Mining the Past to Best Inform the Future

On such a historic week in the United States, it is easy to become enraptured with future hopes. Indeed, these hopes are what sustain and inspire us--they are what cause us to seek better for ourselves and for future generations. Yesterday's inauguration and the masses that came to share in the day celebrated how hopes can empower. They can propel all with optimism and excitement in stepping into the future.

Yet yesterday also highlighted another important element: the increasing diversity of not just the United States but of all nations. The words spoken by Obama and by so many others reflected not only hope but the need for awareness of those around us. It is with this increased understanding that compassionate, positive change can occur.

In this vein, UNESCO offers a wealth of information for those seeking to increase their knowledge of the heritage of their neighbors both near and far. UNESCO has spent over 40 years compiling 51 volumes, and it now offers its trove of information in General and Regional Histories:

General and Regional Histories

Over 1,600 global scholars have informed these six volumes, and its collections incisively delve into cultural and scientific heritages of different regions of the world. Considering the content of these works may well intertwine with our hopes to wisen all future steps we take.

DG's Update on UNESCO Program

On January 18th the Director General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, briefed the Executive Board on the state of the Organization's programs. A few of his comments are reported below:

Education

At this mid-term period, it is critical to maintain the momentum on EFA. Despite significant progress since Dakar, we still have a long way to go, and efforts must be redoubled if we are to achieve the EFA goals by 2015.

This is why UNESCO is working hard to include EFA priorities on the agendas of other development meetings, and to raise awareness and understanding of the connections between EFA and other global issues. Certainly, we must retain our clear and determined focus on the six Dakar goals. We cannot allow the EFA agenda to be diluted or confused. However, we must not forget that achieving EFA is inextricably linked with other development challenges – including poverty reduction, public health, HIV and AIDS and environmental sustainability. A better understanding of these links would help strengthen our campaign for EFA. I believe it is possible to deal with these synergies and still retain our focus........

I also wish to mention the ongoing series of literacy conferences, which likewise focus on regional and subregional challenges. Since literacy is not included among the MDGs it has tended to be neglected. The aim of these conferences is to show that literacy is just as important to achieving our development goals as universal primary education. Our purpose is to mobilize political and financial support at the highest levels and give literacy the place it deserves on the agendas of national governments and international partners.

He went on to discuss specific meetings relating to the Education for All program. Given the need expressed by various review meetings of greater efforts to achieve the EFA goals in Africa, the Director General discussed the African efforts in more detail.

Culture

International Year of Languages, to be celebrated this year, with many events planned throughout the world, will be another opportunity to highlight the crucial role of multilingualism in the preservation of cultural diversity and to promote dialogue and exchange among cultures. International Mother Language Day, on 21 February, will mark the launch of the Year, which I hope many of you will also celebrate.

Another important date will, of course, be 21 May, on which World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development will be celebrated and the UNESCO World Report on Cultural Diversity will be launched. The importance of languages in that regard will certainly be stressed on that Day......

Other questions raised concerned the progress achieved in implementing the Action Plan for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Action Plan documents have been collated and transmitted to the parties concerned and to the donors who have provided funding (namely Italy, Saudi Arabia and the European Union). A brochure on the projects is being compiled and a meeting with permanent delegations will be held soon to launch a campaign to mobilize funds for the implementation of the second phase of the Plan.

Click here to download the entire report.

Departure of the NatCom Exec Director

Alex Zemek yesterday sent the following message to members of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO:

Today is my last day as the Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. It has been my pleasure being a part of this office from the beginning. We have come very far since President Bush announced the U.S. intention to rejoin UNESCO on September 12, 2002. I joined this office after having come back from a year in Iraq, looking for an opportunity where I could continue to contribute to the U.S.’s foreign policy objectives. In these past four and a half years we have begun to make a difference at UNESCO and in the world. From important issue from literacy, potable water, countering youth radicalization, and upholding and advancing civil liberties like freedom of expression.

Thank you all for making this a rewarding experience. I know I will continue to interact with you all through the Commission’s Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship. The challenges at UNESCO will continue but with your help we can continue to build off of the great foundation that this Administration has laid on investing in people and helping others to govern justly and democratically.

I am excited about the new members who are joining the Commission. It is a great group that builds off of many of your recommendations from last year. I would have wanted to announce them all by this point and inform you of who has been selected as chairs and vice chairs of the subject committees, however, most information hopefully be released in the coming days by the next administration.

I will be starting a new opportunity next week at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA); I am excited to continue my serve to the defense of this great nation. Thank you all for the service that you provide.

UNESCO: Agenda for the 21st Century

Mural in UNESCO Headquarters
Patrick Lagèsm © UNESCO

Yesterday I wrote an entry for my blog, Thoughts About K4D, about the complementary ways one can understand UNESCO, based on something I prepared for a seminar on UNESCO. Dmitry Epstein, the Think Macro blogger, posted a comment asking for updates on the course. I share my first response to that request.

The title of the seminar is "UNESCO: Agenda for the 21st Century" and I have posted the Syllabus online. I am coordinating the course with a colleague, Frank Method, and many members of the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO are participating during the semester.

The seminar is intended to provide students with an understanding of UNESCO and the context in which it works as an intergovernmental organization focusing on education, science, culture and communications and information. Students lead about half the sessions, and are expected to do a project for the course. In the two previous semesters that the seminar was offered, projects have included:

• The creation of a manual for students intending to start a UNESCO club in their university,
• The design of a museum exhibit on natural World Heritage sites and their conservation,
• A proposal for a multimedia self-learning course on the World Heritage sites in U.S. national parks, which has been accepted by the National Parks service, and
• A paper on UNESCO's role in the students home country which was accepted as the basis of a paper for an international conference.
  

This is the third time the course has been offered at George Washington University. It is a graduate seminar in the International Education Program. However, the seminar is open to students in other parts of the university and for cross registration for students in other universities of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Indeed in previous semesters the class has been enriched by students of museum management and foreign affairs and by students from Georgetown university.

This semester there are ten students signed up. They are an impressive group. Most have lived abroad and have mastered more than one language, and almost all have some professional working experience. We have only had the orientation meeting so far, but I am looking forward to the semester.

John Daly

Thoughts on the Nomination of a New Ambassador to UNESCO

Louise Oliver, Ambassador to UNESCO as a Bush administration appointee, is leaving that office. The Obama administration is to appoint a replacement. Ambassador Oliver has faced important challenges at UNESCO, managing the reentry of the United States into the organization and representing this country in an era of its decreasing international reputation. Reliable observers tell me that she has been extraordinarily effective, representing her administration's policies consistently in a professional manner while gaining respect and making friends for America among the diplomatic community and the UNESCO Secretariat. The new appointee should build upon and extend her successes.

It is my hope that the new appointee will be given Ambassadorial rank by the administration. That rank has been established for Ambassador Oliver, and has been helpful in establishing her personal authority in Paris. It also symbolizes the importance of UNESCO to the United States.

The Obama administration has expressed its concern for improved international partnerships. President-elect Obama wrote in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine:

To renew American leadership in the world, I intend to rebuild the alliances, partnerships, and institutions necessary to confront common threats and enhance common security. Needed reform of these alliances and institutions will not come by bullying other countries to ratify changes we hatch in isolation. It will come when we convince other governments and peoples that they, too, have a stake in effective partnerships.......

(T)he United Nations requires far-reaching reform........Yet none of these problems will be solved unless America rededicates itself to the organization and its mission.

In her opening remarks in her hearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State designate Clinton stated:

We should also use the United Nations and other international institutions whenever appropriate and possible. Both Democratic and Republican presidents have understood for decades that these institutions, when they work well, enhance our influence. And when they don’t work well – as in the cases of Darfur and the farce of Sudan’s election to the former UN Commission on Human Rights, for example – we should work with likeminded friends to make sure that these institutions reflect the values that motivated their creation in the first place.

In their various statements the spokepersons for the Obama administration have stressed objectives for U.S. foreign policy that are fully consistent with UNESCO's programs. UNESCO's emphasis on peace and human rights, its leadership in education, and its scientific programs providing the knowledge to deal with global resource and environmental problems are all prototypical of efforts that the Obama administration will seek to enhance.

Thus the new Ambassador will be charged with collaborating with partner nations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of UNESCO as it carries out its fundamental missions.

The next Ambassador should be:

• An articulate and charismatic spokesperson for the United States;
• Fully committed to the foreign policy goals of the United States as articulated by the Obama administration, especially those for the promotion of peace, the reduction of poverty, the sustainable development of nations, and the solution of global environmental problems;
  
• Capable of leading an organization with 2,000 staff and a $500 million annual budget which is capable of catalyzing global action;
• A distinguished professional in one of the fields of competence of UNESCO;
  
• A capable diplomat, able to negotiate compromise among the disparate interests of UNESCO's member nations; and of course
  
• A person of sterling personal and professional integrity; as well
  
• As someone who can communicate effectively in French as well as other major languages used in UNESCO.

I would stress, however, that while the new Ambassador must be a capable diplomat, his/her function should not be simply to negotiate with other diplomats and international civil servants, but to conceptualize how UNESCO's programs can be integrated with those of other U.S. and international agencies to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives, advocating the needed changes in UNESCO to achieve those ends, and also advocating the needed changes in U.S. policies towards UNESCO.

The first U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO was Athelstan Spilhaus, who served on UNESCO's Executive Board from 1954 to 1958. Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus was listed in "American Men of Science" as a meteorologist and an oceanographer, and made contributions to cartography. He was the inventor of the bathythermograph, a device to measure water temperatures in the deep ocean. That device contributed substantially to the success of sonar in WW II, and thus to America's victory in the war. He also developed balloons for meteorological and remote sensing applications. He was best known to the public for his extraordinary success in communicating scientific knowledge to the public through his comic strip read by some 12 million people per week, and to the academic community as the father of the Sea Grant program of the U.S. government. He as seen both as a global intellectual leader and as an effective advocate of U.S. policies.

I would hope the new Ambassador will live up to and extend the record of excellence established by Louise Oliver and Athelstan Spilhaus.

John Daly
(The opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not represent those of Americans for UNESCO.)

Thoughts About Choosing a New Director General for UNESCO

UNESCO is the lead agency of the United Nations system for education, natural and social sciences, culture and communication and information. More fundamentally, it was created in the aftermath of World War II to build the defenses of peace in the minds of men.

A new Director General of UNESCO is to be elected in October. The term is four years, but Directors General often serve two terms. Thus the delegates of the member nations will soon select someone to act as a global spokesperson for peace, for education, for science, for culture and the protection of our cultural heritage, and for freedom of expression for most of the coming decade.

Member nations have until the end of May to nominate candidates for the position. The nominations will be considered by the Executive Board consisting of the representatives of 50 nations. The Executive Board's recommendation will be acted upon by the General Conference of all 193 nations in October.

UNESCO has a unique governance structure in that its Constitution calls for member states to create national commissions which provide their educational, scientific and cultural communities with the means to exercise leadership in UNESCO affairs in collaboration with their governments. In no other United Nations organization is there such empowerment of civil society.

Now is the time for the national commissions to search for suitable candidates and to encourage their governments to make suitable nominations. This summer will be the time for the national commissions to consider the nominations, to evaluate the qualifications of the candidates, and to encourage their governments to support the best candidate.

The next Director General should be:

• An articulate and charismatic spokesperson for peace and international understanding;
• Capable of leading an organization with 2,000 staff and a $500 million annual budget which is capable of catalyzing global action;
• A world leader in one of the fields of competence of UNESCO;
  
• A capable diplomat, able to negotiate compromise among the disparate interests of UNESCO's member nations; and of course
  
• A person of sterling personal and professional integrity; as well
  
• As someone who can communicate effectively in the major languages used in UNESCO.
  

UNESCO's first Director General was Julian Huxley, a world class scientist who was one of the leaders in the synthesis of genetics and Darwinian evolution, a former Director of the London Zoological Society, and an effective disseminator of scientific information to the general public. The first Director General from the United States was Luther Evans, who had been the Librarian of Congress (the world's largest library) and who had organized and headed the Historical Records Survey (bringing order to the disparate historical records held in the individual states of the United States for the first time). Both of these men were known worldwide in fields of central importance to UNESCO, and both had demonstrated records in successfully leading major organizations. The next Director General should be add further luster to the tradition that they began.

If the nominations and selection of a new Director General is left to diplomats we can expect a diplomat to be selected. While diplomatic skills are important in the Director General, there are few diplomats who are qualified to lead UNESCO in its global mission. It is time for the educational, scientific and cultural leaders to stand up and be sure that the best representatives of their communities are considered for the post. The national commissions must exercise their authority to assure that a truly outstanding leader will be chosen to lead UNESCO into the new decade.

John Daly
(The opinions expressed are those of the author alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Americans for UNESCO.)

Undertaking a Human Rights Approach to Development

The Bangkok office of UNESCO has recently published three new reports encouraging a human rights approach:

Undertaking a Human Rights-Based Approach: Lessons for Policy, Planning and Programming – Documenting Lessons Learned for the Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming: An Asia-Pacific Perspective – Implications for Policy, Planning and Programming. by Gabrielle Berman
Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2008. 32 pp.


Undertaking a Human Rights-Based Approach: A Guide for Basic Programming – Documenting Lessons Learned for Human Rights-Based Programming: An Asia-Pacific Perspective – Implications for Policy, Planning and Programming. by Gabrielle Berman
Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2008. 40 pp.



The Human Rights-based Approach to Journalism: Training Manual, Viet Nam. Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2008. 41 p.

UNESCO Director-General expressed grave concern over attacks against Gaza UNRWA schools

In a joint statement, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, expressed grave concern over the recent attacks against UNRWA schools and associated facilities. These facilities had been set up by the UN as places of refuge for civilians fleeing the fighting in Gaza.

Read more!

U.S. Participation in the International Conference on Education

U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO Louise V. Oliver led the U.S. delegation to the 48th session of the International Conference on Education, hosted by UNESCO's International Bureau of Education in Geneva, from November 25-28, 2008. The delegation included Tracy Justesen, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Troy Justesen, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, from the U.S. Department of Education, Sally Lovejoy, Education Attaché to the U.S. Mission to UNESCO, Emily Spencer, Education Program Officer, Office of International Organizations/UNESCO, Kenneth Schagrin, Trade Attaché, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and Anna Mansfield, Deputy Legal Advisor, U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

Approximately 153 UNESCO member states, 20 intergovernmental organizations and 25 NGO's, foundations and other institutions of civil society attended the IBE Conference, which is held every four years, bringing together Ministers of Education, representatives from international organizations, and civil society representatives to discuss and exchange ideas related to a specific education-related theme. The theme for this year’s session was "Inclusive Education: The Way of the Future."

Read more about U.S. Participation!

Rea the final document of conclusions and recommendations for Member States and UNESCO.

Related Links:

• 48th session of the International Conference on Education, Geneva, 25-28 November 2008
  Inclusive Education: The Way of the Future



• UNESCO Press Release: Don’t cut education funding, urge ministers attending UNESCO’s
  International Conference on Education



• UNESCO International Bureau of Education

Commissioning of the Institute for African Culture and International Understanding

DG Matsuura meeting with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo
(UNESCO archival photo)

UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura has traveled to Nigeria for the commissioning of the Institute for African Culture and International Understanding (IACIU) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, as well as the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo, Osun State.

The Institute is a "Category II" Center, supported by the Government of Nigeria. According to the UNESCO documentation proposing the approval of the center:

The Institute aims to study, evaluate, inventorize, exhibit and disseminate all relevant material related to Africa's cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible – and its diasporas. In addition, it will encourage academic and scientific research on black culture and its cultural expressions, creating a global network of specialists on this topic with workshops and seminars aimed at raising awareness not only among Nigerian stakeholders but also among national and local decision-makers. The Nigerian Government wishes to link this Institute to other national bodies devoted to the safeguarding of heritage and black culture from Africa and other parts of the world.

The first such body is the Center for Black Culture and International Understanding. That Center is built around a collection of Nigerian materials, largely drawn from the Yoruba culture, donated by Ulli and Georgina Beier.

Read the Guardian article about the DG's visit.

Interview with Ali Moussa Iye

Ali Moussa Iye is the Chief of the Inter-cultural Dialog Section of UNESCO where he coordinates the slave routes projects and UNESCO's History of Africa. He was recently interviewed by McPhilips Nwachukwu for Vanguard Online (Nigeria).

African leaders in the 1960's were concerned that the available historical record of Africa had been written by Europeans and reflected the views of the colonial powers rather than of the Africans themselves. As a result, UNESCO was asked to take on the job or coordinating the production of a major survey of African history written by African historians. Over a period of 25 years that history was published in eight volumes. In his interview Iye states:

Now at UNESCO, we are launching the second phase of the Journal History of Africa. We are launching a project to try to elaborate three contents to be included at the primary and secondary levels for all the African Union member States. So, we are working with African Union.

Iye also discusses UNESCO's Slave Route Project, which was started in 1993. That project initially focused on the Atlantic slave route, but Iye (who is from Djibouti on the Horn of Africa) is seeking to move now to include the trade of slaves from Africa into the Islamic lands.

Read the full interview.

A New Year Brings New Vitality to Push for Education and Training

Those paying even scant attention to the news in the past few months may be a tad pessimistic about the current economic landscape. Yes, the present situation clearly does not warrant much to cheer about as no field is unaffected. Certainly included in this group is education; growth in educational fields has most certainly seemed quite grim as of late.

But wait.

Now may be the time to reintensify efforts for education and training on all levels as UNESCO and Education for All have recently done. This intensification call is supported by research conducted by UNESCO and others under the Education for All movement that has drawn constant links between education and economic development. Because of this and other findings, the High Level Group on EFA has called for national governments to allocate 15 to 20 percent of public expenditure to education. Addressing the shortage of teachers and teacher training are particular areas for investment.

Although these calls to support education are at national and international levels, much can be done locally and individually as well. Now, in the first days and hopes of the new year, is the time to offer simple acts of devotion of time and resources toward enhancing education. These small steps will add up to ensure all generations have the opportunities they deserve.

Do You Want a Job at UNESCO?

UNESCO is Recruiting for the position of a program specialist in education. The person selected will work in the UNESCO mission in Dakar Senegal. Applicants must apply no later than February 2, 2009.

You can find how to apply to this and other positions on this UNESCO website.

I have noticed that postings relating to employment at UNESCO continue to receive many visitors. If you are starting the process of getting such a job yu may find the following interesting:

• "Getting a Job with UNESCO", Americans for UNESCO website
• "Getting a Job with UNESCO", Blog posting
• "Jobs at UNESCO", Blog posting
  
• "Americans Still Underrepresented on UNESCO Staff", Blog posting
• "Editorial: How Young Should a Young Professional Be", Blog posting

The U.S. National Commission for UNESCO provides some information about opportunities at UNESCO on its website.

State Department's U.N. Jobs website

Go to the UNESCO employment website.

Next meeting of the National Commission for UNESCO

On May 19 and May 20, 2008, the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO will hold its Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

Click here to see the tentative agenda!

Agenda for Americans for UNESCO for 2009

The Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO will meet on January 13th to consider the program of activities for 2009 for the organization. Dick Nobbe has provided this list of possible activities to be considered. Your comments are invited:

1. GWU UNESCO Course - Offer for a third time a course on UNESCO for credit at George Washington University (N.B. AU has broken new ground in this area and there appears to be strong administrative and student interest in the topic. And AU has plenty of competence to handle it under the animated leadership of John Daly.).
2. GWU UNESCO Club - Assist further the students at GWU in founding a UNESCO Club. (N.B. As I understand it, this project is still in the developmental stage. We should regard this activity as resource building for American participation in UNESCO's youth programs which have gained in status and now become a permanent feature of UNESCO General Conference sessions .I personally have a valuable collection of books, magazines, reports etc which I would be glad to donate to its library. Perhaps others do too.).
3. U.S. National Commission for UNESCO - (N.B. We need to follow up on our transition paper calling for the restructuring of the US National Commission for UNESCO to its original legislative role of influencing policy direction at State and expanding knowledge about UNESCO's activities to the public.).
4. The Ray Wanner Manuscript- (N.B. Any organization worth its salt must publish something periodically (besides minutes of its meetings) if it is to remain visible and viable.We have in hand a unique , ready-to-go publication which needs to see the light of day. AU should take advantage of GWU's lay-out and composition department while we still have access to their services. Funding may be difficult, but we should calculate the cost, earmark a portion of AU's budget to it, and pass the hat .My experience is that original publications of this kind eventually obtain funding.)
5. UNESCO Reports of Meetings- (N.B. The principal end-product of UNESCO is the reports of its numerous technical meetings at considerable cost,yet they seldom see the light of day. AU should undertake a study of this problem with the view to cataloguing some of the more important ones for internet or website distribution to higher education institutions, NGOs, and other technical bodies in the US.)
6. New US`Ambassador to UNESCO - Arrange a substantive dinner meeting for the new Ambassador early in the game accompanied with selective written materials such as our transition paper, previous brochure, and UNESCO publication on national commissions. (N.B. We did this for the previous US Ambassador and it was a great success by all accounts).
7. Former US`Ambassador - Solicit her interest post haste in becoming an AU Board member in a Vice-President capacity. (N.B.In my opinion, she is very knowledgeable about UNESCO's programs and activities, is an excellent spokesperson and could be a real resource for us. Besides, she has undergone an epiphany, and we need converts and money for our cause. Nothing ventured, nothing gained !)
8. UNESCO ADG Briefings. Arrange for one or two seminars during CY 2009 on a UNESCO sector.(N.B. It will be recalled that AU did this in cooperation with the UN Foundation and the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York in 2008 involving the ADG for Communications, and it was a big success. .I would give priority to the Social Science Sector after the incumbent ADG leaves since knowledge about the entirety of this sector's program is practically non-existent in the US Government and private sector).
9. AU Social Science and Natural Sciences Committees (N.B.) These two committees need to be strengthened. For all practical purposes, they are leaderless or memberless.)
10. US MAB Committee- Play a lead role in assisting the State Department to encourage Congress to provide support for a robust role of the US MAB Committee in UNESCO's program (N.B. I realize this matter is on State's agenda, but AU could help if we brought on Tom Gilbert and Sam McKee as AU Board members since both have formerly and prominently been involved with this program).
11. Sid Passman's UNESCO News Bulletins. Explore with Sid ways of expanding his audience to include not just AU members, but all NatCom members, selective higher education institutions, NGOs (especially religious ones), and philanthropic foundations (N.B. I realize that not everyone is enthralled by what Sid selects but the fact remains Sid is the only source providing us with information about the totality of UNESCO activities., and he devotes considerable time to this effort. Frankly, without. his contributions, most of us would be in the dark about what UNESCO does).
12. Universal Access to Cyberspace - Continue to monitor UNESCO's program activities contributing to the creation of an international strategic partnership to reduce the digital divide and to the development of knowledge societies through the implementation of the WSIS Plan of Action. (N.B. AU should team up with other NGOs to further this goal and participate in important international conferences to keep abreast of developments in this field).

I would add to this list, continued production of this blog and management of the AU website, with the possible recruitment of added volunteers to provide content.

In order to carry out an ambitious agenda, funds will be required. You can donate using the button above, or contracting Americans for UNESCO directly.

Welcome to the International Year of Astronomy

International Astronomical Union

Symposium 260

"The Rôle of Astronomy in Society and Culture"

UNESCO, Paris

19-23 January 2009

This is one of the opening events of of the International Year of Astronomy which is taking place in 2009 under the aegis of the UN, UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Happy New Year!

Massive Young Stars Trigger Stellar Birth

This UNESCO card recognizes that 2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy and UNESCO has been designated its lead agency in the United Nations system.

Safeguarding the Underwater Cultural Heritage

III. century wreck, Italy
© UNESCO/E. Trainito

"Underwater cultural heritage” encompasses all traces of human existence that lie or were lying under water and have a cultural or historical character.

Recognizing the urgent need to preserve and protect such heritage, UNESCO elaborated the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in 2001. The Convention enters into force in January 2009, since 20 states have ratified it. The United States is not among those which have ratified the treaty although Mexico, Cuba and Barbados have all done so.

• Consult the Information Brochure
• Consult the Frequently Asked Questions (in html or pdf)

Electing the Next Director General

The process for the election of the next Director General of UNESCO is spelled out in a recent report by UNESCO's Executive Board.

• Member states are to submit information on their candidates for the post by May 31, 2009.
• The Secretariat will provide a list of candidates (in confidence) to the member states and Executive Board by the first week in June.
• Candidates will then have until August 1st to submit statements of their views about the future of UNESCO.
• At the 182nd session of the Executive Board (7-23 September 2009) the candidates are to be interviewed, and one is to be selected by secret ballot to be recommended to the General Conference (which is expected to meet 6 to 23 October 2009).
• The General Conference is to elect the next Director General, but in the past the General Conference has always ratified the recommendation of its Executive Board.
  

Thus the race is getting hot. In 1999, when the current Director General was elected to his first five year term, there were eleven candidates for the post. Several have already been identified publicly (click on the "governance" tag below to see the list).

Al-Ahram in November had an interview with the Egyptian candidate.

Another Candidate for UNESCO DG

According to Topposts, Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan has been nominated by Oman for the post of Director General of UNESCO. According to Wikipedia:

Ambassador Dr. Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan is a career diplomat and academic. Dr. Hassan is one of the longest serving diplomat to UNESCO as Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Oman from May 1984 to present. He has been decorated with 1 UNESCO Gold Medal, 3 UNESCO Silver Medals as well as the honorary title of "Ambassador for Peace."

He was President of the 33rd session of the General Conference, UNESCO's supreme governing body.

Read the Ambassador Dr. Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan's biography.

Pope Salutes UNESCO International Year of Astronomy

According to the Associated Press, Pope Benedict XVI in marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of a telescope saluted UNESCO's World Year of Astronomy.

The United Nations has proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) and designated UNESCO as its lead agency.

Read more from UNESCO about the International Year of Astronomy.

The UNESCO Thematic Initiative “Astronomy and World Heritage” launched in support of this International Year aims to establish a link between science and culture with a view to highlighting the scientific value of cultural sites connected with astronomy.

The World Heritage Center has appealed to countries to contribute activities promoting the recognition of astronomical knowledge including through the nomination of sites that celebrate achievements in science.

Read more about the International Year of Astronomy!

Egyptian periodical reports a campaign to prevent Farouk Hosni becoming the next UNESCO director-general is taking shape

Source: "Settling scores," Nevine El-Aref, Al Ahram (Cairo), 18-24 December 2008, Issue No. 926.

I quote:

It was not an easy week for Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni and the members of his 2009 UNESCO election campaign committee. Hosni was caught up in yet another drive against his nomination for the post of UNESCO director-general and its impact lingers on.

Earlier this week a rumour began circulating suggesting that Israel had convinced the current US administration to oppose Hosni's nomination. According to leaks the Bush administration has already started a counter campaign and is keen to convince Barack Obama's incoming administration, as well as some European and Latin American countries, to follow its lead.

Read more....

Editor's note: I have no way of checking on this story, but thought it might be of interest to Americans interested in UNESCO. JAD

The Organization of World Heritage Cities

The Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) includes 215 cities in which are located sites included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Of the member cities,

• 7 are located in Africa,
• 38 in Latin America,
• 20 in Asia and the Pacific,
• 125 in Europe and North America and
• 25 in the Arab States.

At the moment there are also 4 Observer-members.

The OWHC organizes symposia and seminars dealing with the challenges to be met in the realm of management and strategies pertaining to the development and preservation of historic sites.

The cities involved have enclaves of historic buildings and sites, but include cities such as Valparaiso (Chile), Mexico City, Moscow and Quebec. There are no cities in the United States included.

Indian market, Santa Fe
photo by Mark Nohl via the New Mexico Tourism Department

Editorial Comment: One wonders whether Boston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Francisco or Santa Fe might qualify for World Heritage status if submitted for consideration. My personal nominations would be New York and Washington. Would the loss to the world were Time Square or the Washington Mall to disappear not be greater than that of some of the sites which are in the OWHC? JAD

The Washington Mall
Source: ABC News

The National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C., was established in 1965. "The Mall is America's front porch -- open, accessible, and free -- a worthy wonder of a democratic society," says Brent D. Glass, director of the National Museum of American History. With 24 million visitors a year, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

Season's Greetings!

Bookmarked References on UNESCO

I have posted links to more than 300 references relating to UNESCO on delicious.com, a social bookmarking cite. You are more than welcome to use the bibliography. The following is a tag cloud from Tag Crowd for the bibliography.

anniversary article assembly aug book bookmarks celebrate culture dec delicious diversity education explore financing general history human institute international learn nations natural network online options page people policy popular program publication published recent report rights save science short sort tags theme unesco unescobibliography united universal used user view website years

created at TagCrowd.com

Ambassador Irina Bokova presents candidature for UNESCO director general in Belgrade

Source: Focus News Agency

Bulgaria’s ambassador to France, Irina Bokova, has presented her candidature for the position of UNESCO director-general according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry press office.

Photo via Radio Bulgaria

Earlier, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov had announced her nomination in the following terms:

I avail myself the opportunity to inform you about the decision of the Bulgarian government to nominate Mrs. Irina Bokova – Bulgarian ambassador in France and Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to UNESCO, for Director General of UNESCO.

As a career diplomat in UN, UNESCO and a number of other international organizations ambassador Bokova has intense experience in the area of multilateral international relations. As Deputy Foreign Minister, as State Secretary and Minister of Foreign Affairs she has a longlasting managerial experience. She is skilled to held a dialogue and to reach a consensus for taking decisions at the highest level. I would like to express our hope that the countries from South Eastern Europe will support the nomination of Mrs. Bokova and I believe that she will contribute creatively for the promotion and strengthening the role of UNESCO in the area of education, science, culture and communication.

Languages matter!

To mark the close of the International Year of Languages, UNESCO and the United Nations Department of Public Information organized a seminar at UN Headquarters in New York 17 and 18 December.

On 16 May 2007, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2008 to be the International Year of Languages. As language issues are central to UNESCO’s mandate in education, science, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information, the Organization has been named the lead agency for this event.

To facilitate partnership and monitoring, a communication tool kit is available, as well as a list of possible fields of action and a list of the projects currently undertaken in the framework of the International Year of Languages.

Global education digest 2008:

comparing education statistics around the world
UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2008
(PDF, 294 pages)

This edition of the Global Education Digest presents a new set of historical time series data, which has never before been published. The data set includes 15 indicators essential to tracking longterm
progress from 1970 to 2006. The Digest has been expanded featuring more indicators and more statistical tables.

Finally, the Digest presents an overview of the inner workings of the UIS with the aim of providing greater transparency on how international education statistics are collected, processed and reported.

Telephone Conference of U.S. National Commission for UNESCO

The United States National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will conduct a meeting by telephone conference on Monday, December 22, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

The open teleconference portion of the meeting will be approximately twenty minutes and will address a variety of issues and projects currently before the Commission. During this session, the Commission will accept brief oral comments or questions from the public or media. The public comment period will be limited to approximately ten minutes in total, with about three minutes allowed per speaker. Like other members of the public, media representatives who wish to present oral comments or listen to the conference call should make arrangements with the Commission by December 18, 2008.

The second portion of the teleconference meeting will be closed to the media and public to allow the Commission to discuss applications for the UNESCO Young Professionals Program. This portion is closed pursuant to Section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and 5 U.S.C. § 552b(c)(6)because of the likely discussion of information of a personal nature regarding the relative merits of individual applicants where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

For more information or to arrange participation in the open portion of the teleconference meeting, contact Andrew Doran, Deputy Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, Washington, D.C. 20037. Telephone: (202) 663-0028; Fax: (202) 663-0035; E-mail: DCUNESCO@state.gov.

The New Issue of the UNESCO Courier

Sixty years of views on the world

The UNESCO Courier is celebrating its 60th anniversary. An opportunity to explore the present while looking back at the past. A way, also, to highlight some developments in how we view and think about the world - each paper refers to an article from a back issue of the magazine.

You can read interviews with Wangari Maathai (Kenya), Martti Ahtisaari (Finland), Luc Montagnier (France), just to mention the three Nobel laureates who have contributed to this special issue, alongside other distinguished personalities.

Imams and rabbis working to build peace at UNESCO

Imams and rabbis from Israel and the Palestinian Territories as well as many other countries are meeting at UNESCO (15 to 17 December) to launch new initiatives to help build peace in the Middle East.

The meeting, the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace, is organized by the Swiss Foundation Hommes de Parole and placed under the patronage of UNESCO.

Go to the website for the Congress of Imams and Rabbis.

Go to the UNESCO announcement of the meeting.

Lauren Child: UNESCO Artist for Peace

British author and illustrator Lauren Child is UNESCO's latest Artist for Peace and will be formally inducted in a ceremony at headquarters on December 12. She has won numerous awards for her best-selling children's books featuring now well-known characters such as Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean, and That Pesky Rat.

This award is a recognition of Child's work with UNESCO's Programme for the Education of Children in Need, which is a program that works to provide education to vulnerable children. This program, created in 1992, has raised over $33 million that has been fully given to over 332 projects in 92 countries.

Child has also shown her dedication to helping deprived in disadvantaged children in numerous ways. One way has been through a three-year agreement between Child and UNESCO signed in June of this year, all royalties and publisher profits of Child's book That Pesky Rat will be donated to UNESCO and will finance various projects for children in need.

Another result of Child and UNESCo's partnership is a project called "My Life as a Story." In this campaign, Child seeks to document stories from children around the world. This project was motivated in part by Child's 2007 trip to Fondation Renacimiento, which is a center for street children in Mexico City. She found, "One of the things [the children] said to me there was that they would really like to be connected to children in other places." Child hopes children would eventually put their stories on the Internet for others. "It is about linking children together, from across the world, through their stories."

For more information, visit My Life as a Story or the Programme for the Education of Children in Need.

Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.

In 2008, AIDS persists as a global health crisis. And, though we don’t read too much about it in the U.S. press, it is a critically persistent problem in the U.S not to mention the world. Americans for UNESCO strongly supports UNESCO’s efforts in the fight against AIDS. Held annually on the first of December, the slogan for this year’s World AIDS Day was, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise”, and it was unified by the theme of leadership. The 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day was celebrated this year and the world united to commemorate those who have died and to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic and the need of continued action and leadership.

Events will took place around the world to highlight existing programmes, launch new initiative, and raise awareness of key HIV and AIDS-related issues. From Azerbaijan to Zambia, from Bangladesh, to Kosovo, Malawi, Mongolia, and Vietnam, some 60 countries organized lessons on AIDS for over 10 million 13 to 18 year olds that were held simultaneously on December 1, 2008. In Paris, 1,000 children had their lesson at UNESCO Headquarters from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. in Room I. The emphasis on World AIDS Day 2008 was placed on the shortfall between commitments made to halt the spread of HIV and AIDS and actions taken to follow through on them. And activities occurred around the globe in honor and awareness of World AIDS Day.

UNESCO’s HIV and AIDS Education Clearinghouse is an online library and knowledge-sharing initiative, providing a language interface for technical resources on Education and HIV & AIDS. With over 4,000 references, it targets education professionals, ministries of education, development agencies, civil society, and researchers in providing a knowledge base and information exchange service around HIV and AIDS policies, programmes and advocacy. EDUCAIDS, the Global Initiative on Education and HIV & AIDS, is a UNAIDS initiative led by UNESCO. EDUCAIDS seeks to encourage and support countries to mobilize the education sector to design and implement effective responses to HIV and AIDS. EDUCAIDS has two main goals: to prevent the spread of HIV through education, and to protect the core functions of education systems from the worst effects of the epidemic.

In addition, the 15th Annual International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) took place from December 8 – 11, 2008 in Dakaar. It was defined by the principles of transparency, integrity, metamorphosis, and excellence. The main theme of the conference was, “Africa’s Response: Face the facts”, asking that people accept the epidemic and continue to acknowledge that more needs to be done. For more than two decades, the African continent has participated in the fight against AIDS and provided potential solutions to the numerous challenges posed by this epidemic. However, even as the fight continues, it is important to stop and evaluate these many initiatives, their efforts, effectiveness, and successes. The conference also stresses that is it also time to take stock of political commitments, unfulfilled promises and actions and practices employed in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The conference ended with a strong message: youth are essential in the response to AIDS. The closing ceremony began with a statement delivered by Ms. Souadou N'Doye, a young Senegalese woman. She spoke on behalf of all young Africans and urged those in attendance to ensure that young people are involved in the design of HIV programmes. She asked governments and partners to utilize the talents of young people from each country. Without young people, she stressed, the AIDS response is incomplete and ineffective. Ms. N’Doye brought to light the overarching theme of the conference and when she stated, "All that is done for us, but without us, is against us." Humankind needs leadership, unity, education, and resources to end this epidemic and World AIDS Day 2008 helped bring those needs and efforts to light.

"Unfinished Business: A Comparative Survey of Historical and Contemporary Slavery"

Unfinished Business was commissioned by UNESCO’s Slave Route project and prepared by Joel Quirk of the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE, U.K).

The publication is divided into five chapters:

• defining slavery in all its forms;
  
• presenting data on the scale of slavery, slave trading and other forms of human bondage;
  
• examining differences and similarities between historical and contemporary practices;
  
• identifying, via case studies in the United States, Saint Domingue/Haiti, Great Britain and Portugal, the main paths through which abolition of slavery has historically occurred; and,
  
• through a further series of case studies, exploring the key limitations of the legal abolition of slavery.

This book provides a history that is important for the understanding of our American culture. I would be a useful text for a unit on slavery.

Slavery may have been legally abolished around the world, but it remains “a widespread and deeply rooted component on contemporary life” concludes the first-ever comparative analysis of historical slave systems and modern forms of human bondage, published online today by UNESCO.

Click here to download the 141 page report.

IEC Ministers: Don’t cut education funding

The global financial crisis should not serve as a justification for cuts in education funding, concluded ministers and representatives from 153 countries attending the 48th session of UNESCO’s International Conference on Education which closed on 28 November.

Related links

• 48th ICE Conclusions and Recommendations
• Press release

Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UNESCO is celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Originally created by the UN in 1948, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created as the first universal declaration of inalienable human rights, a common standard to which all nations would be held accountable. Even on it's 60th birthday, the UDHR is more relevant than ever. It still stands as a banner proclaiming the innate rights of every human being. It is a battle cry to those who would strip even the most basic rights from their fellow man. And point at which the world may rally in defense of the defenseless. 

To learn more about what UNESCO is doing to commemorate this grand event, please click here. 

Spread the word. 

UNESCO designates Iowa City as the world's third City of Literature

UNESCO has designated Iowa City, Iowa, a City of Literature, making the community part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. It is the third city to receive the honor.

"This is at once a celebration of the literary riches and resources of Iowa City and a spur to action," said University of Iowa International Writing Program Director Christopher Merrill, who led the UI Writing University committee that submitted the city's proposal. "We look forward to working with our new partners in the Creative Cities network -- to forging dynamic relationships with writers, artists and others committed to the life of discovery. This is a great day for Iowa City."

Iowa City joins Edinburgh, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia, as UNESCO Cities of Literature. Other cities in the Creative Cities Network -- honoring and connecting cultural centers for cinema, music, crafts and folk arts, design, media arts and gastronomy, as well as literature -- include Aswan, Egypt; Santa Fe, N.M.; Berlin, Germany; Montreal, Canada; Popayan, Colombia; Bologna, Italy; Shenzhen, China; and Seville, Spain.

Read more!

"Shift on U.N. Seen in Rice Nomination"

Susan Rice
Paul J. Richards
Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Washington Post today analyzes the implication of the appointment of Susan E. Rice to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Dr. Rice was a senior foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama during two years of his campaign, and was expected by many to be appointed to a position in the White House.

But Obama decided instead to put her in New York, in a more visible role -- ambassador to the United Nations -- and thereby send a message to the world's diplomats: The United States will look more kindly, come Jan. 20, on multilateralism and U.N. peacekeeping missions.

Obama said yesterday that he is restoring Rice's position to a Cabinet-level rank, an indication that he views the job as central to his goal of fostering more international cooperation.......

U.N. officials welcomed the selection of Rice, an unapologetic proponent of multilateralism, and said the decision to upgrade the post to Cabinet rank showed the Obama administration meant to pay greater attention to the world body.

"She's a woman of intellect, a woman of passion and somebody who would like to get things done," said Ibrahim Gambari, a senior U.N. troubleshooter who first met Rice when he was Nigeria's U.N. ambassador during the military rule of Sani Abacha.

Read Dr. Rice's biographical sketch in the New York Times.

Comment: Dr. Rice is obviously brilliant, with experience in the White House and State Department, and an apparently close relationship with the president elect. All to the good. Best of all, her appointment and inclusion in the Cabinet apparently signals an intention of the new administration to return to multilateralism, including strong involvement with the United Nations family of organizations. JAD

UNESCO: HIV and AIDS

UNESCO HIV/AIDS Prevention Program for street children
© UNESCO/Michel Ravassard

UNESCO supports comprehensive education sector responses to HIV and AIDS in five essential areas:

• quality education;
  
• content, curriculum and learning materials;
  
• educator training and support;
  
• policy, management and systems and
  
• the use of multiple approaches and entry points.

Related links

UNESCO’s response to HIV and AIDS

EDUCAIDS, the UNAIDS Global Initiative on Education and HIV & AIDS
UNESCO is the lead agency for EDUCAIDS

UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education

"Putting culture first: commonwealth perspectives on culture and development"

This report discusses, among other things, the role of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression "in providing a framework for countries, particularly those with limited government capacity, to implement successful cultural policy designed to support creative production and enhance cultural diversity."

Putting Culture First is the product of extensive consultation with representatives from government, civil society, and the culture and development sectors across the Commonwealth, carried out between February and October 2008.

UNESCO's 48th International Conference on Education

While Americans have been eating turkey and celebrating gratitude, over 100 Education ministers and other stakeholders from all over the world have been meeting in Geneva, Switzerland at the 48th session of the International Conference on Education (ICE). The session began November 25 and ended yesterday, the 28th. The conference is sponsored by UNESCO's International Bureau of Education (IBE). The purpose of the IBE is to assist Member States in achieving quality Education for All through innovative curriculum development and implementation. 

This year's theme is inclusive education, reaching out to marginalized groups such as: HIV/AIDS orphans, those with disabilities, migrants, street children, etc. As these groups are generally excluded from the mainstream school system "Inclusive Education: the Way of the Future" looks to inform the global community on ways to become more open to diversity and effectively reduce drop-out rates.  

The conference 

will include a discussion of more than 70 National Reports on the education systems of different countries as well as comments on inclusion from 143 Ministers. It will also include a screening of the film "The Class" (Entre Les Murs) which documents the difficulties of a Paris teacher in instructing a cross-cultural group of teenage students in order to raise awareness.  

The Keynote was given by Navanethem Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights detailing his history in working with inclusion as well as affirming that "education is both a human right in itself, as well as an indispensable instrument for achieving many other rights, whether civil, cultural, economic, political, or social."

Education for All includes even those that are hard to reach, out of the main stream, and often forgotten. Education for All means education for all. Thank you UNESCO!

2009 Education for All Monitoring Report

If current conditions do not change, things look bleak for achieving Education for All by 2015 per a report issued by UNESCO yesterday.

Governments' failures to address rampant inequalities is cited as the main culprit. These inequalities stem from many sources such as weak domestic policies, the stagnation of financial assistance from donors, and a culture of political indifference. Continuing to neglect these culprits will undoubtedly lead to missing UNESCO's goals for 2015 that were set in Darfur in 2000. Yet much more critically, these inequalities will continue to perpetuate what UNESCO reports as a "vast gulf" between rich and poor and will sorely misserve much of the world's population. Avoiding these issues will certainly have lasting global consequences.

The report is quick to note, however, the substantial progress that has been made in implementing practical policies especially in early childhood development and in implementing good quality education in some of the poorest countries. Parts of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as South and West Asia were particularly cited as having made great gains in increasing net enrollment rates and in implementing programs to promote educational equality. Yet more governmental attention needs to be directed toward educational initiatives to enact consistent, effective change.

This attention, though, could be difficult to attract given the current financial situation. Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura noted this in indicating that failure of educational initiatives often receive much less attention in comparison to other crises. “When financial systems fail, the consequences are highly visible and governments act,” he stated. “When education systems fail the consequences are less visible, but no less real... That is why governments must act with a greater sense of urgency.” Voicing concerns to all levels of government over promoting quality education for all, then, must certainly be a growing priority.