Friday, March 7, 2014

Role of Spiritual Education in Society!

Bikas C. Sanyal, Senior Advisor, International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris, in his paper “Need For Value-Based Education In The Twenty-First Century” takes good review.
  
Since the establishment of UNESCO, a number of standard-setting instruments have been developed to delineate basic principles of education for peace and human rights. Among them are the following:

1      The recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace, and Education Relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom. (Paris, 1974)
2      World Plan of Action on Education for Human Rights and Democracy. (Montreal, 1993)
3      Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993)
4      Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action in Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy. (Paris, 1995)
5      Plan of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education 1995-2004.

These action plans are executed under the guidance of the UNESCO Advisory Committee on Education for Peace, Human Rights, Democracy, International Understanding and Tolerance.
The educational institutions of the Member States of UNESCO have now the necessary courseware to introduce value-based educational programmes – incorporating both spiritual and secular values to build a culture of peace.

In the words of the Director General of UNESCO "I proclaim forcefully, … we must hence forth be ready to pay the price of peace as we have paid with millions of human lives the price of war; that the diversity of cultures, the very basis of our identities and sense of belonging should unite us around ideals proclaimed by our constitution and never again divide us; that religions founded on love should not lead us to confrontation and hatred; and that ideologies, through freedom of expression and participation, should serve democracy and not coercion."[1]



[1]Federico Mayor: Address at the opening of the "International Consultation of Governmental Experts on the Human Right to Peace", delivered on 5 March 1998, UNESCO, Paris.

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