UNESCO - World Conference on Arts Education to be held in Lisbon 6 to 9 March

World Conference on Arts Education to be held in Lisbon 6 to 9 March

03-03-2006 12:00 pm A World Conference on Arts Education, organized by UNESCO and the Portuguese government, will take place in Lisbon from 6 to 9 March. Nearly 300 teachers, artists, scientists, experts and representatives of ministries in charge of arts education will participate in the conference on the theme of “Building Creative Capacities for the 21st Century”. The International Society for Education through Art (InSEA), the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the International Music Council (IMC), the International Drama/Theatre and Education Association (IDEA) and Education International (EI), all non-governmental organizations, will take part in the event. The President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, and the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, will open the conference, which will examine the place of arts education in society, particularly in educational systems, as a fundamental element in the development of creativity and of dialogue between cultures.

The conference follows up on the recommendations of the World Congress on the Status of the Artist (Paris, 1977) and of the Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development (Stockholm 1998), which reaffirmed the essential role of arts education in teaching and in promoting the arts and cultural diversity.

Four main topics are on the agenda in Lisbon: Advocacy for arts education; Impact of arts education; Strategies for promoting arts education policies; and Teacher training policies. Issues to be explored in the course of plenary sessions, two round tables, 24 workshops and three regional group discussions include: the role of the private and not-for-profit sectors in encouraging education for a creative future; measuring the social, cultural and economic impact of arts education; defining avenues for international cooperation; teaching methods and teacher training; an international overview of best practices in the field of arts education; and defining priorities for immediate action by ministers of education and, or culture.

At the end of the conference, governmental representatives will adopt recommendations to improve the integration of arts in national educational policies mindful of the artistic dimension of human development.

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Source	Media Advisory N°2006-13
Author(s)	UNESCOPRESS