Two new Handbooks for primary and secondary school teachers

24. februar 2020

The UNESCO Associated Schools Network has an important role to play in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Education and Sustainable Development Goal 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

UNESCO has published the following materials in order to support Associated Schools in their efforts to transform learning through the promotion of global citizenship education:

The two handbooks aim to help students understand their fundamental rights, equip them with a strong moral compass and critical thinking skills, as well as empower them to become champions for justice in society. The lessons in the handbooks are interactive: democracy is demonstrated, as students participate in mock elections or take on the roles of judges – jurors - local mayors and refugees. Games and story-telling help bring social issues to life, prompting students to take a moral stand.

The Handbooks were piloted in a selected number of schools of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network in Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines, Slovenia and Spain. The comments and suggestions of their teachers guided UNESCO in finalizing the publication.

These handbooks can be accessed in English, Spanish and French on open access on UNESDOC. Please note that the handbooks will also be available in Arabic, Russian and Chinese shortly.

l encourage you to share the handbooks with your ASPnet schools, and possibly other schools in your country. In addition, you may wish to translate the handbooks or adapt them for the national context and publish them in accordance with UNESCO's open access policy.

Any enquiries regarding thé handbooks should be addressed to my colleagues Elodie Beth-Seo at e.beth-seo@unesco.org and Martha K. Ferede at mk.ferede@unesco.org.

l hope that you will find the handbooks helpful and wish to thank you for your continued support to UNESCO's Associated Schools in your country.

Yours sincerely,
Stefania Giannini