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The Influence of education on conflict and peace building Year of publication: 2010 Author: Alan Smith Corporate author: UNESCO The purpose of this paper is to identify aspects of education that may have a positive influence on the dynamics of conflict or make a contribution to peacebuilding. The UN Secretary-General’s (2009) report on peacebuilding identifies a number of recurring priorities in conflict-affected situations, ‘establishing security, building confidence in a political process, delivering initial peace dividends and expanding core national capacity’. These priorities include ‘the provision of basic services, such as water and sanitation, health and primary education’. However, in conflict-affected situations education is also about more than service delivery because it is a means of socialization and identity development through the transmission of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes across generations. Education may therefore be a driver of conflict (fuelling grievances, stereotypes, xenophobia and other antagonisms), but can also be a way of contributing to ‘conflict transformation’ and ‘peacebuilding’.
Education for conflict prevention and peacebuilding: meeting the global challenges of the 21st century Year of publication: 2012 Author: Phyllis Kotite Corporate author: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) The 21st century is witnessing global concern over the interrelated effects of climate change, the economic crisis, energy depletion, food and water shortages, natural disasters and conflicts all of which have devastating effects on humanity and the future of the planet. These events impact education systems and can impair the ability of governments to provide quality education for their citizens. However, when governments and ministries of education analyse and anticipate the risk of such events through careful planning, education can play an important role in preventing violent conflict, and in supporting peacebuilding efforts. An estimated 1.5 billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of political and other forms of violence, and the same population is often affected by hunger and poverty. Furthermore, such countries have difficulty meeting development goals. For example, no low-income fragile or conflict-affected country has yet achieved a single MDG (World Bank, 2011). In 2010 world military expenditures reached US$1.6 trillion as a result of fifteen ongoing conflicts (SIPRI, 2011). Yet, it is estimated that only US$16 billion is needed to fill the education gap to reach the EFA goals (UNESCO, 2011b: 11). This paper argues that we have the knowledge, legal instruments and mechanisms to prevent conflict and to transfer resources to sustainable development and education to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The paper describes a range of conflict prevention initiatives and examines the role of policy-makers, youth, women, and the media in maintaining and restoring peace as part of a holistic vision of education. International institutions, governments and civil society are increasingly developing conflict prevention mechanisms and utilizing political and economic incentives to avoid conflicts. They are also creating new technology for sustainable development, adaptation to climate change and renewable forms of energy. Educational planning must therefore go beyond traditional mechanisms. It must take into consideration the unpredictable nature of our times; be flexible and rapid in implementation and responsive to local needs. Training and research in sustainable development; and skills for peaceful inter-human relations, good governance, the prevention of conflict and peacebuilding are priorities elaborated in the paper. In addition, specific recommendations are highlighted such as: capacity development for conflict prevention within the education sector and other ministries, analysing the root causes of conflict and the role that education can play in mitigating tensions. This paper is an elaboration of Chapter 1.2 of the IIEP-UNESCO Guidebook for Planning Education in Emergencies and Reconstruction (IIEP-UNESCO, 2010). A brief treatment of additional global challenges (e.g. water scarcity, food insufficiency, energy depletion and economic instability), which are beyond the educational focus of this paper, may be found in Annex I.
Education Reform in Pakistan Year of publication: 2014 Corporate author: International Crisis Group In April 2010, the eighteenth constitutional amendment committed Pakistan to free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of five and sixteen. Yet millions are still out of school, and the education system remains alarmingly impoverished. The madrasa (religious school) sector flourishes, with no meaningful efforts made to regulate the seminaries, many of which propagate religious and sectarian hatred. Militant violence and natural disasters have exacerbated the dismal state of education. The public education system needs to foster a tolerant citizenry, capable of competing in the labour market and supportive of democratic norms within the country and peace with the outside world.
School Convivencia : Reviewing the Concept (Psicoperspectivas; No. 18, Vol. 1) Year of publication: 2019 Author: Cecilia Fierro-Evans | Patricia Carbajal-Padilla Corporate author: Catholic University of Valparaíso. School of Psychology This article reports an effort to review the concept of school convivencia (peaceful coexistence, living together) in the Spanish context with the purpose of advancing into its clarification, and thus contributing to developing a common language in the Latin American region. The authors conduct a basic literature review oriented to identify the main theoretical approaches in the convivencia field. Subsequently, they analyze four studies focused in systematizing the prevailing approaches in the study of school convivencia. As a result, they propose a concept of convivencia from a social justice perspective adapted to education, and they operationalize it in three areas of school life: pedagogical-curricular, organizationaladministrative, and the socio-communitarian. This comprehensive notion of school convivencia may guide future research, educational initiatives, and school assessments in the convivencia field that may respond to the violence and pervasive social exclusion that exist in the Latin American region.
Together for Peace: Silent Manga Catalogue Year of publication: 2020 Author: Walden Schertz | Jeremy Clay | Santibhap Ussavasodhi Corporate author: UNESCO Bangkok | Coamix This Together for Peace Silent Manga Catalogue is a compilation of silent manga – manga stories told entirely through illustration without the use of dialogue. These works of art were selected from 274 entries submitted by artists in 117 countries worldwide to join SILENT MANGA AUDITION® Round 13 held under the theme Together for Peace, in collaboration with UNESCO Bangkok, the Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education. Silent manga is a powerful medium of communication in the Asia-Pacific. Although the region is the most diverse in the world, it can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of their background. Silent manga has no language barrier. These works showcase different reflections of peace as expressed by artists around the world while conforming to the Japanese manga style.
UNESCO prize for peace education, 2008 Year of publication: 2009 Corporate author: UNESCO The UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 2008 was awarded to the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (South Africa) by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the recommendation of the International Jury of the Prize. The prize-giving ceremony, organized as part of the celebrations of the International Day of Peace (21 September), the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001- 2010) and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was held at UNESCO Headquarters on 18 September 2008 in the presence of Mr Mohammed Arkoun, President of the International Jury, and H.E. Mr Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, member of the International Jury, former Prize laureates, Permanent Delegates of Member States and representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations. The award ceremony was preceded by the screening of an excerpt from the documentary Truth, Justice, Memory: South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Process and by a video message from Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a unifying leader in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa, and former Chairperson of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission
UNESCO's work on education for peace and non-violence: building peace through education Year of publication: 2008 Corporate author: UNESCO The promotion of peace through education is at the heart of UNESCO’s mission. As stated in its constitution of 1945, UNESCO advances international peace and the common welfare of humanity through educational, scientific and cultural relations between peoples of the world. Though the world has changed over the past sixty years and continues to change at an ever increasing rate, UNESCO’s mission - a commitment to promoting universal values of peace and nonviolence, human rights and social justice, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding – persists with growing urgency. UNESCO’s approach to educating for peace is multidimensional, in that it links education with a range of activities that address the root causes of violence, from human security to sustainable development. The goal of UNESCO’s education programmes and partnerships is the development of comprehensive systems of education that embrace the values of human rights, intercultural understanding and tolerance. Education for peace and non-violence promotes the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours that reflect and inspire these values. As the lead agency within the UN system for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, 2001- 2010, UNESCO is responsible for coordinating and directly implementing activities that promote the objectives of the Decade through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. The culture of peace is defined as a set of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life that reject violence and aim to prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes through dialogue and negotiation between individuals, groups and nations. UNESCO promotes the culture of peace through an intersectoral platform. This platform involves all five sectors of UNESCO: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information. It seeks to mainstream intercultural dialogue in policies and actions with the aim of promoting mutual understanding, tolerance and respect, all of which are considered to be creative forces for a sustainable future. The intersectoral platform will also develop tools based on good practices in intercultural dialogue.
Schools for Conflict or for Peace in Afghanistan Year of publication: 2015 Author: Dana Burde The publication provides a systematic analysis of the relationship between education and conflict, tracing how different approaches have been applied in Afghanistan as the rationale for aid has shifted from a policy of benign neglect, to an effort to support war, to an effort to mitigate conflict. Using this history as a case study, the book explores how foreign intervention in education can contribute either to conflict or to peace.. 