CONFINTEA VI, final report - Unesco

APPENDIX G
From rhetoric to action
Keynote address
4 December 2009
Paul Bélanger
CIEA-ICAE
First of all, I would like to thank UNESCO for inviting
me, as chairman of the International Council for Adult
Education, to speak to you. Along with the other
representatives of civil-society organisations, we have
come here to work with you to advance the right to
lifelong learning. We do so because we are convinced
that the continuing development of knowledge and
skills within the adult population is one of the most
strategic investments that societies must make today.
Furthermore, this is an urgent investment, without
which mankind will not have the internal resources
to cope with the challenges ahead. The bloody
conflicts that arise, as was again the case last night
in two African countries and as we see all too often
on all continents, clearly demonstrate this. Without
an informed and internally strong civil society, such
disasters become inevitable.
Yes, without spreading the freedom to learn and
without strengthening the foundations of everyday
diplomatic skills, the possibility of solving conflicts
other than by bloody means becomes virtually
inconceivable, regardless of the country. Adult
education is an essential tool for peace.
But how, then, can we truly succeed in investing in
the lifelong learning of our citizens?
During the preparatory discussions leading up to
CONFINTEA VI, international, national and nongovernmental
partners all agreed that at this sixth
International Conference on Adult Education we would
have to move from words to action. For each and every
partner, the mantra quickly became “from rhetoric to
action”, and has remained so in this final session of
CONFINTEA VI. But if we are to truly move from words
to action, there are two questions we must consider.
First: why is it important, and even urgent, for adults
and young people outside the school system to develop
their potential? And second: what action do we take,
how do we make this possible from here on in?
1. Why has it become necessary for education to
extend throughout life?
The reason, or rather the reasons, for lifelong learning
are important because they are the basis of the
political will that this conference calls on us all to
show.
Why, then, should we invest in developing adults’
capacity for initiative and in increasing their capacity
for action?
First, because the Millennium Development Goals,
the MDGs, are not achievable without the active and
informed participation of the entire population.
We cannot fight HIV/AIDS without prevention. We
cannot stem the rapid spread of this pandemic, any
more so than that of malaria, without an informed
population that is aware of preventive measures and
without educational and health promotion activities.
This is what we call adult education.
We will not be able to provide primary education for all
children in the world without the active participation
of parents, without giving them the means to equip
themselves for this purpose and without parental
education. This, too, is what we call adult education.
We will not succeed in reducing hunger in the world
without overcoming the food crisis, without helping
farmers and rural populations to increase yields
on their land, and without investing heavily in
79