DILI, 12 july 2022 (TATOLI)– United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (MoEYS), and Centro National Chega (CNC) agreed to provide education literacy on the history of Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste (HoRPTL).
Director of UNESCO Jakarta,Mohamed Djelid said this meeting was very important to talk about the importance of literacy education for history and peace building to help Timorese people to understand their history: “UNESCO considers literacy education for history and peace building will help new generations to gain a deeper understanding about human rights violations by all actors and their effects on the individual, community and national levels while also knowing about the identity of the Timorese people,”
“UNESCO understands that nothing is more valuable to the Timorese people than the loss of history. We must remember all history to change people’s mindsets and contribute to peace-building in Timor-Leste,” UNESCO Jakarta Director Mohamed Djelid told a report at the Novo Turismo Hotel, Lecidre, this Tuesday.
Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports Armindo Mai said Timor-Leste is a country with a long history. It is time to ensure new generations are understood the history and peace building.
“This subject is very important to change the mentality of students and protect them from violence and crime while contributing to reconciliation and peace building,” said Maia.
MoEYS coordinates with KOICA, UNESCO, and also CNC to provide the subject to junior high school and senior high school students across the country.
CNC Director Hugo Fernandes said that CNC had worked closely with MoEYS to detail a teaching manual for teachers to follow.
“There are three teaching components; providing teaching manuals for teachers as guidebooks, the digitalization component helping students access historical articles, and historical library management,” he said.
Meanwhile, the UN Resident Coordinator, Roy Trivedy, assessed that this program could help Timor-Leste to recover from all pain and heal the wounds that have been suffered by people physically and mentally.
“Historical literacy will build a good mentality of the new generation to become agents of reconciliation, peace building and bring a positive attitude that will contribute to the stability of the country and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Mr. Trivedy.
So far, this project was initiated by the Ministry of Education with CNC and funded by KOICA for five million USD.
The project will be implemented in three years from 2022 to 2025.
Journalist: José Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Nelia B.
