From 14 to 16 July 2026, representatives of the Faculty of National Culture - Oksana Kurteva, PhD, Associate Professor, and Galina Mutaf, PhD, Lecturer - participated in a series of consultation seminars dedicated to the development of the draft “Guide on Integrating Equality and Human Rights Standards into School Textbooks”.
The sessions were held in a hybrid format and brought together school textbook authors and evaluators, as well as experts in education, human rights and non-discrimination, ensuring broad professional interaction and an exchange of practical experience.
The main purpose of the consultations was to discuss approaches to developing school textbooks in line with the principles of equality, respect for human dignity, non-discrimination and inclusion. Particular attention was paid to the “Non-discriminatory Character” criterion included in the methodology for textbook development and evaluation, as well as to the requirements of the national curriculum.
On the first day, the participants examined the conceptual and regulatory foundations of non-discrimination and equality and discussed the responsibilities of textbook authors and evaluators. A separate thematic session was devoted to the appropriate representation of persons with disabilities in educational texts, tasks and illustrations.
The second day of the consultations focused on gender equality, the representation of ethnic and linguistic groups, the appropriate presentation of religious diversity, as well as age-related issues and interaction between generations. The participants analysed examples from existing textbooks and textbooks under development, identified possible stereotypes and proposed pedagogically and linguistically justified ways of reconsidering them.
The third day of the seminars was dedicated to promoting peace and cooperation, preventing violence, bullying and incitement to hatred, as well as encouraging a healthy lifestyle. The participants discussed how literary and informative texts can contribute to the development of empathy, responsibility, peaceful conflict resolution and respect for the rights of others.
During the practical activities, Oksana Kurteva and Galina Mutaf presented their experience in developing and analysing school textbooks and discussed opportunities for integrating equality and human rights standards into educational texts, task systems and illustrative materials. The consultations also resulted in proposals for improving the draft Guide.
The consultations were organised by the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova in cooperation with the Equality Council, the Office of the People’s Advocate, Amnesty International Moldova, the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Publication by: O. Kurteva, PhD, Associate Professor
