Why are arts and culture useful in working towards Global Citizenship Education (GCE)?

• Because they allow citizens to acquire non-academic knowledge and skills; cultural and artistic practices complement education and strengthen teaching and research. The skills and competencies that result from the mastery and appreciation of an artistic discipline will be a lifelong asset to those who acquire them.

• It is no longer possible in today’s world to produce artistic content without questioning the economic, social, educational and political structures that undermine freedom of expression and preclude the possibility of experimenting with a more equitable and sustainable system of values. Through their output, cultural actors, artists, writers and creatives carry the aspirations of the communities in which they are firmly rooted.

• "It is culture that gives man the ability to reflect upon himself. It is culture that makes us specifically human, rational beings, endowed with a critical judgement and a sense of moral commitment. It is through culture that we discern values and make choices. It is through culture that man expresses himself, becomes aware of himself, recognizes his incompleteness, questions his own achievements, seeks untiringly for new meanings and creates works through which he transcends his limitations." - Mexico City Declaration, 1982.