Mr Roger Ingebrigtsen, State Secretary, Ministry of Cultural Affairs

Conference on Higher Education for Peace

Tromsø Kulturhus, Thursday 4 May 2000

Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of the Norwegian government, it is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to Tromsø. And to this Conference on Higher Education for Peace. Tromsø is the northernmost university town in Norway - with a lively academic life. The impressive attendance at the Conference testifies to the importance of the issues we are going to debate.

The Ministry of Culture is in charge of UNESCO-affairs in Norway and therefore has an interest in all UNESCO-related activity, whether it be within the area of education, science, culture or communication.

The idea of arranging this conference came up at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in Paris in October 1998. Inspired by the debate on Promoting a Culture of Peace members of the Norwegian delegation discussed how institutions of higher education in Norway can play a more active role in the promotion of human rights and peace. One of the members of the delegation was professor Ole D. Mjøs from the University of Tromsø. His efforts to realize the idea convinced the Norwegian government to strongly support the conference.

For the first time the institutions of higher education in Norway are challenged directly on their role as promoters of human rights and peace through a major conference. I am happy to see so many representatives from academic institutions among us. This is a sign that the intellectual community is aware of vital contemporary issues.

Peace-building does not mean merely avoiding the outbreak of armed conflict. It means above all eradicating the causes of individual and collective violence which are the breeding-ground of war. Peace cannot be brought about only through treaties alone. It must be written in the hearts and minds of men and women. The conditions for peace must be addressed by all educational institutions, from primary through secondary school to higher education.

Internationally, Norwegians have a reputation as peace facilitators and mediators. Norwegian students who want to study human rights and peace related issues have gone abroad to find relevant studies. The aim of this conference is to invite all institutions of higher education to analyse their own roles and their potential as peace builders and promoters of human rights.

The Constitution of UNESCO sees conflict as having its origins in idea-systems. Wars

begin in the minds of men. Among the causes of conflict are ignorance of each other’s ways of life, denial of the democratic principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect. The antidote it prescribes to conflict and war is the wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for justice and peace.

To me, it is therefore essential to talk of culture and education as forces promoting integration and peaceful co-existence of people in societies. Cultures have at their core knowledge and values. They evolve and grow in a process of creative interchange. Art and culture - in all its forms - is not only about tradition, but also about creation. This is why they have a role to play in pre-empting conflict.

Education and culture are, as I see it, essential to meeting the challenges of diversity and modernity. Education is fundamental not only to the transmission of culture but to preparing the ground for its continuous renewal. By promoting creativity and humane values, education becomes the ally of cultural responsiveness.

The ethical role of higher education has never been more important than today. Education is the gateway to knowledge and understanding. It is the key to empowerment and thus sustainable development, sustainable democracy and sustainable peace.

We need knowledge to reduce the asymmetries in wealth, power, knowledge and gender participation, which are today at the heart of conflicts and violent behaviour. Higher learning institutions can contribute to peace by fostering the active, informed citizenship which is the basis of real and lasting democracy. Institutions of higher education have an ability to anticipate, to generate or incorporate new knowledge and new ways of thinking. In their forward-looking role, these institutions must serve society, and be permanently part of the struggle to defend human dignity.

The success of this conference will to a large extent be measured through its follow-up. We do hope that the universities and colleges in Norway will integrate UNESCO perspectives in their curricula. We look forward to seeing good initiatives coming out of the creative processes that we are sure will start during these three days in Tromsø. Furthermore, we hope that the institutions themselves will come up with concrete steps in launching new initiatives for human rights and peace education.

May this Conference make the academic world more responsible and more relevant in addressing contemporary world issues and in preparing young people to be active promoters of peace and human rights in the future.

Finally, it is my pleasure to declare this Conference on Higher Education for Peace as opened. I wish you a successful conference in Tromsø – my hometown.

Thank you for your attention.