Rio de Janeiro Charter of Commitments to Equal Opportunity for the Development of Human Capacities

Rio de Janeiro
Charter of Commitments
to Equal Opportunity for the
Development of Human Capacities

The participants of the Second International Symposium on Accelerative Learning, assembled in Rio de Janeiro from the 17th to the 23rd of January 1985, drew up the "Charter of Commitments to Equal Opportunity for the Development of Human Capacities."
The following Charter was adopted to establish the right of all human beings to develop their capacities to the fullest, and to urge all nations to create these educational opportunities as a basic right for all.

The participants of the Second International Symposium on Accelerative Learning propose that in each country of the world a symposium be held to consider the education of its people and to make recommendations on the improvement of educational opportunities for every human being. The following topics were considered at this symposium; along with specific recommendations that are being sent to decision-makers in the educational systems and government of Brazil:

Every human being shall be guaranteed opportunities to develop his/her capacities to the fullest extent possible through formal and informal education as a lifelong process.

Among the highest priorities of any country should be the education of each human being, beginning with parents and other caretakers as first teachers, helping them to learn ways to lay the foundations of intelligence from pre-birth on. Teachers and other s responsible for the development of human capacities must have available the most current, well-researched information on teaching and learning, taking into consideration the respect for the individual and cultural differences.
A worldwide databank should be developed to facilitate the sharing of this information, translated on request into any language. Educational systems utilizing this information must help each individual to learn how to learn and how to think analytically and creatively in order to help each country solve the complex problems of our time, not only locally but globally.
World peace depends on the fullest development of each human being in mind, body, and spirit.
---Rio de Janeiro, 23rd of January, 1985.

Article 1.
Everyone has the right to develop his/her capacities as an element of self-realization

Article 2.
In order that education may become a real process throughout life, information resulting from research and existing technology must be made accessible to every human being through education at home, at school, and in adult education, emphasizing processes of learning to learn, critical and creative thinking and problem-solving.

Article 3.
All countries in the world should be encouraged to participate in a continuous, open project to exchange information on research and technology, related to the development of human capacities.

Article 4.
Every government should be alerted to the danger of imposing methods of education without consulting the community involved.

Article 5.
All those engaged in the development of human capacities should pledge themselves to develop knowledge resulting from research in order to permit the intelligence of every human being to reach fruition, giving everyone the right to decide his/her own directions.

Article 6.
Students should have the opportunity to pursue their interests with adequate guidance to develop their capacities.

Article 7.
Education should respect individual differences and encourage social interaction.

Article 8.
In every country, systems of education should not depend solely on government funding, but should utilize community resources as much as possible.

Article 9.
Greater efforts should be made to promote informal education as a way of disseminating knowledge and its uses for the purpose of improving the quality of life for all.

Article 10.
Interdisciplinary education should be encouraged, with emphasis on learning about human rights, health and conscious participation of the individual in the society in which she/he lives.

Article 11.

Educators should have opportunities for professional assessment and for the acquisition of knowledge of techniques of self-evaluation.
Teacher training should include experiences to permit the development of the teacher's human capacities.
It should also include training in the use of technology for the development of human capacities.

Article 12.
Free public school systems should be strengthened and improved as the primary way of educating in a short time most of the population of the whole world.

Article 13.
There should be cooperative decision-making in the school system with actual participation of administrators, teachers, specialists, parents and students.

Article 14.
The exchange of information concerning the use of computer technology should be encouraged in order to make it possible to create a world data bank accessible to all educational systems.

Article 15.
Adults should nurture the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development of children.

Article 16.
A parent education program should be created to communicate, in a way that all parents can understand, current information on how parents can help children to develop their capacities more fully, beginning with prenatal development.

This program should be implemented in maternity hospitals supported by community centers.
The media in general should also communicate this information.

Article 17.
Everyone should do his/her best to encourage the implementation of the principles set forth in this Charter.

---Rio de Janeiro, 23rd of January, 1985.