UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) aims to impart empathy centric education clubbed with critical inquiry and other academic skills. “Courses at UNESCO MGIEP not only focus on building the cognitive aspect of the brain but also the emotional aspect which is crucial in today’s world,” Anantha Duraiappah, director, UNESCO MGIEP, told FE Education Online. The institute, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, provides courses on climate change, global citizenship and themes based on war, identity, among other social and emotional wellbeing issues.
According to Duraiappah, even as subject-matter knowledge on specific topics is critical, the ability to build relationships, navigate emotions, and make informed decisions is all the more crucial. “The skill set imparted through these courses such as resilience, self-awareness and compassion are the need of the hour amid changing global scenarios and hence the ability of an individual to cope and respond is key to deal with it. In this respect, our courses are helping learners become future ready,” Duraiappah explained.
UNESCO MGIEP’s courses, which are available for K-12 learners, university students, working professionals as well as teachers and educators, are claimed to be offered for free except the university package SEEK (Self-directed Emotional Learning for Empathy and Kindness). The courses are delivered through the institute’s home-built digital learning platform, FramerSpace. Duraiappah declined to comment on the names of schools enrolled with the platform. However, he claimed that approximately 1.75 lakh teachers are enrolled on FramerSpace and around three lakh learners have availed its programmes.
The institute claims to have adopted a ‘Libre’ pedagogical approach towards education which includes storytelling, gamification, inquiry, reflection, dialogue. “It helps to deliver rich, fun and interactive learning experiences that meet the needs of all learners,” Duraiappah said. Furthermore, the institute has its own assessment tool, International Science and Evidence-based Education (ISEE), which draws ideas from 300 experts from 45 countries to assess the learning outcome in an open and inclusive manner.