GMA welcomes 45  UNESCO AsPac NatComs in strengthening partnerships

(Part 2 of a series on the 14th Quadrennial Conference)

The 14th Quadrennial Conference and Director-General’s Consultation of National Commissions (NatComs) for UNESCO of Asia and the Pacific (AsPac), hosted by the Philippine NatCom will be held at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel on May 19-23, 2008. Its overall theme is “Strengthening Partnerships and Collaboration in the AsPac Region.”

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be the keynote speaker, and will be introduced by UNESCO Philippine NatCom Chair and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo. President Arroyo will highlight the “New Education Highway” framework for sustainable development that her Presidential Task Force for Education, is pursuing together with DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, TESDA Secretary Buboy Syjuco, and CHED Chairman Romulo Neri.

 The welcome addresses will be given by New Zealand NatCom Education Specialist Dr. Edna Tait on behalf of New Zealand NatCom Dame Chair Silvia Cartwright, Assistant Director General for External Relations Mr. Ahmed Sayyad, and me, as Secretary General (SecGen) of the UNESCO NatCom of the Philippines.

New Zealand recalls the 2004 AsPac consultation in Wellington

New Zealand NatCom SecGen Elizabeth Rose recalls that “since the 2004 DG’s Consultation of the AsPac Region in Wellington”, the world has been faced with many challenges: The tsunami phenomenon caused horrific damages in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives and Malaysia. Thus, the lack of a warning system was given new urgency; the aftermath of the Bam earthquake in Iran was the subject of a special presentation; and most recently, a cyclone has wrecked appalling damage in Myanmar.

UNESCO was quick to respond to these events through the Jakarta office, with a renewed emphasis of the need to both plan for and respond to natural disasters, since one of the four Main Lines of Action of the 34C/5 is the promotion of science, knowledge and education for disaster preparedness and mitigation, as well as enhancing national and regional coping capacities.

The overall theme for the Wellington Conference is “Beyond Information and Knowledge Societies: The Role of UNESCO”. This was inspired by a number of sources including the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG); the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) and the World Summit on the Information Society.

The AsPac DESD Monitoring Project has worked with Member States to assist them in the development of monitoring and evaluation tools for capacity building. The publication of the AsPac guidelines was developed through the Bangkok office with Japanese funds in trust.

The Medium Term Strategy 2008-2013 as the foundation for 35 C/5

The Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) defines UNESCO’s mission: “to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty through sustainable development…” 

The MTS for 2008-2013 (34 C/4), approved by the 34th GenCon in 2007, is the foundation for the development of three Biennium Programs for 2008-2009, 2010-2011, and 2012-2013. All 193 UNESCO Member States are basing their agenda on the current Biennium Programme 2008-2009 (34 C/5). The AsPac Conference participants are then meeting to draft the second Biennium Programme 2010-2011 (35 C/5).

Member States, associated members, NatComs, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations have been invited to express their views regarding principal issues relating to program orientations for the 35 C/5 by sectors and at the global, regional, or country levels. A timetable indicating the various steps is prepared, whereby comments will be submitted together with the Director-General’s (DG) preliminary proposals. This will be considered by the Executive Board at its 180th session in October 2008. The recommendation and decisions of the Board will provide the framework for the 35 C/5.

Gender equality

Africa and gender equality are the two global priorities for the six-year period.

Action in favor of Africa will address the demands of regional integration articulated by the African Union, through its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Programme, as well as recommendations of the African Union Summits on Culture and Education (Khartoum Summit) and on Science and Technology (Addis Ababa Summit).

UNESCO is also favoring gender equality through its fields of competence by: pursuing gender mainstreaming in all major programs; as well as promoting women’s and girls’ empowerment in all program priority areas at the country level. This implies that gender equality considerations are integrated into the strategies for each biennial sectoral priority under the relevant major programs and reflected as appropriate. This approach is currently being developed and elaborated in the Priority Gender Equality Action Plan for 2008-2013.

Specific targeted interventions are to be foreseen for the youth, the least developed countries (LDCs), small islands developing States (SIDS) – through the Intersectoral Platform contributing to the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Sustainable Development of SIDS – as well as disadvantaged and excluded groups, including indigenous peoples.

Major Programme I (Education): Attain Quality EFA and LLL

Major Programme I (Education) pursues overarching objective 1 of document 34 C/4: “Attaining quality EFA and lifelong learning”, contributing to its two related Strategic Programme Objectives (SPO) 1: Strengthening UNESCO’s global lead and coordination role for EFA and providing support to national leadership in favor of EFA; and SPO 2: Developing policies, capacities and tools for quality EFA and Lifelong Learning as well as promoting ESD.

The overriding objective is to assist countries to achieve the education-related MDGs by 2015 in accordance with the Global Action Plan. The debates in the GenCon suggested that stronger emphasis be given to quality of education in both formal and non-formal settings.

South-South cooperation was also seen as a key means of learning and sharing experience in achieving EFA. The debates in the GenCon also reaffirmed the need for further reinforcement of UNESCO’s Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA); the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) and technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

Major Programme II (Nat. Sci.):  Mobilize Science Knowledge for SD and MP III (SHS) - Address Emerging Social and Ethical Challenges

Major Programme II – Natural Sciences leads in the pursuit of overarching objective 2: “Mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development”. The two biennial sectoral priorities are: (a) Promoting research and technical capacity-building for the sound management of natural resources, as well as for disaster preparedness and mitigation; and (b) Strengthening national and regional research and innovation systems, capacity-building, the use of technologies, and scientific networking, and encouraging the development and implementation of science, technology and innovation policies for sustainable development and poverty eradication.

Major Programme III (Social and Human Sciences) pursues overarching objective 3: “Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges.”  Its three biennial sectoral priorities are: (a) promoting principles, practices and ethical norms relevant for scientific, technological and social development; (b) strengthening national and regional research systems in order to provide policy-oriented research on social and ethical issues; and (c) contributing to the dialogue among civilizations and cultures, including a culture of peace through philosophy, human sciences, good governance, promotion of human rights, and the fight against discrimination.

Major Programme IV (Culture): Fostering Cultural Diversity and Major Programme V (Communication): Building Inclusive Knowledge Societies

Major Programme IV (Culture) leads in the pursuit of overarching objective 4: “Fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace.”  Its two biennial sectoral priorities are: (a) Promoting cultural diversity through the safeguarding of the heritage in its various dimensions and the enhancement of cultural expressions; and (b) Promoting social cohesion by fostering pluralism, intercultural dialogue, and a culture of peace, as well as the central role of culture in sustainable development.

Major Programme V (Communication and Information) pursues overarching objective 5: “Building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication”. The implementation of the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) will continue to shape this program.

The priority areas for the 35th GenCon are: continued focus on the promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of the press, through the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC); increased emphasis on social, legal and ethical dimensions of ICTs, in particular the role of knowledge in societal development; cultural diversity and the promotion of multilingualism; role of ICTs in widening access to information and building knowledge societies (Information for All Programme or IFAP could play an active role); and the contribution of media to dialogue and a culture of peace.

‘Delivering as one’

The approved Programme and Budget 2008-2009 (34 C/5) will help countries attain by 2015 the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs), including the Millennium Development Goals, especially with respect to halving poverty by 2015, and the six Education for All goals. The UN reform process, aimed at increased efficiency and high quality delivery, as well as UNESCO’s contribution to the UN system “delivering as one” clearly sets the direction of inter-agency efforts. The C/4 document reaffirms UNESCO’s commitments to contribute to these efforts both globally, regionally and at the country level.

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