Towards an Open Learning World: 50 Years. UNESCO Institute for Education
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 473 660 CE 084 399 AUTHOR Elfert, Maren, Ed. TITLE Towards an Open Learning World: 50 Years. UNESCO Institute for Education. INSTITUTION United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Hamburg (Germany). Inst. for Education. PUB DATE 2002-00-00 NOTE 107p.; Photographs may not reproduce well. Translation to English by Peter Sutton. AVAILABLE FROM UNESCO Publishing, Commercial Services, 7, place de Fontenoy, F 75352 Paris (free; available in English, French and German). E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/index.shtml. For full text: http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/pdf/50yearseng.pdf. For full text (French): http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/pdf/50yearsfre.pdf. For full text (German): http://www.unesco.org/ education/uie/pdf/50yearsger.pdf. PUB TYPE Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Access to Education; Adult Basic Education; Adult Education; *Adult Learning; Chronicles; Culturally Relevant Education; Delivery Systems; Developing Nations; Educational Development; Educational Environment; Educational Facilities; Educational Finance; *Educational History; Federal Government; Foreign Countries; Government School Relationship; Informal Education; Intergenerational Programs; International Cooperation; *International Educational Exchange; *International Organizations; *International Programs; Lifelong Learning; Literacy; Literacy Education; Nonformal Education; Open Education; Organizational Change; Partnerships in Education; Postsecondary Education; Program Development; Program Effectiveness IDENTIFIERS Freire (Paulo); *Institutional History; Montessori (Maria); UNESCO; *UNESCO Institute for Education; United Nations ABSTRACT An historical account of the creation and development of the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) is presented. Writtenin honor of the 50th anniversary of UIE, this institutional history begins with a series of seven prefaces and memoir essays aboutthe organization written by UIE administrators, board members and researchers. Two chapters detail the founding and establishment of UIE, and present short portraits of these seven UIE pioneers: John West Robertson Thompson, Minna Specht, Paul Lengrand, Gottfried Hausmann, Paulo Freire, Bogdan Suchodolski, and MariaMontessori. Following these is a chapter, organized by decades, devotedentirely to the activities of UIE since its inception. The final chapter focuses on the present day activities of UIE and its currentemphasis on lifelong learning and non-formal education. Publications of the UIE are nextfeatured, including photographs of covers of the International Review of Education and other selected publications. Captioned photographs of boththe founding and current staffs precede brief biographies of all UIEdirectors. Historical essays are included from thesethree UIE directors: Tetsuya Kobayashi, Ravindra Dave. and Paul B,lanaer. Amona the finallists and appended Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can bemade from the original document. are a list of governing board chairpersons; a list of governing board members from 1951-2002; a UIE chronology; a list of UIE conferences from 1952-2002; and an index of the 45 photographs included.(AJ) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS received from the person or organization BEEN GRANTED BY originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. 6 A Yncz;tiask_ Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Towards official OERI position or policy. INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) I a I I I II I 0 2 EST COPY AVAILABLE TABLE OF CONTENTS 2-3Greeting from the Director-General 35-45From Post-War Experiment to of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura Institution: 50 Years of Educational Activity by 3-4Preface by the Chairperson of the the UNESCO Institute for Education Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Education Justin Ellis 46-51 UIE Today: Non-Formal Education and Lifelong 5 Greeting from the President of the Learning: The Heart of UIE's Work German UNESCO Commission Fifty Years On Klaus Fftifner 52-53The International Review of 6-7Foreword by the Director of UIE Education Adama Ouane 54-57 A Selection of Publications 8-17Personal Remembrances by Three Close Associates of the Institute: 58-59 The Staff of UIE Fifty Years Ago 8 Kasama Varavarn and Today An Institute in Transition 10 Irene Alenfeld 60-64Directors Old Affections Never Fade, or What I Love about UIE 65-74Three Former Directors Look 13 Joachim H. Knoll Back at UIE: One World, Many Cultures 65 Tetsuya Kobayashi 67Ravindra Dave 18-25A "Special Project": 73 Paul Belanger The Establishment of the UNESCO Institute for Education 75-77 Views of UIE 26-34Portraits from the Pioneering 78 The Governing Board Today Days of UIE: 26 John West Robertson Thompson 79 Chairpersons of the Governing Board 27Minna Specht 28Paul Lengrand 81-82Members of the Governing Board 29Gottfried Hausmann 1951-2002 30Paulo Freire 31 Bogdan Suchodolski 83 Chronology 32Maria Montessoris speech at the first meeting of the Governing Board on 84-101List of Conferences 1952-2002 19 June 1951 102 Index of Illustrations 3 GREETING KOICHIRO MATSUURA and that learning is also about finding ways to Director-General of UNESCO live together in peace, mutual respect and har- mony, and for the continuous transformation Adult and lifelong learning are central to the of human beings and their social relations. mandate of UNESCO. They constitute an area Why, then, do educational reforms lag behind? in which the comparative advantage of our Why are educational policy-makers so reluc- Organization is indisputable. The Organiza- tant to transform current practices and put these tion is equally proud of its achievements and goals at the top of the educational agenda? its far-sighted strategy to promote learning throughout life. In this venture, UNESCO has One institution which from the outset em- made sustained efforts to give learning the braced a broad and holistic vision of educa- highest prominence and to resist the easy tion, and which has remained committed to tendency to confine education, training and this vision over many decades, is the UNESCO learning to the realm of formal schooling or the Institute for Education (UIE). Under the aegis world of work and wealth creation. UNESCO of UNESCO, and with the wise and skillful has made strong commitments to promote and guidance of its Board, the Institute has, over value cultural learning, intergenerational learn- the past half-century, contributed to research, ing and peer interaction. Moreover, it has documentation, training, policy development sought to widen the scope of learning beyond and dialogue in the area of adult and lifelong mere instrumental and pragmatic goals in learning. Meanwhile, UIE has gained world- order to encompass values, ethics, and perso- wide recognition as a centre of excellence and nal and social responsibility. These emphases a clearing-house at the service of Member draw sustenance from the constitutional mis- States, partner agencies, private institutions sion of UNESCO, where it is stated that and foundations, non-governmental organiza- "the wide diffusion of culture, and the tions (NGOs), community-based organiza- education of humanity for justice and tions (CBOs) and civil society organizations liberty and peace are indispensable to (CSOs). the dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must The Fifth International Conference on Adult fulfil in a spirit of mutual assistance and Education (CONFINTEA V, Hamburg, 1997) concern". and more recently, the World Education Forum (Dakar, 2000) gave new impetus to UIE. These Humanizing globalization, freeing education two major forums opened new avenues to the from the tyranny of market forces, multiply- Institute, entrusting it with a clear, challenging ing opportunities to learnand, if necessary, mandate to follow up their recommendations to unlearnare at the heart of the mission of in its recognized fields of competence, namely, the Organization. literacy, non-formal education, adult basic education and lifelong learning. The relevance That education is more than schooling has of this mission, set forth in the Hamburg long been widely acknowledged. It is general- Declaration and adopted by CONFINTEA, ly accepted that learning to be is just as impor- was strongly reiterated in the Dakar Frame- tant as learning to know or learning to do, work for Action. The Institute's shared re- 2 BEST COPYAVAILABLE 4 PREFACE sponsibility is still increasing, as the interna- JUSTIN ELLIS tional community has turned to UNESCO to Chairperson of the Governing Board of lead the drive for basic education for all. At the the UNESCO Institute for Education same time, the call for lifelong learning is get- ting louder and more insistent. Eleven years ago, in November 1990, I arrived at UIE in Hamburg for a course in post-litera- In celebrating the 50th Anniversary of UIE, cy. I was in a state of some puzzlement, as I had we are keenly aware of the tasks ahead andjust been appointed as a civil servant in the would like to encourage the Institute to conti- government of Namibia, which had achieved nue its