Second UNESCO Global Forum on Global Citizenship Education

28-30 January 2015, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris

A very engaging and exciting three days at the Forum brought together 250 participants from across the world including teachers, educators, policy-makers, academics, learners and civic society representatives.

The Forum was organized by UNESCO on the occasion of its 70th Anniversary with the support of Austria, the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Korea. On the opening plenary, Director-General Irina Bokova said: “We need new skills for new times – to foster greater respect and understanding between cultures, to give learners tools to make the most of diversity, to develop new values and behaviours of solidarity and responsibility, to harness the energy of young women and men for the benefit of all”.

In the concluding plenary, youth delegates also presented a statement: “We feel it is of the upmost importance to regard youth as major stakeholders in the formal education debate since we are in fact the recipients of said education.”

Webinar on “Learning in the 21st century: the power
of video games”

13 February

James Paul Gee

When you think about gaming, what first comes to mind isn’t necessarily peace and sustainability. But with half a billion people playing video games every day, games can become a powerful tool to foster problem-solving skills, teamwork and critical thinking. In an increasingly globalized world, how can games contribute to changing the way we deal with global 21st century challenges and interact with one another across cultures?

UNESCO MGIEP’s Innovations Team was proud to host its first webinar conducted by renowned gaming expert Dr. James Paul Gee. A pioneer in the field of gaming and education, Gee discussed the best practices for incorporating educational principles into video games to create interactive and entertaining opportunities for learning. Beginning with a review of existing games, Gee then outlined mechanisms to include design elements that foster competencies such as critical thinking, persistence, and self-guided learning, which are considered essential to education for peace and sustainable development.

The webinar was the first in a series focused on innovative, information and communication technology (ICT)-based approaches to teaching and learning.

Talking Across Generations (TAG 2015)–Beyond maths and science: education should teach responsibility towards fellow humans and the planet

16 February, New Delhi

The discussion on the role of education in fostering peace and sustainability was moderated by Abhigyan Prakash, NDTV’s anchor and executive editor.

How education can build more peaceful and sustainable societies was a key issue debated at UNESCO MGIEP’s first Talking Across Generations (TAG) discussion “The war in our minds: Can education wage peace?”

The discussion brought together over 300 young people, policymakers and academics from all over the world. “We are looking for new ways of learning. The 21st century is the first era determined by humans and not geological forces,” said Anantha Duraiappah, director of UNESCO MGIEP. Education today must teach younger generations to feel responsible and accountable towards fellow humans and the planet.

Moderator Abhigyan Prakash was struck by the impact of the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 on younger generations. “These were children who for the first time saw the ugly face of terrorism,” he said.

University students and youth activists said their generation often felt disillusioned. Others, however, shared stories of compassion and support for the most vulnerable sectors of society. The idea of TAG is to remove artificial barriers to allow a free exchange of ideas across generations. TAG 2015 was chaired by Dr. Karan Singh, and involved active participation by the UNESCO MGIEP Governing Board members.

Third Distinguished Lecture on ‘Anger and Revolutionary Justice’ by Prof. Martha Nussbaum

21 March, New Delhi

In collaboration with the University of Chicago’s Center in Delhi, UNESCO MGIEP hosted its Third Distinguished Lecture on ‘Anger and Revolutionary Justice’. The Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, Prof. Martha Nussbaum remarked that when there is great injustice it is tempting to think that righteous anger is the best response. However, she said that the three most successful revolutionary freedom movements in the past century have been conducted in a spirit of non-anger, from Gandhi’s independence movement and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s role in the U. S. civil rights movement to Nelson Mandela’s freedom movement in South Africa.

Studying the thought and practice of these leaders, Prof. Nussbaum argued that non-anger is both normatively and practically superior to anger, and that an analysis of the structure of the emotion can help us to better understand why.

The Distinguished Lecture Series invites speakers from the world’s leading intellectuals and policymakers to spark transformative ideas for our shared future. These lectures are expected to inspire broader international dialogue on a more peaceful and sustainable world, built through better education, inclusive spaces, and global citizenship.

Global Youth Advocacy Workshop: Global Citizenship Education

30 March – 4 April 2015, Busan, Republic of Korea

Youth participants at the Advocacy workshop on GCED Busan, ©APCEIU

Organized by APCEIU, GEFI and UNESCO MGIEP, the international workshop on youth advocacy on global citizenship education brought together 50 youth participants from 34 countries. The objective was to design an advocacy strategy to strengthen the value of global citizenship in formal, non-formal and informal education settings.

Sponsored by Educate a Child and the Geumjeong District of Busan Metropolitan City, the youth participants developed regional advocacy plans on important global issues. The workshop’s success was in part determined by three major achievements:

• Young people led all the workshop sessions
• Participants developed regional advocacy plans on global citizenship which have an international reach and scope
• Participants drafted a youth statement on Global Citizenship Education to be presented at the World Education Forum in May

Advocacy on global citizenship education is a transformative learning process which involves integrating values, ethics and action within intercultural dialogues, understanding diversity and interconnectedness. Youth-led advocacy in the post-2015 development agenda has emerged as a priority in various forums on education, sustainable development and global citizenship.

Youth survey on the National Education Policy of India

1 May-31 July

For the first time in over 20 years, the Government of India is revising the National Education Policy (NEP) – and UNESCO MGIEP is playing a key role.

Originally drafted in 1968, the NEP is a sweeping document that governs everything from early childhood education to graduate schools in India. In the interest of inclusivity, the government has begun an extensive consultation process. However, UNESCO MGIEP noticed that one key demographic was not fully participating: youth.

“Young people are the ones directly affected by this policy,” Dr. Mathangi Subramanian, one of the lead investigators, said. “They should have a voice in systems designed for them.”

Making use of our expertise in research and youth, UNESCO MGIEP is administering an online survey and a series of focus group discussions with Indian nationals between the ages of 17 and 29 in five regions. The study focuses on higher education, an area that remains under researched both in India and globally. UNESCO MGIEP will share the results with the government in September – just in time for incorporation into the policy’s final draft.

UNESCO MGIEP’s YESPeace Network launches in Malaysia

24 May, Kuala Lumpur

Young women supporting the YESPeace Network launch in Kuala Lumpur

In close collaboration with youth networks and organizations in Malaysia, UNESCO MGIEP launched its first Malaysia chapter of the YESPeace Network. YESPeace—the Youth for Education, Sustainability and Peace—Network provides young people and youth networks with a platform to share their ideas and to work together towards global citizenship, peace and sustainable development.

UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, who launched the YESPeace Malaysia Chapter along with Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Tan Sri MuhyiddinYassin and Anantha K. Duraiappah, Director of UNESCO MGIEP, said that it is important to listen to young people’s views and opinions about education especially during challenging times. “The voices, energy and ideas of young people have never been as important as they are today, in a world that is transforming, getting younger every day,” Bokova said.

After the launch, close to 40 young participants gathered for a brainstorming session to understand the challenges youth face in Malaysia—including rising rates of depression and a static education system—and to come up with strategies to spread the word about the YESPeace Network Malaysia Chapter. Participants recommended creating a local youth advisory board led by young people from across the country to engage with one another and, eventually, with young people from around the world.

UNESCO MGIEP staff brainstormed ideas with other team members at the Carnegie Mellon University game jam

UNESCO MGIEP has just concluded its call for proposals to design a digital simulation game to help undergraduate students in economics and sustainability studies to understand the principles and implications of the Inclusive Wealth Index. Working on the basis of data collected over 21 years from 140 countries, the game will complement traditional teaching-learning tools in economics and sustainability studies classrooms, and become an interactive and fun way for students to deepen their understanding of the inter-connections and relationships across the pillars of sustainability.

In a recent development, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, U.S., picked up the challenge as a top priority social issue. Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Centre hosted a game jam (#NowIGetItJam) on 1-3 May to both develop a prototype of a game and develop an insightful “Aha” moment. Within 48 hours, the team working on the Inclusive Wealth Index came up with a game which will be improved and perfected over the coming months. The simulation games that result from the call for proposals and the collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University will complement curricula in universities around the world.