By\u00a0IDN<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By A.D. McKenzie<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in September, global citizenship education has been receiving increased attention for the role it can play in both sustainable development and in keeping youth from joining the ranks of \u201cviolent extremists\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany countries are increasingly aware of and concerned about violent extremism, and (UNESCO\u2019s) approach is to provide support to member states through global citizenship education because it puts an emphasis on values,\u201d said Christopher Castle, chief of UNESCO\u2019s section for Health and Global Citizenship Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He told IDN in an interview that it was important for children who are in school to learn about respect for all and to have the opportunity to think about values such as \u201csolidarity and cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the SDGs \u2013 which maintained universal education as a key objective \u2013 many governments emphasized that young people\u2019s voices must be taken into consideration for the implementation of the goals, and one way for this to be achieved is to strengthen global citizenship education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concerns about violent extremism came up \u201cvery strongly on the agenda\u201d of various countries, Castle told IDN, as governments examined ways to prevent this movement through education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThrough GCED, we can improve critical thinking skills so that learners see the benefits of respect for (one) another,\u201d Castle said. \u201cWe were delighted that the final version of the SDGs \u2026 retained the target about education for sustainable development education and GCED.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I think what the SDGs have really done is to underscore a growing interest in and consensus among member states that access to education, which had been a rallying cry under the Millennium Development Goals, is no longer enough,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat continues to be important \u2013 and obviously we\u2019re very concerned about the 57 million children who\u2019re still not in school and should be \u2013 but we\u2019re also aware that once children do have an opportunity to exercise their right to education, we need to start thinking more about the type of education that they can achieve while they\u2019re at school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to UNESCO, the aim of global citizen education is to \u201cequip learners of all ages with those values, knowledge and skills that are based on and instill respect for human rights, social justice, diversity, gender equality and environmental sustainability and that empower learners to be responsible global citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GCED also gives learners \u201cthe competencies and opportunity to realise their rights and obligations to promote a better world and future for all\u201d, and it is aimed at all ages: children, youth and adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although global citizenship education can be delivered in a variety of ways, the main method in most states will be through the formal education system, UNESCO says. As such, governments can integrate the concept either as part of existing programmes or as a separate subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The values of \u201cglobal citizenship\u201d have been in consideration for some time, but it gained momentum with the launch of the UN Secretary-General\u2019s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) in 2012, which has identified \u2018fostering global citizenship\u2019 as one of its three priority areas of work, along with access to and quality of education\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Castle said that UNESCO\u2019s next forum on global citizenship education, scheduled for 2017 in Canada, would focus on both GCED and education for sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organization is working as well with tertiary institutions, such as UCLA in the United States, where it has established a chair. UCLA plans to offer a summer-school programme in global citizenship education, bringing different sectors of society together, Castle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the area of learning about health and sexuality, universities have a key role to play too. UNESCO experts say that \u201cuniversities are critical because they hold the next generation of leaders\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teaching about certain issues needs to be international because diseases such as HIV and ebola \u201cdon\u2019t pay attention to borders\u201d, Castle told IDN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For female students meanwhile, it is \u201cvitally important that they receive sexuality education to avoid early and unintended pregnancy\u201d, he said, as becoming pregnant can disrupt their schooling, affecting their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNESCO has created a clearinghouse on GCED, in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding and, in addition, the public has access to a health and HIV clearing house that is organized through the Paris-based International Institute of Educational Planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is an extensive repository of information, policy documents, curricula activities, action plans and government documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNESCO\u2019s Director General Irina Bokova says that the world needs to \u201charness the energy of young people\u201d as countries make the transition from the MDGs to a sustainable development agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy the time we reach the deadline for the SDGs in 2030, the population of young people will have increased by 7 percent. It is therefore vital that we engage them now if we are to stand a chance of achieving these goals,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stressing the \u201chumanist\u201d aspects of learning, Bokova has argued that education is not just about transmitting information and knowledge, but also about providing the values, capabilities and attitudes that can contribute to a more \u201cpeaceful, just, inclusive and sustainable\u201d world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that education could help foster greater respect and understanding between cultures, give learners \u201ctools to make the most of diversity\u201d and also \u201charness the energy of young women and men for the benefit of all\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But UNESCO experts concede that education alone is not a \u201cmagic bullet\u201d. Countries need to work on reducing youth unemployment, eradicating inequality and fostering inclusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By\u00a0IDN By A.D. McKenzie Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in September, global citizenship education has been receiving increased attention for the role it can play in both sustainable development and in keeping youth from joining the ranks of \u201cviolent extremists\u201d. \u201cMany countries are increasingly aware of and concerned about violent extremism, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,40,7,16,32,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education-women-children","8":"category-global-regions","9":"category-goal4","10":"category-news","11":"category-regions","12":"category-sdgs-2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3776"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3777,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3776\/revisions\/3777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}