DG/2001/19 Original : English UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the occasion of the visit to the University of Ulster to mark the inauguration of the UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, 7 February 2001
1 Minister of Higher Education of Northern Ireland, Vice-Chancellor, To be here to mark the inauguration, within this prestigious University, of a special UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy, is at once a privilege, an honour, and a pleasure. This Chair was established in summer 1999. But what we celebrate today formalizes the long and fruitful collaboration between our two institutions. I should like to pay tribute to the Minister of Higher Education, Mr Sean Farren, and to the Vice- Chancellor of the University, Professor Gerry McKenna. And I most warmly thank the Chairholder, Professor Alan Smith, for his enthusiasm and belief in UNESCO s ideals and goals, as well as for his availability to participate in UNESCO s activities and provide precious counsel, as a member of the Advisory Committee on Education for Peace, Human Rights, Democracy, International Understanding and Tolerance. The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs programme was launched in 1991. The positive international response from educational institutions throughout the world, in both developing and developed countries, has shown just what a success this formula could prove. Over 300 Chairs have been established in such various fields as peace, sustainable development, human rights, environment and population, education, science and technology, and social and human sciences. The academic level has proven gratifyingly high. The UNESCO Chair at Ulster University is part of this international educational network, whose purpose is to promote research and training for a culture of peace, to encourage national, regional and sub-regional collaboration between scholars and teachers, to conduct specialized courses and programmes, to organize workshops and conferences, and to prepare newsletters and other relevant publications. As recently as two decades ago, few university curricula even included human rights and democracy studies. Now, on the contrary, few even question the fact that such courses should be taught in institutions of higher learning; indeed, at all levels of education.
2 I note with satisfaction how active your UNESCO Chair has been in its first year, providing relevant educational support for the peace process in Northern Ireland, and promoting international links and contributing to weaving a worldwide network towards a culture of peace. To secure peace is not only to prevent new conflicts but also to overcome the fissures of past wars. Lasting peace requires action at many different levels, from cementing close economic ties to instilling a sense of tolerance and respect. UNESCO s duty is to encourage peace-building from the foundations up, by favouring the emergence of a true culture of peace among citizens whose legitimate differences are recognized and appreciated, while their equal and absolutely essential human dignity is affirmed. Here, perhaps more than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, you know that this is first and foremost a question of education. We can and, indeed, should be taught from an early age to understand different points of view, to value the spiritual diversity and distinct cultural contributions of other civilizations and human groups, and to acquire the mental habit of searching in every way possible for the peaceful instead of violent resolution to any dispute. It is education that in the long run ensures community and citizen support for - dare I say, demand for - political settlements of conflicts. This is what we call a culture of peace. Its essential instruments are education for all, as well as research and training to help forestall conflicts and nurture the values of democracy and pluralism through full participation in political life and decision-making by all members of civil society: with no exclusion based on prejudice against either gender, creed, opinion or class. In this regard, we have much to learn from the vast teaching experience of institutions like the University of Ulster. The quality of your curricula is high and of long-standing. But I would beg to suggest that it is all the more relevant for the painful long years of civilian and sectarian strife that have ripped this community apart. Your UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy has thus significantly supported the peace process in Northern Ireland, through imaginative educational programmes. Most particularly, I should like to praise the work of the Chair, together with that of the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), in
3 introducing education for democratic citizenship into the general school curriculum. Applause is also due to the teachers from schools in Northern Ireland who are currently developing materials and training courses, and piloting the introduction of education for democratic citizenship, to children aged between 11 and 16 years. To be sure, democracy only securely exists once democratic institutions are firmly rooted. But once such stability is enjoyed, the next emphasis must be on democratic governance, here understood as the process by which the State, through its institutions, remains attentive to the real needs and will of its citizens, and actively involves them both in the resolution of shared problems, and in the benefits of the entire community's social, cultural and economic development. But democracy is also a question of values, attitudes, practices - not just formal institutions. Democracy is a living growth, a process in constant evolution, never to be taken for granted, as it were, once and for all. It can only thrive if nurtured as part of the daily concern of leaders and citizens alike : hence our need to foster open, caring attitudes from primary school onwards. As stated during the World Education Forum held in Dakar last 26 to 28 April 2000, the obligation of educators extends well beyond the transmission of knowledge and skills, to the promoting of much deeper attitudes, behaviours and values. I am pleased to note that your Chair, too, is working in this direction. Besides the above-mentioned activities of your Chair, I should also like to congratulate you for your creative programme in visiting professorships, whereby scholars from other countries can come share their different experience and views. You have further established a UNESCO studentship and internship programme, developed a website, and even undertaken missions to explore possibilities of support for educational reforms in other countries like Sri Lanka, or Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here you have successfully achieved your Chair's second objective, by forging international links towards education for a true culture of peace. I am convinced that the University of Ulster's Chair will be particularly active within the network of UNESCO s Chairs generally, bearing in mind that the period 2001-2010 was proclaimed by the United Nations as an International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. UNESCO was designated by the world's nations as the leading agency in
4 programmes connected with this Decade. In such a context, promoting both formal and non-formal education, at all levels that inculcate a culture of peace and non-violence, might really be a priority for us all. I wish you continuing success in your fine work. Yours is, and has to be, a pivotal contribution to the long, patient and sometimes arduous endeavour to establish lasting peace in this beautiful land. Thank you.