Visions and values in education

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to start my intervention with quoting Bono, the lead singer of the Irish band U2. Bono is an excellent artist with a strong moral and social commitment in favour of the poor and underprivileged. This is expressed in his involvement in the Jubilee 2000 Coalition’s Drop the Debt Campaign. Listen to what he is saying: "…the poor people don’t want crumbs from the table. They don’t want charity. They want to be at the table."

Enjoying one’s human rights does not mean begging for crumbs, but being at the table, taking part, participating, contributing, deciding, feeling secure.

Some people may argue that reducing the debt of the developing countries is a nice, but unfortunately very unrealistic goal. They say that we may relate to reality.

So what is reality?

• One third of the population of the developing world live in absolute poverty - most of them are women and children
• 250 million children work - often risking their health and future development
• Every fourth child in developing countries does not attend school.
• Almost 900 million adults, of whom two third are women, are illiterates,

These figures illustrate all to clearly the lack of respect for the rights of the individual in all parts of the world. They constitute certainly a violation of human rights.

During a visit to a village in a developing country, Mr. Thorvald Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, was asked why he was so ardently working for peace. His answer was: "Because war is a waste of human life".

The villager's reply was: "Well then, in my village there is a war - many children die before the age of 5".

Many of our most important values are expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 1 of the Declaration says:

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and shall act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood".

Too many people are still deprived of their dignity. We can see this for ourselves. The scenes on television are a constant reminder. The question is: What are we going to do?

In trying to give some answers, let me restrict myself to my field of responsibility - education.

The right to education is a fundamental human right. I am glad to say that in most of the countries represented here to day we have achieved the goal of equal educational opportunities for all. However, on the global scene this is far from being true.

As members of the global family of nations we have to join our efforts to provide education for all. This is a huge task, but it is the single key to the future of millions of children and adults worldwide. Indeed, basic education for all, learning to read and write, is the true driving force for sustainable development in the world.

That’s why my Ministry has recently involved itself in development co-operation for education, by providing counselling and guidance in the educational field to some developing countries. This is done within the context of a working agreement with the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation. We are doing our part in this work not because we are specialists in development policies. But we believe that we have something to offer in our field of competence.

One of the first things I did after taking office in March was to visit Zambia in April to meet with the Minister of Education and to sign a working agreement between our ministries.

There I visited a small school, situated in a slum district, just outside the capital. Actually, most of us wouldn't even call it a school

It was a simple brick building, containing four, five classrooms with open holes in the walls for air, and in the ceiling a glass fibre plate to allow some day-light to penetrate into the room.

In each classroom approximately 50 children were gathered, sitting three and three behind each desk.

The most lucky ones were allowed to stay in school for four years, just enough to learn how to read and write.

But I will never forget the joy and pride of the parents in that school, when they showed us their school which they had built with their own hands, while expressing the hope that their children would once get out of the situation they had themselves been in. And at the same time we knew something about the hardship of their environment:

• In Zambia, more teachers died regularly from AIDS that year than they were able to train new ones,
• A high percentage of the pupils left school without sufficient skills in reading and writing
• In an orphanage we met children who had lost both their parents and children who had received the HIV-virus after having been abused and raped by soldiers

I have met people who think that we should discontinue our assistance - I say that we should help even more. There are others who say that we need the money for ourselves - I say that we have enough. Some may say that we shouldn’t care - I say that we shall no care about what they say!

The question has been raised whether the concept of human rights is primarily based on so-called Western values, a concept whereby the countries of the West seek to colonise the rest of the world once more.

When addressing this issue, let me recall the words of Mahatma Gandhi. He was once asked about his opinion of Western values. His answer was that that would be a very good idea.

I think that he might well have a point!

I find it extremely difficult to talk about "globalisation" unless values such as peace, justice, tolerance, human dignity and security are taken seriously both within the nations and on a global scale. If we are not willing to integrate people with a different ethnic background in our communities, things can go terribly wrong.

Of course values differ from culture to culture. But this pluralism cannot be infinite. Norms and values grow out of certain basic human needs that are common to all cultures. Trying to find the common denominator is not an easy matter, but we have to do it.

Let me put in this way: Mankind offers a rich tapestry of

peoples and societies, traditions and rituals. In my view, the inherent respect for human dignity is the common thread that holds this tapestry together - across cultures. Human dignity and the fundamental value of the human being are the basis for all human rights principles. This is about protecting the individual against oppression and exploitation, poverty and injustice, exclusion and degradation. They are universal. As a South-African Parliamentarian of the ANC once pointed out: " Culture can never be an excuse for abuse". The fact that one comes from a different culture does not change what constitutes human dignity.

Focus on Human Dignity is, by the way, the title given to a White Paper which will be discussed in the Parliament of my country within a few weeks. The White Paper also includes a specific Plan of action to provide information, instruction and education with a view to protecting and promoting human rights in Norway. In this plan the Governments announces its intention to give increased attention to human rights education in the coming years. In this way we hope to give new generations of students and teachers more knowledge about human rights, and to help them see their relevance both at home and abroad.

But let me add: the international debate on human rights has been dominated by the assumption that human rights are all about civil and political rights. However, focusing only on one set of human rights is not acceptable. Combating poverty is an important human rights issue. Social, economic and cultural rights include the right to live in peace. Far too often, we do not speak of these human rights. And perhaps we are ourselves part of the reason why social, economic and cultural rights are not respected.

It is sometimes argued that values in the Western meaning are simply convenient rhetorics, empty words and window-dressing for the better off. For some people they are no more than that. This breeds indifference. And the final consequence of indifference may be horrific - as we have seen it in our recent history both in Europe and on other continents: human rights abuses, ethnic cleansing and genocide.

There is a famous quote by the German theologian Martin Niemöller which sums up the consequences of personal indifference when human rights are being violated. He says:

"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionists. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. But when they came for me, and no one was left to speak up".

This, indeed, is the challenge we are facing: to offer an education which foster the development of the young as moral beings, accountable for their decisions and responsible for their actions, with the ability to seek what is true and to do what is right, and indeed to speak up.

According to the Core Curriculum for primary, secondary and adult education in Norway the ultimate aim of education is to contribute to building character which will give the individual the strength to take responsibility for his or her life, to make a commitment to society. If need be and situations arise this should include the strength to stand alone, to stand up and to dissent.

Throughout the world, one purpose of education is to create social links between individuals on the basis of shared references. The means used are varied as the cultures and circumstances. But in every case the central aim of education is the fulfilment of the individual as a social being.

Today, this is in many societies being threatened by the breakdown of social ties. Everywhere the values that promote cohesion are in one way or another challenged.

Even the concept of democracy is being questioned. We see a strong thrust towards individualism, and a corresponding denial of the collective values. The very system of representative democracy is in some places facing a crisis. There is a widening gap between those who govern and those who are governed. People have an image of politics as entertainment made possible by media presentations of political debates. People may even an image of corruption of the political world. All these things are placing some countries in danger and leading ordinary people to feel increasing disaffection for public affairs.

And we see it even in Europe: I have read examples of elections where only 30 to 30 % of the people participated. This tells us that the fundamental belief in representative democracy and in political institutions is at stake.

As a result, the democratic ideal needs to be reinvented or at least revitalised.

The approach is not to teach democracy as a theoretical subject, but to make school a model of democratic practice. Only in this way the pupils can understand, on the basis of practical problems, what their rights and duties are and how their freedom is limited by the exercise of the rights and freedom of other people. Learning democracy in school should preferably be reinforced by practical activities. This could be setting up pupil councils and pupil parliaments and exercise in non-violent conflict resolution. However, learning democracy should not degrade into playing democracy. And I think that all too often we are inviting the students to discuss only the minor issues, such as the price of milk and the number of footballs in the schoolyard. The students are not invited to discuss the real things! This may easily reduce their interest in democracy. Education for democratic citizenship implies that pupils and students are given a real say in the daily life of the school!

In the words of an English poet: "No man is an island".

These words can be broadened to saying: "No nation is an island". In the course of history nations and cultures have been formed, and they have interacted and been subject to change.

What we now call " globalisation" is thus not a new feature. The Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl has made this point in his autobiography. He writes about the challenges of global co-existence, about the challenge of regarding the world as "an unstable entity, an entity in constant change". Mr Heyerdahl has devoted this life to exploring the possibilities of cultural interaction in former times.

Odin is the name of an Old Norse god whom we know from old Norse poems such as Håvamål. It appears that Odin was originally the name of an ethnic group living in a small Caucasian village - they were all called Odin. At a given time in history they migrated to the northwest and became our Nordic forefathers. This tells us that cultural interaction is not a new thing.

Today, we need neither balsa rafts nor reed boats to surf the oceans towards meeting with cultures. We surf the Internet and the peoples of the world grow closer through travel, trade and cultural crossroads every day.

The world is becoming increasingly multicultural. The effects of globalisation is also felt at close hand and makes people realise that " my neighbour is no longer behaving exactly like me". For many people this may come as a shock because it challenges traditional stable visions of neighbourhood, community and nation. It turns ethnic diversity into the stuff of everyday life.

And with the increasing presence of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers all over Europe and even in the Nordic countries we have seen an unfortunate growth of discrimination and racism. Political parties on the extreme-right side are on the move upwards.

And most frightening, neo-nazi groups composed mainly of young people show up all over this continent. Although their number is still very small, we cannot and should not neglect them. But first and foremost we must combat the more subtle forms of racism and discrimination which, I regret to say, is making its impact on our societies.

In its report to UNESCO submitted in 1996 The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, chaired by former European Commission President Jacques Delors, draws the picture of four pillars on which education should build - learning to be, learning to know, learning to do and learning to live together. Among these pillars learning to live together is probably the most important one. According to the report encountering others through dialogue and debate is one of the tools needed by twenty-first-century education.

Living together can be quite difficult. But we have no other choice! The recent conflict in Kosovo is only one tragic example of what may happen when groups of people do not want and are not able to live together.

In recent years we have seen a growing wish from religious and ethnic minority groups to establish their own private schools. I am fully aware of the fact that according to international conventions parents have to a certain extent the right to choose the kind of education they prefer for their children. At the same time I do regret the current development with a growing number of private schools. I want to work against an educational system which is segregated and commercialised. It is being said that when we in my Party in Norway are opposed to private schools, we are in fact opposed to pluralism. I think it's quite the opposite.

As I see it, we will have uniformity in education if there is one school for Christian children, one for Muslim children, one for Jewish children and one for non-believers.

That would really mean uniformity, even segregation, in education.

For me pluralism can only be achieved when children learn to live together in a comprehensive school system. That’s why I am in favour of a comprehensive or inclusive school based on a sense of collectivity, attended by both rich and poor, Muslims and Christians, gifted pupils and those whose are less gifted.

I still remember my own time in school. I was 14 to 15 years old when I for the first time realised some of the social problems of my fellow students: one had an alcoholic mother, another had parents that could not pay their bills. But we didn't know we were all equal in the classroom, irrespective of our social background.

I believe that this is the key to the success of the Scandinavian society. In the school we are all equal, and we learn to respect each other.

Once I had the opportunity to visit Northern Ireland. I couldn't understand the reasons behind this deep conflict. Then I suddenly realised: the kids didn't go the same school! Learning to live together starts in the school, and this is indeed the key to a good future.

We are all living on Planet Earth, and we breathe the same air. We can no longer continue to split the world in separate parts.

What happens on the other side of the globe affects us more and more. We share a common destiny, and we should learn to share the resources of this earth in a spirit of solidarity.

We know that the increase in population and consumption put a heavy strain on our resources. Clean air and water are becoming scarce, bio-diversity is diminishing at an alarming rate. The library of life is burning, and we have to stop the fire.

As human beings we are part of nature, and are constantly making decisions with repercussions not only for our own welfare, but also for other humans and for the natural environment as well.

Our choices have consequences across geographic borders and across generations.

The production and consumption in one country may produce pollution in other countries. Our society’s waste is becoming a curse for future generations.

In the last century we discovered that there are limits to growth. There are limits to the burdens that can be placed on ecosystems and the amount of resources that can be extracted without unacceptable impacts.

We have developed the ability to eradicate all life on earth. This has given knowledge a new dimension and those who apply knowledge a new responsibility.

As for the education sector, the challenge in this context is to offer education for a sustainable development.

According to Ms. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former president of the World Commission on the environment and development sustainable development is to be defined as a development where the total human stress on the environment does not destroy the foundation of life for future generations.

Can we imagine a situation where the rest of the world has adopted the Western level of consumption? This is a scientific question, but also a moral question. As human beings we have to make moral choices. And we know that all scientists agree on the limits to growth.

In a report to the Asian Development Bank in 1990 the Norwegian Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, Mr. Trygve Haavelmo, gives his answer:

"A world in which the standard of living is raised to the average level in Europe or in the United States, will be a world where nobody would like to live".

Professor Haavelmo’s point is, of course, that the developed countries will have to reduce their level of consumption drastically, in order to achieve a distribution of resources world-wide based on equality and justice.

I don't know if Mr. Haavelsmo is right. But I do know that the current development never will result in equality. To the contrary: the gap between the rich and the poor is continuing to increase.

We cannot continue our growth in the same way as so far.

Mr Haavelsmo was once asked: What would you say if you were given the opportunity to speak to heads of state from all over the world? His answer was: I would teach them for one hour about exponential growth!

Let me explain this: Exponential growth is a graphic curve where the annual percentual growth is constant. In the case of Norway an annual growth per capita of 3 % would increase the average salary of Norwegians with let us say 6.500 kroner. In the case of Bangladesh a growth of 3 % would mean only 35 kroner per capita. It goes without saying that a continuation of this exponential growth will never reduce the gap between the rich and the poor countries.

The need to make development more sustainable is, indeed, urgent.

And in this context education has most certainly a vital role to play. Education and research programmes should not only produce students and graduates with a high level of knowledge, but also citizens who are reflected, socially engaged citizens and environmentally aware. Citizens who participate and who care about how our Western lifestyle and consumption pattern contribute to global warming. Who care about whether thousands of species are becoming extinct and with them valuable genetic material. And who care about the injustice of resource use on our earth, where the contrasts of wealth and poverty can hardly be grasped.

But let me ask a provocative question:
Is it actually the young people who are the problem?

I think that if you ask a 12 year old kid if it's just that some people should have abundantly of money and food, while others are poor and hungry, his answer would most certainly be no. I believe that many children would gladly give away their toys for food to the poor. Kids are like that.

My impression is that young people are far more concerned about international and global justice:

• They are the ones taking the lead in the environmental movement,
• They are the ones taking the lead in the fight for debt relief for poor countries
• They are the ones taking on the negative consequences of globalisation, free market forces and global competition.

Maybe our education system is not so bad after all. Maybe it's just us - the adults - who de-educate the young people when they finish school, and go out into the adult, mature world.

And maybe we don't need more knowledge, more education. Maybe what we need is action!

There is a tremendous gap between what we know is necessary to do, and what we actually do!

We know that 1 billion people live below the poverty limit. But we reduce our help to poor countries. We know that global warming is increasing. But we continue to increase our emission of greenhouse gases.

We don't need more knowledge, we need more action!

We know that everybody cannot use as much energy, raw materials, water, grain as we do. But we continue to use even more.

Maybe we just need another focus.

We live on a continent where the most important issue at the moment is the price of gasoline!

It's absurd! It's shameful!

Young people do care. We, the adults, must change our values. We can change the educational systems as much as we want. Young people will do as we do, not as we speak!

Let me conclude by expressing three hopes for the future:

I hope that we may have a society based on justice, a society characterised by tolerance, and a society which is built on sustainable development.

Firstly,

My hope for a future society based on justice is in contrast with the scandalous injustice of our present world society.

We live in a world characterised by grotesque inequalities.

The natural resources of this world are limited.

Our knowledge and achievements have reached an unprecedented level. In fact, we have done enormous progress, and will most probably continue to do so.

• We are able to manipulate the genes between plants and animals.
• We are able to relax on a beach while receiving a fax on a mobile phone.
• We are able to produce airplane seats equipped with TV screens.

We create wonders as the world has never seen before.

But we are unable to provide clean water to all children

We are unable to provide even the most simple vaccination programmes to the children of this earth.

We do not succeed in providing good food for all. Maybe our wonders are not so impressive.

A broker on Wall Street may have an annual income of 3,3 billions Norwegian crowns. On an individual basis he earns more than 700 million of the most poor and deprived on this earth.

When a financial giant as Ivan Boesky visits one of his favourite restaurants, they say he starts with ordering 8 different desserts, just to taste a little bit of each before making his final order.

This year 120 million children die from malnutrition and easily cured illnesses..

The problem is not that we are in lack of wealth.

The problem is the way in which we use it.

We have the technology

We have the knowledge

We have the resources

But we must also show that we have the will.

Secondly, I hope that we may have a society characterised by tolerance.

Some may argue that people of two different cultures cannot live together. That's what we hear in Norway and Denmark. In Norway we have politicians who claim that we should not allow more immigrants with another culture or religion to enter the country. And they even gain votes.

To me, this is not the issue. Such arguments should have no room in a serious political debate. To me, this has to do with respect for people of blood and flesh. It has to do with the lives of our fellow human beings.

Every day, children all over Europe experience xenophobia.

Every day, children are harassed by the forces of racism. Every day, their quality of life - their safety and well being - are ruined by these forces.

Forces that tell us that different cultures, different ethnic groups cannot live side by side.

But we are different cultures.

And we do live side by side. Then we also have to learn how to live together in peace. The only place where they have tried to wipe out a multicultural society is in Bosnia. People who had been used to live together in peace, who went to the same school and who got married, started to kill each other, only because they had different religions and belonged to different ethnic groups. Ethnic cleansing was the ultimate goal.

In 1996 I had the opportunity to visit the city of Tuzla in the former Republic of Yugoslavia, right after the Dayton agreement. 140.000 people had been killed during the war, and there were 40.000 refugees. On the 2nd of June hundreds of children and young people had been gathered in the centre of the city to celebrate Tito's day. Then suddenly a hostile aircraft attacked the city, and a grenade killed 63 young people. Some time after this tragic accident. I was in the city, visiting the graveyard where the children had been buried, each with a simple wooden cross carrying a picture of the child. I saw their birthdays 1970, 1974, 1975 and 1992. I remember a father standing there in the rain with his umbrella over the tomb, as if he was trying to protect his child. It made a tremendous impression on me! And I realised that the children had been killed because the adults did not want to live together in peace.

My third and last vision for the future is that we may have a society which is built on sustainable development.

We desperately need it.

I am convinced that if we ask our citizens: What do we need? Do we need more things or more time to spend together? The answer is obvious.

Since the establishment of the United Nations after Second World War we have lost one fifth of the cultivable soil, one fifth of the rain forests and thousands of species. We are in the process of destroying the very foundation of life.

However, the potential of each human being is infinite.

We have the possibility to change the direction.

So let us join our efforts to develop an economy which provides for equal opportunities, instead of increasing the difference between people.

Let us develop a democratic society based on tolerance and human dignity.

And let us develop a way of life which is in harmony with nature.

Together we can build the future on justice, tolerance and sustainable development.

But dear friends, it is not the young people it is something wrong about. It is we, the adults!