Education for a World Society
EDITORIAL, 12 Sep 2022
#762 | René Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service
The United Nations is preparing a “Transforming Education Summit” to be held in New York on 17, 18 and 19 September 2022 during the General Assembly. This is an opportunity for those involved in peacebuilding efforts to provide information and suggestions, especially because a major theme of the Summit is “Learning and Skills for Life, Work, and Sustainable Development.” As the preparatory text for the Summit states,
“Transforming education means empowering learners with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to be resilient, adaptable and prepared for the uncertain future while contributing to human and planetary well-being and sustainable development.”
Yet there is a widespread awareness that the current education systems are not preparing people to meet the challenges that face the current world society:
- armed conflicts,
- human rights violations,
- persistent poverty,
- mass migrations, and
- consequences of climate change.
There is a feeling that society is crumbling, collapsing and is no longer creative. However, there is also a vision that education should be directed to the full development of each person and to strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Education should promote understanding, respect, and friendship among peoples. Education should promote the advancement of a culture of peace, liberty, equality, and nonviolence.
Education for a world society is based on creative thinking that enables all people to contribute actively to our complex and interdependent world society. Thus, there is a need to help the United Nations System and Member States in their efforts to provide inclusive and quality education at all levels and to promote lifelong learning opportunities. We need to develop intercultural exchanges to prepare students and educators to think as Citizens of the World.
There is a need to understand the many currents that form the world society. Some currents are positive and need to be strengthened. Others are negative–such as aggressive nationalism–and must be modified. There should be an emphasis on the interconnections among local, national and global issues. The shared values of humanity need to be underlined at the same time that cultural differences are deserving of respect. Students should learn about opportunities for action to address global issues and to counter social injustice.
We need to build on the views expressed at the Transforming Education Summit to prepare government-sponsored and private education institutions to meet world society challenges and to highlight current weaknesses such as inadequate educational opportunities for girls and women. The Summit provides a vital opportunity for action.
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René Wadlow is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. He is President of the Association of World Citizens, an international peace organization with consultative status with ECOSOC, the United Nations organ facilitating international cooperation and problem-solving in economic and social issues, and editor of Transnational Perspectives.
Tags: Education for Peace, Peace Education
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 12 Sep 2022.
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Man-Making Universal Education for Justice and Peace
EDUCATION, 31 Jan 2022
Dr. Surya Nath Prasad – TRANSCEND Media Service
https://www.transcend.org/tms/2022/01/man-making-universal-education-for-justice-and-peace/