Two New U.S. UNESCO Clubs

Two new clubs have been added to the roster of UNESCO Clubs in the USA.

The first is the Inter-America's UNESCO Club of Houston in Houston, TX. The second is the Racines Heritage Foundation in Kensington, MD. This brings the number of clubs in the USA to seven.

Welcome to the clubs!

The U.S. National Commission for UNESCO welcomes information about clubs, associations, and centers operating in the USA that have an interest in U.S. activities as a Member State of UNESCO or align themselves with UNESCO’s goals.

No, not this kind of club!

UNESCO's 189th Executive Board Adjourns

UNESCO's 189th Executive Board adjourned last week. During the course of the meeting the U.S. spoke out about several issues the we view as serious challenges for the agency.

During the meeting members of the Executive Board considered several resolutions that affirmed Palestinian membership in UNESCO as a state. The U.S. voted against these; you can see our Ambassador's statement about these votes here.

The Executive Board also considered the legitimacy of Syria's position as a seatholder on the UNESCO Committee that deals with human rights. We supported the removal of Syria from this committee, you can our Ambassador's statement about that vote here.

Lastly, the Executive Board attempted to resolve a long-standing impasse relating to the funding of a proposed prize for research in the life sciences, named after Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who leads Equatorial Guinea. You can see our Ambassador's statement regarding that vote  here.

Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature could lose international partnerships

The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature runs the risk of weakening connections with its international partners if the United States does not pay its membership fees to the greater organization by 2013, officials say.

The U.S. Commission on UNESCO suspended its funding to the agency by law last October, when membership countries voted to admit Palestine into the international organization. The suspension comes at a time when peace efforts between Israel, a member of UNESCO, and Palestine remain unresolved.

Without the U.S.’s $60 million in contributions for the year, UNESCO loses one-fifth of its annual budget, which in turn could cause UNESCO-funded programs in the U.S. — like its World Heritage Sites and educational programs —to suffer, and for non-funded designations like the City of Literature to see strained international partnerships.


Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature executive director Jeanette Pilak said this is not the first time the U.S. has refused to pay its membership to UNESCO — the U.S. pulled out of UNESCO in 1984 and rejoined in 2002 — but with Iowa City being brought into the Creative Cities Network in 2008, this is the first time it could have a direct effect locally.

“We are working with all of our Creative Cities Network colleagues to understand what the issues are and to look at what the long-term effect is to the (network) should the U.S. not continue to pay to be a member,” she said. “But that’s a long-term plan.”

Read more!

The UNESCO Director-General makes the case for UNESCO in the USA

On a visit to the United States, from 13 to 25 March, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will travel to Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles where she will participate in events highlighting UNESCO’s role in promoting lasting peace and more inclusive and sustainable development. She will bring a sharp message focusing on women’s and girls’ education and literacy, on UNESCO’s action for freedom of expression across the world, and on the importance of protecting world cultural and natural heritage, especially in this year commemorating the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention.

The Director-General will inaugurate a new UNESCO Chair in Literacy and Learning at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will also sign an internship programme agreement with the University that will enable graduate students to gain experience in UNESCO’s field offices across the world as well as at Headquarters.

During this visit, Irina Bokova will meet Government officials, representatives of US foundations as well as the private sector, along with multiple media outlets.

The IIEP was founded as a result of a USA initiative and now suffers as the USA withholds funding from UNESCO

The Website of the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) makes a number of publications available worldwide via its website.

The IIEP is a UNESCO Category I Center,  established in 1963 in Paris, France. It is supported by grants from UNESCO and by voluntary contributions from Member States and others. IIEP is an integral part of UNESCO, yet it enjoys a large amount of autonomy.

Rene Maheu, then UNESCO Director General, and the UNESCO general Conference established the IIEP at the initiative of the U.S. government and in particular of John F. Kennedy's  Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture, Philip Coonbs. The initiative was advanced following a White House conference convened to assess the effects of decolonization.  Within a decade, U.S. leadership and its commitment to the global good led to the creation not only of IIEP but of two other enduring UNESCO centers of excellence: the World Heritage Convention and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

It is ironic that  UNESCO currently had budgeted to provide only 14% of IIEP's budget with the remaining 86% contributed by new champions of the global good: Norway, Sweden Switzerland and the Netherlands.(Ireland and Spain, despite their desperate financial status also contribute!)  Moreover, UNESCO's 14% has been reduced by nearly $900,000 because of the U.S. freeze on contributions to UNESCO.  (The world Heritage Center will lose more than $1,1,400.00 because of US action.  IOC has also taken a devastating hit.)

As this is written, IIEP's director is leading a UNESCO team to Libya, at the Libyan authorities request, to see how UNESCO might be helpful in rebuilding  the country's' intellectual infrastructures.  IIEP is on the ground also in South Sudan, Afghanistan and other countries such as Chad and Burkina Faso, that are in desperate need.  Let us hope that the United States,that played so Central and positive a role in  creating the post world War II international order, of which UNESCO is a central part,  will soon emerge from its current slumber and demonstrate to the world the better face  of its nature.

Opening of the UNESCO Executive Board

International Women's Day Celebrations

Every year on 8 March, UNESCO celebrates International Women's Day by hosting a flagship programme consisting of round-tables, conferences, exhibitions and cultural events that highlight issues relating to the empowerment of women and the promotion of gender equality.

Decision time at UNESCO

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, presented a roadmap to respond to current financial difficulties to the 189th session of Executive Board, meeting in Paris from 27 February to 10 March.

“The international community faces strategic cross-roads that require UNESCO’s full contribution,” said the Director-General referring to the 40^thanniversary of the World Heritage Convention, the 6^th World Water Forum, the 3^rd International Congress on Technical and Vocational Training, Rio +20, the Expo 2012 on “The Living Ocean and Coast”, the 20^th anniversary of the Memory of the World, our work on youth, including in Africa, and much more.

“All of this demands a stronger UNESCO,” declared the Director-General. “The difficulties we face call for action immediately and over the long term (…) I am pleased to have this opportunity now to report formally on my assessment of the situation, on the actions I have taken and on the steps I propose to move forward,” she continued, explaining actions that were taken to close year 2011 on balanced terms and measures put in place to help bridge the funding gap.

The Director-General highlighted the three major principles on which the roadmap is based. “First, an initial refocusing of the programmes; then, mobilizing additional resources; and last, the reduction of administrative expenses,” said Irina Bokova.

“It is vital that UNESCO manages its current difficulties while remaining focused on its objectives, its ability to maintain its status and to guide the world debate,” said the Director-General. “I think it is important to start thinking of the UNESCO that we want. There is no time to waste”.

Obama Administration Seeks UNESCO Waiver Legislation

In the UNESCO General Conference last year, Palestine was elected as a member state over the opposition of the United States. According to a provision of law a couple of decades old, the United States was then required to withhold its contributions to the Organization. Doing so has created a major problem for UNESCO in that the United States pays a portion of the UNESCO regular budget roughly proportional to the U.S. portion of the global GDP, in this case 22 percent. Funds began to be withheld with the final payment of dues for 2011, and are being withheld now.

The Obama administration plans to seek legislation to permit the President to waive the provision requiring withholding of those contributions. It is normal to allow the President to waive such provisions when it is appropriate to the foreign policy of the United States to do so. This is in keeping with the foreign policy responsibilities assigned to the president in the Constitution, and allows for more timely changes than would be possible through the Congressional process of revision of the legislation.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), the senior Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia., have announced that they will oppose that legislation. Both apparently feel that it is more important to show support for Israel in its negotiations with the Palestinians than to support the educational, scientific and cultural activities of UNESCO.

Secretary of State Clinton meeting with
UNESCO Director General Bokova

UNESCO not only implements a broad program promoting international cooperation in these fields, but it also is carrying out a number of U.S. funded projects, many of which are important to U.S. security interests and all of which have been undertaken at the initiative of the United States government. (See About the U.S. and UNESCO and U.S. Contributions to UNESCO.)

Interestingly, both Rep. Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Ackerman face redistricting, threatening their previously secure seats in the House of Representatives. The legislatures in each state will be revising Congressional districts in keeping with the changes in population revealed in the 2010 census.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Miami), will be based in a new District 27, centered around her Miami hometown and no longer including the Keys which were the core of the district which she represents currently. In Florida a Representative need not live in the district which he/she represents, but most do.

Representative Ackerman too is facing shifts in the borders of the district that he represents. It is reported that it's possibile that Ackerman will see his district extend into a district now represented by his congressional neighbor and fellow Democrat Carolyn McCarthy of Long Island.

Safeguarding the Sites: The Implication for All of Us

The World Heritage Convention in Action: Challenges and Successes

International Institute for Peace joins forces with UNESCO

The International Institute for Peace (IIP), co-founded by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker, will formally join forces with the Organization on 7 February with the signing of an agreement between UNESCO, the Institute, the Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, and the US government, the UN agency said in press statement here Friday.

It said that the agreement will place the IPP under the auspices of UNESCO.

The agreement to this effect will be signed at UNESCO Headquarters after a press conference with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Forest Whitaker, Rutgers University Chancellor Philip Yeagle, and the US Ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion.

At the ceremony, video messages of support from Esther Brimmer, the US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, and Okello Sam, the founder of Hope North, a centre for refugees, orphans and former child soldiers in northern Uganda, will also be shown.

Read more from Afrique en Ligne

UN Alliance of Civilizations Fellowships Available

The objective of the Fellowship programme is to contribute to enhance knowledge and understanding between peoples and societies from Muslim-majority countries, mainly from the Arab World, and from Europe and North America. The programme creates an opportunity for emerging leaders from these societies to get acquainted with the diverse realities and cultural, political and religious environments of the others.

A group of 12 young leaders from the Middle East and North Africa visit 3-6 countries in Europe and the States in the U.S and a group of 12 young leaders from Europe and North America visit 3-6 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The duration of each trip is around 18 days. During their trips, fellows are given the opportunity to meet their counterparts in other regions, and to visit governmental, media, educational, civil society and business institutions.

Applications must be submitted no later than than 12 February 2012.

Click here for more information!

Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2012: Monday, February 6, 2012

• Fall 2012: Monday, September 24, 2012

• Spring 2013: Monday, February 25, 2013

The fellowship will help fund a proposal designed by the applicant to conduct brief work in a foreign country related to the mandate of UNESCO – using education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and/or communication and information to build strong ties among nations.

The fellowship is intended for American college/university students who express an interest in international collaboration but as of yet had not been afforded many opportunities to travel abroad.

The length of time for the travel is expected to be between 4 and 6 weeks and should include interaction with individuals from other nations. During his/her travel, the recipient should be willing to participate in public diplomacy events arranged with the pertinent U.S. State Department Consulate, Mission, and/or Embassy.

Click here for more information!

IEEE and UNESCO sign partnership to promote engineering education in Africa

UNESCO and the world’s largest technical professional association, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), today signed an agreement to implement projects to support the engineering community in Africa.

The agreement, signed at UNESCO’s Headquarters, outlines initiatives that support the common goal of mobilizing engineering education outreach for both students and educators in Africa, a region both organizations regard as a priority.  The combination of IEEE’s core strengths as a professional association (with the technical expertise of its global membership); paired with UNESCO’s overall objective to mobilize science knowledge and policy for sustainable development, should contribute to the partnership’s effectiveness.

IEEE President and CEO Gordon Day, who signed the agreement for IEEE said, “Everywhere in the world, quality of life and prosperity depend on the application of technology. “That means that every country needs to have and sustain a strong high-tech workforce. Through this partnership, IEEE and UNESCO will be better able to help countries in Africa and elsewhere do just that.”

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, added. “If engineering’s role is more visible and better understood, more people would be attracted to it as a career. Now and in the years to come, we need to ensure that motivated young women and men concerned about problems in the developing world continue to enter the field in sufficient numbers. It is estimated that some 2.5 million new engineers and technicians will be needed in sub-Saharan Africa alone.”

The United States’ and United Kingdom’s Ambassadors and Permanent Delegates to UNESCO, David Killian and Matthew Sudders, attended the signing.

 UNESCO and IEEE agreed to collaborate on several projects and initiatives including accreditation programmes, faculty training and initiatives encouraging the participation of women in engineering.

The World Heritage Convention at Work: Successes and Failures

UNESCO Director General Bokova's Statement on US funding cut

Statement by the Director-General of UNESCO on Withholding of Funds by the United States. Text available here: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/director-general/news-single-view/news/statement_by_the_director_general_of_unesco_on_withholding_of_funds_by_the_united_states/

Launch of a UNESCO-United States-Brazil project for teaching respect in schools

The “Teaching Respect for All,” project born of cooperation between UNESCO, the United States and Brazil, was launched on 18 January at UNESCO Headquarters. This launch is the first step in a process expected to last close to three years with the aim of developing curricula that promote learning to live together in school.

Coordinated by UNESCO, funded from U.S. State Department extra budgetary contributions, the “Teaching Respect for All” project recognizes the key role of schools in combatting racial and ethnic discrimination.

Launched in the presence of the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Department of State, Esther Brimmer, and Executive Secretary of the Secretariat on Policies of Promotion of Racial Equality in Brazil, Mário Theodoro Lisbôa, this event brought together government representatives, experts and practitioners from different parts of the world. Students at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach (USA) and Bagunçaço, an educational centre for young people in Salvador de Bahia (Brazil), were to take part in this session via videoconference, which will allow them to interact with the other participants.

Read more!

Cahokia: The good news and the bad

Cahokia's Monks Mound lay at the heart of the sprawling ancient city.

Cahokia as it was at its appogee

The December 23, 2011 issue of Science magazine has three news articles by Andres Lawler dealing with Cahokia, a World Heritage site located in the United States.

• "America's Lost City" 
• "Does North America Hold the Roots of Mesoamerican Civilization?"
• "Preserving History, One Hill at a Time"

I have found that very few of my graduate students even know of Cahokia and its mounds which form one of the most important pre-Columbian sites in the western hemisphere. Located near St. Louis, the site is now being further studied and was even more important than was realized when it was first accepted as a world heritage site.:

The excavations to date suggest that Cahokia was part of a large urban complex, one organized differently from other cities. “This was a metropolitan area,” perhaps home to as many as 50,000 people, “and you were a day's walk or canoe ride from one end to the other,” says Thomas Emerson of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who directs the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS). The reach of this metropolis extended for hundreds of kilometers: Other researchers are finding settlements as far north as Wisconsin, apparently established by Cahokians. 

The nature of this society's organization and beliefs, as well as the reasons for its abrupt demise around 1300 C.E., remain hotly debated.

Indeed it has been suggested that "(a)ncient settlements in what is now Louisiana may have laid the foundation not only for the great city of Cahokia but perhaps also for Mesoamerican civilization."

Archaeologists are now racing to study the sites related to the Cahokia culture and hoping to preserve them in the face of increasing urban development:

Nearby, in the most densely settled area of ancient East St. Louis, a highway and bridge project provides funding—$2.5 million in 2011—for digs but little time for publication. In nearby Wood River, thousands of samples and artifacts that will require years of analysis are piling up in a lab in a downtown basement. “We don't have time to do more than gather,” says Thomas Emerson, who directs the Illinois transportation archaeological program. “We need people to dig.” 

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, where North America's most ancient mounds date back to the Middle Archaic period around 3500 B.C.E., there is little funding for digs, and most mounds, such as at Frenchman's Bend near Monroe, are on private property. (Recently retired, former state archaeologist Joseph) Saunders has spent the past 2 decades chatting up owners, encouraging them to feel a sense of pride that would prevent wanton—but legal—destruction of the sites. His strategy has paid off, for example at a Middle Archaic site called Hedgepeth, where a landowning family donated 4 hectares to the Archaeological Conservancy. But an unknown number of other mounds have been bulldozed. Saunders's “retirement is a huge blow,” says Washington University in St. Louis archaeologist Tristram R. Kidder.

The Great African Animal Migration in Danger

The television program 60 minutes broadcast a section on the great migration which makes the round trip between the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, a World Heritage Site, and the Maasai Maru National Park in Kenya, a tentatively listed candidate for a World Heritage Site. Millions of animals make the migration each year, the last large scale migration of large animals in the world.

The main artery of the region across which the migration takes place is the Mara River. The program describes the threat that this river will begin to dry up for a part of each year due to the changes in land use in its catchment area. If it were to do so, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of animals involved in the migration would die and the migration would no longer be possible.

Were the animal populations to plummet, the entire ecology of these two national parks would be irrevocably harmed.

The program also describes the difficult lives of native peoples in the region who are unwilling to give up their hopes for better lives to save national parks that they have never seen. They are intransigent before the efforts to keep them from clearing and farming wild areas.

It also shows a successful effort by an non-profit organization to encourage Maasai people in a region of some 400 square miles to sustainably manage their livestock and grazing areas.

One wonders whether the world heritage represented by these parks can be saved for much longer, and whether there is anything that UNESCO and the community supporting UNESCO's World Heritage Convention can to to help.