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Considerations on the follow-up of the United Nations International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures with regard to implementation of the Kyiv Statement towards Mutual Understanding and Dialogue Year of publication: 2011 Corporate author: UNESCO As one of the co-initiators of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, Ukraine proposed to initiate a general discussion regarding the protection of monuments and sites with religious or spiritual meaning (hereinafter referred to as religious2 and sacred3 properties) at the international level. This discussion was timely and in line with one of the four themes, selected to build an action plan for the Year in the fields of UNESCO’s competence, namely to promote reciprocal knowledge of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. 2. This initiative, having constituted one of the essential elements of the International Year of Rapprochement of Cultures, is aimed at enhancing protection and management of religious properties. It stems from the appeal of the Ukrainian authorities, launched at the 35th session of the UNESCO General Conference (2009), inviting all Member States to participate in the International Seminar “The Role of religious communities in the management of World Heritage properties” (2-5 November 2010). This announcement was welcomed by UNESCO within the framework of the Year. Numerous Member States expressing their support for the proposal designated representatives to participate in this Seminar. The elaboration of the Kyiv Statement (as one of the main outcomes of the Seminar) and its adoption in close cooperation with representatives of religious communities contributes to the creation of a culture of dialogue. 
Writing Peace Year of publication: 2017 Author: Eric Cattelain Corporate author: UNESCO “Writing Peace” is a manual that invites young audiences to discover contemporary writings through the introduction of various languages. Its goal is to make the world appear a little closer and a little more familiar. "Writing Peace" encourages children (ages8 to 14) to become aware of the interdependence of cultures through familiarization with contemporary writing systems, their history, and their borrowings.The manual contains 24 activity sheets. Each section presents the characters of a writing system, an introductory text and historical background, the word “peace” and the word “hello,” the language(s) attached to the system(s), and an activity whose answers appear at the end of manual.Six thousand years after the advent of writing, what do we know about others, their systems of thought, and the transcriptions of their writing systems? How can different writing systems contribute to a better understanding of the world and our place within it? By beginning to learn about these writings and their fascinating beauty, the manual connects children to diversity, thus opening their eyes to the concept of peace and our awareness of it. 
School, Identity and Discrimination Year of publication: 2011 Author: Néstor López Corporate author: UNESCO IIEP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean Education, identity and school is just one more link, within the many wills that work for full equality of opportunities. As in other publications of the Institute, the wealth of perspectives is added, which give shape to sometimes pressing realities with a demand for urgent action. The publication is a new opportunity for the voices of different interlocutors to give an account, in their countries and contexts, both of the construction of identity processes, and of their recognition and respect. This also implies raising the obstacles, the contributions and the advances, to face the challenges still pending. In each work presented here, the authors-whose participation and effort we deeply appreciate-offer sharp insights on various tasks and contexts. We wish, to conclude, that this text also contributes to the reflection on the possible courses that have been adopted or that require a deepening of the educational policies, specifically in the agendas related to the themes of this publication. 
Citizenship, Identity, and Education: Examining the Public Purposes of Schools in an Age of Globalization Year of publication: 2006 Author: Fernando Reimers Corporate author: UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE) One of the purposes of educational institutions is to develop citizenship. In the 21st century, citizenship includes global citizenship. Addressing the challenges of globalization will require making citizenship education and the development of global values an explicit objective of efforts to improve quality throughout the world, critically examining theories and evidence about the effectiveness of various approaches to developing citizenship and global citizenship and supporting activities aligned with this public purpose. In this article, the author does not argue for an exclusive effort to focus schools on civic education, but rather for a balanced effort to elevate educational quality making it more relevant to address global challenges and opportunities, of which civic education and global education are components, much neglected at present. The author also does not suggest making civic education the only purpose of the curriculum or making it a priority to the expense of science, math, arts or physical and health education, but he thinks that helping students develop a sense of purpose, situated within broader civic and global purposes, would also facilitate high level engagement with science, mathematical and artistic pursuits. 
Culture of Peace and Education for Democratic Citizenship Year of publication: 2006 Author: Jose Tuvilla Rayo The Culture of Peace understood as the synthesis concept - sum of human rights, democracy, disarmament and sustainable human development - demands, as a humanizing response of globalization, important efforts of educational systems towards the achievement of four world social contracts ( Lisbon Group, 1995): the contract of basic needs aimed at suppressing inequalities, the cultural contract aimed at promoting tolerance and dialogue between cultures, the contract of democracy aimed at a system of world government; and, the Earth contract to promote stable and lasting human development. To do this - remembering Juan Carlos Tedesco (2001) - learning to live together, one of the pillars of 21st century education, can not be maintained in the exclusive domain of merely rhetorical adherence. 
Toolbox in Education for Peace Year of publication: 2013 Author: Luz Marfa Chapela Corporate author: UNESCO Mexico The components of this box form a system in which each element has its own ends and all the elements, gathered and linked, seek the same shared goal: offer recreational materials that encourage introspective reflection, the best knowledge of the other and the environment, the collaborative study, the participation of different agents of the community in support of teachers, the use of mother tongues and the identification of resources, knowledge, talents and skills in local communities. This box is addressed in a special way to teachers and students of basic education, as well as to different agents of the civil society that support them. Its purpose is to favor the development of school communities that make the school a center of study, play, advice and work for all. Because the materials of the Toolbox can also be interesting to young people and adults of all ages. In this sense, the box invites the different agents of the communities to think and produce new playful-educational materials that collect and put into action some priority local contents, which, surely, will enrich the life and educational possibilities of school communities. 
Echoing Voices: Tenth Anniversary of the Adoption of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity Year of publication: 2011 Corporate author: UNESCO This founding text was the first to acknowledge cultural diversity as “the common heritage of humanity”. It is with great pride that UNESCO is commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Declaration. Commemorate – from the Latin cum memorare – means quite literally “to remember together” or “to remember with”. This collection is compiled the voices of all those who have contributed to the heightening of human awareness by throwing into relief the inestimable value of cultural diversity. These excerpts from books, articles and statements by global intellectual and political leaders, artists and Nobel Prize-winners all call for the safeguarding of cultural diversity, which is inseparable from respect for human dignity. Their voices resound in bearing witness to the strength of cultural diversity and to its capacity to enlighten the minds of women and men. We are duty-bound to ensure that it is central to public policies and a resource for development and dialogue among nations. The United Nations was born of the determination of men and women “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war...”. In accordance with that principle, UNESCO was established on a key idea, expressed at the very beginning of its Constitution: “... since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”. In the world today, globalized, connected and interdependent as never before, this mission is more vital than ever. The rapprochement of peoples and cultures requires a commensurately global awareness. Cultural diversity has always been at the heart of international relations. It is also, increasingly, a feature of the contemporary mixed and plural societies in which we live. In view of this reality, we must formulate appropriate public policies and rethink the mechanisms of social cohesion and civic participation. How can we build common ground on the basis of such diversity? How can we construct genuine moral and intellectual solidarity of humanity? Any new vision of humanism must be grounded itself in the dynamism and diversity of cultural heritage. It is a source of inspiration and knowledge to be shared and a means of broadening our horizons. The goal of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity is to provide keys and benchmarks for capitalizing on this wealth. There can be no sustainable governance if cultural diversity is not acknowledged. There can be no economic and social development if specific features of every culture are belittled and ignored. 
Lessons from a Transformative Pedagogy Project for Peace, Resilience, and the Prevention of Violent Extremism: Part I; Country-Level Implementation Year of publication: 2024 Author: Eyerusalem Azmeraw | Quentin Wodon | Eleonora Mura | Kasumi Moritani Corporate author: UNESCO International Institute for Capacity-Building in Africa (IICBA) From 2017 to 2022, UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) led a series of projects for peacebuilding and the prevention of violent extremism through education with support from the Government of Japan. This two-part paper draws lessons from the projects. The first part of the paper briefly explains the transformative pedagogy approach that guided project implementation and provides examples of changes that were implemented at the country level under the projects. The analysis is qualitative, with the aim being to outline, through country examples, what can be achieved through such projects. Lessons on factors contributing to impact are also outlined. 
Education for Democratic Citizenship and a Culture of Peace Year of publication: 2022 Author: Jéssica Marisol Vera Carrera Corporate author: University of Santiago de Cali Education for peace and citizen training as a promotion of peace construction. It is a global need in educational centers, particularly when making a comparison in Colombia and Mexico, to understand that education is a dynamic, continuous and permanent educational process by playing a fundamental role in the formation of the citizen; It is also the conducive setting for the promotion of socio-emotional skills that allow students to have sufficient tools to be a citizen agent of peace. 
Backtalk: The Participatory Film and Its Residency in the Space of Cultural Violence and Creative Education towards a Conceptual Understanding of Peace Year of publication: 2017 Author: Ruchika Gurung Corporate author: Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) Cultural violence is defined as the beliefs, attitudes and values that justify structural and direct violence (Galtung 1990). It dulls us into seeing exploitation and repression as normal or in not actively witnessing it, and the media plays a vital role in its dissemination. Media and in particular film studies occupies a space through which notions of culture, ideology, peace and violence are negotiated.While the observational approach to film is well established in education, participatory filmmaking as an educational tool is what this paper addresses, with reference to concepts of cultural violence and peace education.This paper uses Brantmeier’s (2011) five stage model, that encourages social and cultural change towards a future that is nonviolent, sustainable and renewable, and Bery’s (2003) conceptualisation of empowerment to propose that participatory film functions as a transformative creative process and challenges notions of identity and culture while helping learners describe the world around them (Zembylas & Bekerman 2013).Through analysing existing cases in the field of participatory video (Schwab-Cartas & Mitchell 2014), the author argue that participatory film functions as a tool for creative education practices that promotes a more hands-on approach to raising awareness about cultural violence and engaging with identity formation, and as a creative tool for knowledge creation and dissemination.