Author: Kalpana Mishra

Publisher:

Published: 1982

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

UNESCO was born in 1945, just after the Second World War. Its Constitution, written with a hope for a better future, shows high ideals of the Organization and great faith in education. Education was considered fundamental human right and an instrument to construct 'defences of peace in the minds of men". But no lasting peace can be achieved when half of the world is ignorant, illiterate, ill-fed and poor. So, UNESCO turned to adult literacy and adult education to further the causes of "human welfare", of development. UNESCO s role in adult education and development is the theme of this study. It is based on assumption that UNESCO, since its inception, has done a substantial amount of work in the field of adult education and for the development of the Third World countries, though it had to go through many changes, both in policy and actions for the same. The work is committed to study this evolution and its effect. The study is a historical survey of the major stages in the development of adult education as fostered by UNESCO. UNESCO has convened three international conferences on adult education during last thirty years. The first Conference was held at Elsinore, Denmark, in 1949, the second one was held at Montreal, Canada, in 1960 and the last one was held at Tokyo, Japan, in 1972. Each of these Conferences marked a stage in evolution of thinking in the field of adult education, in its nature, its implications and its scope. These Conferences provided adult education an unprecedented importance. During past thirty years adult education evolved and developed as a component in the process of development. It showed that any developmental activity can be dependent on adult education for success. This journey from 'fundamental education' in the fifties, to 'functional literacy' in the sixties, to 'lifelong education' of the seventies, is not the consequence of rash policies but is the product of long series of activities in the area of literacy and adult education. UNESCO's greatest contribution is the realisation of the need of 'lifelong learning'. This concept is idealistic and utopian but it definitely shows the Organization's interest, not only in man's present but in his future too. As a consequence of this development new trends and new perspectives are developing in education today.