UNESCO Member States adopt global framework to strengthen Culture and Arts education

Paris/Abu Dhabi, 17 February 2024 – UNESCO Member States unanimously adopted a brand new global Framework for Culture and Arts Education. Among the commitments made: to give higher precedence to tradition and arts education in trainer coaching, to put extra emphasis on native and indigenous cultures and heritage within the classroom, and to higher acknowledge inventive and cultural expertise inside the skilled world. To translate this Framework into motion, UNESCO and the United Arab Emirates additionally introduced a brand new main initiative.

“As a UNESCO research highlighted final yr, arts education helps college students develop emotional intelligence, creativity and vital pondering. It improves their well-being and educational outcomes. Artistic education additionally promotes openness to others and respect for range inside society at massive. I thank our Member States for this new global settlement which can make tradition and arts a higher precedence in education, whereas considering using digital know-how,” stated Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO.

The World Conference on Culture and Arts Education, organized by UNESCO and United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi (13-15 February), introduced collectively practically 1,000 tradition and education stakeholders – together with 90 ministers, 125 representatives of UNESCO Member States, policy-makers, consultants and NGOs, in addition to UN companies, academia and the non-public sector.

The new UNESCO Framework stresses the necessity for lifelong studying in tradition and artwork inside all varieties of instructional settings, and for putting tradition and the humanities on the coronary heart of education insurance policies, methods, curricula, and programmes. The Framework broadens the understanding of “tradition” to embody constructed, pure and residing heritage, cultural expressions, in addition to the cultural and artistic industries. It additionally focuses on the capacities of digital applied sciences in tradition and arts education to assist promote intercultural dialogue and linguistic range.

The textual content adopted additionally acknowledges that studying in, via and with cultural range is important for overcoming divisions and fostering mutual understanding. It underlines the necessity for higher emphasis on native – and particularly indigenous – cultures and heritage. It additionally requires strengthening relationships between instructional and cultural establishments. This means creating extra partnerships between faculties and cultural establishments and propertie, together with UNESCO’s World Heritage websites, in addition to the cultures, traditions, and festivals inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible heritage of humanity.

Building on the legacy of the UNESCO Lisbon Road Map (2006), the Seoul Agenda (2010) and the MONDIACULT Mexico Declaration (2022), this Framework is the end result of two years of multistakeholder consultations, dialogue and negotiations with Member States.

A brand new UNESCO-UAE partnership to implement the Framework

The adoption of this Framework is just not an finish in itself. Its suggestions should now be translated into tangible public coverage. UNESCO will help this course of, by enabling Member States to share experiences, launch modern reforms and share finest practices. UNESCO and the United Arab Emirates introduced a primary main initiative together with grants and worldwide mobility program for lecturers, in addition to capability constructing for African Member States via consultants’ visits, data sharing and vocational coaching.

“I would really like to commend the vital announcement made by Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates for the approaching years. It will give us the power wanted to translate this Framework into motion, supporting the nations that want it most, and particularly supporting Africa as a global precedence of UNESCO”, added Audrey Azoulay.

This new initiative will depend on three essential pillars. It will present grants to those who implement distinctive practices for arts education in every area. It will have interaction lecturers – particularly these within the greater than 12,000 UNESCO Associated Schools. Educators who design and ship efficient pedagogies for arts education shall be allotted worldwide mobility grants. In addition, the programme will help African States via consultants’ visits, data sharing and Technical and Vocation Education and Training (TVET).