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About windows on the world
Task assigned to the committee

Canon for Global Citizenship Project

The project was initiated in June 2007 by NCDO and Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences.
The following project plan was set up.

Objective:

The objective of the project is:

  • To develop a canon for global citizenship.
  • To contribute to an increase in the degree of attention given to global citizenship in regular education by developing the canon.

Project background

The Van Oostrom Committee’s historical and cultural canon of the Netherlands was well received. The canon apparently satisfies a widely felt need for the organization of educational material and choice making. Fifty so-called ‘windows’ reflect what Dutch people should at any rate know about their national history. The windows present an icon (a person, a place, an event) by means of which important topics from Dutch history can be explored. The canon is open (if necessary it can be adapted in a few years’ time).

A canon can be very useful as an instrument to promote global citizenship as a subject in Dutch education. A list of 20 to 25 windows can give schools and colleges of education something to go on. Together, these icons would present a good picture of what Dutch people – as global citizens – ought to know about the world. By limiting the choice to 20 to 25 windows, schools can pay serious attention to each of the topics: by first introducing the topic, then thinking about it and finally studying it in depth.

From the perspective of schools, ‘global citizenship’ is one of the very many areas of special attention which should be given a place in education. The substantive basis of global citizenship is essentially very extensive and difficult to define. After all, it concerns development, sustainability, human rights, peace and security, and so on. Numerous dimensions are involved: historical, geographical, political, cultural, economic, to mention but a few. This

121 broad concept makes it difficult for schools to give shape to global citizenship convincingly. A well-considered canon with a limited number of windows could prove to be an extremely useful resource. It is, of course, important that the canon is presented to schools and training colleges in a convincing and attractive way.

The word ‘canon’ is subject to inflation. After the success of the Van Oostrom Committee, there was a veritable proliferation of canon initiatives (local, regional, for art etc.) In fact it is questionable whether, in the case of a canon for global citizenship, the word ‘canon’ should be used at all. In this phase of the project we still use the term, but in the realization phase it would perhaps to better to avoid it.

Intended project outcomes

  • Putting together a canon committee of no more than eight members.
  • Organization of five meetings of this committee.
  • Compiling a report of the meetings.
  • Report of approximately 50 to 75 pages, consisting of the justification, presentation of the canon, two pages of elaboration per window and suggestions for implementation.
  • The canon committee will deliver this report digitally no later than the end of 2008. Publishing will be taken care of by NCDO.
  • The committee will also provide an idea for a poster of the canon.

Composition and working method of the committee

To achieve a canon for global citizenship, a comparatively small committee will start work on it in the period from September 2007 to November 2008. From Utrecht University, Rob van der Vaart and Tine Beneker will respectively take on the positions of chairman and secretary. This keeps the lines between chairman and secretary short, which will be beneficial to the process. From NCDO, Mariëtte van Stalborch will participate in the committee. NCDO is responsible for the publication and publicity of the report. The committee consists of no more than eight members. Three of them have already been appointed (Rob van der Vaart, Tine Beneker and Mariëtte van Stalborch). The remaining members will be approached from the following sectors: journalism, teachers, teacher trainers, citizenship experts and migrant organizations.

The following is expected of the committee members:

  • Attendance at five three-hour meetings – active thinking during the meetings, reading papers in advance, commenting on draft texts for the final report, willingness to participate in the dissemination of the canon after summer 2008.
  • A positive attitude towards the idea of a canon for global citizenship.

The committee has the following tasks:

  • To develop a canon for global citizenship consisting of 20 to 25 windows, complete with a justification and an elaboration for each of the windows.
  • To develop proposals for the implementation of the canon as from December 2008.
  • To ensure sufficient support for the canon, by consulting interested parties in and outside the field of education.

The committee shall in any event tackle the following issues:

  • Global citizenship can be interpreted as the international dimension of the involvement of citizens in society. Global citizenship does not only have a knowledge dimension, but also dimensions such as commitment, attitude and practical action (see NCDO’s vision document). The canon will take the approach of substantive windows offering schools and training colleges the opportunity to initiate discussions or increase involvement. However, how to deal with the windows in class – the didactics of global citizenship – is not the committee’s primary focus.
  • The canon’s target groups are clearly defined. Education is central: primary and secondary education, as well as colleges of education. The substantive dimensions of global citizenship as described in NCDO’s vision document will certainly receive attention.
  • As the final product, the committee will deliver a report of approximately 50 to 75 pages, consisting of a justification, presentation of the canon, two pages of elaboration per window and suggestions for implementation. The elaboration per window gives a brief explanation regarding content in which the importance of the window for global citizenship is made clear, plus teaching suggestions(tie-in with school curriculum, prospects for broadening and deepening the window, websites, museums, juvenile literature, supplementary resources available). On 30 June 2008, the committee will deliver copy for the final report, but will not provide the layout nor the acquisition of image rights (for the icons). The committee will also deliver an idea for a canon poster.