Center for Transformative Education
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Much have to be done in order for the Philippines to meet the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations. According to the latest Philippine MDG Progress Report published by NEDA and UNDP, the Philippines is not on track in meeting three of the eight goals—the ones on maternal health, on combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases and on achieving universal primary education. The other millennium development goals are eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development. The link between human rights and development has been recognized by states when leaders have agreed to set a minimum standard of development which all countries must meet by 2015. The terminal year of MDGs is fast approaching and the challenge is setting a new benchmark for a rights-based post 2015 development agenda. This year’s 65th anniversary of the UDHR is an opportune time for educators and youth to come together and start thinking around the new rights-based standards beyond 2015.
The Philippine Normal University-Center for Transformative Education believes that the youth sector can help societies in attaining their millennium goals provided that they are given the proper information and education. Transformative education as a perspective in education encourages the educators and the youth to use human rights, sustainable development, peace, gender education, and other social reform lenses in viewing the world, creating the world, and generating knowledge about the world. The transformative lens can be used to redefine post 2015 development benchmarks. Since 1990, PNU has organized various projects and programs for the youth sector of the Philippines because of the need to engage them in community development and nation building. The drafting of the Philippine Human Rights Education Decade Program was held in PNU. The track record of the Philippines in Human Rights Education is recognized within the human rights movement. The 1st International Youth Day Celebration and Conference was conducted in Manila, Philippines on March 20-23, 1999. It was a fitting tribute to youth volunteers in the preparation for the UN International Year of Peace. With the theme “The Role of Youth Volunteers in the Promotion of the Culture of Peace and Sustainable Development”, eighty (80) youth leaders from Japan, the Philippines, Brazil, Cambodia, East Timor, Korea, Indonesia, Israel, Thailand, Germany, Myanmar and Vietnam drafted action plans for the regional and national celebration of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence for the Children of the World (IDPNCW). PNU has organized and continued to initiate programs promoting the culture of peace, tolerance and respect for human rights directly targeting the youth sector as beneficiaries especially when the UN Millennium Development Goals was signed by the Philippines in the year 2000. Recognized as a unique group in society due to the many aspects of vulnerability they face while passing through major stages in their lives, the youth are considered as a potent force, a human resource and capital with enormous potentials for contributing to the evolving culture of peace and human rights. Since 1990, PNU has forged strong linkages with various national and international organizations in implementing the various programs such as Amnesty International, Youth Empowerment Summit for Peace-building (YES-PEACE), Ecological Camp, PEACE CAMP and Asia Pacific Youth Leaders Encounters. These organizations include Teachers College of Columbia (National Peace Education Conference –1999), UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (YES-PEACE, ECO-CAMP & PEACE CAMP 1998-2003), UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific-Bangkok (1st Asia Pacific Youth Leaders Encounter-2001), UNESCO Headquarters-Paris (Participation Program-Establishment of UN Youth Network in the Philippines-2001) and Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEM Youth Network on Sustainable Development). True to its vision of educating future leaders towards personal renewal and social transformation, these collaborations have strengthened PNU’s role not only in teacher training but also in training youth leaders on global issues of peace, human rights, sustainable development, and global citizenship. Recently, PNU has engaged with United Nations Volunteers Program to conduct the Youth Empowerment Series for the Millennium Development Goals (YES 4 MDGS!). This project takes special focus on the role of youth volunteers in HIV Care and Prevention. According to the Second Philippines Progress Report on the Millennium Development Goals, “The cumulative number of HIV/Ab seropositive cases increased from 1,451 in 2000 to 2,200 in 2004; despite the increase, the prevalence rate remains below one percent.” However According to the report, however, the presence of preconditions for full-blown epidemic was noted, the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) describes the epidemic to be “hidden and growing”. It is in this context that this project was organized to provide one hundred fifty (150) young leaders in Ilocos Sur, Negros Occidental and Mindoro Oriental a proactive action in combating AIDS in the Philippines though volunteerism and collective stance. With 2015 fast approaching, PNU wants to take the lead in cultivating conversations among the youth and educators to imagine new visions of rights-based development which can be used as input for post 2015 development agenda. The University wants to provide activities like camps and forums where themes relevant to transformative education may be discussed in the hope that insights generated may be used to inform new development benchmarks. |