Driving education for peace, human rights and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific

By Priscilla Roberts

At a time of rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific, CQUniversity is leading a charge for systemic change in education to ensure the region is nurturing global citizens and securing sustainable futures.

Dr Karena Menzie-Ballantyne, a Bundaberg-based Senior Lecturer and researcher in Education at CQUniversity, in consultation with colleagues from UNESCO Paris, Bangkok and New Delhi, Sophia University, Japan, the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCIEU) and the Centre for Asia Pacific Excellence at University of Waikato in New Zealand - is steering the development of a road map to support the implementation of UNESCO’s new Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development.

Developed in consultation with key education stakeholders at a Regional Policy Dialogue in Bangkok in June, the road map focuses on actions that link distinct but interconnected components of education, namely human rights, global citizenship, digital technologies, climate change, gender equality, health, well-being and cultural diversity.

Dr Menzie-Ballantyne explained that achieving UNESCO’s big picture goals for education will require Australia, along with the rest of the Asia-Pacific, to rethink the purpose of education and take action to revise education-related policies, curricula, pedagogies, learning resources and environments, as well as giving teachers and education personnel the initial training and professional development needed to make it happen on the ground. 

“The work we are doing is known by many names such as education for global citizenship, global competence, sustainable development, 21^st Century skills, peace education and so on, but its focus is on educating our young people for today’s world,” she explained.

“We're building their compassion, intercultural understanding, empathy and motivation to contribute to their world, as well as providing them with opportunities to develop the cognitive and social emotional skills to do something about it.”

Dr Menzie-Ballantyne said the road map acknowledged that implementation needed to occur in all societal settings and should encompass formal education from early childhood through to tertiary, non-formal and informal education, to ensure learning is life-long and life-wide.    

“Too often the focus of education is narrowed to the fundamentals of literacy and numeracy or what is required for an ATAR assessment, or to pass a university or VET qualification. 

“No one is denying the importance of ensuring everyone is literate and numerate and has the best start in life, but in our rapidly changing, globalised world we need more. 

“We need the critical thinking and digital literacy skills to see past fake news; the empathy and intercultural understanding to identify and respect alternative perspectives; and the ability to collaborate with others for employment and to address pressing local and global issues such as those identified in the Sustainable Development Goals.

“However, without fundamental changes to policy, curricula and pedagogy and how we train teachers to teach these concepts and skills, they will simply stay on the periphery as a ‘warm and fuzzy’ set of ideas.”

The road map was officially released on Friday, 16 August.

VIDEO: Learn more about the key messages emerging from the Regional Policy Dialogue and the Launch of the 'Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development' in the Asia-Pacific region, held in Bangkok.