCO’s priorities in the field of Social and Human Sciences:  Ethics of science and technology, with emphasis on bioethics  Promotion of human rights and the fight against all forms of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and related intolerance through activities in UNESCO’s field of competence  Foresight, philosophy, human sciences, democracy and the enhancement of human security  Management of social transformation

Culture Preserving and respecting the specificity of each culture, while ensuring that it preserves and respects the specificities of another culture, and involving it in an approach that bring them together and extends beyond them in a more interactive and interdependent world, is the challenge which must be met by the international community and, on its behalf, by UNESCO and its partners. UNESCO’s cultural priorities:  Promoting cultural diversity, with special emphasis on the tangible and intangible heritage  Cultural policies as well as intercultural and interfaith dialogue and understanding  Cultural industries and artistic expressions

Communication and information Communication and Information programs are rooted in UNESCO’s Constitution, which requires the Organization to promote the “free flow of ideas by word and image”. The main objective for UNESCO is to build a knowledge society based on the sharing of knowledge and incorporating all the socio- cultural and ethical dimensions of sustainable development. UNESCO’s priorities in the field of Communication and Information:  Empowering people through access to information and knowledge with special emphasis on freedom of expression  Promoting communication development  Advancing the use of ICTs for education, science and culture

An overview What is UNESCO? What does UNESCO do? UNESCO on Education

The millenium Goals (VN) Also…         …

UNESCO on Education (at the heart of the organisation) UNESCO's core mandate: education for all. UNESCO believes that education is key to social and economic development. UNESCO works for a sustainable world with just societies that value knowledge, promote a culture of peace, celebrate diversity and defend human rights, achieved by providing EFA The mission of the UNESCO Education Sector is to:  Provide international leadership to create learning societies with educational opportunities for all populations  Provide expertise and foster partnerships to strengthen national educational leadership and the capacity of countries to offer quality education for all.

EFA International Coordination Curriculum Development (UNESCO International Bureau of Education) Early Childhood Education for Holocaust Remembrance Education for Sustainable Development Education Plans & Policies Higher Education Human Rights Education Inclusive Education Languages in Education Literacy Primary Education Right to Education Science and Technology Education Secondary Education Teacher Education Technical and Vocational Education and Training Textbook Development UNESCO HIV/AIDS UNESCO on Education (themes)

An overview What is UNESCO? What does UNESCO do? UNESCO on Education The Four Pillars of Education

Learning: the treasure within… International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century Chairman: Jacques Delors “Education throughout life is based upon four pillars”

The four pillars of education (UNESCO, 1996) Learning to know Learning to do Learning to live together Learning to be See:

Learning to know Learning to know lays the foundations of lifelong learning It is about basic knowledge that we need to be able to understand our environment and to live in dignity It is about competences to acquire information and search actively for knowledge It is about arousing curiosity, allowing to experience the pleasures of research and discovery It is about developing the powers of concentration, memory and thought Learning to know is learning to learn

Learning to do Learning to do refers to the acquisition of practical skills, but also of social and psychological skills It refers to an aptitude for teamwork and initiative, and a readiness to take risks. It is about personal initiative and the ambition to innovate It is about the competence of putting what we have learned into practice so as to act creatively on our environment. Learning to do enables us to turn our knowledge into effective innovations.

Learning to live together Learning to live together is the pillar that the UNESCO Commission emphasizes more than any other. It refers to developing an understanding of others through dialogue – leading to empathy, respect and appreciation. And, if we are to understand others, we must first know ourselves. It is about recognizing our growing interdependence, about experiencing shared purposes, and about implementing common projects and a joint future (peace, education for all, environment…)

Learning to be Learning to be is founded on the fundamental principle that education needs to contribute to the all-round development of each individual It is about the broadening of care for each aspect of the personality It deals with the freedom of thought, feeling and imagination that we need to act more independently, with more insight, more critically, and more responsibly. “The end of education is to discover and open the talents which are hidden like a treasure within every person”

Is it…? Learning to know, to do and to live together in order to be…? Learning to know, to do and to be in order to live together…? TO KNOW TO DO TO LIVE TOGETHER TO BE

An overview What is UNESCO? What does UNESCO do? UNESCO on Education The Four Pillars of Education The Four Pillars put into Practice

ASPnet ASPnet is a network of committed schools engaged in fostering and delivering quality education in pursuit of peace, liberty, justice and human development in order to meet the pressing educational needs of children and young people throughout the world. ASPnet: ‘A Quality Network for Quality Education’

ASPnet

ASPnet: evolution

ASPnet: school levels

ASPnet’s comparative advantage from the international viewpoint broad network across all continents and involving all types of schools spirit of voluntarism and committed hard work at all levels supporting intercultural learning and contacts between schools worldwide strong visibility of UNESCO Dialogue of UNESCO with children and youth potential to serve as a laboratory for pedagogical materials, approaches and methods on UNESCO priorities ensuring the international sharing of good practices developing a multiplier effect in promoting QEFA

ASPnet’s comparative advantage at the school level for teachers  supporting professional development as agents of change for students:  development of intercultural and life skills, universal values for both:  improvement of the content of curricula  development of participatory methods of teaching and learning  enhancing the climate of the classroom

2003 Auckland Declaration outlines (a.o.) ASPnet schools… …are ‘navigators for peace’ and ‘agents of change’ …contribute to the achievement of the UN MDG’s …contribute to the achievement of UNESCO´s strategies and programmes in education, science, culture and communication …are instrumental to achieving Education for All …are laboratories of ideas on innovative approaches for quality EfA …translate the 4 ‘Pillars of Education’ into reality in the classroom …implement innovative approaches towards cooperative learning without frontiers and commitment to international solidarity …exchange ideas, knowledge and experience among educational institutions locally, nationally and internationally

ASPnet membership Pre-primary, primary, secondary and vocational schools as well as teacher-training institutions (public or private) An educational project on one or several of ASPnet’s study themes Support of the National Commission for UNESCO Long-term commitment on the part of the school principal and teaching staff Involvement of students, teachers and parents A coordinator to liaise between National Commission and school An annual report

ASPnet Major Themes of Study World Concerns and the role of the United Nations system Education for Sustainable Development Peace, Human Rights and Tolerance Intercultural Learning and Intercultural Dialogue

ASPnet: good practices First Collection of Good Practices (2008)  Quality Education  df df Second Collection of Good Practices (2009)  Education for Sustainable Development  df df

Q & A?