Singapore

Education

AUSTRALIA Located: Greeting:

G’day

Participant: Lachlan Ellis Molony

Unique Education System: Children living in remote, geographically isolated locations gain their primary school education via radio on “School of the Air.”

AUSTRALIA Located: Greeting:

G’day

Participant: Lachlan Ellis Molony

My culture shock: I was shocked with the experience of going to a communal bath (onsen: hot spring spa) in Japan.

BRUNEI Located: Greeting:

Apa Kabar

Participant: Selamat bin Abdullah

Tradition and Culture in Brunei: Brunei Darussalam is rich in culture and tradition with our royal heritage dating back some 500 years. Education for religion and morals, known as MIM (Malay Islam Monarchy) is considered very important.

BRUNEI Located: Greeting:

Apa Kabar

Participant: Selamat bin Abdullah

My culture shock: I was surprised to see a Japanese principal at a high school, who was still active at the age of 82.

CAMBODIA Located: Greeting:

Choum reap sor

Participant: Sonny Chhoun

Cambodian new curriculum: The restructuring of our education system from 11 to 12 years of schooling has been completed. 9 years of education is compulsory in Cambodia. Cambodians are hungry for education.

CAMBODIA Located: Greeting:

Choum reap sor

Participant: Sonny Chhoun

My culture shock: My first time experience in the Japanese “ofuro (grand bath)” !!

CANADA Located: Greeting:

Hello

Participant: John Christian Burgener

Developing Peace Education: One way is through the use of photographs which represent peace. The UN has the schools for Global Peace teaching about children in armed conflict.

CANADA Located: Greeting:

Hello

Participant: John Christian Burgener

My culture shock: I found it interesting to see some Japanese people pouring drinks for others during meal times. I also didn’t know that in Malaysia (Muslim culture), it was not common for women and men to touch or hold hands.

COSTA RICA Located: Greeting:

Pura Vida

Participant: Rowland Espinosa Howell

Costa Rican history in education: Costa Rica abolished the army in 1949 and dedicated its resources to education and health. Being a peaceful country, Costa Rica has won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987. It has the highest literacy rate in Latin America.

COSTA RICA Located: Greeting:

Pura Vida

Participant: Rowland Espinosa Howell

My culture shock: I was surprised to learn that Japanese people talk to each other without having an eye contact, and they don’t make physical contact when sharing a conversation.

EGYPT Located: Greeting:

Marhaba

Participant: Radwa Rabee Ibrahim Saad

The Reading for All Festival: Egypt has developed the festival of “Reading for All” to all ages. In rural areas, dropped out female students may receive primary education in one classroom schools, community schools and home classes.

EGYPT Located: Greeting:

Marhaba

Participant: Radwa Rabee Ibrahim Saad

My culture shock: My first experience in “onsen (hot spring in Japan)” was a bizarre – in my Egyptian culture and traditions, we do not have this kind of openness, especially when it comes to showing each other’s body.

FIJI Located: Greeting:

Bula

Participant: Simione T. Sevudredre

Equal opportunity for all: ‘Education for Equal Opportunity’ is still an on-going challenge in Fiji because socio-economic factors have contributed to huge dropouts from schools.

FIJI Located: Greeting:

Bula

Participant: Simione T. Sevudredre

My culture shock: Fijian culture observes silence as a mark of respect. Youths and children, when among older generation, are not expected to speak up or question anything. It took a long time for me to speak up and express my thoughts in an international environment due to this culture.

GREECE Located: Greeting:

Ya sou

Participant: Vasilis Tikos - Moustakas

The importance of Olympism:

Greece presented the Olympic Education Programme. Students learn about the history of the games, the modern era of Olympics and how Olympism promotes cooperation, participation, fair play, international understanding, and world peace.

GREECE Located: Greeting:

Ya sou

Participant: Vasilis Tikos - Moustakas

My culture shock: I didn’t experience any culture shock, but the biggest shock was to realise the fact that no matter what our age is, we can be strongly bonded together to understand about the world and its people.

INDIA Located: Greeting:

Namaste

Participant: Pradip Somasundaran

The importance of unity: India is a land of 1 billion people, different cultures, more than 325 languages united as a single nation.

INDIA Located: Greeting:

Namaste

Participant: Pradip Somasundaran

My culture shock: Being a vegetarian, I had hard time adjusting to Japanese food. Being nude together in a Japanese bath was another shock for me.

INDONESIA Located: Greeting:

Apa Kabar

Participant: Trisna Wardhani

Access for all: In order to give a good access to education for all people of Indonesia, Government provides non-formal education programmes that could be found in many small groups of society.

INDONESIA Located: Greeting:

Apa Kabar

Participant: Trisna Wardhani

My culture shock: I was shocked to find out that we were all different and I had to adjust myself with the differences. However, finally, I was able to find out that importance of respect and understanding for each other as human beings was a universal thing.

JAPAN Located: Greeting:

Konnichiwa

Participant: Yasuteru Torii

National curriculum:

Compulsory education is from 7 to 15 years old. For the purpose of giving equal education to every Japanese, there are school for students with special needs, such as school for visually impaired, mentally challenged, etc. We have a high literacy rate of almost 100%.

JAPAN Located: Greeting:

Konichiwa

My culture shock: I had problem with drying bed mattress in the USA. Concept of time, eating time and sleeping time are different between Japanese and Latin Americans.

LAOS Located: Greeting:

Sabaidee

Participant: Bountary Bandasack

The importance of education: Education is most important to Laos People’s Democratic Republic because it is the key to open the door for civilisation of the country.

LAOS Located: Greeting:

Sabaidee

Participant: Bountary Bandasack

My culture shock: The working hours and family styles (after getting married) in Egypt and Laos are very different.

MALAYSIA Located: Greeting:

Apa Kabar

Participant: Aidah Bt. Kassim

Continuous efforts: Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God.

MALAYSIA Located: Greeting:

Apa Kabar

Participant: Aidah Bt. Kassim

My culture shock: I was very surprised and pleased to find that Japanese people were very kind and helpful for the person they met for the first time.

MEXICO Located: Greeting:

Hola

Participant: Jean Paul Soren Olmedo Ruiz

New trend in education: Intercultural bilingual education in the frame of a plural world is our new trend. It is a system that incorporates the technological and scientific progress with the values of a particular culture.

MEXICO Located: Greeting:

Hola

Participant: Jean Paul Soren Olmedo Ruiz

My culture shock: I realized that in general, Japanese and Mexican cultures are very different. However, we have one thing in common: we both have gender discriminations in our societies.

MYANMAR Located: Greeting:

Mingalaba

Participant: Daw Phyu Phyu Win

The importance of health education: Health education has always been a part of the school curriculum in Myanmar. It trains students to take care of selfhygience and to raise awareness of a clean environment.

MYANMAR Located: Greeting:

Mingalaba

Participant: Daw Phyu Phyu Win

My culture shock: Myanmar and Japanese cultures are similar in terms of respect for elders. However, the big difference is the fact that some Japanese women smoke. This is very different from my country.

PHILIPPINES Located: Greeting:

Mabuhay

Participant: Lozano Jingky Pamesa

Basic education curriculum: The Philippine 2002 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) consists of subjects like, Filipino, English, mathematics, science and “Makabayan” which is a combination of social studies, music, arts, health and physical education.

PHILIPPINES Located: Greeting:

Mabuhay

Participant: Lozano Jingky Pamesa

My culture shock: Dressing culture of traditional clothes in Brunei and undressing culture at a public bath in Japan are very different from my culture in the Philippines.

SINGAPORE Located: Greeting:

Ni hao

Participant: Son Wei Meng

Maximizing individual potentials: Singapore students are streamed into different streams in their secondary education based on their academic abilities so as to maximize their individual potentials.

SINGAPORE Located: Greeting:

Ni hao

Participant: Son Wei Meng

My culture shock: I was shocked by the crowdedness of the trains in Japan during peak hours. Even when the train is already very packed, people still try to get in, and the train attendants push them into the train.

THAILAND Located: Greeting:

Sawaddee

Participant: Woraphat Sungnoi

Special education:

Students with special needs have the right and opportunity to receive basic education by joining the same class with normal students.

THAILAND Located: Greeting:

Sawaddee

Participant: Woraphat Sungnoi

My culture shock:

I was surprised at the timing when Japanese give gifts when visiting someone’s home. Privilege to Japanese male also surprises me. In Thailand, female have more privileges.

TANZANIA Located: Greeting:

Jumbo

Participant: Mercyflorah Elia Temu

Equal opportunities:

The major goal in the provision of education in Tanzania is to guarantee access to pre-primary education, primary education and adult literacy to all citizens as a basic right. All Tanzanian children are required to go to school though there is a number of them who have not had the opportunity to do so.

TANZANIA Located: Greeting:

Jumbo

Participant: Mercyflorah Elia Temu

My culture shock: Japanese tradition of grand bath was shocking. I was also surprised that neighbours are very close in Japanese villages.

U.K. Located: Greeting:

Hello Participant: Dylan George Butler

Presentation about: Britain is a post-traditional society which is grappling with modernisation and globalisation. This has raised important questions about Britain’s identity with itself and the world.

U.K. Located: Greeting:

Hello Participant: Dylan George Butler

My culture shock: I was surprised with the Japanese attitude to conceptions and access to condoms are very conservative in Japan.

VIETNAM Located: Greeting:

Chao

Participant: Nguyen Thi Thu Hien

Equal opportunities: All citizens are equal in learning opportunities without distinction of ethnicity, religion, belief, sex, family origin, and social position.

VIETNAM Located: Greeting:

Chao

Participant: Nguyen Thi Thu Hien

My culture shock: I was surprised with the flavour of Japanese food because it had the smell of soya sauce. In Vietnam, we eat more spicy food.

Diversity

Tolerance

Awareness

Acceptance

Respect What is International / Intercultural Understanding? Communication

Solidarity Peace

Unity

Love

Non-judgemental

Why is it important to promote international/ intercultural understanding?

These approaches would help foster international/intercultural understanding with the aim to promote harmonious living in society.

UNESCO has also generated a Charter in order to achieve this same goal and is undertaking a number of global initiatives.

Human Rights Declaration Article 26, Pragraph 2

The following objectives should be implemented in order to promote International Understanding among nations:  An international dimension and a global perspective in education at all levels  Understanding and respect for all people, their cultures civilizations/ values and ways of life  Awarness of the increasing global interdependance between people and nations  Abilities to communicate with others  Awarness of the rights and duties incumbent upon individuals, societies and nations

 Understanding

of the necessity for international solidarity and cooperation  Readiness on the part of the individual to participate in solving the problems of his community, country and the world at large  Combining learning, training, information and action, international education should further the appropriate intellectual and emotional development of the individual  Education should stress the inadmissibility of recourse to war for purposes of expansion and domination  Education should contribute to International Understanding and strengthening of world peace and to the activities in the struggle against all forms of racialism, fascism and other ideologies that breed national and international hatred

Education should contribute to International Understanding and strengthening of world peace and to the activities in the struggle against colonialism and neocolonialism in all their forms and manifestations, and against all forms of racialism, fascism, apartheid and other ideologies that breed national and racial hatred which are contrary to the purposes of our program’s objectives.

“ Millions of parents, teachers and children around the world are calling on their governments to provide free, good quality, basic education for all the world’s children. They are part of the Global Campaign for Education; we add our voice to their call” Nelson Mandela and GraÇa Machel, 2002