At UNESCO Headquarters in Paris,
a conference on the role of religions in education

Peace Times 11

A moment during the
UNESCO conference.

Emile Moatti: «Rediscovering the ethnic heritage of spiritual traditions». Kaisa Savolainen: «Let us invest finances in culture and not in arms». Lama Gangchen: «Inner peace is the best long term investment for humanity»

The International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP) and the Council on Human Rights and Religious Freedom organised a symposium - 22nd to 24th of April - on «Mutual respect and cultural dialogue for peace - against intolerance through education», at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

The conference was opened by the organiser of the meeting Prof. Francis Dessart, representative of IAEWP to UNESCO and ECOSOC delegate, who stressed some significant questions at the starting point of the meeting: «What determines tolerance? What about human rights as an issue of tolerance? What are the distinctions between the definitions that could be chosen as valid and those rejected as not». He also mentioned the importance of animal rights, family rights and the duty of education to develop values within society.

Emile Moatti, Vice President of the Brotherhood of Abraham and of the Conference on Religions for Peace, made significant remarks when he emphasised the value of religious education. «Religion exists in all cultures and people, but we are not really accessing this cultural heritage for the formation of ethical values. However, I would like to thank UNESCO for having sponsored recently two very important meetings on this subject, one in Marocco and the other in Malta. Why not use these channels more? It could be cheap and beneficial for UNESCO».

Mrs Kaisa Savolainen, Director of the Department for a Culture of Peace at UNESCO, invited everyone to participate in the promotion of the program «A culture of peace for the year 2000», which has been declared as «International Year for a Culture of Peace». She further stressed that every country should reconsider financial investment in armed forces and weapons and instead transfer them to investments in culture and education.

Lama Gangchen, representative of IAEWP to the United Nations, said: «Since 1995, I have been promoting a proposal for a permanent United Nations Spiritual Forum for World Peace. It is an invitation to the world’s religions to unite around the concept of inner and world peace, to jointly offer new solutions to decision making organisations».

He continued: «All religions have always treasured that which can be considered the fundamental principles of non-formal education, indispensable for the development of a non-violent culture and universal peace. The contribution of spiritual traditions could be decisive in turning about the violent tendency which today distresses the world. Their message can be truly universal, offering new solutions to life, even for non-believers.

If everyone of us practises inner peace, we will ensure the future of human society and the planet. Inner Peace Education is a long term investment for the future of human society».

Cosy Back