Teaching about the Holocaust and genocide

Teaching about the Holocaust and genocide presents an international educational initiative that supports teachers, schools, and policymakers in teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides. It explains that education about these violent pasts is not only about learning historical facts, but also about understanding how such atrocities happen and how they can be prevented in the future. According to UNESCO, studying the Holocaust involves examining the systematic persecution and murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany, while also exploring broader themes such as human behaviour, prejudice, discrimination, and the abuse of power.

The initiative provides resources, training, and guidance for educators worldwide. It includes teaching materials, online courses, international remembrance days, and programmes such as the International Programme on Holocaust and Genocide Education. It also addresses modern challenges like misinformation, Holocaust denial, and the role of digital technologies, helping teachers present accurate and responsible historical knowledge.

This programme is especially important for teachers because it helps them go beyond simply teaching history. First, it shows how education can strengthen students’ understanding of human rights and democratic values, highlighting how fragile societies can become when prejudice and discrimination are allowed to grow. Second, it encourages critical thinking by helping students analyse how propaganda, fear, and social pressures can lead to violence and injustice. Third, it equips teachers with methods to address sensitive and complex topics in a responsible and inclusive way, using accurate sources and appropriate pedagogies.

Visit:

https://www.unesco.org/en/teaching-holocaust-genocide

World Poetry Day

World Poetry Day is celebrated every year on March 21 and was established by the UNESCO to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry around the world. The day recognizes poetry as a powerful form of expression that reflects cultural identity, preserves languages, and gives voice to emotions, ideas, and social realities. It also aims to support linguistic diversity and encourage the appreciation of both well-known and lesser-known poets.

For educators, World Poetry Day is an important opportunity to bring creativity and critical thinking into the classroom. Poetry helps students develop language skills, improve reading comprehension, and explore rhythm, imagery, and meaning in a deeper way than many other types of texts. It also allows learners to express their thoughts and feelings, making it a valuable tool for emotional development and personal reflection. By introducing poetry from different cultures and traditions, teachers can foster empathy, cultural awareness, and respect for diversity.

Poetry can be used across subjects, connecting language learning with history, art, and social issues. Celebrating World Poetry Day in schools encourages students to see literature as something alive and relevant, not just as an academic subject. Overall, it is a meaningful way for educators to inspire a love of language, creativity, and expression while helping students understand the richness of human experience.

Visit.

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/poetry

AI and the future of education: disruptions, dilemmas and directions

UNESCO’s AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions is a major 2025 publication that explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming education around the world, and what this means for learners, teachers, schools and policymakers.

The document examines three interconnected themes:

Disruptions: how AI is reshaping classrooms, learning and teaching by acting as tutor, co-teacher and even companion in some contexts. It looks at both the opportunities (personalised learning, wider access and support) and the risks (inequality, over-reliance on automation and ethical concerns).

Dilemmas: the difficult decisions educators and leaders face, such as balancing AI use with human development, investing in technology versus human resources like teachers, and managing AI’s broader social impact responsibly.

Directions: a proposed path forward that places people at the centre of AI in education, emphasising equity, ethics, teacher empowerment, culturally relevant design and international collaboration to guide AI’s role in education positively.

Rather than offering simple answers, the report frames a global conversation about AI’s potential and pitfalls, advocating for thoughtful, human-centred policies and practices that protect education as a public good while harnessing AI’s benefits in inclusive, ethical ways.

Visit:

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000395236

#UNESCO launches a global webinar series to promote lifelong learning

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has launched a new series of webinars in which policymakers, experts, and practitioners will share strategies and initiatives that demonstrate how to make lifelong learning a reality accessible to everyone.

Topics will range from digital education for older adults to family literacy, including prison education, the ecological transition in teaching, the role of teachers as continuous learners, and the promotion of learning cities. Inspiring experiences from the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities and the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy will also be highlighted.

The webinars will take place on the first and third Wednesday of each month and will be open to global participation, encouraging the exchange of good practices and debate on how lifelong learning transforms lives and strengthens communities worldwide.

Registration:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=Uq5PHbM5-kuwswIpVrERlItDvROkxVVIoYkA0rRl9y1URUlVQTU0NzA3QkZUUkFLMTBWMFo1TExSNy4u&route=shorturl

International Literacy Day #LiteracyDay

Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) has been celebrated every year on 8 September across the globe. It's a day to remind everyone—policy-makers, educators, and the public—of just how vital literacy is for building a more informed, fair, peaceful, and sustainable world. 

Discover this celebration and many literacy-related resources on UNESCO's webpage dedicated to this day. 

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/literacy

Education and Climate Change: Learning to Act for People and Planet

UNESCO's publication Education and Climate Change: Learning to Act for People and Planet is a comprehensive guide that emphasizes the critical role of education in addressing climate change. It explores how educational systems can integrate climate literacy into their curricula, fostering a generation of informed and proactive individuals. It highlights best practices, case studies, and strategies for empowering students to take meaningful action for environmental sustainability. 

This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) licence.

Find it on:

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000389801

Technology in Education: A Tool on Whose Terms?

Technology in Education: A Tool on Whose Terms? is a thought-provoking publication that examines the integration of technology in educational settings. This publication delves into the benefits and challenges associated with the use of technology in classrooms around the world.

UNESCO critically analyzes how technology can enhance learning experiences, promote inclusive education, and bridge educational gaps. However, it also highlights the potential drawbacks, such as dependency on technology, issues of accessibility, and the risk of widening the digital divide.

The publication encourages educators and policymakers to consider whose terms technology is being used on, advocating for a balanced and equitable approach to integrating digital tools in education. By doing so, it aims to ensure that technology serves as a beneficial resource for all students, regardless of their background.

Find it on:

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385723

Behind the numbers: Ending school violence and bullying

This UNESCO publication provides an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of global and regional prevalence and trends related to school-related violence and examines the nature and impact of school violence and bullying. 

It reviews national responses, focusing on countries that have seen positive trends in prevalence and identifies factors that have contributed to an effective response to school violence and bullying. 

(Source: UNESCO)

Download it from:

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000366483/PDF/366483eng.pdf.multi

UNESCO Observatory on the Right to Education

Education is a fundamental human right of every woman, man and child. Nonetheless, it is still not a reality for millions and it is violated every single day. 

The Observatory on the Right to Education provides documentation and information concerning the implementation of the right to education at every level. It provides different options to browse its database: country profiles, a library with about 1.000 documents, and search tools to find information within the country profiles. 

Visit it on: 

http://www.unesco.org/education/edurights/index.php?action=home&lng=en

Teaching and Learning with Twitter

With this resource, Twitter and UNESCO hope to draw on their respective expertise in information, technology, media, and MIL to offer practical advice that informs pedagogical methods and outcomes.

If you want to design lessons around media and information literacy and how it relates to global citizenship and digital citizenship education it will be useful for you.

You can download Teaching and Learning with Twitter from:

https://about.twitter.com/content/dam/about-twitter/values/twitter-for-good/en/teaching-learning-with-twitter-unesco.pdf

Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practices

Throughout 2018, we celebrate our diverse cultural heritage across Europe, at EU, national, regional and local level.

Cultural heritage also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. Intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage meets annually to evaluate nominations and decide whether or not to inscribe those cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage on the Convention’s Lists.

By clicking on the link below, you can discover the nominations, photos and videos. 

A very interesting tool for teachers for sensitising young people to the importance of preserving intangible cultural heritage.

https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists