Recap of UNESCO AsPac consultation conference in Manila
(Part 4 of a series on the 14th Quadrennial Conference)
Thirty-nine Member States of UNESCO participated in the 14th Quadrennial Conference and Director General’s Consultation of National Commissions (NatComs) for Asia and the Pacific (AsPac) in Manila: Almaty cluster (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, and Uzbekistan); APIA cluster (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu); Bangkok cluster (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam); Beijing cluster (China, DPR Korea, Japan, and Republic of Korea); Jakarta cluster (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines); New Delhi cluster (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka); and Tehran cluster (Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan). Also present were representatives of
Preparatory Committee
The day before the official opening of the Conference, which the
After the Conference, Palau Sec-Gen Dwight Alexander remarked that “the conference was extremely well-organized and the staff was very supportive.” Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO Bangkok Regional Adviser for Culture, expressed: “This is the best conference I have attended in 20 years.”
I attribute this to the UNESCO NatCom’s evolution as an instrument of world peace. We have gone through a lot of experiences in constantly organizing national, regional and international conferences. Meantime, former Philippine Ambassador to Paris Hector Villarroel (Permanent Delegate to UNESCO for more than 8 years and former head of G77) provided thorough guidelines and reviewed the expected activities to the minutest detail. The mood to get things done as best as we could was especially elevated by the opening speech of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Opening ceremony
The opening day ran very smoothly starting with a cultural performance entitled “Sayaw sa Pamlang” by Ballet Manila, with Liza Macuja Elizalde (vice chair of the Philippine NatCom) as the lead ballet dancer. As Secretary-General of the Philippines NatCom, I welcomed the participants to the Conference, mentioning a brief historical background of our country, an archipelago with 7,000 islands. It was a nameless island then until the Spaniards discovered it and named it Las Islas Filipinas, after their king Felipe II.
Following the opening ceremony, the Provisional Rules of Procedures, as well as the Provisional Agenda and Timetable were unanimously adopted. Traditionally, the election of the Conference officials is held right after the opening ceremonies. The delegates nominated the following: me (Sec Gen of the Philippines NatCom) as chairperson; Vice Chair - Dame Silvia Cartwright (NZ) and Mr. San Chau Pham (
Meantime, NatCom Section Chief Mr. Xiaolin Cheng of UNESCO Paris cited the increase in the number of AsPac NatComs and training seminars for new Sec-Gens. Thus, networking among NatComs, development of database, websites, and publication, as well as the increased allocation of fund for NatCom activities from regular budget, the PP and extra budgetary sources were mentioned including tasks and challenges ahead.
Intersectoral platforms
Theme I: Building on Regional initiatives and cooperation with sectoral and intersectoral approaches. Existing regional programmes were presented by directors/advisors of AsPac Regional Offices.
For Education, APEID Coordinator Dr. Molly Lee (UNESCO Bangkok) stressed the importance of EFA, ICT in education, the policy on ESD, as well as the importance of Secondary Education and Higher Education for preparing young people to have access to the world of work.
For Natural Sciences, Regional Director Hubert Gijzen (UNESCO Jakarta) stated the need for strong partnerships to achieve its science strategic objectives with ESD component especially for disaster preparedness (MLA 3).
For Social and Human Sciences (SHS), SHS Regional Advisor Dr. Darryl Macer (UNESCO Bangkok) focused on ethics of energy and bioethics, as well as strengthening networks with the Asia-Pacific School of Ethics.
For Culture, Dr. Richard Engelhardt underscored the importance of culture, underpinning development, the synergies between tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and mainstreaming cultural diversity through program partnerships.
For Communication and Information (CI), CI Regional Advisor Dr Susanne Ornager stressed the importance of MOW (Memory of the World), IPDC (International Programme for the Development of Communication) and IFAP (Information for All Programme), as well as the role of media.
Forging partnerships with the broader UNESCO family and partners
Representatives of SEA CLLSD, APCEIU, INRULED, ACCU, NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee and IFAP Philippines shared their experiences in forging partnerships with UNESCO and its NatComs. The following comments and suggestions were made by the delegates:
Regional centres should cooperate more closely with UNESCO for greater synergy and effectiveness. NatComs should be well informed of activities of these networks which contribute to the visibility of UNESCO. The longstanding and well organized ASP network and UNESCO Clubs are important partners which NatComs can tap. UNESCO Category 2 Centers should ensure their regional nature and design programmes in liaison with other institutes concerned, including serving the Pacific sub-region. Centres like SEA CLLSD could gradually develop their capacity and impact to provide wider service when conditions are allowed.
UN ‘Delivering as One’: Role and strengths of NatComs
Mrs. Nileema Noble, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Coordinator to the
The plan of action for the UN system coherence in the
Report on the DG’s Consultation of the AsPac Region
ADG/ERC Mr. Hans d’Orville, representative of the Director-General, recalled that the main objective of the Consultation was to provide recommendations by the AsPac NatComs for the preparation of the Draft Programme and Budget 2010-2011 (35 C/5), based on a questionnaire drafted and circulated by the Secretariat in April 2008. He pointed out that this Consultation was not meant to be a discussion between the Secretariat and the NatComs, but rather an attempt to secure direct input and hence broad-based ownership at national and regional levels. Noting that the process stretches over almost 18 months, this would be an opportunity to identify global challenges and opportunities, to define common cluster and regional priorities, as well as to articulate the NatComs views concerning appropriate directions for the future.
Mr. D’Orville indicated that the 35 C/5 would constitute the second biennium of the Medium-Term Strategy 2008-2013 (34 C/4) and reviewed some of the substantive challenges before the consultation: to ensure the proactive integration of increasing country-level demands of the UN reform and the roll-out of new UNDAFs to position NatComs as a player in national programming exercises; as well as to develop a more systematic and results-oriented approach to cooperation with Category 2 institutes and centers (under the auspices of UNESCO).
Following this introduction, the seven UNESCO clusters (Almaty, Apia, Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Jakarta and Tehran) and the respective field office directors/heads had cluster meetings to discuss programming issues and priorities as well as other aspects raised in the questionnaire.
Recommendations to DG Matsuura
The following are the recommendations to Director General Koichiro Matsuura that stemmed from the cluster consultations.
The participants of the Conference invite the DG to increase budget allocation in the 35 C/5 for Participation Programme projects, which are key elements of country based initiatives through appropriate measures; to stress the importance of the DESD; to favor intersectoral platforms and identify specific budget line.
They also invite the DG to promote close working relationships between NatComs and Category II Institutions and Centers to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of the programmes and outcomes, as well as to encourage these Centers to serve and collaborate with the AsPac Member States.
Manila Conference spins off chain of UNESCO consultations
Right after the Manila Consultation Conference, the Middle East Consultation is scheduled in
The sum total of recommendations will be the basis of the 35 C/5 Programme and Budget of the 2009 UNESCO October General Conference in Paris.
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