Learning for lasting peace
Education is a powerful tool that helps shape societies, foster peace, and drive positive change. Recognizing its immense importance, the United Nations General Assembly declared January 24th as the annual International Day of Education. In 2024, the theme for this significant day is "Learning for Lasting Peace". Together with partners in East and South East Asia, NCHR has been promoting Human Rights Education for several years.
The International Day of Education provides a platform to recognize the transformative power of education in fostering peace, human rights, and sustainable development worldwide. It highlights the critical role that education plays in eliminating poverty, reducing inequalities, promoting gender equality, and cultivating a culture of peace and non-violence. Through the cooperation with various university partners in the region, NCHR has supported a range of activities and publications.
Past accomplishments and future commitments internationally
In 2021, the book “Peace and Conflict Transformation in Southeast Asia” was launched through a virtual event. This publication is part of a series of textbooks on Human Rights and/or Peace in Southeast Asia. The book launch attracted a great number of lecturers, practitioners, and students – a testament to the importance of publishing human rights theories with a regional focus.
Additionally, from 2021 to 2023, the NCHR supported the ASEAN University Network – Human Rights Education by hosting three Regional Lecturer Workshops on Teaching Human Rights and Peace. Hosted by the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University in Thailand, these workshops aimed to enhance skills and knowledge in peace and transformative peacebuilding among lecturers in the ASEAN region. In total, over 70 lecturers from the ASEAN region participated in these trainings over the three-year period. The workshops received highly positive feedback from participants who appreciated the participatory pedagogy that provided space for reflection, dialogue, and practical learning.
While the NCHR's efforts in the region have yielded positive results, the commitment remains to furthering peace through Human Rights Education. In 2024, NCHR plan to continue working on strengthening human rights and peace education in the region.