Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

decision-making process need to be chosen on the basis of their natural links, ratherthan having deliberative omissions of their particular dimensions due to “strategic”or “security” reasons.The notion of human security and development has been by far the best exampleof attempts to de-black-box various taboos of the political process. The image ofpolitical space has been extended and now incorporates the full range of new actors(NGOs, epistemic communities, bureaucratic coalitions etc.) and their intermediaries(the Internet, independent press etc.). These new actors can be conceived ofas transnational networks that for their own reasons have become involved in theprocess of political negotiations and bargaining. It has been largely due to these actorsthat a number of former “high level politics”, such as military and economic issueshave been de-securitized, i.e. they are no longer the subject of taboo and privilegedaccess. As the failure of many post-Cold War solutions that are concerned withthe renewal of war-torn and/or underdeveloped areas have shown, the analyticalbarriers between “security”, “sustainability”, and “development” have only beenartificially created and maintained. It has been ever clearer that these issues wouldnever be solved without a return to the natural links between the socially constructedcategories which had their original purpose in the attempts of power-monopolymaintenance. How could be peace kept in the area if there remains a general lackof access to the basic resources? How could sustainable development be promotedin the area where there is still the heavy presence of civil clashes? How can localwisdom be incorporated into project design? What is the role of/for education undersuch circumstances?Thus it has become obvious that the educational system in these ‘conflict’ areasneeds to be changed, if not generally overhauled. The role of education can be seenin the attempts to interconnect all these realms. The issues involved will includewomen’s participation in peace-building activities, the use of local knowledge,the connection between traditional culture and the overall strategy of sustainabledevelopment and the support of grassroots movements to mention a few. All theseparadigmatic shifts require a brand-new and unbiased point of view. The traditionalrole of scientists and academics needs to change. They are not any longer the objectiveagents imposing their mental representations on reality. They are rather good listenersand observers in the first instance, they are humans. The Western philosophy objectsubjectdistinction that has been mechanistically followed since Aristotle continues tobe eroded. Issues are becoming more contextualized. There is nothing like a naturalgap between professional and private activitiesTeaching SustainabilityAs far as Czech geographical education is concerned, this theme remains aCinderella area due to the absence of cooperation between physical and humangeography and the low interest of geography teachers. Contemporary developmentis bringing about some improvements, mainly in research, but less so in education.The Czech geographical education community remains rather inconsistent in spiteof the presence of governmental programmes and a new National Curriculum that309