On 26th May 2021, UNESCO formally launched the UNESCO/GHFP Desk Review Report on Conceptions, Approaches and Practices of Collective Healing.
During this event, Ms Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, and Mr Sharif Istvan Horthy, Chairman of the GHFP Research Institute, took the opportunity to announce a broader partnership initiative entitled “Educational Transformation and Collective Healing: Addressing the Traumas and Legacy of Slavery”. This ambitious global initiative aims to advance educational transformation through policy change, and through empowering youth leadership in co-hosting collective healing programmes in communities, and beyond.
Recognising the importance of healing the historical, structural and cultural dimensions of racism, and addressing the root causes of dehumanisation, and drawing on insights from the Desk Review, the new initiative aims to explore the legacies of historical and trans-generational traumas, the effects of prevailing structural injustice, and the disturbed communal relationships. In particular, it consists in developing experiential workshops that engage participants from diverse racial, ethic and social backgrounds, especially youths (18-35 yrs). It
A first step of the new initiative involves developing a Collective Healing Programme Handbook. Based on the findings of Desk Review, and by comparative analysis of healing experiences, this Handbook will provide training to facilitators of collective healing programmes, and offer meaningful practical recommendations for healing activities and workshops at different levels (grassroots, national regional, international). Equally, the handbook can be used to guide a series of pilots in various parts of the world.
More importantly, the project seeks to offer educational opportunities to empower underprivileged young people and nurture their leadership capacities to become active healing agents who can play a significant part in facilitating spaces and processes for community-building and well-being.
This 5-mins video summarises this ambitious partnership initiative.