Contested Meanings of Humanism and UNESCO’s visions of Educational Futures

• In Event: Rethinking humanism and education

Proposal

The idea of humanism is embedded within the various statements of UNESCO's core mission. All aspects of the organization’s activities, including education, are expected to work towards the normative aspirations of humanism. Yet, within UNESCO, the idea of humanism has always been contested. From its very beginning, UNESCO has struggled to settle upon a consistent and coherent meaning of humanism. Under the guidance of its first director, Julian Huxley, UNESCO sought to develop an evolutionary understanding of human dispositions and capabilities, and the role education might play in forging a sense of common humanity. In subsequent decades, liberal-democratic notions of humanism have been dominant. In this paper, I will consider the assumptions that UNESCO’s most recent report on educational futures makes in relation to its long-standing commitment to humanism.

Author

• Fazal Rizvi, University of Melbourne