During a webinar hosted by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis sent a message of inclusive education for all students in times of Covid-19. In his capacity as Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasised the importance, in times of pandemic, of ensuring everyone’s participation in education, and especially the participation of vulnerable groups (students with disabilities, Roma, migrants). “We don’t want to close our window or our eyes to the world,” he stressed.
The Alternate Minister underscored that the topic of education is very high on the Greek Chairmanship’s agenda, with the aim of familiarising young people with democratic institutions so that they can become active and better-informed citizens. At the same time, the Greek Chairmanship attaches great importance to the founding of the Observatory on History teaching, which is a French proposal. Mr. Varvitsiotis said that the Greek Chairmanship wants educational issues to be included in the Athens Declaration on protection of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in times of emergency.
Finally, he announced that there will be collaboration with UNESCO on educational issues, in the context of the UN’s ‘Agenda 2030’.
June 30, 2020