News

On 16 July 2024 – The Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) and its partners co-organized a distinguished event titled "Unlearning Intolerance: Global Citizenship Education and SDG 16" at the United Nations Headquarters. This event was organized in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica and the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, the University for Peace, and co-sponsored by the Ban Ki-moon Foundation.

The proceedings opened with a welcoming address by Hyun Mook Lim, Director of APCEIU. Director Lim detailed APCEIU’s initiatives and emphasized the pivotal role of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16), which focuses on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.

Following Director Lim's remarks, Ambassador Sang Jin Kim, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, expressed his gratitude to the event organizers and participants. Ambassador Kim addressed pressing global challenges, including the refugee crisis and climate change, stressing the essential role of GCED in fostering compassion, empathy, and understanding to create a safer and better world. He reaffirmed the Republic of Korea's commitment to advancing GCED as a tool for building peaceful and sustainable societies.

Further acknowledgments were offered by Kate Landon, Executive Director of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation, and Ramu Damodaran, Permanent Observer of the University for Peace to the United Nations. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 'Unlearning Intolerance' series, Mr. Damodaran underscored the critical role of education in promoting global citizenship and tolerance, highlighting historical milestones and advocating for intergenerational learning to combat intolerance and advance peace. Notably, Mr. Damodaran remarked that replacing apathy with empathy is significant because apathy itself constitutes a form of intolerance.

The interactive panel discussion centered on three key questions:
1.    What is the current global situation regarding intolerance and violence?
2.    How does GCED relate to SDG 16, particularly its specific targets in the present context?
3.  What priority actions should various stakeholders—including governments, schools, academia, civil society, communities, and the media—undertake to strengthen the role of GCED in achieving SDG 16?

Moderated by Mr. Liberato C. Bautista, President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CoNGO), the panel featured distinguished speakers: Ms. Annemarie Hou, Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships; Ms. Felisa Tibbitts, Chair in Human Rights Education at Utrecht University and UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Higher Education; and Ms. Laura Engel, Professor of International Education and International Affairs and UNESCO Co-Chair in International Education for Development at George Washington University.

The event underscored the importance of collaborative efforts in promoting GCED and highlighted the need for educational initiatives to foster tolerance, empathy, and global understanding as integral components of sustainable development.
The full video of the event is available here.

URL: https://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/5131