Igniting Change: How We Advocate for Ethics Education and the Spiritual Development of Children
Our advocacy efforts are driven by a profound belief in children’s intrinsic dignity and immense potential as agents of positive change. We champion ethics education and the spiritual development of children, recognizing that investing in children today is key to building a better future.
Over the past year, Arigatou International – Geneva was invited to participate in 15 international conferences sharing its expertise as speakers in 13 of them and reaching 774 people.
Championing the Spiritual Development of Children in the Early Years
The Consortium on Nurturing the Spiritual Development of Children in the Early Years hosted a series of three webinars, providing a powerful platform for dialogue and knowledge sharing about this crucial yet often overlooked and underfunded topic.
These inspiring webinars gathered 285 participants from diverse countries, cultures and faith communities. The speakers included researchers, practitioners and grassroots organizations, who explored the profound impact of nurturing children’s spiritual development on their holistic well-being and protection from violence. The discussions were both enlightening and transformative, shedding light on the essential role spiritual growth plays in the early years of a child’s life.
The Science Behind Nurturing the Spiritual Development of Children
29 August 2023
The panelists shared and discussed the latest evidence on the critical importance of nurturing the spiritual development of children in the early years and supporting children’s innate spiritual capacities. The discussion delved deep into the most relevant research on brain development and the spiritual growth of children, highlighting its connection with the protection of children from violence, especially in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Speakers:
Dr. Lisa Miller, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia
Mr. Dominic Richardson, Managing Director, Learning for Well-Being Foundation
Ms. Sabine Rakotomalala, Technical Officer, World Health Organization
Dr. Ali Shaar, Director, Palestinian Institute An-Najah, National University
Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, President, Sarvodaya Movement
Dr. Xioan Li, Senior Program Officer, Fetzer Institute
Dr. Ilham Nasser, Senior Advisor for Education, Creative Associates
Child Rights and Spiritual Development
01 November 2023
In this webinar, panelists and participants explored how the Convention on the Rights of the Child includes and emphasizes the importance of children’s spiritual development. They identified and discussed key challenges and barriers hindering the recognition and implementation of the child’s right to holistic development, including the spiritual domain.
The panelists provided several recommendations, particularly on the importance of raising awareness about the topic and fostering dialogue with various stakeholders on the benefits of spiritual development for children, especially those affected by adversity.
Speakers:
Dr. Rima Salah, Assistant Clinical Professor, Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine; Chair, Early Childhood Peace Consortium
Dr. Rinchen Chophel, Vice Chair and Rapporteur, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Director General, SAIEVAC
Ms. María Julia Garcete, General Director, Inter-American Institute for Children and Adolescents (IIN)
Dr. Hans Morten Haugen, Professor, Faculty of Theology and Social Sciences, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway
Voices from the Field: Integrating the Spiritual Development of Children in Early Childhood, Child Protection and Education Programs
05 December 2023
Experiences and testimonies from Brazil, India, Mexico and Pakistan were presented to demonstrate how organizations and communities are collaborating to nurture children’s spiritual development.
In Brazil, Pastoral da Criança outlined how they integrated the Toolkit into their app for families and how the program is implemented holistically as part of their support to parents to address to nutritional, educational, social, emotional and spiritual well-being of children, while in India, Shanti Ashram incorporated the Toolkit through their early years’ centers with teachers, parents and caregivers from vulnerable communities.
In Mexico, the Franciscan sisters embedded the Toolkit into schools and an orphanage for girls, while World Vision focused on community-led programs in rural parishes, mostly with indigenous populations. Islamic Relief Pakistan customized the Toolkit for a humanitarian setting through their child and women’s development programming across the country, particularly through their orphan program.
The stark contrast in implementation scope showcases the adaptability and versatility of the Toolkit.
Speakers:
Ms. Christina Kirby, Program Manager for Education – North America, Porticus
Ms. Maria Lucia Uribe, Executive Director, Arigatou International – Geneva
Dr. Nelson Arns Neumann, International Coordinator, Pastoral da Criança – Brazil
Ms. Esmeralda Limon Reyes, Faith & Development Manager, World Vision – Mexico
Sr. Maria Guadalupe Vasquez Cortes, Provincial Coordinator of Education, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception – Mexico
Ms. Afshan Jamal, Child and Women’s Development Program Manager, Islamic Relief – Pakistan
Dr. Kezevino Aram, President, Shanti Ashram – India
Advocating for the Inclusion of Ethics Education for Children
Webinar: Transforming Education to Contribute to Global Citizenship and Peaceful and Inclusive Societies
Attended by , this webinar sparked a timely dialogue on the pivotal role of education in addressing societal challenges like rising polarization, violence, hate speech, xenophobia and discrimination. The expert group of speakers shed light on concrete pathways and recommendations for transforming educational practices to build more peaceful and inclusive societies.
Organized during Global Education Week, the webinar was hosted by Arigatou International – Geneva, KAICIID International Dialogue Centre, the Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace, and the Muslim Council of Elders, as part of the Ethics Education Fellowship Program.
The session emphasized the importance of integrating Ethics Education into Global Citizenship Education, fostering inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and understanding.
Panelists and participants explored strategies to enhance teachers’ capacity to create transformative learning experiences for children. They emphasized the need for opportunities to dialogue, build relationships, and learn from interacting with those who are different.
“Ethics education should be central for any education program in any sense. It should be the ultimate goal of education. And from there we build students’ cognitive and skills competence to build into that core of the individual,” said Dr. Itje Chodidjah – Secretary-General, Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO.
Furthermore, insights were shared from Indonesia, drawing on their experiences with the Ethics Education Fellowship. The program’s role in supporting the empowerment of both learners and teachers alike was highlighted. Insights from Seychelles, showed how the program created a safe space for children to dialogue, think critically and become aware of the societal issues in their society.
This webinar showcased a collective commitment to leveraging education as a force for peace and inclusivity, emphasizing the transformative potential of Ethics Education in shaping future generations equipped to navigate and transform complex global challenges.
Ms. Scherk-Arsénio, Project Officer for Global Education, North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, recognized the strong consensus in many parts of society on the need for Global Citizenship and Peace Education in schools while stressing the challenges found when implemented, and ways to tackle them.
Ms. Veronika Scherk-Arsénio, Project Officer for Global Education, North-South Centre of the Council of Europe
Prof. Amr Abdalla, Professor Emeritus, United Nations-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE)
Dr. Itje Chodidjah, Secretary-General, Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO
Ms. Erica Derjacques-Inacio, Director, Strategic Priorities-Ethos and Culture, Ministry of Education, Seychelles
Ms. Virginia Mumo Ntheketha, National Officer – Programme-Education, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa
Check out all the events we contributed to this year:
G20 Interfaith Summit – Partnerships in Action: Towards One Earth, One Family, One Future
- New Delhi, India
- 7 to 9 May 2023
- Organized by the G20 Interfaith Forum Association and Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities
Changing the narrative: Promoting positive change with children around 40 years of civil society advocacy in Geneva.
- Geneva, Switzerland
- 15 May 2023
- Organized by Child Rights Connect
Seminar “Reinforcing Competencies of Education Practitioners to Manage Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue”
- Lisbon, Portugal
- 18 May 2023
- Organised by the North-South Center of the Council of Europe
European Academy of Religion’s 6th Annual Conference
- Andrew’s University, Scotland
- 19-23 June 2023
- Panel hosted by KAICIID International Dialogue Centre
South Asia sub-regional consultation meeting to discuss a Policy Guide on Addressing Hate Speech through Education
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- 20-21 June 2023
- Organized by UNESCO
G20 Interfaith Summit – “Partnerships in Action: Towards One Earth, One Family, One Future”
- Pune, India
- 5-6 September 2023
- Organized by the G20 Interfaith Forum, the World Peace University – MIT, and the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities.
Commemorating the International Day of Peace
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- 19 September 2023
- Organized by the Press Complaint Commission of Sri Lanka and Hashtag Generation
9th International Annual School of Education and Lifelong Learning Conference
- Nairobi, Kenya
- 4 October 2023
- Organized by the Kenyatta University School of Education and Lifelong Learning
PaRD General Assembly and Annual Forum
- Berlin, Germany
- 17-19 October 2023
- Organized by PaRD
Religious Leaders Unite for Climate Peace in Solidarity with Refugees
- Geneva, Switzerland
- 12 December 2023
- Organized by the G20 Interfaith Forum and co-sponsored by the UN ambassadors for the Gambia and Indonesia
Is Our Conscience Revolted?
- Online
- 14 December 2023
- Organized by the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues and Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.
Sowing seeds of peace in the family: nurturing positive relations for resilience building”
- Online
- 18 December 2023
- Organized by Network of Women Building a Culture of Encounter Interreligiously
Learning for Lasting Peace: Lessons from Africa for the International Day of Education 2024
- Online
- 24 January 2014
- Organized by the Unesco International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa – IICBA.
Sirius Network Kids 4 All Conference
- 21 February 2024
- Brussels, Belgium
- Organized by Sirius Network
The Role of Interfaith Education and Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy and Human Rights Education in Combating Intolerance, Negative Stereotyping and Stigmatization of Persons Based on Religion or Belief
- Geneva, Switzerland
- 12 March 2024
- Organized by the G20 Interfaith Forum Association
