A/CONF.189/PC.2/22 page 32 2. The content of education (a) Changes in the content of school textbooks 109. Numerous papers and international instruments have developed the idea that education should project a positive image of oneself and others. In addition to the general provisions in the conventions already mentioned, article 31 of the ILO Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries recommends that “history textbooks and other educational materials [should] provide a fair, accurate and informative portrayal of the societies and cultures of these peoples”. According to the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, the first of the four pillars upon which education should be founded is “learning to live together by developing an understanding of others and their history, traditions and spiritual values”.122 110. These changes in the content of textbooks should cover all educational curricula likely to shape the minds of children and adolescents and the way they will see others in the future books on history, geography, languages, literature, general culture, civic and religious education, and children’s stories, comics, etc. All the historical facts, or simply observations, tendentious explanations and insinuations that might stir up tensions and give a negative image of others should be removed and replaced by new teaching materials emphasizing the unity of mankind and the extraordinary variety of its cultural components and promoting mutual respect between different religious or linguistic ethnic groups. For this purpose, States could set up permanent and representative national mechanisms to consider the contents of school books and educational curricula and the steps to be taken to improve the curricula. They could also set up special inspection units or departments in education ministries whose task would include checking that the contents of school books and course books are non-discriminatory and tolerant; these departments could provide an account of their work in, say, annual reports, either for widespread distribution or for their superiors, so that the authorities could take the appropriate measures. (b) Development of multicultural and intercultural education 111. As we have seen, how to combat “prejudices which lead to racial discrimination” by adopting “immediate and effective measures” (article 7 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) has not been adequately explained either in the international instruments or by the treaty-monitoring bodies concerned. This dimension involves, among other things, the duty to open up to others’ cultures by providing differentiated education that respects and integrates cultural differences. Education - as a vital resource in the fight against discrimination and intolerance - should effectively contribute to the process of reconciliation between minorities as well as between minorities and the majority. 112. The school system could thus incorporate - where possible, of course - two fundamental concepts that would make the positive image of oneself and of others a reality in the educational system: multicultural education and intercultural education. Multicultural education refers to “educational policies and practices which meet the separate educational needs of groups in society which belong to different cultural traditions”;123 intercultural education covers “educational policies and practices by which the members of different cultures, whether in a