ADDRESS BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU, PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM “EDUCATION IN EUROPE – FOR HARMONIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS”

(MOSCOW, THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER 2010)

Ladies and gentlemen,

Those who follow the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe know very well that on the top of my political priorities is inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, as a powerful tool for mutual understanding and the most effective way of fighting against discrimination.

That is why I like to quote here the definition of education supplied by a legal text of fundamental importance, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations:

“Everyone has the right to education. (…) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups.”

Two years later, in 1950, the Council of Europe would place the first stone in the building of its human rights protection system, with the signature of the European Convention on Human Rights. Education is a fundamental right under Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention. It is a necessary requirement for the development of every individual and the backbone of any civilised human society.

In 2010, 60 years later, those principles are as valid and important as they were at the time of the signature of the Human Rights Convention.

The Parliamentary Assembly has always recognised the major role that education plays in modern societies. The Assembly has been dealing with education policies since its creation and already in its Recommendation 28 of 1949 called for a meeting of education ministers to produce a “comparative study of the teaching programmes in the different countries in order that

the best features of each may be available to all”. European integration has progressed enormously over the last 60 years, but it remained the sovereign power of national legislators in Europe to determine educational policies and laws, which was also confirmed by last year’s Lisbon Treaty on the European Union.

Therefore, the harmonizing role of the Council of Europe is of the utmost importance.

One of the most important contributions to the work of the Assembly on the matter of education is the report on “Education for balanced development in school”, whose rapporteur was Mr Anatoliy Korobeynikov, one of the moving forces behind the organisation of this conference.

Recommendation 1750 (2006) adopted by the Assembly in the context of this report stresses several important principles based on an innovative approach.

The Rapporteur, Mr Korobeynikov, proposed to focus our attention not only at schools as a tool for transmitting knowledge to the new generations, but also, in a much more general way, as a place where pupils can develop healthily.

An essential task of schools is to ensure the balanced development of pupils, enabling them to adjust to a varied and rapidly changing world. Schools should help in preserving and improving the health of pupils and promote health education and universal values.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health not only as the lack of disease and physical defects, but also as a state of full physical, mental and social well-being.

This excellent report took into account numerous elements giving education its current shape, among which information technology, and factors which may have a negative effect on children’s health, such as economic hardship, environmental issues, unsuitable infrastructure.

For these and for many other issues, the Assembly recommended a proactive approach by the competent authorities, together with co-operation between parents and teachers.

Mr Korobeynikov’s report paved the way for new texts on education based on a wide, inclusive approach, taking into account all the aspects of the pupils’ personality, all categories of children and the potential of school in tackling different issues concerning the youth.

Later developments in the work of the Assembly on education owe much to this approach: I wish to mention the document adopted just a few days ago - Resolution 1761 (2010) - on “Guaranteeing the right to education for children with illnesses or disabilities”. The principle enshrined by this Resolution is of major importance: “The Parliamentary Assembly reaffirms that the right to education is universal and should include all children and youth with disabilities.”

The Assembly called on member states to develop a policy and legal framework to promote the development of inclusive education, strive to eliminate existing barriers of all kinds (physical as well as attitudinal), grant equal access and even reform teachers training.

The importance of the recommendation proposed by Mr Korobeynikov was also recognised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in its reply adopted in 2007.

Let me now go back to inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, which I mentioned at the opening of my address, as pillars of my personal and political philosophy.

Education can play a major role in this respect. Let us consider Recommendation 1652 (2004) on “Education of refugees and internally displaced persons”, stating that “Education can also be a tool for protection and for promoting tolerance, peace and conflict resolution between opposing communities, for developing notions of intercultural understanding and dialogue, for contributing actively to peacekeeping operations and for combating the use of refugees as political hostages”.

In the same line of thought, the Parliamentary Assembly dealt with “History teaching in conflict and post-conflict areas” - Recommendation 1880 (2009) – where it reaffirms that “history has a key political role to play in today's Europe. It can contribute to greater understanding, tolerance and confidence between individuals and between the peoples of Europe or it can become a force for division, violence and intolerance.

Therefore, history teaching can be a tool to support peace and reconciliation in conflict and post-conflict areas as well as tolerance and understanding when dealing with such phenomena as migration, immigration and changing demographics”.

The Assembly also looked at the relation between “Education and religion” – in its Recommendation 1720 (2005). I wish to quote the principle of fundamental importance the Assembly recognised:

“Each person’s religion, including the option of having no religion, is a strictly personal matter. However, this is not inconsistent with the view that a good general knowledge of religions and the resulting sense of tolerance are essential to the exercise of democratic citizenship”.

Furthermore, Recommendation 1884 adopted last year on cultural education: the promotion of culture, creativity and intercultural understanding through education - did not omit to mention mutual understanding as an important aim of education. Education “shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations and ethnic or religious groups”.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In times of crisis, many governments are tempted to cut on educational expenses. However, it is a false saving, the one which would be paid dearly in the future.

Therefore, in its Resolution 1651 (2009) on the consequences of the global financial crisis, the Assembly emphasised that member states must also invest in people in order to face the economic and social challenges resulting from the financial crisis.

In a globalised and interdependent world, human resources are a key factor for economic, social and democratic stability. Therefore, the Assembly called for developing educational policies in view of these challenges and invited the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to strengthen education in the Council of Europe’s work programme. In this connection, the Assembly reiterated very recently that “Education should be used as the driving force for new social and economic structures in today’s world of rapid change, increasing globalisation and complex economic, societal and cultural relations”.

As you see, the “acquis” of the Parliamentary Assembly concerning education and its potential is rich and varied. Many politicians and experts contributed to creating this wealth of principles, indications and guidelines. Among them, Anatoliy Korobeynikov holds an important place.

After having substantially contributed to the work of the Assembly, Mr Korobeyinikov is now in a position to bring back to his country the added value of the principles of the Council of Europe.

Therefore I have the immense pleasure to announce that, as an outstanding former member, Mr Korobeinikov was awarded the pro merito medal and the diploma of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. There could be no better occasion than this to award him this prize.

Thank you for your attention.