International Peace and Security, UNESCO Chairs Seminar

“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – “The world is one family”
(c) Indian wisdom

On May 16, 2024, an online seminar of the UNESCO Chairs on “International Peace and Security” took place, with more than 400 participants. The event brought together experts from UNESCO Chairs and members of the UNITWIN network to discuss key issues of peace, human rights, and sustainable development. This seminar is part of the series organized by UNESCO under the title “Towards a Pact for the Future,” running from March to July 2024. The purpose of these seminars is to discuss key topics related to global challenges and the development of international cooperation, particularly in the context of the upcoming UN Summit in September 2024.

The seminar was opened by Dov Lynch, Chief of Section, Division of External Relations, UNESCO. The keynote speech was delivered by Rina Alluri, UNESCO Chair in Peace Studies, University of Innsbruck, Austria, focusing on peace not only as the absence of conflict and large-scale violence but also as an essential element of sustainable development. She emphasized that there can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goal 16 aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.” Thus, creating and maintaining lasting peace requires building relationships, institutions, and structures that make society less violent, unjust, and unequal. It is about establishing social justice and ensuring that everyone can exercise their rights regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality.

The online format via Zoom allowed participants to actively exchange ideas in the chat during the plenary discussion that followed the keynote speech. The official participants of the panel discussion were Kelsey Shanks, UNESCO Chair in Education for Peacebuilding and Human Rights, University of Ulster, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Serhan Ada, UNESCO Chair on Cultural Policy and Cultural Diplomacy, Istanbul Bilgi University, Republic of Turkey; and Gloria Ramirez Hernández, UNESCO Chair on Human Rights, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico.

The seminar concluded with the assertion that education plays a key role in fostering a peaceful society and that international cooperation is necessary to achieve this goal. As Gloria Ramirez Hernández noted, cultivating a culture of peace, a worldview based on the idea of preventing violence and war, is crucial for fostering tolerance and cooperation at a global level, ultimately contributing to the well-being and prosperity of humanity as a whole. The fundamental principles of a culture of peace should be integrated into education from an early stage, not just used as a policy tool.