Resources
Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
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Education: Still Searching for Utopia? (The UNESCO Courier no. 1, January-March 2018) Year of publication: 2018 Corporate author: UNESCO At a time of heightened global tension, when human rights, freedom of speech, peace and the future of the planet itself may seem challenged as never before, the transformational power of education is of critical importance.In Learning: The Treasure Within, the landmark Report to UNESCO by the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century in 1996, Jacques Delors, then Chairman of the Commission (1992 to 1996), spoke of education as “the necessary Utopia” and “an indispensable asset in its attempt to attain the ideals of peace, freedom and social justice.”Education was held up as neither miracle nor magic, but rather the best means to foster a climate where humanity would be improved −. and where the rich potential for learning, inherent in every individual, would be tapped. Our humanity is confronted with a very strange paradox: the world’s population has never been better educated, and yet, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 263 million children and young people are out of school, 617 million children and adolescents worldwide do not meet the minimum threshold for literacy and mathematics, at least 750 million adults are illiterate, and girls remain more likely than boys to never set foot in a classroom. Yet education is still called upon to address inequalities, poverty, terrorism and conflict. It is seen as one of the keys to global citizenship and sustainable development, two of UNESCO’s fields of action. The Organization is also mandated to lead the Education 2030 global agenda with a special focus on ensuring that no one is left behind. Under the title, “Education: Still searching for Utopia?”, the UNESCO Courier evaluates the state of global education and explores how it responds to some of the main challenges we face. 
The Teaching of the Holocaust in Latin America the Challenges for Educators and Legislators Year of publication: 2017 Author: María Celeste Adamoli | Emmanuel Kahan, Pablo Luzuriaga | Ministerio de Educación Corporate author: UNESCO Santiago This book provides an overview of opportunities that may arise from educating about the Holocaust in diverse cultural contexts and educational situations, with a special focus on Latin American countries. We can actually be away from the places where the genocide against the Jewish people was perpetrated, but Latin America is still taking charge of its own past of violence and crimes against humanity. With this publication, Latin American educators will have at their fingertips an updated account of the most outstanding topics that are discussed on pedagogy and policy making. You can also explore how, even today in Europe, education about the Holocaust shapes a culture of memory. On the other hand, you can see how in other places the memory of the Holocaust can be a starting point to relate to other difficult pasts. UNESCO is convinced that the prevention of genocide begins at school. In a world where mass violence is possible, this publication will show the importance of teaching young people about the Holocaust and about other genocides in history. It is a condition to prevent similar crimes from happening in the future. 
Countering Holocaust Denial and Distortion through Education: A Guide for Teachers Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO Antisemitic hate speech, disinformation, and conspiracy theories thrive during crises, making it vital for teachers to address these issues in school curricula. Social media has significantly amplified the spread of such harmful content, including Holocaust denial and distortion. These falsehoods, rooted in antisemitic prejudice and conspiratorial thinking, threaten our shared historical memory and promote hatred. To effectively combat these issues, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the Holocaust —how and why the genocide of the Jewish people occurred. This knowledge helps us recognize the causes and risk factors, contributing to the prevention of future atrocity crimes and the fight against antisemitism. In the digital age, it is also imperative to be able to decipher the manipulation of history, and the misrepresentation of the past.The guide provides teachers with the necessary tools and guidance to prevent the spread of Holocaust denial and distortion. It equips teachers with knowledge, teaching principles, and strategies to foster digital literacy, historical understanding, and critical thinking in learners. Aimed primarily at history and social sciences teachers, it outlines key concepts, teaching methods, and approaches to counter Holocaust denial and distortion. 
Countering Holocaust Denial and Distortion through Education: Lesson Activities for Secondary Education Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO Adaptable lessons to foster critical thinking, empathy and tolerance Holocaust denial rejects historical facts outright, while distortion manipulates the narrative. Both phenomena undermine historical truth, fuel antisemitism, and attack democratic values. By addressing these issues, this set of lesson activities for secondary education seeks to build students’ resilience against falsehoods through fostering critical thinking, empathy, and global citizenship. It was developed by UNESCO and funded by the European Commission to equip educators with tools to confront the dangerous spread of Holocaust denial and distortion. With 12 engaging lessons, students aged 14 to 18 will explore the historical facts of the Holocaust while learning to critically evaluate misinformation in today’s digital world. From analyzing survivor testimonies to deconstructing harmful memes and conspiracy theories, this resource features 12 adaptable lessons that focus on historical literacy, media analysis, and social-emotional competencies. Topics range from identifying denial and distortion, evaluating media and online sources, analyzing primary evidence like survivor testimonies, and understanding the misuse of Holocaust history in memes and conspiracy theories. Activities are scaffolded with questions, examples, and practical exercises to encourage analytical skills and promote meaningful classroom discussions. The lessons also include suggestions for incorporating primary sources, visiting memorial sites, and addressing broader issues of genocide and hate. In doing so, the guide aims to not only preserve Holocaust memory but also strengthen the values of truth, empathy, and tolerance in younger generations. 
Why Teach about the Holocaust? Year of publication: 2014 Corporate author: UNESCO The Holocaust was a turning point in human history. Understanding the genocide of the Jewish people and other crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime remains of great signi cance in the modern world.Regardless of where we live or who we are, learning about this universal history can help engage students in a critical re action about the roots of genocide and the necessity to nurture peace and human rights to prevent such atrocities in the future.This short introduction provides an essential overview on education about the Holocaust that can support policymakers, educators and students alike in their understanding of genocide and why it is vital that we continue to teach about the Holocaust today. 
Holocaust Education in a Global Context: Report Year of publication: 2013 Corporate author: UNESCO Teaching and learning about the Holocaust, which until this point had largely been a matter of regional interest, for Europeans, as well as North Americans and Israelis, became officially an issue of universal concern. Other countries are now invited to teach about the Holocaust even if they do not have a direct link to the event. This raises many issues concerning the pedagogical implications of this global perspective on Holocaust education. Why and how is the Holocaust taught in countries that have no connections with the genocide and the history of the Jewish people? How does this history connect and resonate with the preoccupations of these countries? Generally speaking, what could be the purposes and the benefits of teaching about the Holocaust globally?In order to address these issues, UNESCO organized an experts-meeting on 27 April 2012, in partnership with the Topography of Terror Foundation (Berlin, Germany). The purpose was specifically to clarify the following questions: What are the current trends of Holocaust education worldwide? How can the Holocaust be studied in a comparative fashion in the classroom? In which ways does Holocaust education contribute to the prevention of genocide? Furthermore, how is it taught in a human rights education perspective? Can the Holocaust provide a suitable framework to address other traumatic events of the past? 
Holocaust Education in a Global Context Year of publication: 2014 Author: Fracapane, Karel | Haß, Matthias Corporate author: UNESCO | Topography of Terror Foundation (Germany) International interest in Holocaust education has reached new heights in recent years. This historic event has long been central to cultures of remembrance in those countries where the genocide of the Jewish people occurred. But other parts of the world have now begun to recognize the history of the Holocaust as an effective means to teach about mass violence and to promote human rights and civic duty, testifying to the emergence of this pivotal historical event as a universal frame of reference. In this new, globalized context, how is the Holocaust represented and taught? How do teachers handle this excessively complex and emotionally loaded subject in fast-changing multicultural European societies still haunted by the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis and their collaborators? Why and how is it taught in other areas of the world that have only little if any connection with the history of the Jewish people? Holocaust Education in a Global Context will explore these questions. 
Study on measures taken by municipalities and recommendations for further action to achieve greater vigilance against racism: Commitment 1 of the Ten-Point Plan of Action Year of publication: 2006 Author: Klaus Starl Corporate author: UNESCO | European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (Austria) Commitment 1 of the Ten-Point Plan of Action of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism requires ‘Greater Vigilance against Racism’. This point aims at setting up a monitoring, vigilance and solidarity network against racism at the municipal level. To reach this goal, the members of the coalition are called to undertake activities, elaborate strategies and establish relevant institutions to monitor the local situation concerning structures in society, attitudes within the population and racist incidents. They are called to find out causes for racist tendencies among their population and establish solidarity networks involving all stakeholders, particularly civil society organisations. As an external expert, the European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Graz, Austria, (ETC Graz) was commissioned by UNESCO to carry out a study on the measures already taken against racism at the local level that serve as good illustration of ‘Commitment 1’. Major information resource was the written material provided by the selected cities. Through direct exchange and/or interviews with responsible officers of the municipalities and some NGOs, additional or missing information could be obtained. The material is not to be considered as complete. On the basis of the contribution sent in by the participating cities, the ETC made an assessment whether these actions/activities meet the objective of the Commitment 1. The authors used the following criteria to make this assessment: does the action undertaken contribute to a) creating and promoting vigilance directly; b) creating and promoting vigilance indirectly through awareness raising; c) creating and promoting vigilance through a monitoring measure or d) the establishment and maintenance of a solidarity network. The authors presumed that c) and d) will lead directly to greater vigilance. The following recommendations are derived from the eight selected measures documented in Chapter II, and the analysis on their replicability in Chapter III. The 10 recommendations expicitly or implicitly refer to the replicable documented measures. Where the replicability requires specific conditions, these are stated or it is recommended to fulfil these conditions firstly, i.e. structural and institutional conditions. The 10 recommendations are addressed to municipalities in Europe irrespective of their current membership in the European Coalition of Cities against Racism. As already mentioned the recommendations focus on meeting the requirement of Commitment 1, creating greater vigilance against racism. 
Address by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Role of UNESCO in Countering Anti-Semitism and Preserving the Legacy of the Holocaust on the occasion of the launch of UNESCO's guide on Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention, 15th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress, New York, 24 April 2017 Year of publication: 2017 Corporate author: UNESCO. Director-General, 2009-2017 (Bokova, I.G.) This address was given by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the role of UNESCO in countering anti-semitism and preserving the legacy of the holocaust on the occasion of the launch of UNESCO's guide on Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention, 15th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress. 
The Impact of Holocaust education: how to assess policies and practices? International Seminar, 27 January 2014, UNESCO, Paris; Report Year of publication: 2014 Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) | Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research (Germany) | Hungary. Permanent Delegation to UNESCO UNESCO, which is charged with “promoting awareness of Holocaust remembrance through education” by resolution 34 C/61 of its General Conference, marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust on 27 January 2014 by convening an international seminar for members of the global community who are involved with and committed to this mandate. The event, titled “The Impact of Holocaust Education: How to Assess Policies and Practices”, aimed at highlighting current practices and debates in the field of research in Holocaust education. It was organized in partnership between UNESCO, including its International Bureau of Education, and the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Studies with the support of the Delegation of Hungary to UNESCO.