Learning to Live Together

246 Pages·2008·9.9 MB·English

Learning to Live Together
An Intercultural and Interfaith Programme
for Ethics Education
Learning to Live Together is an intercultural and interfaith programme
for ethics education, designed to contribute to the realisation of the
right of the child to full and healthy physical, mental, spiritual, moral
and social development, and to education as set out in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in article 26.1
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), in the World
Declaration on Education for All and in the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG).
Learning to Live Together provides youth leaders and educators world-
wide with the tools for an intercultural and interfaith programme, by
which children and young people are able to develop a stronger sense of
ethics. It is designed to help the young understand and respect people
from other cultures and religions and to nurture their sense of a global
community.  e resource has been developed in close cooperation with
UNESCO and UNICEF.
Learning to Live Together
Learning to Live Together
Learning to Live Together
An Intercultural and Interfaith
Programme for Ethics Education
Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children
Global Network of Religions for Children
Arigatou Foundation
In cooperation with and endorsed by UNESCO and UNICEF
Learning to Live Together
Te Interfaith Council Secretariat welcomes requests for permission to reproduce and
translate this book in part or in full. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to
Arigatou International, 1, rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, which will be glad to
provide the latest information on any changes made to the text.
Design, layout and illustrations by
and the Interfaith Council Secretariat (Geneva).
Printed in Geneva, Switzerland by ATAR Roto Presse SA.
Tis book may also be consulted and downloaded on the following website:
http://www.ethicseducationforchildren.org
© Arigatou Foundation 2008 ISBN: 978-92-806-4288-9
Learning to Live Together
Contents
Learning to Live Together
Children and Ethics Education ................................................................................................................................................................................1
How Learning to Live Together was developed ................................................................................................................................1
Where Learning to Live Together can be used...................................................................................................................................2
Children as a collective ethical obligation ............................................................................................................................................3
Children – a gift and a responsibility ...........................................................................................................................................................4
Children learn what they live.....................................................................................................................................................................................5
Ethics education and human rights .................................................................................................................................................................6
Ethics and Ethics Education .........................................................................................................................................................................................7
Ethics, values and morals..................................................................................................................................................................................................8
Ethics is about relationships .........................................................................................................................................................................................8
Are there enduring values? ..............................................................................................................................................................................................9
Ethical principles and core values for ethics education ...............................................................................................10
Te capacity to choose: Te greatest gift and most challenging responsibility .....................10
Safeguarding and upholding human dignity ................................................................................................................................11
Respect and mutual understanding .............................................................................................................................................................11
Empathy and the ability to ‘put yourself in another’s shoes’ ............................................................................. 12
Individual and collective responsibility .................................................................................................................................................13
Reconciliation and the approach to building bridges .....................................................................................................13
Ethics education ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................14
A Common Humanity ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................15
Concrete expressions of our common humanity ....................................................................................................................15
The Religiously Plural World ..................................................................................................................................................................................16
Religious resources for ethical living .........................................................................................................................................................16
Four dimensions of responsibility ...................................................................................................................................................................16
Te religious and the secular ...................................................................................................................................................................................17
Learning in relation to one another .............................................................................................................................................................17
Praying together or coming together to pray ................................................................................................................................18
Spirituality ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................19
Section 1 User’s Guide 21
Scope and Purpose ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................21
The Learning Modules ........................................................................................................................................................................................................21
Four values ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Te modules ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Nurturing young people to develop their innate spirituality ............................................................................ 24
Educators and facilitators – the heart of the learning process ......................................................................... 24
Learning Process and Guidelines .....................................................................................................................................................................25
Methodologies ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................27
Suggested methodologies ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 28
Suggested techniques .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Learning to Live Together
Creating the Proper Environment ...................................................................................................................................................................32
Being a role model ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................32
Getting started on the Learning Modules .........................................................................................................................................33
With whom should Learning to Live Together be used? .............................................................................................35
Where can Learning to Live Together be used? .........................................................................................................................35
Who can use Learning to Live Together ? ............................................................................................................................................36
Booklet for Participants ...................................................................................................................................................................................................37
What can I do if ….....................................................................................................................................................................................................................38
I do not have a religiously diverse group............................................................................................................................................. 38
I want to tackle social issues instead of religious issues ............................................................................................. 38
I have tensions in the group because of religious diferences ............................................................................ 39
Participants have been exposed to violent situations ......................................................................................................40
Te topics of the workshop cause participants emotional distress .............................................................41
Section 2 Learning Modules 43
Module 1 Understanding Self and Others ........................................................................................................................................ 44
Appreciating diversity .........................................................................................................................................................................................................45
Acknowledge myself in relation to others ..........................................................................................................................................45
A common humanity ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................46
Can we just get along? ......................................................................................................................................................................................................46
Putting myself in another’s shoes ....................................................................................................................................................................47
Responding to the needs of mutual understanding ...........................................................................................................47
Module 2 Transforming the World Together ................................................................................................................................48
What happens when we fail to respect one another? .......................................................................................................49
Understanding the conficts, violence and injustices around me .................................................................49
Peace begins with me .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50
Non-violent alternatives ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50
Reconciliation walk ................................................................................................................................................................................................................51
Building bridges of trust ................................................................................................................................................................................................51
Working together to transform the world .........................................................................................................................................52
Section 3 Monitoring Progress 53
Learning Log .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................53
Methods of assessing Participants’ Learning ...............................................................................................................................54
Peer-Peer model .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................55
Group Sharing model......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 56
Me and the World model ..............................................................................................................................................................................................57
Mentoring model ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Checking Chart model .....................................................................................................................................................................................................59
Quick ‘Temperature Taking’ Evaluation Models ..................................................................................................................60
Impact Assessment .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................61
Learning to Live Together
Section 4 Activities 63
Table of Activities ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................63
Section 5 Resources 123
Stories .123
Case Studies.138
Moral Dilemmas .143
Movies and Videos .149
Songs .156
Poems .159
Prayers for Peace .167
Role Playing .175
Peace News Cards .177
Convention on the Rights of the Child .179
Universal Declaration of Human Rights .182
How to fold a Paper Crane .183
Section 6 We Did It Like This 187
Section 7 References 219
Resources.219
Stories .219
Poems .219
Prayers for peace .220
Case studies .220
Moral dilemmas .220
Support material for the activities .220
References for the activities . 221
Glossary . 222
Acronyms . 224
List of Interfaith Council Members .225
List of Interfaith Council Committee Members. 226
GNRC Coordinators . 227
Annexes . 228
Evaluation form .228
Matrices for impact assessment .230
Learning to Live Together
Learning to Live Together
Acknowledgements
Learning to Live Together has benefted from the support of many institutions and friends. We
acknowledge with thanks the many organisations, experts, authors, peer reviewers, advisers,
consultants, volunteers, interns and the Interfaith Council Secretariat, whose commitment
and dedication have made this book possible.
The Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children
Honorary Advisor: HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal.
Council members: A. T. Ariyaratne, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Kul Gautam, Hans Küng,
Bibifatemeh Mousavi Nezhad, Alice Shalvi, Didi Athavale Talwalkar, Anastasios Yannoulatos,
Nour Ammari and Emanuel Mathias.
Committee members: Hasan Abu Nimah, Swami Agnivesh, Charanjit AjitSingh, Farida Ali,
Ibrahim Al-Sheddi, Kezevino Aram, Wesley Ariarajah, Alicia Cabezudo, Meg Gardinier,
Andres Guerrero, Magnus Haavelsrud, Heidi Hadsell, Vinod Hallan, Stuart Hart, Azza
Karam, Method Kilaini, Marlene Silbert, Hans Ucko, Deborah Weissman and Sunil
Wijesiriwardhana.
GNRC
Coordinators: Mustafa Ali, Vinya Ariyaratne, Razia Ismail, Marta Palma, Mercedes Roman,
Qais Sadiq, and Dorit Shippin, and their co-workers in the regions.
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GNRC members in the regions.
Secretary General Atsushi Iwasaki and colleagues in the GNRC Secretariat in Tokyo.
Children and young people
All the children, young people, and youth facilitators, who have been involved in the
development of the resource material through the various test and training workshops in
many parts of the world.
United Nations and international organisations
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in particular Tanya Turkovich, along with
colleagues in addition to those mentioned above.
United Nations Educational, Scientifc and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in particular
Hélène Gosselin and Linda King.
Invited resource persons
Gana Dash, Mahal da Costa Soto and David Arond.
Invited readers
Soho Machida, Adib Saab, Halim Nujaim, May Sadiq, Amada Benavides, Jenny Nemko,
Heather Jarvis and Leilah Omar.
Learning to Live Together
Publication development
Arnaud Dubouchet and colleagues at Services Concept, design, layout and illustrations.
Henri Schweickhardt and colleagues at ATAR Roto Presse SA, printing.
Photos
Photos on cover and on pages 189-191, 195, 204-207, 209 by Mustafa Ali
Photos on pages 210, 212 by Rolando Calle
Photos on pages 198-200 by Satish Kanna
Photos on cover and on pages 216-218 by Peter Williams
Photos on cover and on pages 192-197, 200-203, 207-216, 218 by Maria Lucia Uribe
Arigatou Foundation
Secretary General Shozo Fujita and colleagues at the Tokyo headquarters.
Peter Billings, editor and rapporteur.
Interfaith Council Secretariat
viii Secretary General Agneta Ucko and colleagues, Maria Lucia Uribe Torres and Djénane
Tosbath de los Cobos, along with other consultants and interns.
Learning to Live Together
Foreword
Learning to Live Together is the frst outcome of the worldwide ethics education initiative
launched by the Arigatou Foundation and its Global Network of Religions for Children
(GNRC).
Te Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children, established by the Arigatou
Foundation, serves as an international resource centre and nexus for dialogue, partnership
and action to promote ethics education for children and interfaith learning.
Since its establishment, the Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children has focused
its work on the development of this resource material for launch at the GNRC Tird Forum
in Hiroshima in May 2008. Te promotion of ethics education is being done in cooperation
with all sharing the vision of the ethics education initiative – religious communities, United
Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and a broad range of others – in
an efort to realize the right of the child to full and healthy physical, mental, spiritual, moral
and social development, as well as the right of the child to education, as set out in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Te participatory process of developing the resource material has brought together the
experience of educators and scholars from diferent religious, spiritual and secular traditions,
international organisations, NGOs, educational institutions and children. We are especially
grateful for the time and energy invested by our colleagues at UNICEF and UNESCO in
developing and delivering this resource material.
Learning to Live Together approaches the issue of ethics education from the perspectives of
ix
intercultural and interfaith learning, human rights and quality education, where ethics and
values are nurtured and where children are given the space to develop their innate potential
for spirituality. It is our hope that this new resource will give us the tools needed to further
foster ethics and values in children and help build a better world.
All of us share the responsibility to implement it.
Takeyasu Miyamoto Keishi Miyamoto
President of the Arigatou Foundation Representative of the Arigatou Foundation
Inaugurator of the GNRC