UNESCO-APNIEVE

Asia Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education

UNESCO APNIEVEAustralia Achievements

What is APNIEVE?

APNIEVE was established by UNESCO in the Asia Pacific region in 1995 to promote and develop international education and values education for inter cultural/interfaith understanding, peace, human rights, democracy and sustainable development, through cooperation among UNESCO states in the Asia-Pacific.It is a non-profit network of educators supported by a secretariat in UNESCO’s Regional office in Bangkok. The Australian Chapter was established in Adelaide in May 2000.

APNIEVE has created a shared vision for the collaborative promotion of peace, human rights and sustainability, through a range of educational activities, which enable the exploration and development of personal, humanistic and universal values.

Specific activities at the regional level have been:

  1. the development of a series of sourcebooks based on the UNESCO four pillars of education:

Learning to live together, Learning to Be, Learning to Do and Learning to Know;

  1. conductedseminars and teacher training workshops throughout the Asia Pacific region with educators and teacher educators from over 48 countries, held in places such as Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam;
  2. presented papers at international education conferences throughout the Asia Pacific region, and
  3. consulted to UNESCO on educational matters in APNIEVE’s areas of expertise (eg conducted reviews of UNESCO ASPnet and of Human Rights education in the Asia Pacific, provided advice on the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable development etc)

APNIEVE Australia

The Australian Chapter was launched in Adelaide in May 2000 to coincide with a meeting of the APNIEVE Regional Steering Committee.

Objectives

The objectives of the Australian chapter have been as follows:

  • To raise awareness among educators about the importance and role of values education
  • To raise the status of values education and link it firmly to the state and national education agenda
  • To provide an expanding communication network and forum for educators to share practices in the field of values education and to learn from each other
  • To bring together and promote a wide range of values education materials, resource materials, lesson plans, modules, case studies etc for publication and dissemination
  • To provide opportunities and experiences for educators to explore their personal values for their own well being and personal development, and to enable them to experientially understand the evolutionary process of values development, for application to their teaching practice
  • To integrate values into mainstream curricula, teaching guides and materials
  • To provide opportunities for sharing and understanding diverse cultural values while recognising and acknowledging common universal values

Major activities and achievements:

  • Actively contributed to the values education agenda at state and national levels
  • Active professional development program primarily in SA
  • Held a two-day Values Expo in March 2001 for over 100 participants
  • Contributed to the development of three APNIEVE sourcebooks
  • Published papers in various magazines and Educational publications
  • Presented papers at numerous local, national and international conferences
  • Conducted an international teacher training workshop in Adelaide in 2002
  • Hosted meetings of the APNIEVE Regional Steering Committee in 2000 and 2002
  • Launched the UNESCO APNIEVE Centre for Values Peace and Ecology in Ironbank, now moved to Mitcham
  • Conducted teacher training workshops across SA in 2003 on Integrating Values within SACSA through the Essential Learnings funded by DECS
  • Co-hosted with the University of Adelaide and the University of the Asia Pacific, the Asia Pacific Conference on Education and Culture in Adelaide in 2003
  • Organised the UNESCO International Conference on Shared Values in Education for intercultural and interfaith understanding, in partnership with WEF, MEC, Asia Pacific National Commissions, UNESCO HQ and Rotary. The conference resolutions were endorsed unanimously by all UNESCO member states in October 2005.
  • Received a Grant from the Federal Department of Environment and Heritage to conduct workshops on Values and Sustainability in capital cities around Australia in 2006 -07
  • Developed a promotional DVD, newsletter, website, promotional poster and brochure.
  • Collected significant footage for the development of a DVD for educators on Values Education focusing on the value of compassion, currently being edited by Trung Ly
  • Conducted a research pilot project on Values and Sustainability education in three South Australian schools in 2007and will be conducting professional development with teachers in those schools with a CEASA Grant
  • Currently awaiting approval for tax deductibility status to enable us to seek donations and sponsorships for sustainability education initiatives in schools and the broader community
  • Proposing a major new initiative, Sustain Our Community, to be funded from sponsorships, donations and federal funding to work with the broader community to support their efforts in becoming more sustainable
  • Offering consulting services to schools from 2007
  • Are applying for the Australian Associate for the Association for Living Values Education International (ALIVE).

Moving towards the future together

After operating for seven years in Australia, APNIEVE is ready to expand from teacher education to community education and programs in partnership with other organizations.

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development provides the impetus for collaboration and working together through partnerships among individuals and community members in the private, public and NGO sectors.

Our 7th birthday event is both a celebration of our achievements acknowledging the voluntary contributions of our members, and an opening to those who are committed to working together for a shared vision: