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On 9 September 2016, APCEIU, sponsored by Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, together with the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of the Republic of Korea, Croatia, Andorra, and Jordan, UN agencies including the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York, UN Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) as well as other partner institutions, co-organized the 2016 UN Global Citizenship Education Seminar at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York. The Seminar attracted important stakeholders on GCED at the UN, including members of permanent missions, representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSO), students and teachers alike, sparking the discussion on GCED’s role in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals and in the prevention of violent extremism. The Seminar capitalizes on the inclusion of GCED in the Sustainable Development Goals as Target 4.7 in 2015, and the global action done ever since. Permanent missions of each country showcased the support that various governments provide to the promotion of GCED, and UN agencies, as well as GCED-supporting organizations, shared their experiences in engaging stakeholders across all levels and recommended strategies on how to align these efforts to increase impact and to ensure inclusivity.

Ambassador Oh Joon, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, welcomed the participants to the Seminar by highlighting the role of GCED in current global challenges. “GCED is now becoming a key fundamental solution for a variety of problems we face in a globalized world.” He further mentioned that GCED reflects the changing role of education, in that, “In the past, education has often been quite regarded as a means of securing jobs. GCED offers a new direction for learning…it teaches mutual understanding and respect for diversity, it educates people as global citizens who know how to live together and become part of addressing global challenges.” Ambassador Oh Joon highlighted the role of the Republic of Korea and of APCEIU in promoting GCED. He said “The Republic of Korea stands ready to promote GCED in partnership with the United Nations and civil society”, additionally citing APCEIU’s role in developing curriculum on GCED among other plans to engage schools in implementing this global agenda. 

For the keynote speech, Fernando Reimers, Professor at the Graduate School of Education of Harvard University, strongly resonated the message of GCED’s importance not only as the international community faces challenges and threats that include violent extremism, but in reinstating the value of school as an institution that promotes peace. 

Following the keynote speech, Ambassador Hahn Choong-hee, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, handled the moderation of the panel discussion. The panel discussion which included presentations from UN agencies and GCED-implementing institutions showed insights on current activities on GCED, as well as its challenges, and ways in moving forward. 

Utak Chung, Director of APCEIU, explained the various activities of the Centre in support of GCED. Through its 4 programmes areas-capacity-building workshop for educators and teachers, research and curriculum development, material and information dissemination, establishment of partnerships and networks-APCEIU has been engaging with stakeholders in defining GCED as the cornerstone of twenty-first century education. He explained that the concept of GCED is clear: it is about promoting a sense of belonging and solidarity, and that it promotes universal values. He further encouraged stakeholders to support global efforts to join hands of stakeholders by suggesting initiatives including the establishment of a global network for GCED, and a UN Decade for GCED to monitor and support global action for this agenda.

The panel discussion included presentations from representatives of UN agencies based in New York including Marie Paule Roudil, Director of UNESCO Liaison Office in New York, and Ravi Karkara, Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships and Advocacy of UN Women. Georgina Galanis from Coalition for Global Citizenship 2030 presented the work of CSOs on GCED, and Lyndal Rowlands from InterPress Service presented the important role of media in engaging with the public through imagery. Representing the youth and the Youth Advocacy Group of GEFI, Esther McFarlane highlighted the work that youth has been doing through GEFI and APCEIU, and its plans in the future.

The UN Global Citizenship Education Seminar will be done next year as well, and is expected to further look into the implementation of specific action plans towards its realization until 2030. 

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2016 UN GCED Seminar showed Strong Support for GCED as part of the 2030 Agenda > APCEIU News - APCEIU (unescoapceiu.org)