Activities
Since 2000 UNESCO has been in charge of a programme covering artistic education and creativity, divided into three phases.
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Implementation of the Third Phase (2006-2010)
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The Second World Conference was organised by UNESCO and the Government of the Republic of Korea in Seoul from 25 to 28 May 2010 and resulted in producing the Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Art Education as its major outcome.
Other activities that constitute the third phase of UNESCO’s Arts Education Programme include the promotion of the Road Map for Arts Education, the creation of the UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning (Queen’s University, Canada 2007) and the establishment of the Asia Pacific Network of Arts Education Observatories.
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Implementation of the Second Phase (2003-2006)
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The second phase of activities required UNESCO to call for the organization of a World Conference on Arts Education. UNESCO Member States adopted at the 32nd session of the General Conference in 2003 the proposal by the Portuguese authorities to organize a World Conference.
This was a direct result of the recommendations of the World Congress on the Status of the Artist (Paris, 1997) and the Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development (Stockholm, 1998), recognizing among others that the cross-disciplinary role of arts teaching is a fundamental element in education, as well as in the strengthening of arts and promotion of cultural diversity.
The First World Conference on Arts Education, organized by UNESCO and the Government of Portugal in Lisbon from 6-9 March 2006, was a culmination of a five-year international collaboration between UNESCO and its partners in the field of Arts Education and resulted in producing the Road Map for Arts Education as its major outcome.
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Implementation of the First Phase (2000-2003)
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Regional conferences on arts education were organized in the framework of the first phase of UNESCO’s programme so that experts from various regions could exchange information, with the view to developing a new pedagogical approach to the teaching of artistic practices. Furthermore, the goal of these meetings was to draw up guidelines to prepare a method, a programme and pedagogical materials for artistic education by country as well as an overall coherent approach.
The regional conferences were held as followed:
- Africa (June 2001, South Africa)
- Latin America and the Caribbean (October 2001, Brazil)
- Arab States (May 2002, Jordan)
- Asia and the Pacific (January 2004, China and November 2002, Fiji)
- Europe and North America (August 2003, Finland).
These regional expert meetings led to the drawing up of a regional report on artistic education in school and extracurricular activities. The conclusions drawn from these conferences are published in:
- Cultural heritage, creativity and education for all in Africa
- Methods, contents and teaching of arts education in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Arts Education in the Pacific Region: Heritage and Creativity
- Artistic practices and techniques from Europe and North America favouring social cohesion and peace
- Educating for Creativity: Bringing the Arts and Culture into Asian Education