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The Asia-Pacific Centre of International Understanding under the auspices of UNESCO (hereafter APCEIU) co-organized the 9th International Conference on Global Citizenship Education (IConGCED) with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, in collaboration with UNESCO and Chungnam National University BK21 Four Center for GCER.

Held from September 4th (Wednesday) to 5th (Thursday), 2024, the Conference was centred around the theme "Revitalizing Multilateralism for Peace through GCED". Over these two days, approximately 300 policymakers, educators, researchers, and practitioners gathered to engage in diverse and insightful discussions.
 

The opening ceremony on September 4 began with opening remarks by OH Seok Hwan, Vice-Minister of Education of the Republic of Korea, and HONG Seok-in, Ambassador and Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. This was followed by congratulatory remarks from Stefania GIANNINI, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, and a welcoming speech by LIM Hyun Mook, Director of APCEIU. The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Audrey OSLER, Professor Emerita at the University of Leeds, UK, on the topic “Hope, Justice, and Compassion in a Fractured World: Reviewing Our Role as Global Citizenship Educators.”

The first plenary session focused on "Navigating Current Challenges Where Multilateral Efforts Are Most Required." Panelists included Assistant Professor Rawan ARAR from the University of Washington, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Peter NGURUE of the Republic of Kenya to UNESCO representing the ‘Group of Friends for Solidarity and Inclusion with Global Citizenship Education’ initiated by the Republic of Korea, Professor Kihara AI from the University of Tokyo, and Professor LEE Sang-wook from Hanyang University. They presented and discussed the intersection of emerging topics such as ‘Humanitarian Crisis Focusing on Refugees and Forced Migration,’ ‘Racism and Hate Speech,’ "Sustainable Peace and Human Security,’ and ‘Ethical Dilemmas of Generative AI’ and their implications in the educational field.

The second plenary session was facilitated by Dylan WRAY, High Resolves Learning, at the Human Responsibility Accelerator, South Africa. In this session, Associate Professor Ludivina BORJA-DEKIT from Western Mindanao State University, Philippines, and Associate Professor Tania SAEED from Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan, engaged in an interactive dialogue on “Storytelling for Peace”.

On the second day, the plenary session featured youth activists from diverse fields and regional backgrounds discussing the changes they are creating for peace. Noora ELKENAWI, a GCED Activist; Oshani GUNATHILAKE, an Education, Sustainability and Development Practitioner; and KIMHAN Minyoung, Manager of the Peace Momo Action Research team, shared their challenges as youth activists and their hopes for stakeholders in global citizenship education, receiving much encouragement and support.

Additionally, various breakout sessions such as “Transformative Learning for Collaboration: From ME to WE,” “GCED in Action across Borders,” and “All Hands on Deck: Unlocking the Potentials of Multilateral Efforts” drew the attention of participants and stakeholders alike.

The 9th IConGCED was successfully concluded, providing a platform to reflect on the importance and necessity of multilateral cooperation for peace. Related content can be accessed on the official conference website (icongced.unescoapceiu.org) and the YouTube channel (@International Conference on GCED).

URL: https://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/5171