ESSAY
Education and the Freedom from Exclusion

By Colette Mazzucelli

The divisiveness of ethnic conflict within a State and among groups in its society is increasingly salient in the global environment of the twenty-first century. This fact illustrates at once the challenges to sovereignty from sub-national actors. It speaks directly to the necessity for citizens in areas of conflict and those beyond its physical borders to be aware of their different realities and to learn together to create a less violent world. The brutality of ethnic conflict over the past decade creates an ethical imperative for a type of learning which is unprecedented: the establishment of an Internet pedagogy for conflict prevention accessible to an emerging networked world society. In our experience, this pedagogy can only be created over time, through trial and error, implementing concepts in practice. Therefore, its creation will need to surmount numerous challenges, chief among them the technological and infrastructure disparities that presently exist in the world today. UNICEF Photo/ J.Isaac In the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26 affirms the fundamental right to education, and its role to "promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and … further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace". Article 19 we may interpret to establish the principle which, in my view, may be defined as freedom from exclusion, in that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."1 In the ongoing efforts to create the Transatlantic Internet Seminar Kosovo/a and Southeastern Europe (TISKSE) (http://www.rboston.com/bosch),2 experience taught us that the major limitation in our endeavour has been that we could not establish connections to include Pristina. Therefore, we welcomed the extensive experience and regional knowledge of guest speakers, like former multinational force (KFOR) commander General Klaus Reinhardt; Professor Jacques Rupnik, who is a member of the Independent International Commission on Kosovo; former Hungarian Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszky; and Ambassador Christian Pauls, Deputy Political Director in the German Foreign Office. Our initial contacts with Kosovars living outside Serbia were established via the FIRETALK audio room and then expanded to include a number of Kosovars from the region in the transcontinental list serv for the Internet seminar. During a 22 March programme originating from The American Academy in Berlin and broadcast in real time to seven other sites on two continents, we were able to connect directly to Pristina via a real time chat room and save the content for use in future seminars. In this programme, Armand Burguet presented his slide images from Kosovo via Internet and spoke extensively about his experiences with the people and local leaders there. Our highest priority for the next seminar in fall 2001 will include sites in the region in our weekly sessions, using a mix of chat room, audio and, if possible, video connections. The challenge to connect to the Balkans suggests to us that we must continue to work with tools that are operative at modem speeds. These tools, which are cost-effective and inclusive, must be simple to use so that the importance of our work to prevent the tragic consequences of conflict is not overshadowed by a preoccupation with technological innovation. This is a democratic approach to our pedagogy that underlines why the lack of infrastructure compels us to call for freedom from exclusion as a human right. This right must address what the United Nations defines as a challenge for the twenty-first century: "to deepen and enrich fragile democracies". As a fundamental right, freedom from exclusion ensures that less advantaged countries receive a fair share of the benefits of globalization, particularly in terms of broad-based access to communications technology. Here, the Balkans may be better off than most African countries, but if we consider the relationships between access, state-building capacity and constitutional democratic development, it is evident that a substantial increase in infrastructure is crucial in a national and transnational context. Let us emphasize this last point in the context of a second regional area in conflict-the Caucuses. During a recent conference in Loccum, Germany, which included a number of the mediators involved in the ongoing talks about Nagorno-Karabakh, one predominant concern was the real possibility that the societies in Armenia and Azerbaijan might reject a negotiated outcome that could bring a resolution to the conflict. During a long ceasefire, stagnating economic conditions, deprivation and death among hundreds of thousands of people living in tents within refugee camps have led to an untenable status quo situation. The situation in the region is "driving" the peace process, in the words of Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, who underlined that the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in direct dialogue for two years to find a solution. Our discussions in Loccum revealed a consensus that academics have a role within civil society as educators to create a bridge between the State and the people living in its borders. As they propose new ideas to influence the negotiation process for peace in the Caucuses, the ability of academics to link a State and its citizens together could help foster a realistic assessment of that society's needs. Dr. Wilhelm Höynck, former Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), underlined a dilemma regarding the need to protect the secrecy of negotiations, yet share negotiation positions with the public to prepare for an acceptance of the outcome. His observation that it is important to work on several tracks is a fundamental one; as negotiators come closer to an agreement, the tracks should also approach one another. If, as Dr. Höynck believes, "change and progress take place first in people's minds", then in the Caucuses, as in the Balkans and the Great Lakes, freedom from exclusion could be a foundation on which to build to emphasize that people really matter in a world of States. As a corollary to the right of freedom from exclusion, there is a corresponding duty beyond borders in the education field that relates to the need for prevention in the face of intra-state conflicts and the fundamental problems of transnational democracy. Robert Cooper writes that although "… economy, law-making and defence may be increasingly embedded in international frameworks, and the borders of territory may be less important, … identity and democratic institutions remain primarily national".3 UNICEF Photo/ J.Isaac This analysis is significant for our understanding of the tensions that exist in a world in which the basic unit of allegiance is the State. Civil conflict reminds us not only of how tentative at times that allegiance can be, but also of a strategic need to be concerned about what happens beyond our physical and spiritual borders. In today's world, States need to define a conception of security in common, while bearing in mind their diverse and at times competing interests. In order to reconcile unity with diversity, there must be a human and institutional capacity to be "adept at sorting information and at integrating various pressures without being submerged by them".4 One may argue that this capacity is developed to a deeper extent via education that is not set in a purely national dimension and that must reach beyond physical borders to acknowledge the relative nature of territorial politics in the world today. Yet, the reality is that the extent to which national educational systems may be willing or able to adapt so as to promote transnational education that includes a virtual dimension remains limited at present. This fact, coupled with the need to develop this type of education with sensitivity to the tenets of diverse cultures and civilizations, interjects an element of modest pragmatism into our efforts. In this sense, our pedagogical initiatives are more in line with the ideas of informal cosmopolitans like Rosenau who are satisfied with a "thinner" notion of participatory democracy, the "main function of which is preventive, namely, to check excesses of power".5 Although we acknowledge the limits to an Internet pedagogy that is evolving as education's fourth wave begins, we remain innovative. As defined by Dr. Terrence R. Redding, the key component of fourth-wave education is "interactive" and the tremendous possibilities of growing a knowledge pool without any one person being in control. The fourth wave is not Internet dependent because, in Dr. Redding's view, the Internet may well be a legacy from the past at some point this century. He identifies fourth-wave learners as those who move beyond normal structures of learning to control the extended time associated with not only the acquisition of knowledge but also the creation of knowledge. As they extend paradigms of understanding, these learners are literally creating knowledge as they gain understanding of emerging constructs, structures, concepts and information. Redding emphasizes that "… the Knowledge Age (which will constitute a fourth wave) will make a clear distinction between those who understand the power of knowledge and those who think power lies in the transmission and holding of information. Third-wave educators are embracing the information age and using it to foster access to learning. Those trapped in the industrial age, those worried about making education too easy, will argue against the use of technology and confuse the two terms-information and knowledge. (An example is thinking that answers to test questions represent knowledge, and not just information). Fourth-wave educators, like Bensusan, Boston and Mazzucelli, are busy using the Internet to disseminate knowledge. They actively seek ways to open access to the widest number of participants with minimum barriers to learning."6 As educators, we must develop an Internet pedagogy to work with a transnational society that is evolving in disequilibrium with States which adapt more slowly to the changes taking place in either a regional context or the global environment. Here, our educational initiatives may provide a basis for transnational democracy as they minimize social exclusion and emphasize an inter-cultural dialogue for prevention. As our work establishes communications tools as part of a creative linchpin in the triad democracy-technology-diplomacy, we must consider the resources necessary to effect a fundamental change in education for an emerging world society.7 By 2010, projections cite that 3 billion people, or half the world's population, will be Net-connected.8 By 2025, the global population is expected to rise to 8.5 billion. Alan Dupont, speaking at a 21st Century Trust Conference in Merton College, Oxford, explained that about 97 per cent of the increase in global population over the next 100 years is expected to occur in the developing world, with two thirds of that growth expected in cities. Clearly this evolution suggests an immediate demand for infrastructure. In a more fundamental sense, its implications for our common future are evident in terms of the need for broader notions of security, proactive, strategic thinking and education across borders that speaks to the reduced time frame for action States now face. As national officials increasingly address global questions9 intersecting with their daily frame of reference, communications technology has an essential role to play. The use or misuse of communications tools could impact decisively on relations among or, more importantly, within States in the years to come. For these reasons, an education on behalf of constructive citizenship in the twenty-first century world requires more than a simple calculation within a State of how to redeploy resources via taxation. This is especially true given that some States are reluctant to raise taxes. Others, we realize, are pulling back traditional support for established social programmes when confronted with competing responsibilities that all require funding. As we enter what Richard Holbrooke has termed "a new era of philanthropy", the examples set by Soros, Gates, Turner and Vilar in an evolving global context speak to individual engagements of unparalleled educational significance. Rotary International's initiative to create seven centres for international studies in peace and conflict resolution worldwide relies largely on the generosity of Rotarians individually and in districts around the globe to fund Rotary World Peace Scholars.10 Vilar stresses candidly the need for individuals to lend philanthropic support at all levels of giving; his commitment to the arts stems from a passion for opera. Likewise, it is possible for educators to communicate a passion to understand people and the human condition in which the majority of the world's population lives. This cross-cultural awareness is one of our essential starting points to create an Internet pedagogy for conflict prevention in the knowledge society. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes 1 There are seven freedoms defined in the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) report: freedom from discrimination; freedom from fear; freedom of speech; freedom from want; freedom to develop and realize one's human potential; freedom from injustice and violations of the rule of law; and freedom for decent work-without exploitation. UNDP, Human Development Report 2000 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 31. 2 The TISKSE series is made possible through ongoing financial support from the Robert Bosch Foundation in Stuttgart, Germany, as well as in-kind contributions from all of the partners in the transatlantic Internet seminar Kosovo/a during fall 2000-EastWest Institute, New York, Rockwell Chair, Houston Community College System, Texas, Center for Applied Policy Research (CAP), Munich, Sciences Po, Paris, University of Costa Rica, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS), Washington, D.C., Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, New York, and Monterey Institute for International Studies (MIIS), California. 3 Robert Cooper, The post-modern state and the world order (London: DEMOS, 1996) p. 23. 4 Jean-Marie Guehenno, "The Impact of Globalisation on Strategy" Survival (40) 4 (Winter 1998-99): 13. 5 Re-imagining Political Community: Studies in Cosmopolitan Democracy, Deniele Archibugi, David Held and Martin Koehler, eds. Reviewed by Pablo De Greiff in Ethics & International Affairs 14 (2000): 160. 6 http://www.landfield.com/faqs/education/distance-ed-faq/part3/ 7 Sir Claus Moser, "Introductory Paper", The Knowledge Society: Changing the shape of education for the 21st Century, 21st Century Trust Conference, Klingenthal Castle, near Strasbourg, 8-16 September 2000. 8 Brian Knowlton, "Europe Will be a Very Strong Influence," International Herald Tribune, 24 March 2001. 9 National administrations are responding to policy challenges in a changed world environment. In the case of the German Foreign Office in Berlin, its former United Nations Division addresses "global questions"-also the Division's new name-Globale Fragen (GF). Interview, Dirk Rotenberg, Auswaertiges Amt, 20 March 2001. 10 http://www.rotary.org/foundation/educational/amb_scho/centers/index.html Comments

Colette Mazzucelli, M.A.L.D., Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow at the EastWest Institute, New York, and Chair of the Transatlantic Internet Seminar Kosovo/a, Sciences Po, Paris.

Chronicle Home || In This Issue || Back Issues || Subscribe || Your Reactions