About APCEIU

The Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding under the auspices of UNESCO (APCEIU) is a UNESCO Category 2 Centre established in 2000 by the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and UNESCO.

APCEIU is mandated to promote Education for International Understanding (EIU) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) to build a Culture of Peace. EIU and GCED aim to enable learners to critically analyse the root causes of inequalities, discrimination, hatred, violence, and ecological destruction, to enhance interpersonal, social, and ecological empathy, and to engage in the act of solidarity and cooperation to tackle such problems.

APCEIU has played a pivotal role in promoting GCED reflected in both the UNESCO Education 2030 and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). APCEIU has been at the front of promoting GCED and thereby supporting UNESCO Member states to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 4.7 in particular.

APCEIU has five major programmes: Research and Policy Development, Capacity-building of Educators, Dissemination of Information, International Teacher Exchange and Strengthening GCED Networks.

About GCED

Global Citizenship Education (GCED) aims to equip learners of all ages with those values, knowledge and skills that are based on and instil respect for human rights, social justice, diversity, gender equality and environmental sustainability and that empower learners to be responsible global citizens. 'Global Citizenship' is a sense of belonging to a broader community and common humanity. It emphasises political, economic, social and cultural interdependency and interconnectedness between the local, the national and the global. GCED gives learners the competencies and opportunities to realise their rights and obligations to promote a better world and future for all. Grounded in a lifelong learning perspective, it targets all learners of all ages – children, youth and adults. GCED can be delivered in all modes and venues, including formal, non-formal and informal education. In most countries, the formal education system will be the main mode of delivery of GCED. This will require the integration of GCED in education systems, either as a stand-alone subject, a component of existing programmes and/or the ethos of a learning environment and system.