International Day of Tolerance 16 November

Image by Alexander Grey

“The highest result of education is tolerance.”

Helen Keller

UNESCO’s Member States issued the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance on November 16, 1995. This was formally adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 19, 1996. The simple affirmation that ‘tolerance is neither indulgence nor indifference’ can be applied to our mindset. Tolerance is further described by the ‘recognition universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others.

How do you define tolerance?

Can you describe how you practice tolerance?

Australian society reflects many cultures of the world, and the oldest, continuous culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people. It does not take an historian to note that Australia’s history did not begin in 1788.

Tolerance can be used a noun, verb or adjective – it depends on context. Context frames human interactions, personal expression and self-image. It can be challenging to be tolerant. Contemporary debates, world events and crisis have impacted our community. Hate speech, social and religious divisions seem to be pulling people away from harmony and tolerance. The media and social media revel in carrying the hurt of one community and the hate of another.

How can you support students to practice tolerance? Do families have the responsibility to teach their children?

There is little room on the school calendar to celebrate every International Day of Recognition. It would be hard to find an outcome or learning sequence that explicitly taught tolerance.

Perhaps you can try:

•Story Time: Read books featuring diverse characters and cultures during group time or story time.


•Culture Corner: Create a “culture corner” with items, pictures, and artifacts representing various cultures and traditions.


•Friendship Bracelets: Encourage children to make friendship bracelets using different colours of beads or yarn. Discuss how each bracelet is unique, just like each person.


•Have a class discussion about different cultures and backgrounds and discuss the importance of respecting and appreciating people from different backgrounds and perspectives.


•Have a class discussion to develop individual awareness to avoid individual expressions of intolerance such as stereotyping, bigotry, insults, racial jokes, and stigmatizing.

You can find more information about the International Day of Tolerance here:

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/tolerance

Do you have an obligation to act with tolerance?
On International Day of Tolerance, you could ask ourselves questions like the following:
•Am I a tolerant person who does not stereotype people?
•Do I reject people who belong to different religions or cultural backgrounds?
•Do I blame my problems on people of different races, religions, sex, nationalities, or colour?