Learning To Live Together - The Concept

The term “learning to live together”, central to UNESCO’s mission, is adopted from the Report of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century, known as the Delors Report. It is identified as one of the four pillars of knowledge or fundamental types of learning essential to full personal and social development in the twenty-first century. The other three pillars are: learning to know, learning to do and learning to be. Each dimension of learning is closely interconnected with the others, ideally coming together to form a whole lifelong experience.

 

Conflict is central to human experience and learning to live together has always been a challenge but also a matter of survival for the human race. Major ideological, political, technological, economic, and socio-cultural changes in modern times have led to multiple new tensions as societies grow more diverse but with increasing inequalities within and among them. Humans have developed and exercised previously unknown capacities for mass destruction during the 20th century. Yet while there seems a greater need to learn to live together in the twenty-first century, there are increased opportunities for doing so. New information and communication technologies, the growing multiculturality of societies, the growth of tourism, the multitude of international organisations and fora enabling regular meetings and dialogue among countries, all make the encounter of different cultures and lifestyles a common experience for more and more people in the twenty-first century.

 

The concept of learning to live together is centred on the development of understanding, consideration and respect for others, their beliefs, values and cultures. This is considered to provide the basis for the avoidance of conflicts or their non-violent resolution and for ongoing peaceful coexistence. Beyond that, it implies recognizing difference and diversity as opportunity rather than danger and as a valuable resource to be used for the common good.

 

Learning to live together is based on the principle of equality among all peoples. It should be seen not as passive acceptance or tolerance of others but rather as an active, dynamic, interactive experience of discovering others and working towards common objectives. It is about seeing our humanness within all others, while growing to understand and appreciate the rich and complex diversity of human cultures and lifestyles. The concepts of similarity, diversity, and interdependence which define the human experience form the basis of the ideal of learning to live together.

 

Disagreement and differences of opinion are part of daily human interaction and the concept underlines the need to accept, understand and respect, within reason, other types of behaviour and points of view, attempting to arrive at consensus or compromise in disagreements, rather than conflict.

 

 

References

 

  • Delors, et al. Learning : the treasure within: Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century. Paris, UNESCO, 1996.
  • Mockus, A. “Coexistence as harmonization of law, morality and culture” in Prospects, Vol. XXXII, no. 1, March 2002.
  • Sherlock, P. “Emotional intelligence in the international curriculum.”  Journal of research in international education. Vo. 1, no. 2, December 2002, p. 139-158.