WILLEMSTAD - UNESCO Member and Associate Member states successfully finished a 3-half day “Sub-regional Capacity Building Training Workshop for National and School ASP Network Coordinators” (Associate Schools Network), which took place online. The Curaçao National Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with the Commissions of St. Maarten and St. Lucia National jointly organized this training workshop from April 19 until April 21, 2021. The activity counted on the participation of between 35 to 40 teachers, coordinators and national coordinators and also interested persons throughout the Caribbean.
The UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) links educational institutions across the world around a common goal: to build the defences of peace in the minds of children and young people. The over 11,500 ASPnet member schools in 182 countries work in support of international understanding, peace, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development and quality education in practice. Curaçao has two ASPnet schools namely Kolegio Don Sarto (2009) and J.W.Th. Schotborghschool (2018).
The major objectives of this training workshop were to train national and school coordinators and interested teachers on the ASP network, and foremost to revive the once splendid and active ASP network in the English and Dutch Caribbean. The overall objectives were to equip the National Coordinators of ASPschools in the Caribbean with the capacity to better execute the ASPnetwork, share experiences and information. Furthermore, to permit the National Coordinators of ASPschools to better serve the growing interests of schools on the objectives, programmes and activities of UNESCO's ASPnetwork. This capacity building also served to provide better knowledge of the ASPnetwork curricula/programmes (Sandwatch project, Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (TST), Climate Change for Education, Intercultural Dialogue, Disaster Risk Management and Awareness). Increasement of networking and exchange of information among National Coordinators and Schools in the Caribbean, Pacific, and Europe & North America regions were also elaborated.
The Unit for ASPnet at Headquarters in Paris also had a significant role in providing information on the ASPnetwork, explaining the role of the national commissions in ensuring support to the schools and more.
The training counted on the participation of representatives from Aruba, Bonaire, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Korea, Netherlands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and Suriname.
Korea’s unit for ASPnet shared best practices on various projects, such as Piece of Peace, being implemented as was the case for the Netherlands, St. Lucia and St. Maarten. The Director for the Cluster Office for the Caribbean, Saadia Sanchez-Vegas expressed her gratitude for the initiative of organizing the training. The International Coordinator from the ASPnet Unit, Julie Saito, in Paris also expressed her satisfaction for the interest shown and hopes that there will be more applications coming out from the Caribbean so as to have a bigger network of schools affiliated to the ASPnet and also to having exchanges among the schools in the different regions.
This project was made possible through the Participation Programme of UNESCO. The capacity building would have taken place physically in Curaçao but due to the covid-19 pandemic travelling was not possible and therefore it was adjusted to a zoom training session which made it possible to have more persons participate
