International Day for Tolerance
Ban Ki-moon, UN Former Secretary-General
In 1996, the UN General International Day for ToleranceAssembly invited UN Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November, with activities directed towards both educational establishments and the wider public.
This action followed on the United Nations Year for Tolerance, 1995, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 at the initiative of UNESCO, as outlined in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and Follow-up Plan of Action for the Year.
"Tolerance is a new idea, one which we need now more than ever." It leads us to respect cultural diversity, ways of life and expressions of our own humanity. It is a necessary condition for peace and progress for all people in a diversified and ever-more connected world."
via Google Images
Education:
Tolerance Day ! More important
than ever to remember fear must not divide us, we must all stand together for tolerance and peace.
“In a globalizing world, it is no longer enough to live side by side,
in passive indifference – tolerance requires active vigilance, renewed each
day, against xenophobia, discrimination and hatred.”
The International Day for Tolerance is a time for young people learn about respecting and recognizing
the rights and beliefs of others. It is also a time of reflection and debate on
the negative effects of intolerance.
cartoon: DesputeauxAubin
Live discussions and debates must take place in schools across the world on this day, particularly following the attacks in Paris last Friday, November 13, 2015.
It must be focuse on how various forms of injustice, oppression, extremism and unfair radicalism have a negative impact on society.
It must be focuse on how various forms of injustice, oppression, extremism and unfair radicalism have a negative impact on society.
Teachers could use the dramatic events in Paris to hear the voices of their students, concerning their feelings about those hideous images on social media, on television, internet by linking to Tolerance Day.
They must help students in their lessons to understand and interiorize the issues centered on tolerance, respect, human rights and non-violence.
Teachers must teach the human values, as they already teach, when they are concerned about children who are at risk of perhaps being drawn into a gang. They will also be looking for examples perhaps where young people are being groomed on the internet, which is what we see happening with terrorists.
The radicalisation of young people being at risk of being drawn into non-violent extremism is a very real threat in different countries. Parents are also going to be caught by it as well.
Be aware. Prepare your kids and students to stay free of this non-human values, ask them for new ideas for Tolerance.
credits: Le Petit Prince | Paris, je t'aime
Resources & Activities:
These issues must be on the the text books you will choose for this Day for Tolerance lesson, as well as the material and
other educational resources used for this day.
Information on the day in school can be made through flyers, posters,
news articles, cartoons... created by the students to raise people’s awareness
about the importance for tolerance.
cartoon: Mathilde Adono
Use some cartoons by different cartoonists (different countries) to
extend the comprehension for tolerance.
Other activities can include Music, Arts, dialogues, and story-telling of
people’s personal accounts of intolerance and how it affects their lives.
"Tolerance is not
passive or silent acceptance of differences; it is inseparable from respect for
fundamental human rights. It is constant commitment to facilitating exchanges
and dialogue, despite difficulties and a lack of understanding which can lead
to inward-looking attitudes. It is a call to question prejudice and
commonly-held beliefs."
credits: Andrea N yberg
My thoughts:
How to talk about at school? I still remember Charlie Hebdo and September 11/2001. We must not to impose our words as adults.
How to find the right words when overcome with sorrow our own emotion, and every word that comes to our mind can frighten small kids and young adolescents: attacks, terrorists dead, mourning, run, shooting?
Schools are places of free speech. And it’s just as clear that intimidation and violence must be condemned and combated for whatever reason they’re committed, especially if their goal is to undermine freedoms and liberty of open societies.
How to talk about at school? I still remember Charlie Hebdo and September 11/2001. We must not to impose our words as adults.
How to find the right words when overcome with sorrow our own emotion, and every word that comes to our mind can frighten small kids and young adolescents: attacks, terrorists dead, mourning, run, shooting?
credits: UNESCO
The psychologist Agnès Florin's interview Que faire lundi matin :
"Beaucoup d'enfants ont entendu parler des attentats. Ils ont vu à la télévision des scènes difficiles. Ils ont perçu l'inquiétude de leurs parents. D'autres ont été plus directement concernés par leurs proches. Certains se sont même retrouvés en situation de témoins."
So the best way is to start from hearing the students! Or asking "What you heard?" or "Did you watch the TV news about what was going in Paris?" or "What have you understood?
Linking to International Day for Tolerance teach about respect for others' unique qualities in the lessons that can combine music, arts where students feel more free to express their suffering, hunger or just fear?
credits: UNESCO
In these lessons, students are searching for the most positive aspects of some very unusual "people." The activity reinforces the idea that one can't always judge the quality of a person by his or her appearance; sometimes people can be appreciated for their differences.
"It is an invitation for us to strengthen moral and intellectual solidarity between peoples through educational cooperation, dialogue among cultures, knowledge-sharing and free distribution of information. Tolerance is a means of constructing peace; it accelerates innovation and creation, opening our minds to other ways to view the world. "
