With conflicts rising on so many fronts, there has never been a more urgent need for a transformed education geared towards building and sustaining peace.
The Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development, adopted by all 194 Member States of UNESCO in 2023, articulates a humanistic and transformative vision of education that can help address contemporary and future affronts to peace. These challenges range from the resurgence of conflicts driven by systemic inequalities and injustices, the rise and spread of hate speech, racism and discrimination, particularly online, to the adverse effects of digital technologies and the existential threat of climate change.
A Youth Guide is being developed as part of a collaborative initiative supported by the Government of Japan, aiming to produce user-oriented and co-produced materials that bring the UNESCO 2023 Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development to life for key education stakeholders. This document will aim to provide concise recommendations and practical actions for youth and student engagement in support of the implementation of the 2023 Recommendation themes and principles. A toolkit for action will be constructed within the Guide, illustrating methods of taking action for the 2023 Recommendation.
The guide for youth and learners is being co-created by young people themselves under the leadership of the SDG4 Youth & Student Network, hosted by UNESCO's SDG4 Inter-Agency Secretariat.
Youth and students from all over the world are invited to contribute to the development of the guide by participating in a Youth Consultation.