UNESCO Associated Schools: Partners in Intercultural Learning
by Susan Fountain, director of educational programs for InterConnections 21

UNESCO's Associated Schools Project (ASPnet)

The world's oldest and largest international network of educational institutions is UNESCO's Associated Schools Project (ASPnet), established in 1953 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The goal of ASPnet is to promote peace and international understanding through education. Since 1953, ASPnet has grown to nearly 7,700 educational institutions in 176 countries, ranging from pre-school to teacher training. To become an Associated School, schools commit to undertake substantive work related to one of four ASPnet priority themes:

• World concerns and the role of the United Nations system
• Human rights, democracy and tolerance
• Intercultural learning
• Environmental concerns and sustainable development

ASPnet offers teachers, students and parents opportunities for exchange and networking with their counterparts in the United States and around the world who share their concerns for global education and issues of conflict resolution, human rights and sustainability.  UNESCO does not have a prescribed curriculum for Associated Schools. Rather, it offers a range of educational projects and materials for teachers to select from and adapt to their own national and state standards, either through the formal curriculum or through extracurricular activities. Jean-Baptiste Bassène, a teacher of French and history at the United Nations International School (UNIS) in New York (an IB school and ASPnet member) says that, from a professional perspective,

"To use the interdisciplinary approach that ASPnet encourages, you have to be on top of all kinds of issues--sustainable development, population, world heritage. ... I reinvent myself as a teacher every time I take on one of these topics, rather than narrowing myself to only the field that I teach."

Topics addressed by UNESCO educational materials are as diverse as world heritage (natural and cultural sites), the trans-Atlantic slave trade and combating desertification. Through the network, ASPnet member schools have the unique opportunity to link with schools in other countries to work collaboratively on these and other topics of common interest. For example, a recent UNESCO initiative called "Mondialogo" paired schools in different countries to design projects on the theme of "intercultural dialogue." The Atlanta International School (AIS), an IB school, was paired with a school in Cambodia. Andrea Feuer, an AIS high school student who took part describes her experience:

"Participating in the UNESCO ASPnet project has taught me to further appreciate and respect differences ... to be patient and really help others in need, because if you don't help, who will? The school we were partnered with is extremely poor, and the students are also gripped by poverty.  Thus, I learned to be extremely grateful for the convenient society I live in; while at the same time to try my hardest to help the less privileged progress and succeed."

ASPnet membership also offers teachers and students the possibility of participating in national and international conferences. UNESCO World Heritage youth forums are held on a regular basis, most recently in Sweden and Russia. Students from ASPnet schools in the United States have attended the World Parliament of Children in Paris in October 1999, and an international workshop on bilingualism in education in Switzerland in November 2003. The impact of meeting and working with students from around the world can have a profound effect on young people. Doreen Tomé, parent of a 16-year-old student at Jackson Hole High School in Wyoming who attended the workshop on bilingualism, noted the impression that participation made on her son:

"It was an experience that we as a family couldn't have given him. We live in such a tiny community, it's easy to lose sight of the wider world. Because of meeting all those kids from other countries, he's more in tune now with international aspects of politics and economics. He's more aware of the world, and how he can be involved and have an influence. It's given him more depth and awakened him."

ASPnet in the United States
Though the United States has long been an active member of ASPnet, the U.S. withdrew from UNESCO in 1984 due to a perception that the organization was over-politicized, and suffered from weak management, poor accountability and a lack of focus. Despite the lack of official U.S. presence in UNESCO, ASPnet member schools in the United States voluntarily continued functioning as a network. In 1998, coordination of ASPnet schools in the United States (ASPnet/USA) was taken on by InterConnections 21 (IC 21), a national not-for-profit organization based in Wilson, WY. IC 21's mission is to promote learning and action on the local, national and international dimensions of critical global issues.

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 12, 2002, U.S. president George W. Bush announced, "As a symbol of our commitment to human dignity, the United States will return to UNESCO ... and America will participate fully in its mission to advance human rights and tolerance and learning." Official U.S. re-entry into UNESCO took place in October 2003. The United States has recognized UNESCO's key role in education around the world, and priorities of the United States in rejoining include such issues as basic literacy, AIDS education, girls' education and education in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With the re-entry of the United States into UNESCO, ASPnet/USA is expanding its membership, as well as the types of opportunities it offers to schools:

• During the 2004-5 school year, ASPnet/USA is emphasizing "World Heritage in Young Hands", a UNESCO flagship project that examines sites of cultural and natural significance around the world, and the challenges to those sites posed by tourism, development and conflict. A national workshop on World Heritage Education will be held in Philadelphia on January 28-30, 2005.
• ASPnet/USA will co-sponsor the annual United Nations Student Conference on Human Rights in New York City on December 2-3, 2004. The focus will be on the human rights dimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Students will have the opportunity to attend live, or via teleconference or web cast, enabling students from around the United States and in other countries to contribute to a plan of action that will be presented to the United Nations General Assembly.
• IC 21 is developing interdisciplinary curriculum units that can be used as a basis for celebrating international observances such as United Nations Day, World AIDS Day, International Women's Day and Earth Day.

ASPnet and the International Baccalaureate
ASPnet shares with the International Baccalaureate Organization common concerns for cultivating international awareness, respect for other cultures and points of view, civic engagement, and active learning.  According to student Andrea Feuer,

"The ASPnet project is very similar to the IB, particularly in the IB requirement of CAS (Creativity, Action, Service).  Community service promotes unselfish giving to the community and dedication in helping others.  Similarly, the ASPnet projects promote helping others and establishing bonds not only at a school, community, state and national level, but at an international level too.  ASPnet projects and the IB can go hand-in-hand because they both promote universal understanding, communication, involvement and action."

As part of his involvement with ASPnet, Mr. Bassène of the United Nations International School has worked with students on organizing an annual UNIS-UN conference, inviting students from ASPnet schools around the world to gather and discuss topics such as mass media, and youth at risk; he has also advised student activities on human rights and environmental issues. He says,

"For us, it's a win-win. Both organizations emphasize quality education. Both recognize the importance of 'learning to learn,' which is essential for students who must come to terms with new realities. Being involved in ASPnet allows us to go beyond what the curriculum offers. It allows you to see the students in different capacities. Kids who struggle in your subject area may turn out to be excellent leaders, communicators or organizers. You develop a different sense of respect for the kids."

At present, there are 30 schools involved in ASPnet/USA, representing both public and private institutions; inner city, suburban and rural schools; a variety of geographic regions; and all age levels. Member schools must demonstrate commitment to the goals and objectives of ASPnet/USA and are asked to submit brief annual reports and articles for IC 21 newsletters. There are no membership fees. IC 21 welcomes inquiries from IB schools that would like to know more about ASPnet/USA membership. For more information about ASPnet, go to www.education.unesco.org/asp. For more information about ASPnet/USA, email IC21 at ic21@compuserve.com or visit www.ic21.org. [ return to top ]