(Photo: ©UNESCO/Abu Dhabi, UAE)

The World Conference on Culture and Arts Education (WCCAE) brought together ministers, UN agencies, and partners of UNESCO, among them OIDEL, to share good practices and innovative ideas from the culture and arts education field. All the thematic discussions and side events were organized in line with the UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education which was adopted on the last day of the WCCAE.

During the conference, OIDEL established important contacts, advocated for a human rights approach to culture education, and brought the sometimes forgotten voice of parents and families to different conversations. For instance, in the thematic session on “Quality and Relevant Lifelong and Life-wide Learning, through and with Cultural Diversity” Josyane Zingg (OIDEL) took the floor to emphasize that different types of cultural education are helpful and appropriate at different stages of a person’s life. She reiterated the central role parents play as transmitters of context-relevant cultural education, especially at the earlier stages of a child’s life, and that, consequently, parents need to be included in all stages of decision-making processes that shape Cultural and Arts Education policies.

Overall, the event was a great opportunity for OIDEL’s advocacy work and we will continue to collaborate closely with UNESCO and its partners.