A new UNESCO report reinforces education as a basic human right and public good, and calls for a humanistic approach to education in the lead up to the World Education Forum in Incheon, South Korea.
The UNESCO report “Rethinking Education: Towards a Global Common Good?” acknowledges that taking another look at the purpose of education and the organisation of learning has never been more urgent “in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty and contradiction”.
This latest report, a result of the work of a Senior Experts Group established by the Director-General of UNESCO, and of which the Education International’s (EI) General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen is a member, is a follow-up to the groundbreaking Delors Report “Learning: the Treasure Within”.
A call for dialogue, the new UNESCO work is inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development, based on respect for life and human dignity, equal rights, social justice, cultural diversity, international solidarity and shared responsibility for a sustainable future. It further proposes to consider education and knowledge as global common goods, to reconcile the purpose and organisation of education as a collective societal endeavour in a complex world.
The publication will be available at the World Education Forum to be held from 19-22 May 2015 in Acheon, South Korea.