What happens when creativity is placed at the heart of learning? With this in mind, the UNESCO Regional Office in Havana organised a virtual exchange event on 26 and 27 May, focusing on experiences in music education, community work and arts training in the region.
The event took place as part of UNESCO’s first Cultural and Arts Education Week, held from 25 to 31 May 2026 under the theme ‘Cultural and Arts Education for Lasting Peace’. During the sessions, representatives from ministries of education, national commissions, teachers and students shared how artistic practice fosters empathy, critical thinking and social cohesion.
During the opening ceremony, Anne Lemaistre, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Havana, highlighted the strategic value of these disciplines for the social fabric:
When culture and the arts are integrated into the classroom, creativity, empathy and the ability to engage in dialogue are fostered. Placing culture at the heart of education strengthens the foundations of more peaceful societies.
From theory to the classroom: global frameworks with a local impact
This approach responds to UNESCO’s Framework for Cultural and Arts Education, adopted in Abu Dhabi in 2024, and its Implementation Guide, published in 2025. The latter is a practical tool designed to help decision-makers, teachers and cultural professionals integrate the arts into public policy as well as formal, non-formal and informal education.
Furthermore, the initiative aligns with the Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development (2023), which recognises that peace is not only signed in diplomatic settings, but is cultivated day by day in classrooms and communities.
‘Cultural and arts education has been recognised as a right for decades, but not always as a priority. However, the adoption of the Framework for Cultural and Arts Education in 2024 marked a historic milestone. For the first time, the international community united around a comprehensive framework to integrate culture and the arts into education systems worldwide,’ said Cecilia Barbieri, Head of UNESCO’s Division of Education for Peace and Global Citizenship.
Music and art: bridges to citizenship and social inclusion
The experiences shared during the seminar demonstrated how these principles are translated into concrete practices both inside and outside the classroom, transforming entire communities through creativity.
From Venezuela, Mayra León, Director of El Sistema’s Documentation and Research Centre, explained how the collective practice of music becomes a true school of civic values. ‘In an orchestra, active listening, teamwork and non-violent conflict resolution are practised. It is a place for the development of human dignity,’ she said. León also highlighted that the musical experience teaches respect for diversity and recognition of the value of each voice within an ensemble:
Art fosters not only artistic sensibility, but also empathy—helping us to connect with others—tolerance, and the ability to understand that every perspective is valid.
This vision comes to life in the words of Diana Montero, a student on the programme: ‘The orchestra is the place where I can express myself freely, where I can sing of my joys and my sorrows, and express all my emotions through music. It is a wonderful place.’
Founded by Maestro José Antonio Abreu in 1975, Venezuela’s National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs has demonstrated that artistic practice is a tool for social inclusion and human development, particularly in vulnerable contexts, offering children and young people a space for belonging, discipline and community.
We must strive to ensure that, in classrooms, conservatoires and our institutions, art remains the most solid foundation for lasting peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/when-creativity-transforms-learning-cultural-and-arts-education-experiences-lasting-peace-caribbean?hub=701
