Education
AUSTRALIA
Located:
Greeting:
G’day
Participant: Lachlan Ellis Molony
Unique Education System:
Children living in remote,
geographically isolated
locations gain their primary
school education via radio
on “School of the Air.”
AUSTRALIA
Located:
Greeting:
G’day
Participant: Lachlan Ellis Molony
My culture shock:
I was shocked with the experience
of going to a communal bath (onsen:
hot spring spa) in Japan.
BRUNEI
Located:
Greeting:
Apa Kabar
Participant: Selamat bin Abdullah
Tradition and Culture in Brunei:
Brunei Darussalam is rich in culture and
tradition with our royal heritage dating
back some 500 years. Education for
religion and morals, known as MIM (Malay
Islam Monarchy) is considered very
important.
BRUNEI
Located:
Greeting:
Apa Kabar
Participant: Selamat bin Abdullah
My culture shock:
I was surprised to see a Japanese principal
at a high school, who was still active at
the age of 82.
CAMBODIA
Located:
Greeting:
Choum
reap sor
Participant: Sonny Chhoun
Cambodian new curriculum:
The restructuring of our education system
from 11 to 12 years of schooling has been
completed. 9 years of education is
compulsory in Cambodia.
Cambodians are hungry for education.
CAMBODIA
Located:
Greeting:
Choum
reap sor
Participant: Sonny Chhoun
My culture shock:
My first time experience in the Japanese
“ofuro (grand bath)” !!
CANADA
Located:
Greeting:
Hello
Participant: John Christian Burgener
Developing Peace Education:
One way is through the use of photographs
which represent peace. The UN has the
schools for Global Peace teaching about
children in armed conflict.
CANADA
Located:
Greeting:
Hello
Participant: John Christian Burgener
My culture shock:
I found it interesting to see some
Japanese people pouring drinks for others
during meal times.
I also didn’t know that in Malaysia (Muslim
culture), it was not common for women and
men to touch or hold hands.
COSTA RICA
Located:
Greeting:
Pura Vida
Participant: Rowland Espinosa Howell
Costa Rican history in education:
Costa Rica abolished the army in 1949
and dedicated its resources to education
and health. Being a peaceful country,
Costa Rica has won the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1987. It has the highest literacy rate
in Latin America.
COSTA RICA
Located:
Greeting:
Pura Vida
Participant: Rowland Espinosa Howell
My culture shock:
I was surprised to learn that Japanese
people talk to each other without having an
eye contact, and they don’t make physical
contact when sharing a conversation.
EGYPT
Located:
Greeting:
Marhaba
Participant: Radwa Rabee Ibrahim Saad
The Reading for All Festival:
Egypt has developed the festival
of “Reading for All” to all ages.
In rural areas, dropped out
female students may receive
primary education in one
classroom schools, community
schools and home classes.
EGYPT
Located:
Greeting:
Marhaba
Participant: Radwa Rabee Ibrahim Saad
My culture shock:
My first experience in “onsen (hot spring
in Japan)” was a bizarre – in my Egyptian
culture and traditions, we do not have
this kind of openness, especially when it
comes to showing each other’s body.
FIJI
Located:
Greeting:
Bula
Participant: Simione T. Sevudredre
Equal opportunity for all:
‘Education for Equal Opportunity’ is still
an on-going challenge in Fiji because
socio-economic factors have contributed
to huge dropouts from schools.
FIJI
Located:
Greeting:
Bula
Participant: Simione T. Sevudredre
My culture shock:
Fijian culture observes silence as a mark
of respect. Youths and children, when
among older generation, are not expected
to speak up or question anything. It took
a long time for me to speak up and
express my thoughts in an international
environment due to this culture.
GREECE
Located:
Greeting:
Ya sou
Participant: Vasilis Tikos - Moustakas
The importance of Olympism:
Greece presented the Olympic
Education Programme. Students learn
about the history of the games, the
modern era of Olympics and how
Olympism promotes cooperation,
participation, fair play, international
understanding, and world peace.
GREECE
Located:
Greeting:
Ya sou
Participant: Vasilis Tikos - Moustakas
My culture shock:
I didn’t experience any culture shock, but
the biggest shock was to realise the fact
that no matter what our age is, we can be
strongly bonded together to understand
about the world and its people.
INDIA
Located:
Greeting:
Namaste
Participant: Pradip Somasundaran
The importance of unity:
India is a land of 1
billion people, different
cultures, more than 325
languages united as a
single nation.
INDIA
Located:
Greeting:
Namaste
Participant: Pradip Somasundaran
My culture shock:
Being a vegetarian, I had hard time
adjusting to Japanese food.
Being nude together in a Japanese bath
was another shock for me.
INDONESIA
Located:
Greeting:
Apa Kabar
Participant: Trisna Wardhani
Access for all:
In order to give a good access to education
for all people of Indonesia, Government
provides non-formal education programmes
that could be found in many small groups of
society.
INDONESIA
Located:
Greeting:
Apa Kabar
Participant: Trisna Wardhani
My culture shock:
I was shocked to find out that we were all
different and I had to adjust myself with
the differences. However, finally, I was
able to find out that importance of respect
and understanding for each other as human
beings was a universal thing.
JAPAN
Located:
Greeting:
Konnichiwa
Participant: Yasuteru Torii
National curriculum:
Compulsory education is from 7 to 15 years
old. For the purpose of giving equal
education to every Japanese, there are
school for students with special needs,
such as school for visually impaired,
mentally challenged, etc. We have a high
literacy rate of almost 100%.
JAPAN
Located:
Greeting:
Konichiwa
My culture shock:
I had problem with drying bed mattress in
the USA.
Concept of time, eating time and sleeping
time are different between Japanese and
Latin Americans.
LAOS
Located:
Greeting:
Sabaidee
Participant: Bountary Bandasack
The importance of education:
Education is most important to Laos
People’s Democratic Republic because it is
the key to open the door for civilisation of
the country.
LAOS
Located:
Greeting:
Sabaidee
Participant: Bountary Bandasack
My culture shock:
The working hours and family styles
(after getting married) in Egypt and Laos
are very different.
MALAYSIA
Located:
Greeting:
Apa Kabar
Participant: Aidah Bt. Kassim
Continuous efforts:
Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort
towards further developing the potential of
individuals in a holistic and integrated
manner, based on a firm belief in and
devotion to God.
MALAYSIA
Located:
Greeting:
Apa Kabar
Participant: Aidah Bt. Kassim
My culture shock:
I was very surprised and pleased to find
that Japanese people were very kind and
helpful for the person they met for the
first time.
MEXICO
Located:
Greeting:
Hola
Participant: Jean Paul Soren Olmedo Ruiz
New trend in education:
Intercultural bilingual education in the
frame of a plural world is our new trend.
It is a system that incorporates the
technological and scientific progress with
the values of a particular culture.
MEXICO
Located:
Greeting:
Hola
Participant: Jean Paul Soren Olmedo Ruiz
My culture shock:
I realized that in general, Japanese and
Mexican cultures are very different.
However, we have one thing in common:
we both have gender discriminations in our
societies.
MYANMAR
Located:
Greeting:
Mingalaba
Participant: Daw Phyu Phyu Win
The importance of health education:
Health education has always been a part of
the school curriculum in Myanmar. It
trains students to take care of selfhygience and to raise awareness of a clean
environment.
MYANMAR
Located:
Greeting:
Mingalaba
Participant: Daw Phyu Phyu Win
My culture shock:
Myanmar and Japanese cultures are similar
in terms of respect for elders. However,
the big difference is the fact that some
Japanese women smoke. This is very
different from my country.
PHILIPPINES
Located:
Greeting:
Mabuhay
Participant: Lozano Jingky Pamesa
Basic education curriculum:
The Philippine 2002 Basic Education
Curriculum (BEC) consists of subjects like,
Filipino, English, mathematics, science and
“Makabayan” which is a combination of
social studies, music, arts, health and
physical education.
PHILIPPINES
Located:
Greeting:
Mabuhay
Participant: Lozano Jingky Pamesa
My culture shock:
Dressing culture of traditional clothes in
Brunei and undressing culture at a public
bath in Japan are very different from my
culture in the Philippines.
SINGAPORE
Located:
Greeting:
Ni hao
Participant: Son Wei Meng
Maximizing individual potentials:
Singapore students are streamed into
different streams in their secondary
education based on their academic abilities
so as to maximize their individual
potentials.
SINGAPORE
Located:
Greeting:
Ni hao
Participant: Son Wei Meng
My culture shock:
I was shocked by the crowdedness of the
trains in Japan during peak hours. Even
when the train is already very packed,
people still try to get in, and the train
attendants push them into the train.
THAILAND
Located:
Greeting:
Sawaddee
Participant: Woraphat Sungnoi
Special education:
Students with special
needs have the right
and opportunity to
receive basic education
by joining the same
class with normal
students.
THAILAND
Located:
Greeting:
Sawaddee
Participant: Woraphat Sungnoi
My culture shock:
I was surprised at the timing when
Japanese give gifts when visiting someone’s
home.
Privilege to Japanese male also surprises
me. In Thailand, female have more
privileges.
TANZANIA
Located:
Greeting:
Jumbo
Participant: Mercyflorah Elia Temu
Equal opportunities:
The major goal in the provision of education in
Tanzania is to guarantee access to pre-primary
education, primary education and adult literacy to
all citizens as a basic right. All Tanzanian
children are required to go to school though
there is a number of them who have not had the
opportunity to do so.
TANZANIA
Located:
Greeting:
Jumbo
Participant: Mercyflorah Elia Temu
My culture shock:
Japanese tradition of grand bath was
shocking.
I was also surprised that neighbours are
very close in Japanese villages.
U.K.
Located:
Greeting:
Hello
Participant: Dylan George Butler
Presentation about:
Britain is a post-traditional society which
is grappling with modernisation and
globalisation. This has raised important
questions about Britain’s identity with itself
and the world.
U.K.
Located:
Greeting:
Hello
Participant: Dylan George Butler
My culture shock:
I was surprised with the Japanese attitude
to conceptions and access to condoms are
very conservative in Japan.
VIETNAM
Located:
Greeting:
Chao
Participant: Nguyen Thi Thu Hien
Equal opportunities:
All citizens are equal in learning
opportunities without distinction of
ethnicity, religion, belief, sex, family
origin, and social position.
VIETNAM
Located:
Greeting:
Chao
Participant: Nguyen Thi Thu Hien
My culture shock:
I was surprised with the flavour of
Japanese food because it had the smell of
soya sauce. In Vietnam, we eat more
spicy food.
Diversity
Tolerance
Awareness
Acceptance
Respect
What is
International / Intercultural
Understanding?
Communication
Solidarity
Peace
Unity
Love
Non-judgemental
Why is it important
to promote
international/
intercultural
understanding?
These approaches would help foster
international/intercultural
understanding with the aim to promote
harmonious living in society.
UNESCO has also generated a Charter in
order to achieve this same goal and is
undertaking a number of global initiatives.
Human Rights Declaration
Article 26, Pragraph 2
The following objectives should be
implemented in order to promote
International Understanding among
nations:
 An international dimension and a
global perspective in education at
all levels
 Understanding and respect for all
people, their cultures civilizations/
values and ways of life
 Awarness of the increasing global
interdependance between people
and nations
 Abilities to communicate with
others
 Awarness of the rights and duties
incumbent upon individuals,
societies and nations
 Understanding
of the necessity for international
solidarity and cooperation
 Readiness on the part of the individual to participate in
solving the problems of his community, country and the
world at large
 Combining learning, training, information and action,
international education should further the appropriate
intellectual and emotional development of the individual
 Education should stress the inadmissibility of recourse
to war for purposes of expansion and domination
 Education should contribute to International
Understanding and strengthening of world peace and to
the activities in the struggle against all forms of
racialism, fascism and other ideologies that breed
national and international hatred
Education should contribute
to International
Understanding and
strengthening of world
peace and to the activities in
the struggle against
colonialism and neocolonialism in all their forms
and manifestations, and
against all forms of
racialism, fascism, apartheid
and other ideologies that
breed national and racial
hatred which are contrary to
the purposes of our
program’s objectives.
“ Millions of parents, teachers and children
around the world are calling on their
governments to provide free, good quality,
basic education for all the world’s children.
They are part of the Global Campaign for
Education; we add our voice to their call”
Nelson Mandela and GraÇa Machel,
2002