© DR

The Seminar, organized by UNESCO and the Permanent Delegation of Poland, will discuss the legacy of Janusz Korczak (Polish paediatrician, writer and a pioneer of children's rights). Experts will address challenges related to applying the Convention on the right of the child, early childhood quality education as well as the pedagogical innovation required for children to become full global citizens.

A pioneer of children’s rights, Janusz Korczak, was the first to put into words the necessity to respect children as fully-fledged human beings. The Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the United Nations in 1989 drew on Korczak’s work. Although widely ratified, the Convention is not always respected. Today, UNESCO and the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Poland to UNESCO are joining forces to pay tribute to the “Old Doctor” (as he is called) and examine his double legacy as a visionary and a practitioner. The debate, led by Professor Adam Fraczek, Chairman of the UNESCO/Janusz Korczak Chair in Social Pedagogy, will address challenges related to applying the Convention, early childhood quality education as well as the pedagogical innovation required for children to become full global citizens.

More than one century later, Janusz Korczak’s methods and commitment enrich the reflection and inform practices. At a time when the importance of education is unanimously agreed upon, its content and goals continue to generate doubts and concerns. Is the welfare of children always at the core of our preoccupations? Does education allow for children’s self-realization? In the spirit of dialogue and cooperation fostered by Korczak, this seminar gathers experts from diverse backgrounds to reflect upon these issues and make education the driving force behind the implementation of children’s rights.

A Polish doctor, an educationalist and a writer, Janusz Korczak (1878-1942) has perhaps most notably been a pioneer in participative pedagogy. His work and vision paved the way for the articulation of children’s rights as expressed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. His deep and unwavering dedication to children was expressed until the moment of his death in 1942, when he chose to accompany the children of his orphanage, in the Warsaw Ghetto, to the Treblinka extermination camp where they all perished together.