PROVISIONAL SYNTHESIS FORUM FOR THE CROSS-EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS FOR A RESPONSIBLE, UNITED AND PLURAL WORLD

SYNTHESIS OF THE FOUR POLES

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4. CROSS-SYNTHESIS OF THE VALUES, CULTURE, ART, EDUCATION AND SOCIETY POLE (VCAESP)

4.2 MOST FAVOURABLY EVALUATED PROPOSALS

VCAESP III. On Social Harmony

VCAESP.14. Stimulating the artist's social responsibility. Art is the product of creative imagination, but it also is problem identifying from reality. Consequently, artists have an important place in society, and deserve special respect due to their sensibility and creativity. In many cases they serve as a reference and in some they serve as a myth. Art contributes to forming a community of emotions. Therefore, the artist's role is of utmost importance in changing the reality of different countries and enriching the imaginary, in this way, increasing the quality of material and spiritual life. (16.04.)

VCAESP.15. Defending the right of cultural citizenship. The search for a better quality of life, economic development, the alleviation of poverty, the improvement of living conditions, the preservation of the environment and the renewal of politics are not the only things that are central in our society; so are the right to culture and to cultural citizenship. In contemporary societies, this should be a permanent fight, because modernization and globalization tend to create a market culture that negates the rich cultural processes of different countries. (16.06.)

VCAESP.16. There should be dialogue between the democratic political culture of representation based on the nation-state and the participatory political culture based on the response to community needs. (Article suggested by a participant for proposal 03.)

VCAESP.17. Promote an education that works on a pedagogy of ethics. The educational institutions must offer to a weakened community the model of an institution that practises justice, encourages participation, protects the weak ones, respects environment and cultures, respects suffering and supports solidarity. Develop an education in order to build and properly channel a feeling of ethical outrage due to the sweeping injustice; encourage the organization of students, so that they defend the rights for children, youth, pupils, women, men and citizens. (25.02.)

VCAESP.18. Education must make an active contribution to the critical reflection and the democratization of the culture, including for instance new experiences of social and cultural struggle in its curricular development. That is, the institutionalized school-taught reality must undergo a constant confrontation with the new results of social change. (25.04.)

VCAESP.19. It is fundamental to aim at developing alternative communication media from educational centres and other social players, like neighbourhood movements and foundations. It is necessary to learn the value of other ways of communication, even silence. Unlike the mass media in hands of dominant classes, we must realize how useful they are. (25.05.)

VCAESP.20. To democratize communications, education must promote a critical reflection on mass media and their role in the exercise of social domination. What we look for are educational institutions as strongly interconnected spaces, in which the generation of instruments carries along an active participation of the people involved. (25.06.)

VCAESP.21. It is also necessary to design a shared scale of values that represents the base for an equitable society and these values must be able to comprehend and make concrete the various forms of struggle expressed in the society. The ideal values to be present in the practice of educational institutions are solidarity, life, dignity, peace, recognition of the other, justice, democracy and environmentalism. (25.08.)

VCAESP.22. It is fundamental to promote different ways to produce knowledge and to discuss without concessions what this hegemonic model shows as something “natural”. Furthermore, educational institutions should strengthen these spaces, getting the knowledge produced in the general scientific field with a critical spirit. (25.11.)

VCAESP.23. It is necessary to promote the defence of public education, avoiding improvisation and market discipline. If educational institutions play a more dynamic role and so develop reflection processes, plural and participatory strategies, we will be able to stem “preconcepts” that schematize and immobilize the fundamental dynamics of change. (25.14.)

VCAESP.24. Build a new kind of education where differences can be dealt with in accordance with democratic principles, solidarity and equal rights, against any kind of discrimination, whatever it may be: class, race or gender. (25.18.)

VCAESP.25. Put pressure on the state, to carry out its duties so that the right to education, teaching and learning becomes a reality. Reject any form of privatisation or commercialisation, whether overt or disguised, in the educational process. (26.10.)

VCAESP.26. Promote the introduction and or the development of Environmental Education within education systems. The directions for action are therefore to seek the introduction of processes in such systems that would permit, generally :

VCAESP.27. It is necessary to incorporate models of access to the resources of the Earth and the environment which offer alternatives to private property into environmental education. It is necessary to explore models of “communities” or “participation” of land or indigenous resources and models of land occupation. Private property as a single model of land owning must be further developed with other proposals, given that it lies at the heart of inequities and at the root of privatization and merchandising of the resources that should be preserved and safeguarded for the welfare of futures generations and the Earth. (Article suggested by a participant for proposal 27.)

VCAESP.28. The school of life is just as important as normal school: Young people from 15 to 25 years old and their parents must be made aware of the importance of being involved in alternative projects for development and social change, so as to develop their personality and their skills through exercising responsibilities and methods of cultural exchange. This education, self-discovery, is essential for completing knowledge provided at home, in society and at school. (35.08.)

VCAESP.29. Young people must acquire a practical education on the ecosystems. For instance, group activities in the middle of forests and jungles are possible such as: a) to reforest areas already cleared; b) to preserve primitive tree species as far as possible; c) to get to know the forests and jungles through the organisation of walks together with the inhabitants of the region who have the traditional practical knowledge of this environment and its peoples; d) to learn how to use without destroying; e) to create the Guardians of Forests and Jungles forming groups of “youths of all ages” to develop the previous proposals. (Article suggested by a participant for proposal 35.)

VCAESP.30. Making the university responsible in society. The responsibility of the university and academics combines institutional and individual outlooks. Regarding research, the professor/researcher should be aware that all knowledge produced and diffused must be responsible knowledge and that this responsibility requires evaluation through contextualised judgements. The university therefore has the responsibility of resituating research and knowledge within their social, historic, political, cultural and aesthetic contexts. (34.01.)

VCAESP.31. Establishing a conscience clause designed to re-establish a certain equilibrium between employers and scientific staff, who may be employed by private or public companies. The objective is to control the transparency and commercial use of new scientific knowledge, in particular everything to do with living matter biology and applying principles of precaution. (01.02.)