Events

25 October 2023 - 26 October 2023

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Rooms: Bangkok, Thailand

Type: Cat VII – Seminar and training

Arrangement type: Virtual

The 2023 ‘Taking it Local’ online workshop will provide a platform for former participants to reconvene, consider progress and challenges, and conceive future directions.

Building on the success of its first online Global Citizenship Education (GCED) workshop of 2021, ‘Taking It Local’ online training workshop for master trainers, and its subsequent 2022 iteration, ‘Taking It Local’ Workshop for Systemic Transformations, UNESCO and Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) are delighted to announce the upcoming Follow-up Workshop on GCED Collective Action Plans ‘Taking it Local’ in Asia-Pacific. This year’s workshop, the third iteration in the series, will provide a platform for former participants to reconvene, share progress made on the implementation of their collective action plans, receive feedback from others, and discuss the challenges and opportunities faced during implementation.

Background

In the 21st century, it is imperative to empower learners with the skills and knowledge to become resilient and adaptable to the fast-evolving economies, labour markets, and to the impacts of climate change while contributing to social cohesion, peace, and sustainable development of our world.

In direct response to these challenges, in 2021, at the 41st session of the UNESCO General Conference, Member States decided to revise the1974 Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The revised 1974 Recommendation has been adapted to align with the evolving global and educational landscape and takes into consideration the goals of the 2030 Agenda and, specifically, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 that promotes Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The revised 1974 Recommendation now calls upon member states to firmly integrate education's role in promoting global peace, international understanding, and sustainable development as we grapple with contemporary threats and challenges. Furthermore, the United Nations Transforming Education Summit (TES) of 2022 sounded the alarm for urgent and systemic changes in the field of education. 

Similarly, turning to Asia-Pacific, there are initiatives and policy frameworks within the Asia-Pacific region that demonstrated a concerted effort to integrate GCED into educational reforms.During the second Asia-Pacific Regional Education Minister’s Conference (APREMC II) held in June 2022, through the Bangkok Statement, ministers from the region have reaffirmed the importance to acknowledge and promote GCED in curriculum content and pedagogical approaches so as to empower learner to become resilient and adaptable to the challenges in the fast-evolving world while contributing to social cohesion, peace, and sustainable development in Asia-Pacific. 

Moreover, the ASEAN Workplan on Education 2021-2025 aligns closely with the goals of GCED. It includes objectives aimed at promoting social cohesiveness within ASEAN member states through heightened awareness and knowledge about ASEAN and its community. Additionally, the workplan seeks to cultivate resilient and environmentally responsible education practices for learners, aligning with the broader principles of GCED. Moreover, the ASEAN Policy Brief on post-COVID-19 Safe School Reopening, Learning Recovery, and Continuity, issued in September 2021, underscores a commitment to delivering education within a secure and inclusive environment that prioritizes the well-being of all learners. This commitment resonates with the principles of GCED by emphasizing inclusivity and the importance of fostering a supportive and conducive learning environment.

At UNESCO Bangkok, as we work to advance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.7, with a specific focus on GCED at the local level, we remain committed to translate the guiding principles of GCED related global and region-specific frameworks into action in the Asia-Pacific region.

To better strengthen GCED stakeholders’ capacity building, UNESCO Bangkok and APCEIU developed a guidebook in 2020—Understanding GCED in Asia-Pacific: A How-to Guide for ‘Taking It Local’. This guidebook aims to guide organisations/individuals in designing and carrying out workshops on GCED, targeting both policymakers and teachers/educators with suggested approaches and activities. In addition, the 2020 Asia-Pacific Regional GCED Network Survey results (unpublished) showed that GCED stakeholders in the region have an increasing interest of capacity building for teachers, policymakers, administrators. Especially, the need of getting program models and content from members are emphasized so that the members can develop training programs on their own within their context.

‘Taking it Local’ Workshop Chronology, 2021–present

In 2021, UNESCO Bangkok and APCEIU jointly developed and co-hosted the first GCED: ‘Taking It Local’ online training workshop for master trainers, to empower them with skills and knowledge to conduct GCED workshops in their local contexts. During the workshop, participants – educators, teachers, master trainers – were introduced to skills development activities that collectively serve as a model for master trainers in conducting GCED workshops in their own communities. 

In pursuit of achieving our shared vision to make education transformation a reality, in 2022, UNESCO Bangkok organized and hosted the virtual 2-day ‘Taking It Local’ Workshop for Systemic Transformations to encourage collective actions in mainstreaming GCED from diverse stakeholders. During this second workshop, through collective planning, participants in their country teams identified key steps that are needed to impact systemic change in the integration of GCED in the curriculum from the classroom to national levels. As a result of this process, collective action plans for GCED in their local contexts were created.

Objectives

The overarching objective is to effectively translate GCED goals and strategies into tangible and practical collective actions at the local level.

The specific objectives include:

• Progress Assessment: Determine the advancement of GCED collective action plans which were formulated by country teams during the GCED Workshop for Systemic Transformations in 2022.
• Capacity Strengthening: Enhance the proficiency of local stakeholders to adapt and implement GCED initiatives within their respective countries at sub-national echelons.
• Evidence-based Knowledge Exchange for Informed Dialogue: Establish a forum for participants to share emerging research findings, personal experiences, successes, and obstacles in implementing GCED initiatives at the grassroots level. This objective aims to enhance evidence-driven dialogues, offering networking avenues to stimulate collaboration and the cross-pollination of ideas among diverse stakeholder groups throughout the region.

Expected Outputs

• A discernable increase in the understanding of GCED amongst the participants in the Asia-Pacific region
• Enhanced capacity for GCED implementation at local levels in participants’ countries
• Evidence-driven dialogues and networks rooted in research and empowered local stakeholders, to support the translation of GCED strategies into actionable plans.

Expected Results

It is expected that the foreseen activities and outputs will contribute towards integrating GCED into mainstream educational frameworks at a systemic level.

Paricipants

By invitation only. 

The workshop is expressly intended for participants of the GCED ‘Taking it Local’ for Systemic Transformations Workshop of 2022. In addition, we will invite members of the GCED Asia-Pacific Network to also attend the workshop.

A pre-workshop meeting will be held to prepare participants to share their action plans during the main Follow-Up Workshop.

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-and-apceiu-announce-follow-taking-it-local-global-citizenship-education-gced-workshop?hub=701