'Learning for Empathy- the Teacher Exchange and Support Program' for Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in cooperation with Japan 

Based on the positive development of the first phase of the UNESCO project ‘Learning for Empathy- A Teacher Exchange and Support Program’ for Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan implemented during April 2019-March 2020 and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the second phase is planned to be launched with aims of reaching out to more schools and teachers and sustain the impact of this initiative through a broader network of schools and partners. To that end, Sri Lanka is invited to join this initiative in 2020 for its longstanding efforts in promoting peace dialogue through education. Watch the preview of the 2019 'Learning for Empathy' project below.

This 12-month project will work towards providing policy-makers and secondary-level general education schools in the four beneficiary countries and Japan as the host country, with an opportunity for mutual learning on how to make learning more inclusive, motivating, meaningful and empowering in the era of SDGs. It will support school leaders and teachers in their efforts for reforming/reorienting their schools and teaching practices for promotion of peace, tolerance and interfaith/intercultural harmony in the society. 

This project will also continue sharing good practices with a wider community of policymakers and educators in Asia-Pacific and beyond in mainstreaming SDG4.7 as a key entry point to living together in diversity as a way to prevent conflict, hatred, radicalization, and violent extremism.

Project outline

At an uncertain period overtaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, most governments around the world including Sri Lanka have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the situation. Thus, in the initial stage, this project calls for students' experiences in dealing with the current situation by documenting stories of empathy. For more information visit: Tell UNESCO your story – #LearningNeverStops #Learning4Empathy