With a myriad of possibilities and opportunities, education should not only impart knowledge but also nurture creativity, critical thinking, and expression of individuals. Amalgamation of culture and arts into education fosters a holistic environment to develop a well-rounded personality, giving equal weightage to emotional and intellectual health. In this regard, UNESCO aims to embed culture and the arts in education as key resources for human development.
Acting upon this premise, UNESCO jointly with University of Lincoln, Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP) organized a national dialogue on 21 September 2023. Representatives from line ministries, youth, Curriculum Development Centre (CDC), educational institutions, local municipalities, arts organizations, artists, and other key stakeholders in Nepal actively participated in exploring the multifaceted dimensions of culture and arts education. The stakeholders shared their best practices, insights, and innovative strategies towards ways to embed cultural and arts education within the Nepali context.
There are various aspects to look into culture with education; Preservation of culture for our upcoming generation and protection of rights, promotion of culture to spread basic awareness of our rich traditions and rich culture, society with harmony comes with the respected diversity and its connection with nature with sustainability as without sustainability there can be no peace
Panel Discussions
Culture and Arts Education and Arts-based education pedagogy
The panel discussions brought forth interesting perspectives and learnings. One anecdote shared by Shailendra Jha, educator and Member of the City Planning Commission from Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) that struck a chord with the crowd was when he lamented that education teaches the three Rs (reading, writing, arithmetic), but doesn鈥檛 encourage emotional growth.
鈥淲e have been taught about the importance of mathematics and science since we were children, but we are never taught about expressing our feelings and affection,鈥 he said, noting that this lack of emotional and cognitive learning can affect a child's ability to develop ideas and work on their applications.
In the same vein, Deepa C. Joshi, CEO of Incessant Rain Film Studio, said that the importance of arts and culture-based education is to teach students empathy which is the doorway to creativity and peaceful societies.
Education being provided in schools often focuses on traditional or standardized curriculum rather than tailoring it to the specific needs of students. This means that the teaching is normative in nature, rather than being adapted to the individual requirements of each student
Intergenerational Dialogue on Arts-Based Creative Learning Pedagogies; Application and Practices
The importance of gender and sexuality in art tradition, discussing issues that need to be bridged between gender, sexuality and education as education is the primary source for teaching young minds outside of their traditional conditioning was the main agenda and the topic of discussion among the panellists.
Gunjan Dixit, a theater artist opined, 鈥淎rt in today's world is essential. We are unfortunately divided in this day and age however, when art is linked with school curriculum, students get to learn art from a young age and eventually they learn to empathize and act accordingly.鈥
Rounding up the conversations, Prakash Bhattarai, Executive Director of the Center for Social Change commented, 鈥淎rt is an instrument which helps to address various societal issues, and there must be some supporting means to it to make it more impactful on the society.鈥
The event also included cultural and art performances highlighting the role of arts and culture in fostering creative interactions and problem-solving. A group of young women from Karkhana Samuha staged an Image Theatre, wherein the performers staged two situations 鈥 first, of a challenge and second of the solution to the challenge. The participants took turns in giving their observations and perspectives on what the performers were trying to voice out. The discussions touched on themes like class struggle, poverty, youth resistance, corruption, youth participation etc. in Nepali society.
On the other hand, the energetic Deuda (Nepali genre of song and dance, performed in the Sudurpashchim and Karnali provinces of Nepal) performed by a group of women brightly dressed in their traditional attire, raised their voices on social and economic problems marring their community. The interpreter of the performance said that Deuda is a powerful tool to shed light on injustices faced by the community. All the while, artists from Bikalpa Art Center demonstrated live painting with a message of solidarity and cooperation; participants were encouraged to leave messages of peace and community building at the center of the artwork.
The importance of this dialogue lies in UNESCO鈥檚 country strategy of 鈥淧lacing Culture at the Heart of Development鈥, which recognizes culture as the key to sustainable development. Two cities from Nepal - Kathmandu and Lalitpur have successfully submitted their application, respectively as creative cities for Film and Music, further strengthening Nepal鈥檚 international standing in relation to Culture and Arts Education.
Education with Art and culture is the power pack for twenty-first-century learning.
At the end of the day, the room couldn鈥檛 agree more.
