Arts in Education Observatories

Following the Hong Kong Symposium, the Office of the Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific produced the "Asia-Pacific Action Plan" (previously titled "Action Plan Asia").

This document outlines a plan to establish a series of Observatories. The Arts Education Observatories will function as clearinghouses of information about the instrumental uses of arts in education.

The Observatories will collect, analyze, synthesize, repackage and disseminate information from a regional network of input-providing institutions. This will facilitate knowledge-sharing and information-utilization by the network of institutions and by UNESCO, its Member States and cooperation partners. In the long term, the Observatories are to become the basis for informed advocacy processes, which lies close to UNESCO’s mandate and will also be supported by the Arts Education community. It is hoped that the Observatories will thereby contribute to mainstreaming arts, creativity and culture in both formal and non-formal education.

The University of Melbourne (Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning) has taken the lead in implementing the Asia-Pacific Action Plan, and is in the process of establishing the first Arts Education Observatory.

In April 2007, the 176th session of the UNESCO Executive Board emphasized the links between Education for Peace, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Arts Education, as follows:

“Education for peace is a primordial task for UNESCO related to its mission. UNESCO will therefore contribute through education to bring about a culture of peace and promote sustainable development. It will further promote intercultural dialogue with a view to integrating the teaching of global citizenship and democratic values into all levels of formal schooling and non-formal systems. The UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN networks will be mobilized as think tanks and as arenas for the production and transfer of knowledge as will be the Associated Schools (ASP) Network to promote dialogue and to serve as a conduit of best practices for peace education. Arts education will be pursued to introduce a creative segment to educational efforts.”

Paragraph 47, 176/EX/PLEN/DR.1

This statement highlights the importance of Arts Education in terms of peace and sustainable development, and the need for action to be taken by research and educational institutions towards producing and transferring knowledge regarding these themes. This corresponds closely to the strategy outlined in the "Asia-Pacific Action Plan", and underscores the need to establish Arts Education Observatories.

To download the Arts Education Obesrvatories application form, click here.

Further information:

• Melbourne Arts Education Observatory
• University of Melbourne - UNESCO Observatory
• Asia-Pacific Action Plan