UNESCO’s new project engages schools in documentary heritage

As the world faces more global challenges, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding are crucial to finding common solutions. One way to foster these is through education, by providing teachers with the tools they need to empower students to engage in cross-cultural dialogue and to develop a more intersubjective understanding of humanity’s shared past.

In this vein, UNESCO launched a pilot project on 27 October 2022, with a goal of empowering teachers and students in the context of international cooperation around documentary heritage.

The project, “Fostering Global Citizens through the Memory of the World”, is a collaboration between UNESCO’s Memory of the World (MoW) Programme under the Communication and Information Sector and the Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) under the Education Sector.

“We would like to embrace the younger generation to appreciate documentary heritage and further get them involved in the learning experience,” said Mr Fackson Banda, Chief of the Documentary Unit, Communication and Information Sector, during the launch, which coincided with the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the MoW Programme.

“We think that the inscriptions at the Memory of the World International Register can be used as an educational resource for children, for students, for teachers,” he added.

Ms Julie Saito, ASPnet International Coordinator with the Education Sector, explains that the pilot project serves the network’s goals by integrating Global Citizenship Education and intercultural learning and the appreciation of cultural diversity and heritage.

“Over the next months, teachers from Ghana, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and the UK will come together around pieces of documentary heritage using newly developed tools and resources to empower their students to become Global Citizens,” she said.

As part of this collaborative initiative, teachers from the fields of language, art, history and literature will have the chance to improve their skills through an online course on documentary heritage, as well as by creating collaborative lesson plans and setting up shared online classes for their students, until June 2023.

Ms Marielis Schelhaas, Secretary-General of the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO, said that the project would give practical effect to the implementation of Global Citizenship Education in her country, adding that “it also combines two marvellous and important UNESCO’s programmes.”

Using the documentary heritage items in classrooms, she continued, would make the common history to life by stimulating children’s imaginations.

Ms Rebecca Bollands, Deputy Head of Earlsdon Primary School in the United Kingdom, shared her excitement about embarking on the project, emphasizing that key themes such as community, migration, sustainability, democracy, diversity, peace, and reconciliation flow through the history curriculum used at her school. She stated at the meeting that her school was keen on incorporating “the documentary [heritage] history in our lessons.”

Ms Sarah Widyaningtyas of the Bina Bangsa School in Indonesia said that the project’s intercultural interaction will allow their students to learn the history of colonialism from different perspectives and plant the seeds for future collaboration between younger generations in Indonesia and the Netherlands.

Similarly, Ms Freda Asante-Kumi of Ghana’s Accra College of Education Basic School stated that it is time to consider a new method of teaching colonialism in schools, possibly by adding “colours to history lessons.”

Currently in the pilot phase, UNESCO intends to expand the project in the future to include more activities and reach more countries. A concept note can be shared with potential donors, including Member States interested in supporting this initiative.

Watch the recorded livestream of the launch event here.

The MoW Programme was established in 1992 with the aim of facilitating the preservation of the world’s past, present and future documentary heritage, assisting universal access to documentary heritage, and increasing awareness worldwide of the existence and significance of documentary heritage and thereby foster dialogue and mutual understanding between people and cultures. As part of its efforts to embrace educators and learners, the programme has produced several educational resources, such as the Google Arts & Culture MoW platform, an e-Course for Teachers along with a lesson plan, an Interactive Calendar for children, and a children book.  

Founded in 1953, ASPnet connects more than 12,000 schools in 182 countries around a common goal to build peace in the minds of children and young people. Through concrete actions member schools promote the ideals of UNESCO valuing rights and dignity, gender equality, social progress, freedom, justice and democracy, respect for diversity and international solidarity. The Network operates at international and national levels with three clear priorities: education for sustainable development, global citizenship education and inter-cultural and heritage learning.