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UNESCO Almaty and APCEIU jointly hosted a Regional Workshop on GCED in Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan
The UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty and the hosted the Regional Workshop on Implementation of UNESCO 2023 Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development with the Focus on Global Citizenship Education (GCED).
The regional seminar was held as part of the implementation of the 2023 Recommendation. It is a revision of the 1974 Recommendation adopted by the UNESCO Member States in November 2023, reflecting shifts in the global and educational landscape in the 21st century, particularly the requirements of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education. Following the 2024 Asia-Pacific Policy Dialogue and Launch of the Recommendation on Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development, which was convened in Bangkok, Thailand, this regional forum in Almaty represents an important step in efforts to fulfil the 2023 Recommendation and achieve sustainable development across Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan.
The aim of the workshop was to explore effective ways to integrate GCED and the principles and action areas outlined in the Recommendation into existing education systems in the region. Organising lectures, presentations, workshops, group work and school visits, the three-day event deepened participants’ understanding of GCED and strengthened their practical competencies for implementing GCED in their countries. On the final day, participants developed a regional action plan for implementing the 2023 Recommendation and the Roadmap for Asia-Pacific from the aspect of GCED. The action plan identified key actions and strategies in the five areas: 1) curriculum and pedagogy, 2) assessment and evaluation, 3) learning environments, 4) teacher education and 5) regional collaboration. The action plan will be presented to all national partners in the seven member states to further implement the 2023 Recommendation across the region.
“All the seminar sessions were incredibly useful and inspiring. Each one contributed to a deeper understanding of Global Citizenship Education (GCED). One highlight was the visit to the Nazarbayev Intellectual School — the exchange of ideas with students and the presentation of their projects left a lasting impression on us. We also gained many new ideas not only from the trainers, but also from fellow participants from neighboring countries, which made the overall experience even more valuable and multifaceted.”
This onsite workshop was attended by about thirty representatives from Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, such as officials from Ministries of Education, educational policymakers, curriculum experts, teacher trainers, teachers and civil society representatives.
“Participating in the regional seminar deepened our understanding of UNESCO’s 2023 Recommendations on education for peace, human rights, global citizenship, and sustainable development. We received valuable practical tools and strategies that will support the effective integration of these principles into national education systems. Such seminars are extremely important, as they create a shared space for dialogue and cooperation between countries. They foster the implementation of cross-country initiatives in the field of education for peace and global citizenship.”
UNESCO and APCEIU equipped educators and policymakers with the strategies and tools necessary to foster resilience within societies through teaching and learning, thereby promoting a more just, inclusive and peaceful future in the seven countries.
“In cooperation with the UNESCO Almaty Office, APCEIU will support the participants to implement their own GCED activities in their local context. The action plans designed during the workshop are mentioning necessary support from APCEIU, such as support for the integration of GCED into their curriculum or programmes, organization of GCED workshop, and co-development of GCED material, etc. APCEIU will thoroughly review these requests, identify intersections between the requests and APCEIU's programmes, and carry out possible collaboration with the participants. Considering that one of the goals of APCEIU is to promote GCED particularly in Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan, APCEIU would like to provide its support as much as it can for the region.”
