A/69/318 76. A greater knowledge of and respect for the heritage and culture of people of African descent should be adopted, in particular for children and young people, through intercultural education and dialogue, awareness-raising and activities designed to protect and promote African and African-descent culture in its various manifestations. Specific plans must be in place for the ethnic recognition and visibility of people of African descent. Measures shall be adopted to preserve, protect and restore traditional knowledge and the intangible patrimony and spiritual memory of sites and places of the slave trade and slave resistance. 77. The rights of children and young people of African descent need to be specifically protected with regard to their identity, culture and language, in particular by promoting culturally and linguistically sensitive education policies and programmes. Actions shall be adopted to combat the indirect discrimination faced by children in education systems by removing the negative stereotypes and imagery often used in teaching materials, ensuring the inclusion of the histories and cultures of people of African descent, including the transatlantic slave trade in curriculums, and ensuring the cultural or linguistic relevance of teaching for children of African descent. Formal education at the early childhood, primary, secondary, post-secondary and adult education levels must incorporate knowledge about the history of transatlantic enslavement and the role of people of African descent in global development, and the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures that constitute the common heritage of humankind. A comprehensive curriculum reform shall also tackle all forms of stereotypes. 78. Good practices of other countries and regions that have been able to address the negative heritage of enslavement and to build inclusive, multicultural and multi-ethnic societies shall be shared and exchanged. 79. The Working Group urges States to adopt national action plans against racial discrimination that include special measures, based on disaggregated data, as appropriate, to address structural discrimination against people of African descent, taking into account general recommendation No. 32 (2009) adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Recognition through education, cultural rights and data collection 80. States should fully protect the right of people of African descent to education, and must go beyond issues of physical or economic accessibility, to focus on the ultimate goal of equal access to quality education at all levels and equal achievement outcomes. 81. Every person is entitled to accessible, free and high-quality primary-level education. States should take reasonable legislative and other measures to achieve the progressive realization of this right by people of African descent with respect to secondary education and for higher education on the basis of capacity. 82. States should also: (a) Ensure accessible and available education, in particular in areas where people of African descent live, including in rural and marginalized communities, paying attention to improving the quality of public education; 14-59293 17/22