APNIEVE: Learning to Live Together in Peace and Harmony

Learning about others and learning how to live in diversity positively is the key to peace.

Source:   http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001143/114357eo.pdf

Resources:  http://www.unesco-apnieve.edu.au/servlet/Web?s=1575730&action=changePage&pageID=487827200

* Learning to Live Together in Peace and Harmony *

 INTRODUCTION

APNIEVE is an acronym for the Asia-Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education. It was born in spring in Seoul, Republic of Korea, during the Organizational Meeting to Form the Network of Regional Experts in Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (29-31 March 1995). This meeting was a follow up of the 44th session of the International Conference on Education (ICE) and the Regional Consultation of Asia and the Pacific Member States held during the Conference in Geneva, October 1994.

The idea of a regional network had been derived from recommendations and suggestions put
forward during various regional meetings and workshops organized by UNESCO and its Member States namely:

The Regional Workshop on International Education Materials and Methods (Bandung,
Indonesia, August 1992), which recommended the formation of an Association of Educators for International Education.

The Regional Workshop on Enhancing Humanistic, Ethical, Cultural and International
Dimensions of Education (NIER, Tokyo, February 1994), which recommended the formation
of a network of institutions and interest groups to work in the areas of values education and
international education.

The Meeting of Experts from Asia and the Pacific Region to Prepare for the 44th Session of
the ICE (Tagaytay, Philippines, March 1994) which recommended that within the aegis of
UNESCO-PROAP. an Asia-Pacific Network be formed of institutions and individuals
interested in promoting the goals of education for international understanding, peace, human
rights, democracy and sustainable development.

Following its formation, APNIEVE decided to offer UNESCO technical advice and support in the
implementation of its activities in the field of international education and values education.
APNIEVE plans to produce a series of publications in keeping with its aim to promote and
develop international education and values education for peace, human rights, democracy and
sustainable development, through inter-country co-operation among individuals and institutions
working in these fields. This first volume in UNESCO-APNIEVE Sourcebook series is for
teacher education and tertiary education.

It brings together the experiences and reflections of experts from the UNESCO Member States of
Asia and the Pacific Region who believe that their region is well endowed with shared cultural
and human values. When identified, these values can serve as vehicles for unity, solidarity and
peace, as well as an instrument for democracy and sustainable development. The vision these
people share for the future of the region encompasses:

*  elimination of all forms of discrimination;
*  the protection of human rights and democracy;
* equitable, balanced, human and sustainable development:
* protection of the environment; and
*  the integration of contemporary and traditional humanistic values.

Those holding this vision recognize that rapid modernization and urbanization are major
concerns facing Asia and the Pacific region. for they result in economic and technological
advancement which is faster than social and cultural development.

Education, which has a fundamental role to play in personal and social development, has been
used to create a more skilled work force, but often at the cost of the development of the whole
person. The long-term goals of human values and moral principles tend to become less important
when they have to compete with more immediate economic considerations. Furthermore,
whether industrialized or industrializing, many countries in the region are still in the process of
democratization and require enormous effort in the dissemination of the principles of universal
values, such as human rights for all, and in the promotion of a culture of peace and tolerance. To
this end, education for peace, human rights and democracy (that is, international and values
education) should receive more attention and greater priority.

Convinced that the changes and the challenges of the future require a better understanding of
others and the world at large, and that they also demand mutual appreciation, peaceful
interchange and harmony, APNIEVE emphasizes humanistic, cultural and international
dimensions in equipping each person to respond to the needs of the twenty-first century.
APNIEVE increasingly believes in the importance of living together through caring for each
other and sharing. Among APNIEVE countries there is an emerging emphasis on the dignity of
the human person and the importance of human values in developing international understanding
and co-operation, and in generating regional and global solidarity.

Inspired by the “four pillars of education” described in Learning: the Treasure Within (the report
to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century), in
particular the pillar on which the Commission has put greatest emphasis: “Learning To Live
Together”, the APNIEVE experts group met in Malacca, Malaysia (l-5 July 1996) articulated the
Asia-Pacific longing for peace and harmony and agreed that a sourcebook entitled Learning to
Live Together in Peace and Harmony should be produced. It would be based on international
education and values education, with emphasis on peace, harmony, human rights, democracy and
sustainable development in the region.

The sourcebook has three major emphases:

+ the meaning of Learning To Live Together;
+ the core and related values needed to live together successfully and peacefully;
+ the development of learning experiences that will help teacher trainees and students actualize
such values.

After the Malacca meeting, each of the experts was requested to complete teaching-learning
modules and lesson plans for each of four areas assigned to them. They submitted their
contributions to the Secretariat to work on, and the draft version was deliberated upon, reviewed
and formalized by participants at the Bandung, Indonesia, meeting (27-30 April 1997).

This publication would not have been possible without the contributions from the APNIEVE
Steering Committee, in particular its President, Dr. Lourdes R. Quisumbing of the Philippines, its
Secretary, Dr. Valaina Pombe jr and the experts, namely, Mr. Wayne Muller (Australia), Prof. Hu
Wei (China), Mr. Gouri Sankar Hati (India), Prof. Dr. Mohammad Fakry Ghaffar (Indonesia),
Prof. Akihiro Chiba (Japan), Dr. Cho Nan Sim (Republic of Korea), Prof. Dr. Nik Aziz Nik Pa
(Malaysia), Mr. Earnest Tan (Philippines), Prof. Dr. Twila Punsalan (Philippines), Dr. Vichai
Tunsiri (Thailand) and Prof. Rene Romero (Philippines), who helped develop some sample
lessons. The overall contribution of all the participants at the Malacca and Bandung meetings is
also acknowledged.

This publication is most timely because there is a keen interest in values education throughout
Asia and the Pacific region. It is to be hoped that it will provide students and teacher trainees
with useful guidelines for teaching-learning modules and lesson plans on values education for
peace, human rights, democracy and sustainable development.

Through their efforts, the APNIEVE Steering Committee and experts hope that young people in
Asia and the Pacific region will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to
live together in peace and harmony, and that they will be able to play an active part in promoting
a genuine and lasting culture of peace in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.
. . .
III

Chapter One

THE APNIEVE PHILOSOPHY

APNIEVE draws its basic philosophy from today’s expression of UNESCO’s original mandate:
Peace for Development and Development for Peace. Its fundamental mission is the
transformation of the culture of war and violence to a culture of peace, mainly through education
in general and through values education in particular.

APNIEVE’s principal goals and objectives are to promote and develop international education
and values education for peace, human rights and democracy in the context of a holistic, human
and sustainable development, through co-operation among individuals and institutions working
in these fields in Member States of the Asia-Pacific Region.

APNIEVE! was organized as a follow-up to the 44th Session of the ICE (International Conference
on Education) in Geneva, in October 1994. APNIEVE aims to assist in the implementation of the
“Declaration and the Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights,
and Democracy” against a background of sustainable development.

It likewise underscores the 1993 Kuala Lumpur Declaration of the Ministers of Education of the
Asia-Pacific Region (MINEDAP VI), which stated that their overarching concern was the
importance of values, ethics and culture in education.

The Asia-Pacific region has a wealth of shared cultural human and spiritual values which, when
identified, can serve as vehicles for unity, solidarity and peace, as well as being instruments for
holistic, human and integrated sustainable development. Each Member State, within its own
peculiar geographical setting, its historical background, stages of development and culture, can
share its unique experience in adapting cultural values to the changing needs of the times.
Knowledge and understanding of each other’s cultural traditions, beliefs and practices will
contribute to an appreciation of shared values and aspirations, as well as an appreciation of each
other’s differences, thus contributing to the development of mutual respect and tolerance. In
networking on education for peace and tolerance, human rights, democracy and international
understanding. the APNIEVE experience will provide valuable input for the establishment of
stronger regional and interregional links. leading towards the realization of a sustained global
culture of peace.

APNIEVE’s strategies, policies and lines of action are guided by the Integrated Framework of
Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy approved by the General
Conference of UNESCO at its 28th session. The following strategies, policies and lines of action
are stated in the Integrated Framework of Action:

III. Strategies

13. In order to achieve these aims. the strategies and forms of action of education
systems will clearly need to be modified, as necessary, in respect both of teaching
and of administration. Furthermore, providing basic education for all, and
promoting the rights of women as an integral and indivisible part of universal
human rights, are fundamental in education for peace, human rights and
democracy.

IV. Policies and lines of action

16. The incorporation into curricula at all levels of education, formal and non-formal of
lessons on peace, human rights and democracy is of crucial importance.
Content of education

17. To strengthen the formation of values and abilities such as solidarity, creativity,
civic responsibility, the ability to resolve conflicts by non-violent means, and critical
acumen. it is necessary to introduce into curricula, at all levels, true education for
citizenship which includes an international dimension. Teaching should particularly
concern the conditions for the construction of peace; the various forms of conflict,
their cause and effects; the ethical, religious and philosophical bases of human
rights, their historical sources. the way they have developed and how they have been
translated into national and international standards;. __the bases of democracy and
its various institutional models; the problem of racism and the history of the fight
against sexism and all the other forms of discrimination and exclusion. Particular
attention should be devoted to culture, the problem of development and the history
of every people, as well as to the role of the United Nations and international
institutions. There must be education for peace, human rights and democracy.

It cannot, however, be restricted to specialized subjects and knowledge. The whole
of education must transmit this message and the atmosphere of the institution must
be in harmony with the application of democratic standards. Likewise, curriculum
reform should emphasize knowledge, understanding and respect for the culture of
others at the national and global level and should link the global interdependence of
problems to local action. In view of religious and cultural differences, every country
may decide which approach to ethical education best suits its cultural context.

Teaching materials and resources

18. All people engaged in educational action must have adequate teaching materials
and resources at their disposal. In this connection, it is necessary to make the
necessary revisions to textbooks to get rid of negative stereotypes and distorted
views of “the other.” International co-operation in producing textbooks could be
encouraged. Whenever new teaching materials, textbooks and the like are to be
produced, they should be designed with due consideration of new situations. The
textbooks should offer different perspectives on a given subject and make
transparent the national or cultural background against which they are written.

Their content should be based on scientific findings. It would be desirable for the
documents of UNESCO and other, United Nations institutions to be widely
distributed and used in educational establishments, especially in countries where the
production of teaching materials is proving slow owing to economic difficulties.
Distance education technologies and all modem communication tools must be
placed at the service of education for peace, human rights and democracy.

Teacher training

23. The training of personnel at all levels of the education system – teachers, planners,
managers, teacher educators – has to include education for peace, human rights and
democracy. This pre-service and in-service training and retraining should
introduce and apply in situ methodologies, observing experiments and evaluating
their results. In order to perform their tasks successfully, schools, institutions of
teacher education and those in charge of non-formal education programmes should
seek the assistance of people with experience in the fields of peace, human rights
and democracy (politicians, jurists, sociologists and psychologists) and of the NGOs
[non-government organizations] specialized in human rights. Similarly, pedagogy
and the actual practice of exchanges should form part of the training courses of ail
educators.  Thus. APNIEVE’s programme of activities will include:

+ the sharing and exchange of information on the current situation in the participants’
countries with regard to the development of policies and programmes, and the
implementation of international education and values education at the teacher-training level;

+ workshops to review existing curriculum models, modules, or materials, and to design
prototype models, modules or materials for adaptation and use in Member States as well as
for pre-testing and evaluation purposes. Efforts to work with other regions involved in
programmes and projects on peace, tolerance, non-violence, human rights, democracy and
international understanding will be pursued.

To carry out the above activities, APNJEW holds yearly conferences and workshops with the
support of UNESCO and under the guidance of a Steering Committee from seven Member States,
and with UNJXSCOP ROAP as Secretariat.

APNIEVE’s vision of the future is inspired by the report of the International Commission on
Education for the Twenty-first Century, chaired by Jacques Delors, which emphasizes the need
for each individual to learn how to learn, and requiring a better understanding of other people
and the world at large, peace is interchange and harmony, which are sadly lacking in our world
today. Of the four pillars of education, “learning to live together” is the one most vital to
building a genuine and lasting culture of peace in both the Asia-Pacific region and throughout the
world. The three other pillars – “learning to know” , “learning to do”, and “earning to be” – are
the bases for learning to live together.

APNIEVE’s definition of “learning to live together”, and the values required for it from the Asia-
Pacific perspective, was arrived at by experts from nine countries who met in Malacca, 1-4 July
1996 to reflect on their views as to what “learning to live together” means and what
values are required to achieve it, particularly in the Asia-Pacific context.

Learning to live together in peace and harmony is a dynamic, holistic and lifelong
process through which mutual respect, understanding, caring and sharing,
compassion, social responsibility, solidarity, acceptance and tolerance of diversity
among individuals and groups (ethnic, social, cultural, religious, national and
regional) are internalized and practised together to solve problems and to work
towards a just and free, peaceful and democratic society.

This process begins with the development of inner peace in the minds and hearts of
individuals engaged in the search for truth, knowledge and understanding of each
other’s cultures and the appreciation of shared common values to achieve a better
future.

Learning to live together in peace and harmony requires that quality of relationships
at all levels is committed to peace, human rights, democracy and social justice in an
ecologically sustainable environment.