2019 focus:
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Using lessons from history - from the rise of National Socialism, Apartheid, the Partition of India, Germany's 30-year War - we can learn the potentially devastating consequences of intolerance and bigotry and how they can be overcome, or even avoided altogether.
2019: rythyms of history
The original UN International Day for Tolerance was established on 16th November 1995 in response to the racial and religious wars in Bosnia and Rwanda. The Learn2Think Foundation runs a free programme in schools to promote the day, using lesson plans and other materials.
History has much to teach us about the role of tolerance in maintaining peace, and reconciliation post conflict. How did Nelson Mandela use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to heal many of the wounds of Apartheid so that South Africa could rebuild? This year the University of Cambridge is exploring how learning's from the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, ending the devastating and highly complex 30 Years War, might provide a blueprint for peace in the Middle East.
Around the world – Hungary, Italy, Brazil, Austria, The Philippines and the US – politicians have been successfully elected by promising to put their country and its people first. Such a phrase can be interpreted as suits the listener - we have to ask ourselves about the resonances with the language used by National Socialists in post- WW1 Germany and the devastation that led to.
History has much to teach us about the role of tolerance in maintaining peace, and reconciliation post conflict. How did Nelson Mandela use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to heal many of the wounds of Apartheid so that South Africa could rebuild? This year the University of Cambridge is exploring how learning's from the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, ending the devastating and highly complex 30 Years War, might provide a blueprint for peace in the Middle East.
Around the world – Hungary, Italy, Brazil, Austria, The Philippines and the US – politicians have been successfully elected by promising to put their country and its people first. Such a phrase can be interpreted as suits the listener - we have to ask ourselves about the resonances with the language used by National Socialists in post- WW1 Germany and the devastation that led to.
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Our materials aim to provide young people with the tools to understand different perspectives. The goal is inculcating a curiosity to learn about beliefs and practices which are unfamiliar, to decode media bias and how to engage in dialogue with people who may hold different views.
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Human behaviour may change but not human nature. With classrooms a reflection of the society in which we live, in 2019 Tolerance Day will focus on history, on connecting the generations, and on ensuring that there is a focus on understanding the evolution of our thinking.
The lessons that we've learned about the dangers of ignorance and 'otherisation' are critical parts of our history. As the quote goes 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it'. Negative behaviours and beliefs are taught and learned, which only reinforces the importance of education.
The lessons that we've learned about the dangers of ignorance and 'otherisation' are critical parts of our history. As the quote goes 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it'. Negative behaviours and beliefs are taught and learned, which only reinforces the importance of education.
As UNESCO puts it, “Education for tolerance should aim at countering influences that lead to fear and exclusion of others, and should help young people develop capacities for independent judgement, critical thinking and ethical reasoning. The diversity of our world's many religions, languages, cultures and ethnicities is not a pretext for conflict, but is a treasure that enriches us all.”
why teaching tolerance matters
As UNESCO puts it, “Education for tolerance should aim at countering influences that lead to fear and exclusion of others, and should help young people develop capacities for independent judgement, critical thinking and ethical reasoning. The diversity of our world's many religions, languages, cultures and ethnicities is not a pretext for conflict, but is a treasure that enriches us all.
WHY WE NEED TOLERANCE
Tolerance isn’t necessary if we are in agreement. We are allowed to disagree, but it is the manner and attitude with which we express our views which is important.
Tolerance is a term often used interchangeably with ‘celebrating diversity’, and whilst both terms complement each other, ‘tolerance’ is the only concept that gets to the heart of the really difficult work in educating young people on how to address people, practices and perspectives that they do not understand or do not agree with.
Click here for further background on the problematisation of tolerance.
Tolerance is a term often used interchangeably with ‘celebrating diversity’, and whilst both terms complement each other, ‘tolerance’ is the only concept that gets to the heart of the really difficult work in educating young people on how to address people, practices and perspectives that they do not understand or do not agree with.
Click here for further background on the problematisation of tolerance.
What is the point of Tolerance Day?
The point of the ToDay campaign in marking the UN's International Day for Tolerance is to celebrate diversity and tolerance in practice, and to ensure that we remember to make space for each other’s opinions. If opinions or ideas are objectionable or indefensible in our eyes, it is our duty to speak up and refute them. We must however try to understand the perspectives of others, develop a dialogue and build a mutual understanding, culminating in peaceful co-existence.
Tolerance is respecting the right others have to an opinion or practice, not the opinion or practice itself.
You can download a document exploring what we mean by tolerance here.
Tolerance of intolerance is not tolerance. The two terms are antonyms like light and dark, good and evil. If we allow intolerance, then we are no longer a tolerant society.
The point of the ToDay campaign in marking the UN's International Day for Tolerance is to celebrate diversity and tolerance in practice, and to ensure that we remember to make space for each other’s opinions. If opinions or ideas are objectionable or indefensible in our eyes, it is our duty to speak up and refute them. We must however try to understand the perspectives of others, develop a dialogue and build a mutual understanding, culminating in peaceful co-existence.
Tolerance is respecting the right others have to an opinion or practice, not the opinion or practice itself.
You can download a document exploring what we mean by tolerance here.
Tolerance of intolerance is not tolerance. The two terms are antonyms like light and dark, good and evil. If we allow intolerance, then we are no longer a tolerant society.
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. Nelson Mandela
I do not like the word tolerance, but could not think of a better one. Gandhi
I do not like the word tolerance, but could not think of a better one. Gandhi
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