Crooks Use UNESCO in Scam in the United States

Approaches were made to the Oglala Sioux, the Colusa and perhaps other tribes by a person purporting to represent an organization affiliated with UNESCO. Tribal councils were apparently offered large sums of money to support tribal development. UNESCO's total budget is much less than the amount that was mentioned to the Oglala Sioux. While UNESCO does support native populations in areas such as preservation of endangered languages, it would not make large grants for general development.

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Brian O’Dwyer appointed to UNESCO commission

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has appointed New York Irish-American attorney Brian O’Dwyer as Commissioner of the United States National Commission for UNESCO. The panel works with the State Department to further American participation in the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization.

O’Dwyer, managing partner of the renowned Manhattan-based law firm of O’Dwyer and Bernstien, regularly commentates on legal issues for Fox TV, Court TV, CNBC, New York 1 and CNN en Español.

Widely known for his advocacy in support of the rights of labor unions and immigrants, he presently serves as chairman of New York’s Emerald Isle Immigration Center and Asociacion Tepeyac, which serves the city’s Mexican immigrant community.

Read more from the Irish Emigrant Online!

American film star Forest Whitaker's new role: UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

Forest Whitaker with
UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova will designate American actor, director and producer Forest Whitaker as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation. The nomination ceremony will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 21 June, at 6 p.m.

The designation comes in recognition of Mr Whitaker’s humanitarian and artistic commitment. This is most visible in his projects, such as “Better Angels”, a film about Ugandan child soldiers or “Common Destiny”, a documentary about the common goals of achieving peace and mutual understanding, and the power of education in promoting peace and reconciliation between and within communities.

Forest Whitaker was born in 1961 in Texas, USA. He studied opera in California to become a tenor singer but decided to focus on film acting eventually and moved to study in London. Since his film debut in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” in 1982, he has been one of Hollywood’s most accomplished figures. His best known performances include his roles as jazzman Charlie Parker in “Bird”, for which he was awarded the Palme d’Or in Cannes for best actor in 1989, and as Ugandan leader Idi Amin in “Last King of Scotland”, for which he received an Academy Award in 2006.

China Moses for US UNESCO

American jazz singer, China Moses, performs with pianist, Alain Jean-Marie, at a U.S. Mission to UNESCO dinner. The dinner was held in honor of the High-Level Panel on Girls Education, created as part of the Global Partnership for Girls' and Women's Education.

Interview with George Papagiannis

The U.S. Mission to UNESCO sat down with George Papagiannis, the Officer in charge of the UNESCO Office in Baghdad, to find out how he ended up in Iraq, what work he is doing there with UNESCO, and why UNESCO matters. This is one of a series of interviews with Americans working in UNESCO.

Israel, UNESCO to Promote Holocaust Education

According to the Embassy of Israel in Washington:

An agreement was signed today (March 7) in Paris between the State of Israel and UNESCO on the establishment of a center within the organization devoted entirely to developing and promoting Holocaust education and combating its denial worldwide. The new center will function in accordance with the resolutions adopted at the UN General Assembly in New York and UNESCO.

The agreement is the outcome of an Israel Foreign Ministry initiative, according to which Israel will fund part of the project, after reaching understandings with UNESCO regarding its treatment of political issues on the agenda. The agreement was signed by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Ambassador Nimrod Barkan, Permanent Delegate of Israel to UNESCO.

The Economist magazine interviews UNESCO Chief Irina Bokova

The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education

Click here to go to the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011 website!

UNESCO suspends cooperation with Libya

Source: The Associated Press via the Washington Post.

UNESCO's chief says the organization is stopping all cooperation with Libya's government and suspending a partnership with a charity group headed by Moammar Gadhafi's son.

The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says director-general Irina Bokova took the measures after recent U.N. actions critical of Libya's human rights record.

Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011

The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education

The report cautions that the world is not on track to achieve by 2015 the six Education for All goals that over 160 countries signed up to in 2000. Although there has been progress in many areas, most of the goals will be missed by a wide margin – especially in regions riven by conflict.

“Armed conflict remains a major roadblock to human development in many parts of the world, yet its impact on education is widely neglected,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. “This groundbreaking report documents the scale of this hidden crisis, identifies its root causes and offers solid proposals for change.”

UNESCO does not fare well in UK review

The Department for International Development of the United Kingdom has just completed a review of the multilateral agencies it has been funding. Here is the summary table:

DfID also provided a comparison chart among the multilateral agencies that were evaluated:

The development objectives of the United Kingdom are very similar to those of the United States. The top graph indicates that. in the opinion of the evaluators, the organization has considerable room for improvement, The lower graph indicates that UNESCO was judged almost uniquely weak among a wide variety of development agencies.

The Government of the United Kingdom decided on the basis of this information to continue funding UNESCO, but to impose "special measures". Here is the statement it provided in its document "Taking Forward the Findings of the UK Multilateral Aid Review":

UNESCO contributes to a range of UK government objectives, including monitoring progress on Education for All. The UK’s membership of UNESCO also brings broader benefits to the UK, in Culture, Heritage, Education and Science. UNESCO’s new leadership team is committed to reform. DFID will continue to support UNESCO, including by funding the core assessed contribution, which will be about £16m in each of the next two years. DFID will reassess progress towards improved effectiveness, with other government departments, in autumn 2012. DFID is discussing with UNESCO, and its member states, what measures need to be taken to urgently improve its performance.

Priorities include:-

• Greater transparency
• A more focused, evidence based programme
• A focus on controlling transaction, administration and other costs
• A major improvement in results based management.

If these measures are not implemented satisfactorily and performance does not improve, then the UK will consider whether it should continue to be a member of UNESCO, or whether there are more effective ways of supporting our objectives on education, culture and heritage.

Click here to see the evaluation and the reply from UNESCO.

Languages Matter!

The Official International Launch Ceremony for IYC 2011 will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 27-28 January 2011. The agenda includes an international seminar, an exhibition, and other related social and cultural events.

• Full story
• Official launch ceremony
• You can participate, too: see how
• Where would we be without chemistry?
• Art and Science of Chemistry: exhibition, film, concert

2011 is the International Year of Forests

The World Heritage Center welcomes the International Year of Forests. With 100 WH sites recognized wholly, or in part, for their rich forest biodiversity, the WH Convention is the most effective intergovernmental convention for the in-situ conservation of forest biodiversity. Today, over 760,000 square kilometres (nearly 300,000 square miles), or 1.5 times the surface area of France, or slightly larger that the state of Texas, are strictly protected as World Heritage Forests.

The World Heritage Forest network is diverse and rich. Home to the largest remaining populations of Bengal tigers, vast mangrove forests are protected in the Sundarbans (India, Bangladesh). In Peru, Manu National Park is home to 10% of all of the world's bird species. The endangered Eastern (Mountain) Gorillas survive almost exclusively in three WH Forest sites: Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda).

It's the International Year of Youth (IYY)!

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)

NPR Interview: Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Click here to listen to or read a transcript of Host Melissa Block as she talks with Frank Proschan, program specialist for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Section of UNESCO, about items being added to this year's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

UNESCO Promotes "Work to Ride"

UNESCO has highlighted this video of a Philadelphia program that gives city kids the opportunity to play polo. It is part of its effort to show how sports can bring cultures together. Click here to check out the Work to Ride website.

World Heritage Sites in Google Street View

Click here to read more, with links to the views described.

4 Directors General in one photo