The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, hosting the history of the Peace Prize laureates and their work, is an area of reflection and debate about important social issues related to war, peace and conflict resolution. Similarly, universities, and the role of humanities within the universities, have a central role to play in shaping critical minds and training people to think about things.
By reading some print-interviews on the UNESCO Courier, a quarterly magazine published by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, since 1948, I was enlightened by the way the Nobel Peace Center, UNESCO and universities can teach and instill knowledge and values that can be transformed into actions that can benefit people and their communities.
At the Center, the Educational Team has a project on learning by problem-solving rather than by learning facts by heart. It is a method questions-answers based, where children are being taught the importance of children’ s rights, and questioned on difficult cases (poverty, war, conflicts, racism, environmental disasters, the absence of democracy and human rights) based on true-life dilemmas. This method is very relevant as it helps build critical thinking.
Universities, especially humanities, teach and retrace history, as a way of understanding the world and its global challenges. The role of intellectuals is to be disruptive by the questions they pose to society, by the critical position they take vis-à-vis the authorities, or the way they decode the meaning-always, the meaning- that is hidden, disguised or obscured under the continuous flow of information, in which we are all submerged. The understanding depends on culture, a profound culture- a culture nurtured by the breadth of history: a multilingual culture, a culture which is concerned with its origins, which researches them, and tries to deepen our understanding of them, and thus “tries to understand its own present and envisage its future” -says Jean Winand, a professor at the University of Liège, Belgium.
A culture concerned with origins makes me reflect upon the History of Africa, too long forgotten and with the desire to be brought to life, and told, by Africans to Africans and to the World. This is the reason for the UNESCO General History of Africa volumes, and the importance of the true narrative of Africa. To be taught in schools, and in all African Universities. This is a must and hopefully we can witness it in this lifetime.
Fernando M. Reimers, Professor of International Education Policy Program at Harvard University, believes in advancing the understanding of the ways schools can empower students to participate civically and economically, and the help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. “Being Global Citizens starts from a young age, by cultivating a positive mindset, including ethics, knowledge, social competencies and self-knowledge, aligned to the development of capacities that would help students develop a global consciousness- while cultivating their motivation and skills to address global challenges” he states.
Central to the conception of global competency is the notion of empowerment, by cultivating a mindset that each individual can make a difference, can take initiative and act in leadership roles.
What is Education but the construction of opportunities for people to develop the skills and mindsets that help them live in ways to advance worthy goals? With this question, professor Reimers makes us think.
In the photo, the new project of Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra, representing #Peace with the image of Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani young activist for female education and Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2014. The mural is on the facade of the “Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove” in Rome, Italy.
Small playlist to delight your ears
Quero ser feliz também– Natiruts
Decode– Paramore
Norway– Beach House
Lifeline– Ben Harper
A higher place– Adam Levine
One call away– Charlie Puth
@GaiaParadiso
The Lighthouse 