[Extract from: "Learning: The Treasure Within. UNESCO report on Education for the 21st Century"]

"Teaching tolerance and respect for others is essential for democracy to work and it is for this reason that it should be a set educational objective that is followed. It is all but impossible to teach values in general and tolerance in particular. The desire to force certain values on others from outside only leads to them being negated. Values are only significant when they have been chosen by individuals for themselves. This means that schools can do no more than to practice tolerance with their pupils on a daily basis, to help them accept other points of view and to encourage discussion about moral and ethical dilemmas.

Schools should play a part, however, in explaining the historical, cultural and religious background of different ideologies to young people; ideologies that are vying for their attention in society, in the school and in the classroom. This is a delicate task that can perhaps be accomplished with outside help. The danger is that this approach might appear offensive at a personal level and serve in introducing politics and religion into the classroom, which, of course, is usually avoided under normal circumstances. The objective is to provide young people with support in developing their own thought and value systems on their own accord while in full knowledge of the facts rather than expecting them to follow blindly prevailing opinion. This enables them to become more mature and open. Using this approach and by encouraging democratic dialogue, it is possible to lie down the foundations for future harmony and peace (...).

It is also important to remember, however, that democracy requires more than a kind of tolerance that only puts up with other people's differences. While, from an external viewpoint, this approach is allegedly neutral, it is very dependent on the prevailing social situation. This kind of tolerance has proven to be fragile and worsening economic or social circumstances can lead to a situation in which conflict arises between different cultures. This very simple idea about tolerance, then, has to be supplemented and transcended by teaching pluralism, which is based on respecting and valuing other cultures."

[Learning: The Treasure Within. UNESCO report for Education for the 21st Century, published by the German UNESCO Commission. Neuwied; Kriftel; Berlin: Luchterhand, 1997, p. 48-49]

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