Teachers and students participate in seminars organized by UNIC Colombo about the United Nations
The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Colombo planned and organized three seminars for students and teachers about the United Nations during the month of June 2009.
One of the seminars took place in Galewela, 140 km from Colombo on 5 June, and another in Balangoda, 150 km from the capital, on 11 June. Each seminar was attended by sixty teachers who teach subjects such as Political Science, History and Citizen Studies which require students to learn about the UN, human rights, peace and security, conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS, globalization, and environmental issues. The day long seminars covered the origin, organizational structure, purposes and specialized agencies of the United Nations and the UN’s past and present contribution in resolving major global problems confronted by humanity.
Running parallel to the Galewela seminar, a half day seminar was held at the nearby Government Central College for students preparing for the Advanced Level Examination in August. Approximately 900 students from sixteen schools throughout the area were in attendance. In addition to the National Information Officer who spoke about the UN, the Centre arranged to have two lecturers from the University of Colombo address the participants on human rights and good governance.
In its efforts to educate as many people as possible about the UN and its activities around the globe, UNIC Colombo has initiated seminar programmes aimed at audiences such as teachers, students, media personnel, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs ) since 1997. Seminars involving teachers and students are always held in collaboration with the Zonal Education Office of the hosting area as determined by the Government Ministry of Education. The National Information Officer conducts these collaborations. Each year, an average of ten seminars is organized.