The United Nations recognizes the role of culture for development

On 20 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on culture and development, which emphasizes the important contribution of culture for sustainable development and for the achievement of national and international development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

For more information:

Resolution text adopted by the UN General Assembly

Outcome document of the MDG Summit, September 2010

Summit High-Level Round-Table on Culture for Development

The Power of Culture for Development (Brochure, PDF)

The Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F)

UNESCO's work in promoting sustainable development in Africa

Naoline Raondry-Rakotoarisoa talks about UNESCO's work in promoting sustainable development in Africa. The presentation was made as part of the discussion at the Nairobi Manifesto Roundtable.

OECD DAC Recognizes an Increase in UNESCO's Development Aid

The Director-General of UNESCO has been notified that a DAC Working Party has decided to raise the UNESCO ODA coefficient from 25% to 44%, with the change to take effect as from the current year reporting on ODA flows in 2008.

At its May 2009 meeting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Council (DAC) Working Party on Statistics reviewed and approved a general methodology for assessing official development assistance eligibility (ODA-eligibility) of international agencies and for deriving coefficients for international agencies. This coefficient is designed to assess the percentage of an organization’s activities which contribute to development according to OECD’s definitions.

The New Issue of the UNESCO Courier is Out

A “lesson” in Baicao River
Sichuan (China)
© Tang Ming

2009 - Number 4

School for the future

Preserving the environment, respecting biodiversity and safeguarding human rights represent new dimensions for education. Since the 2005 launch of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, ESD is becoming reality through myriad initiatives, evoked in this month’s UNESCO Courier.

Go to the issue!

Looking Outward and Forward: UNESCO World Conference on Education and Sustainable Development

Halfway points of any endeavor are wonderful times to reflect and to revitalize: The World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development held in Bonn, Germany, promises to do just that. Held five years into the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the conference will emphasize best practices and cooperation for education for sustainable development (ESD).

The conference, held March 31 through April 2, will bring together over 700 people from 150 countries and will have four main objectives. The overarching theme is to underscore how crucial ESD is to education at all levels. Related to that is a second objective of reviewing what has been done so far in ESD and what lessons can be taken from previous experiences.

Two other themes look to the possibilities ahead. The conference seeks to promote international exchange of ideas regarding ESD, particularly between North and South, and to share best practices and ideas regarding ESD on a global level. It additionally hopes to spark conversation and plans to develop strategies for the best paths to take for future development.

These objectives will be infused into all elements of the program, which include high-level segments, plenary and workshop sessions, exhibitions of 25 ESD projects, project-based workshops, and special events. An official program can be found here.

This conference is the second in a series of educational conferences UNESCO is holding on global education. Each conference strives to foster dialogue regarding best practices for educational priorities, and the potential to transform educational systems by sharing best practices and learning from each other is enormous. The opportunity to participate in such global dialogues, therefore, must not be wasted.

UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development

The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development – Moving into the Second Half of the UN Decade will be held in Bonn, Germany, from 31 March to 2 April 2009.

Organizers of the conference are UNESCO and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in cooperation with the German Commission for UNESCO.

Five years into the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, for which UNESCO is the lead agency, the conference aims to highlight the relevance of ESD to all of education; promote international exchange on ESD.

Go to the Conference website.

UNESCO, Energy and Climate Change

On Monday, James Connaughton, the head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, spoke to the members of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO on the topic of "Energy and Climate Change". He stated that global warming and increased concentration of greenhouse gases are both occurring, and that scientists generally agree that mankind is contributing substantially to the buildup of greenhouse gases, and thus to global warming.

He projected the very desirable economic growth in the developing world, and noted the very major difficulty that if the world is to hold global warming to acceptable levels, the developing countries are going to have to make major changes in technology, since their current energy and agricultural technologies are "heavy" in the sense that they produce a lot of greenhouse gas per unit economic production. Even were the developed countries to achieve huge improvements in emissions, that effort would not be enough; were the improvements in developed nations emissions to be achieved by the transfer of greenhouse-gas intensive production activities to developing countries without the transfer to clean technologies in those developing countries, there would be no net gain for the reduction of global warming.

Mr. Connaughton also emphasized that the current emphasis on global climate change had had the unfortunate side effect of diverting the attention of policy makers from other environmental problems, such as water and air quality (and I would add desertification, loss of tropical forests, pollution, etc.)

Mr. Connaughton stressed that if we are to succeed in limiting climate change (and other environmental problems), the key limitation will be political will in developing nations, since we have adequate technology for the job. He also said that a critical problem was a major lack of understanding of the size and nature of the task before mankind.

In short, there is a major educational challenge for the world, to build the environmental literacy and numeracy needed to generate the political will to solve the problems leading to global warming and environmental deterioration. The effort is urgently needed, and must continue for generations.

Surprisingly, given that the talk was made to the National Commission for UNESCO, Mr. Connaughton did not make the further inference publicly that UNESCO was a logical entity to lead in the educational effort, building that public understanding and support. Obviously, UNESCO is the lead agency within the United Nations system for both education and communications and information. It leads in the natural science programs needed to develop appropriate understanding of the causes and remedies of global warming and other environmental problems, and the social science leadership needed to measure the success in changing knowledge and understanding of environmental problems.

If the White House really believes Mr. Connaughton's presentation, as does the author of this posting, then it should support a serious effort to expand UNESCO's program focusing on the environmental sustainability of economic development.

I spoke briefly with Ambassador Oliver after the talk, and she emphasized that that kind of an initiative would be a very appropriate one for a public-private cooperative approach. Voluntary contributions, both financial and in kind, would be a powerful stimulus to the development of such an effort on the part of UNESCO.

Questioning UNESCO's Efforts on Culture and Development

Mapping Authority and Survival or Well Being.
Source: R. Inglehart, Modernization and Postmodernization

In a recent paper for the World Bank, Amartya Sen (Nobel Prize laureate in Economics) wrote:

(C)ulture interacts with development in many different ways. It is involved in both the ends and the means of development. But the acknowledgement of the importance of culture should not be translated instantly into ready-made theories of what works, what needs to be cultivated and what must be preserved. There are complex epistemic issues involved in identifying the ways in which culture may or may not influence development, and also deeply ethical and political issue of the social choice involved in accommodating diverse concerns.

Indeed, even the values that are associated with economic development can be interpreted in quite different ways, and may require more than simple admonitions to cultivate this or eschew that.

Indeed, notably in the work of another Nobel Prize winner, Douglas North, economists have recently emphasized the importance of institutions in economic development. That emphasis has come to complement earlier emphases on fixed capital and human capital and on economic policies. The institutions of concern to these economists, such as rule of law and markets, are important aspects of culture, and depend on a variety of cultural values.

Pippa North, a distinguished political scientist, and Ronald Inglehart, one of the founders of the World Values Survey program write, emphasize the importance of culture in democratization. They recently wrote:

A fundamental problem facing the worldwide process of democratization is the continued lack of gender equality in political leadership. The basic facts are not in dispute: Today women represent only one in seven parliamentarians, one in ten cabinet ministers, and, at the apex of power, one in 20 heads of state or government. Multiple factors have contributed to this situation, including structural and institutional barriers. But what is the influence of political culture? Are attitudes toward women as political leaders a significant barrier to their empowerment? In particular, how important is culture as compared with structural and institutional factors? These are the questions that our study seeks to address.

In short, the interaction of culture and development is of critical importance in the world today. Understanding that interaction is important in ameliorating poverty and in the social and economic development of poor nations as well as in managing the transition from the industrial society to the knowledge society.

The Potential Role for UNESCO

UNESCO's middle name is "Culture". Since its creation after World War II, UNESCO has been the lead agency in the United Nations system for culture. It provides a unique forum for intellectual leaders from all over the world to come together to discuss cultural matters. It is uniquely empowered and equipped to be a clearinghouse for information and analysis of the role of culture.

UNESCO has been guided by its member nations for decades to focus its programs heavily on development and on the needs of poor people in poor nations. It has been asked to play an important role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals set forth by the United Nations. At the World Summit for the Information Society, UNESCO was given a leading role in the UN system in catalyzing development of the knowledge society.

UNESCO has played an important role in raising consciousness of the importance of preservation of cultural heritage. The World Heritage Center, perhaps UNESCO's flagship unit, has encouraged UNESCO's member states to preserve and protect hundreds of world heritage sites all over the earth. The Memory of the World program is helping to preserve mankind's documentary heritage, and UNESCO is a partner in the development of the World Digital Library.

UNESCO has negotiated seven Conventions which form the body of international law controling the protection of tangible and intangible cultural property. The looting of art from conquered countries and the distruction of archaeological sites have been greatly reduced since the creation of UNESCO because of UNESCO's ability to bring the nations of the world together to negotiate these treaties.

The aforementioned UNESCO efforts in the protection of the world's cultural heritage illustrate the role that it can play in promoting productive cultural dialog among its 193 member nations. Its Culture of Peace Program is another example of the way in which UNESCO can help its member nations come together to address a critical international issue from a cultural perspective. UNESCO's Anticipation and Foresight Program (adminstered by the Social and Human Sciences program within its Philosophy portfolio) further illustrates the ability of the Organization to serve as a laboratory of ideas, bringing the best thinking from the global intellectual community to the service of UNESCO's member states.

UNESCO does work in the field of Culture and Development. It has been a useful agency in creating knowledge about and interest in emerging fields such as sustainable cultural tourism and cultural industries for developing economies. An independent World Commission on Culture and Development (WCCD) was established jointly by UNESCO and the United Nations in December 1992 and was active in the 1990s. UNESCO played an important role in the Stockholm Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development in 1998.

Still, UNESCO's efforts in the field of culture and development seem less extensive and less effective than those in the field of preservation of cultural heritage. One wonders whether in the 21st Century UNESCO should redouble its efforts to bring together the leaders of the world's inellectual community and serve more effectively as a laboratory of ideas on Culture and Development. Indeed, if UNESCO can catalyze the creation of a consensus on culture-based appoaches to promote social and economic development and on cultural objectives of social and economic development, should it not then embark on a program of capacity development to assist its member states to utilize the knowledge of that consensus?

UNITWIN Network: Gender, Culture, Development

Dr. Sonia Bahri
UNESCO’s UNITWIN program Chief.

UNESCO's Gender, Culture and People-Centered Development community involves Boston University's Women Studies Program (WSP)! As of mid March 2008, there were 14 UNESCO Chairs plus this UNITWIN Network established in the field of Gender.

Its blog is intended to allow readers to reflect and communicate on important gender issues that are shaping development. BU's Women Studies Program (WSP) directed by Dr. Shahla Haeri explores and analyzes the social, political and economic factors that influence women worldwide. Beginning this year, the Program will be participating with partners in India in UNESCO's university education twinning and networking scheme, UNITWIN.

The UNITWIN Program began in 1992 and aims to share information in all major fields within UNESCO. The goal is to promote North-South and South-South cooperation and communities of practice which will enhance institutions, primarily in developing countries. UNITWIN provides a platform for universities and research institutions to work with UNESCO to support national development efforts.

International Conference on Women's Leadership for Sustainable Development

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
addresses the Conference

Jerusalem and Haifa, Israel
18-22 November 2007

The conference, a biennial event held by the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center, was cosponsored by UNESCO and Mashav (the Foreign Ministry-operated official body for international cooperation).

UNESCO Deputy Director-General Prof. Marcio Barbosa expressed gratitude to the government of Israel for hosting such a major event and to the eminent women leaders who had participated with such great enthusiasm.

What does the U.S. owe to developing nations?

The San Francisco Chronicle published comments from a number of people who were responding to an article from a couple of Peace Corps Volunteers in Kenya. The PCVs said, as most of us concluded in the Peace Corps, that poor people have to change if they want to escape poverty. They said:

we were there to share our skills. Kenya - Africa - needs modern skills far more than it needs Western cash.

The Volunteers also wrote:

Education is the key, and the Kenyans know it. In 2002, the government agreed to provide free primary schooling for all. Secondary schools, however, charge a fee, often beyond the reach of many students, even when the family pulls together to send them. This is indeed one area where Western donations can do the most good, because it gives young people hope.

The folk who responded to the Chronicle gave a full spectrum of replies:

Tina Martin, San Francisco
Considering that the United States makes up less than 5 percent of the world population but uses more than 25 percent of the world's resources, I think it owes developing nations the chance to benefit from what they have before we liberate them from it.

Marcy Orosco, Guerneville
Nothing. Let's start with the United States first.

Bill Krumbein, Santa Rosa
We owe them fairness. We owe them a level playing field. Expecting them to play in the same league as our economic standards is impossible. We need to stop taking advantage of them.

Mike Haworth, Vallejo
It's not a matter of owing, it's more a matter of redemption. We need to redeem ourselves in the eyes of the world. Thanks to the current administration, the term "Ugly American" has been revived and multiplied a hundred times over. Repairing the damage will take decades, and every opportunity to do so should be acted upon immediately -- and we will, just as soon as all our resources stop funding this unwinnable war.

The website also generated a number of online comments.

UNESCO is deeply involved in the efforts to help Kenya and all of Africa to help itself. It is the lead agency in the global effort to provide Education for All. It is also the key agency in the United Nations system seeking to promote culturally sensitive approaches to the changes that poor people and poor nations must make to climb out of the poverty trap.

Read the full article by Daniel Kohanski and Jean Dahlstrom Marcucci.

Read the responses from the public.

Visit the UNESCO Nairobi Office website.

Leave us a comment below. What do you think America owes to developing nations? Do you think UNESCO is a good way to pay some of that debt?

Finalists nominated for 2007 Engineering Award

The finalists for the Mondialogo Engineering Award 2007 have been decided. An international jury yesterday nominated 30 teams to proceed to the final of the worldwide engineering contest by DaimlerChrysler and UNESCO. At the beginning of December 2007, the nominated teams will be attending the Mondialogo Symposium in Mumbai/India, where the best of them will in turn be honoured with the Engineering Award. The ten winning teams can look forward to cash prizes each worth €20,000. Another twenty teams will receive an honorary award, each carrying €5,000 in prize money.

A total of 3,200 students of engineering sciences from 89 countries had registered for the second edition of the Engineering Award:.

Among the 30 are many teams that include a U.S. Partner:

Project Title: Development of a sustainable fluoride filter for use in the Bongo District of Ghana, Africa

Area of Engineering: Water supply and sanitation

• Partner Institutions: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
• The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York,USA

Project Title: Inexpensive multi-functional medical equipment design

Area of Engineering: Medicine and health care
Partner Institutions:

• HuaZhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
• University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Project Title: Sustainable Irrigation for Community Agriculture in rural South Africa

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• John-Hopkins University (Engineers Without Borders), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
• Zakhe Agricultural College (Agriculturalists Without Borders), KwaZulu-Nata, South Africa

Project Title: The Adu Achi Water Development

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Engineers without borders), Illinois, USA

Project Title: Improvement of Health Conditions in Rural India using Renewable Energy Sources

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Fachhochschule Bingen, Bingen, Germany
• Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India
• Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

Project Title: Exploitation and Valorization of Certain Forest Products in Cameroon

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• National Advanced School of Polytechnics, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Project Title: Exploitation and Valorization of Certain Forest Products in Cameroon

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• National Advanced School of Polytechnics, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Project Title: Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Produced From Olive Oil Mills

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
• Birzeit University, Deir Qaddis, Palestinian Territories

Project Title: Casa Ecologica Andina

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

Project Title: Improving Diagnosis and Treatment of Tuberculosis and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Peru Using Medical Imaging Techniques

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• University of Rochester, New York, USA
• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

Project Title: Design and Manufacture of Dynamic Response Foot Prostheses for Landmine Victims in Impoverished Areas

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Project Title: Global Basic Needs in an Integrated Sustainable Approach

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
• University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Project Title: Sustainable Treatment of Wastewaters from Garages and Workshops Using Coconut Husk and Shell Wastes as Filter Materials

Area of Engineering: Multiple
Partner Institutions:

• PNG University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea
• Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA

Congratulations to the finalists and good luck in the next round of the contest!

U.S. Participation in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

Read "SUSTAINABILITY: Education for a Sustainable Future" by Debra Rowe in Science magazine, 20 July 2007. I quote:

After the United Nations declared a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14), a grassroots effort from higher education developed in the United States in the absence of a federal government response. The National Council for Science and the Environment hosted its annual conference in 2003 on Education for a Sustainable and Secure Future. Out of that meeting, the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development was created to catalyze a U.S. response for this decade and beyond. This national network of over 300 organizations has sector teams in Faith, Business, Communities, Higher Education, K-12 schooling, and Youth. The U.S. Partnership convenes mainstream leaders and catalyzes their commitment to educating for a sustainable future. With impetus from multiple sources interested in sustainability, three major efforts emerged in the higher-education sector: the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS), and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). (Links added)

The article describes U.S. efforts in support of education for sustainable development in some detail.

Check out the United Nations website for the Decade.

Check out UNESCO's website for the
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
(UNESCO is the lead agency in the UN system for the program.)

California students working to save energy on campuses.
CREDIT: CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT CHICO via Science magazine.