Childhood

“Only the collaboration between the children and the adults will be able to solve the problems of our time.” – Maria Montessori from Madras on 11 November 1939 (Report on the First Indian Training Course in Education); quoted in Maria Montessori Writes to her Grandchildren: letters from India, 1939-1946 (Amsterdam, 2020), p. 38
https://montessori-pierson.com/india.html
https://worldcat.org/en/title/1273931392
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=16037

International Mother Language Day (21 February): “Multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning” – Unesco

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The International Mother Language Day highlights the role of young people in shaping the future of multilingual education. Youth voices on multilingual education emphasizes that language is more than a means of communication: it is central to identity, learning, well-being and participation in society. The celebration underscores the importance of education systems that recognise and … Read more

Tagore’s Santiniketan, “an Abode of Learning Unlike Any in the World” – West Bengal

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Santiniketan’s bell – Photo © Ludwig Pesch Located about 158 km northwest of Kolkata in Bengal’s rural hinterland, Santiniketan embodies Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of a place of learning that is unfettered by religious and regional barriers. Established in 1863 with the aim of helping education go beyond the confines of the classroom, Santiniketan grew into … Read more

“Extraordinary examples of good governance”: Call for a new social contract – International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) – United Nations

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Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract There are over 476 million indigenous peoples living in 90 countries across the world, accounting for 6.2 per cent of the global population. Indigenous peoples are the holders of a vast diversity of unique cultures, traditions, languages and knowledge systems. They … Read more

Video | Adivasi pithora artist Desing Rathwa: An art form noted for being spontaneous and detailed – Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh

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The clip opens with a description of Bhasha’s publishing activities and role in Gujarat’s general education system. It features Desing Rathwa, a adivasi pithora artist belonging to Rangpur Sadli Village near the border between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Desing used to work as a daily wage labourer earlier. Several years back when Bhasha started work … Read more

“There are so many ‘theirs’ in the land of my birth who have nothing but the harsh landscape of surviving from day to day”: Mahasweta Devi’s inaugural speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair

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Mahasweta Devi had people in tears at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair [2006]. Delivered with passionate heart, her inaugural speech about our freedoms still on hold stirs a kind of moral transformation At 80-plus I move forward often stepping back into the shadows. Sometimes I am bold enough to step back into the sunlight. As a … Read more