The whole educational community, not only the School, is called on to give answers to the educational emergency in reference to the moral and social crisis, to the demands of globalisation, to a chase of ever faster dynamisms due to the gigantic scientific and technological development. To renew education, it is more necessary than ever to promote a new Social Contract that will repair the injustices of the past and build fairer and more sustainable futures. According to the International Commission that edited the UNESCO Report, a new Social Contract for Education represents the call for collective action involving all stakeholders interested in education – public, private and civil – with the aim of defining the organisation and aims of the educational system in order to re-imagine our future together. According to the new Unesco Report, we need to start with three questions: what should we continue to do? What do we have to abandon? What needs to be invented creatively? Sobhi Tawil, director of UNESCO’s Future of Learning and Innovation Division, gave a contribution to these questions, who gave the lectio “Renewing the social contract for education: challenges and opportunities”, during the presentation of the Italian version of the report of the Commission on the Futures of Education of UNESCO, which took place on Wednesday 6 December at the Chamber of Deputies. An event promoted by the UNESCO Chair of the Catholic University, in collaboration with Gruppo Editoriale La Scuola, with the participation of representatives of UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Merit. An invitation to dialogue collected by the UNESCO Chair “Education for Human Development and Solidarity among Peoples” of the Catholic University, directed by Domenico Simeone who promoted the translation into Italian, realised by Gruppo Editoriale La Scuola. This is an opportunity to remedy the injustices of the past and transform the future, but it is necessary. The whole educational community, not only the School, is called on to give answers to the educational emergency in reference to the moral and social crisis, to the demands of globalisation, to a chase of ever faster dynamisms due to the gigantic scientific and technological development. To renew education, it is more necessary than ever to promote a new Social Contract that will repair the injustices of the past and build fairer and more sustainable futures. According to the International Commission that edited the UNESCO Report, a new Social Contract for Education represents the call for collective action involving all stakeholders interested in education – public, private and civil – with the aim of defining the organisation and aims of the educational system in order to re-imagine our future together. According to the new Unesco Report, we need to start with three questions: what should we continue to do? What do we have to abandon? What needs to be invented creatively? Sobhi Tawil, director of UNESCO’s Future of Learning and Innovation Division, gave a contribution to these questions, who gave the lectio “Renewing the social contract for education: challenges and opportunities”, during the presentation of the Italian version of the report of the Commission on the Futures of Education of UNESCO, which took place on Wednesday 6 December at the Chamber of Deputies. An event promoted by the UNESCO Chair of the Catholic University, in collaboration with Gruppo Editoriale La Scuola, with the participation of representatives of UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Merit. The world’s most educated countries are the ones that are accelerating more climate change. But if education means living in an unsustainable way, then – says Tawil – we have to recalibrate our notions of what education should do and reset our interdependencies. Humanity faces a difficult situation and must make an urgent choice of rupture or breakthrough: continue on an unsustainable path or radically change course. We need to rebalance our relationship between us, the planet and technology. Knowledge and learning are the basis for renewal and transformation. But we need a new social contract for education to be able to rebuild our mutual relations, with the planet and with technology. The report teaches us that we must act urgently to change course, because the future of humanity depends on the future of the planet, and both are at risk. An invitation to dialogue collected by the UNESCO Chair “Education for Human Development and Solidarity among Peoples” of the Catholic University, directed by Domenico Simeone who promoted the translation into Italian, realised by Gruppo Editoriale La Scuola. It is an opportunity to remedy the injustices of the past and transform the future but it is necessary to create a real creative laboratory in which to develop the transformative potential of education and initiate processes of change”, says Domenico Simeone, Director of the UNESCO Chair “Education for Human Development and Solidarity among Peoples” of the Catholic University. This third document presents a clear assessment of the challenges facing education today and in the future. In the face of rapid environmental and social changes, it is necessary to introduce a substantial change of direction in the way school systems are organised and to rethink their objectives. The report highlights the urgent need to give greater importance to ecology; to provide students and students with the critical tools to identify disinformation, prejudices and preconceived ideas; strengthen pedagogical cooperation between the different actors involved in the educational process and improve the professionalisation of the teaching staff. The conference opened with the institutional greetings of Anna Ascani, Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, Paola Frassinetti, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Merit, and Enrico Vicenti, Secretary General of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO. Starting from the contents of the UNESCO Report followed a session of debate and reflection with the speeches of Carmela Palumbo, Head of the Education and Training System of the Ministry of Education and Merit, Cristina Grieco, President INDIRE, Roberto Ricci, President INVALSI, and Patrizio Bianchi, Spokesperson of the Network of Italian UNESCO Chairs. The conclusions were entrusted to Massimiliano Fiorucci, Rector of the University of Roma Tre and Coordinator of the Commission “Initial Training of Teachers” of CRUI. The UNESCO paper presents insights into digital technologies, climate change, backward democracy and social polarisation, as well as the uncertain future of work. The aim is not only to initiate a dialogue on education open to all and stimulate reflections, but also to encourage each of us to take action. He argues, above all, that it is through millions of individual and collective acts of courage, leadership, endurance, creativity and care that we will change course and transform education to build just, fair and sustainable futures. Proposals to renew education. Pedagogy should be organised around the principles of cooperation, collaboration and solidarity. It should stimulate the intellectual, social and moral skills of students and students to work together and transform the world with empathy and compassion. Prejudices, preconceptions and divisions must also be unlearned. The evaluation should reflect these pedagogical objectives in order to promote meaningful growth and learning for each student and student. Curricula should emphasise ecological, intercultural and interdisciplinary learning that helps students and students to access and produce knowledge, while developing their ability to apply and question it. Curricula must embrace an ecological understanding of humanity that balances the way we relate to Earth as a living planet and as our only home. The spread of disinformation should be countered through scientific, digital and humanistic literacy that develop the ability to distinguish false from truth. In content, policies and educational methods, we should promote active citizenship and democratic participation. Teaching should be further professionalised as a collaborative effort in which teachers are recognised for their work as producers of knowledge and key figures in educational and social transformation. Collaboration and teamwork should characterise the activity of teachers. Schools should be protected educational places for the individual and collective inclusion, equity and well-being they support, but also re-imagined to better promote the transformation of the world towards fairer, fairer and more sustainable futures. Architecture, spaces, times, school schedules and groups of students and students should be redesigned to encourage and enable individuals to work together. Digital technologies should aim to support – and not replace – schools. Schools should shape the future we aspire to, guaranteeing human rights and becoming examples of sustainability and carbon neutrality. The UNESCO document, translated into Italian by Gruppo Editoriale La Scuola, is available at the following link: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384298 (full version); https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379381_ita (summary) The event can be followed live via the following link: https://webtv.camera.it/. Original article published on raiscuola.rai.it on 6.12.2023
Source: European Digital Skills & Jobs Platform
