Statement to the International Symposium on Education for International Understanding and Peace

Barcelona, Spain
7-12 July 1986

Education for international understanding and peace is both a simple and a complex process. However, it is an essential element in bringing into existence a world where every person may enjoy the benefits of justice, development and peace - the aims of the United Nations Charter.

In "The Promise of World Peace," a recent statement addressed to the peoples of the world, the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Bahá'í­ International Community, outlined the many challenges that we, inhabitants of the Earth, must meet, with clear eyes and heads, to transform our individual characters as well as our social relationships, before we can achieve world peace, and, beyond that first step, the unification of the human race. It is quite conceivable that tomorrow those who govern the nations of this planet could agree, for the benefit of the whole of mankind, to general and complete disarmament, to unity and peace. This is possible. But even should it miraculously occur, and nations did agree to stop fighting one another and live in amity, what kind of human beings, we might ask, would inhabit this peaceful planet?

The answer is of course obvious: the same people who today, with their moral and spiritual nature barely developed, harbor prejudices and hatreds that keep the flame of discrimination intensely alive, who cause suffering to others and to themselves: they would inhabit this world without war. And if human beings, the basic building blocks of a world society are at odds with themselves and others, there would be no possibility of growing beyond peace to the final fulfillment of life on a planet united in all its diversity, where peace is lasting since it will rest on a foundation of justice for all, and the development of the full potentialities of each person - spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical.

If we examine first the end result of a proper education for international understanding and peace, we can have a clear view of the goal we wish to achieve, and can then see the nature of the challenge that faces us, and the commitment needed, to reach where we want to go. For, as The Promise of World Peace asserts, "Permanent peace among nations is an essential stage, but not ... the ultimate goal of the social development of humanity," since "Beyond the initial armistice forced upon the world by the fear of nuclear holocaust, beyond the political peace reluctantly entered into by suspicious rival nations, beyond pragmatic arrangements for security and coexistence, beyond even the many experiments in co-operation which these steps will make possible lies the crowning goal: the unification of all the peoples of the world in one universal family."

It is not possible in this short paper to examine in detail the components of an educational program that would provide then for the full development of human potential. Mention of a few basic requirements must, therefore, suffice. The Promise of World Peace observes that "the abolition of war is not simply a matter of signing treaties and protocols; it is a complex task requiring a new level of commitment to resolving issues not customarily associated with the pursuit of peace. "The main ones considered in the statement, key social and economic issues to be resolved - since, by perpetuating injustice they foster disunity - are racism, the disparity between rich and poor, unbridled nationalism, and religious strife. In addition, the achievement of peace calls for the emancipation of women, universal education, and the adoption of an international auxiliary language. Correction or creation of these world conditions is essential, since "based on political agreements alone, the idea of collective security is a chimera."

A second important point to be considered is that "the primary challenge in dealing with issues of peace is to raise the context to the level of principle, as distinct from pure pragmatism," since "in essence, peace stems from an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral attitude, and it is chiefly in evoking this attitude that the possibility of enduring solutions can be found."

It is worth clarifying the nature of this essential ingredient in our education for international understanding and peace, since, "leaders of governments and all in authority would be well served in their efforts to solve problems if they would first seek to identify the principles involved and then be guided by them."

There are spiritual principles, or what some call human values, by which solutions can be found for every social problem. Any well-intentioned group can in a general sense devise practical solutions to its problems, but good intentions and practical knowledge are usually not enough. The essential merit of spiritual principle is that it not only presents a perspective which harmonizes with that which is immanent in human nature, it also induces an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery and implementation of practical measures.

Where then should we begin, in our quest for peace? How can we make sense of the complex, and render it simple; find our first priority to build a secure foundation in educating the peoples and governments of the world for peace? For if we are able to see the pattern clearly, we can build on rock and not sand; and be assured that principle precedes pragmatism, and that each part of the puzzle will contribute to the final, unified design.

In the Bahá'í­ view, "the primary question to be resolved is how the present world, with its entrenched pattern of conflict, can change to a world in which harmony and co-operation will prevail." The key, we find, lies in the oneness of humanity. It is our conviction that

World order can be founded only on an unshakable consciousness of the oneness of mankind, a spiritual truth which all the human sciences confirm. Anthropology, physiology, psychology, recognize only one human species, albeit infinitely varied in the secondary aspects of life. Recognition of this truth requires abandonment of prejudice - prejudice of every kind - race, class, color, creed, nation, sex, degree or material civilization, everything which enables people to consider themselves superior to others.

To go from a condition of awareness of the oneness of humanity, to the creation of practical conditions in which this insight becomes actuality in our everyday life, is the responsibility then of universal education. Ignorance, we have seen, "is indisputably the principal reason for the decline and fall of peoples and the perpetuation of prejudice. No nation can achieve success unless education is accorded all its citizens. Lack of resources limits the ability of many nations to fulfill this necessity, imposing a certain ordering of priorities. The decision-making agencies involved would do well to consider giving first priority to the education of women and girls, since it is through educated mothers that the benefits of knowledge can be most effectively and rapidly diffused throughout society."

Furthermore,

In keeping with the requirements of the times, consideration should also be given to teaching the concept of world citizenship as part of the standard education of every child.

These guidelines are, in the Bahá'í­ perspective, a vital part of the process of educating the world's peoples for peace. The first priority, however, underlying the successful development of a world society in which, under conditions of peace, the rich potential of each human can be realized, is the acceptance of the oneness of mankind. It is "the first fundamental prerequisite for reorganization and administration of the world as one country, the home of humankind. Universal acceptance or this spiritual principle is essential to any successful attempt to establish world peace."

What follows, therefore, is a most pragmatic answer to where the first responsibility of any world-wide program of education for understanding and peace should lie: in making sure that the oneness of humanity is "universally proclaimed, taught in schools, and constantly asserted in every nation as preparation for the organic change in the structure of society which it implies."

This, then, is our challenge, and a transformation which Bahá'í­ communities in over 140 independent nations are working intensively to achieve. Today, the Bahá'í­ world community, with some three to four million people drawn from many cultures, classes, and creeds, is undertaking a wide range of activities serving the spiritual, social and economic needs of the peoples of many lands. Its commitment to education for international understanding and peace is beginning to bear fruit, providing evidence that "humanity can live as one global society, equal to whatever challenges its coming of age may entail."

Notes

ll quotations in this paper are from The Promise of World Peace.

BIC Document #86-0707