UNESCO schools, an outstanding initiative

Did you know: the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet for short) was created over half a century ago? In 1953 to be precise. Convinced of the constant need to construct peace in the minds of men, women and children, a truly international network of schools was set up committed to converting the organization’s ideals into action through new and effective educational practices and approaches worldwide.
It is the largest network of public and private schools around the globe(representing some one million teachers and millions of students, from over 9000 educational institutions in 180 countries, all operating under the auspices of UNESCO and within the United Nations system. It is highly acclaimed by Member States and still expanding.
The ASPnet was set up to help deal with some of the pressing issues facing society and the world at large in the 20th Century. By building peace in the minds of children and young people, the network has kept pace with a constantly changing world and it remains futureoriented. Member institutions – ranging from pre-schools, primary, secondary and vocational schools to teacher training institutions at university level- work in support of international understanding, peace, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development and quality education in practice.
At the moment there are 20 UNESCO schools in the Netherlands and recently Europees Platform activated a specific subsite dedicated to explaining the idea and principles of UNESCO schools. Click here.

Exploring the unesco.org site a little further I came across this very practical toolkit, published by UNESCO, UNICEF and the Arigato Foundation: “Learning to Live Together: An Intercultural and Interfaith Program for Ethics Education”, a programme for educators to teach children about respecting and understanding diverse faiths, religions and ethical beliefs. It aims to help young people and children develop ethical decision-making skills and nurture a sense of belonging, community and values. Ultimately its aim is to shape attitudes for building peace through teaching tolerance and mutual understanding.
In the light of the Grundtvig project that we are participating in this was a welcome find! Another interesting and recent publication is: School Culture: UNESCO-schools towards a peaceful society, showing national and international school portraits around the issue: how can multi-ethnic schools develop a binding school culture? Inspiring examples of the way schools can tailor the UNESCO School profile to their own specific situations ! The idea of becoming a UNESCO school is definitely worth exploring further.