UNESCO’s Education for Peace in the Digital Age: Towards a Conceptual Framework of Digital Citizenship Education (University of Auckland)

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Supporting Teachers to Curb the Polycrises through Education: Reimagining Teacher Professional Development for Peace and Socio-Ecological Justice

Proposal

Building on Paper 1, this paper brings the focus from the 2023 Recommendation to the conceptualization and enactment of digital citizenship education (DCE), a vital area of concern for teachers and students alike. The position paper (to be public in 2026) explores the concept of DCE and evaluates if and how it might provide a holistic response to the challenges and opportunities presented in our new and ever-changing digital world. It unpacks key elements of the digital world and conceptualizes DCE within and in relation to UNESCO’s existing frameworks on transformative education, mainly focusing on Global Citizenship Education (GCED), Media and Information Literacy (MIL), conceptual and competency frameworks to foster critical digital skills and AI competencies, and other relevant framings at the intersection of education, digital technologies, and peace. In doing so, it establishes greater clarity on how DCE can (and the extent to which it should) reinforce and guide global responses, including the critical role of teachers and other educators, in the context of the increased digitalization of our societies, particularly through education, and towards long-lasting peace.
Considering the centrality of teacher professional development in the wider systemic transformation of education for peace, this paper and Paper 1 will share insights and concrete recommendations to strengthen the teaching profession, and to realize an education reoriented toward greater social justice and peace, particularly in the digital age. It will conclude with a multi-layered series of concrete suggestions for students, educators, parents, school leaders, and policymakers - based on UNESCO’s global work in this space – toward a future where online engagement and digital practices reflect the ethics and citizenship we want to model for the next generation.

Authors:
Andrew Swindell, Asian University for Women in Bangladesh; research consultant with the Inclusive Education Foundation in Thailand (aswindell@ucla.edu)
Jack Webster, Education Researcher & Graduate Teaching Assistant The University of Auckland (jack.webster@auckland.ac.nz)
Miren González-Bals Cabado, Associate Project Officer, Section on Global Citizenship and Peace Education, UNESCO (m. gonzales-bals@unesco.org)
Kuany Kiir Kuany, Project Officer, Section on Global Citizenship and Peace Education, UNESCO (s.kuany@unesco.org

Authors

• Jack Webster, University of Auckland

• Miren Gonzales-Bals, UNESCO

• Kuany Kiir Kuany, UNESCO