January 2003

EDUCATION

January 9 and 10, Room XII
Round-table of Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for Physical Education and Sport
Award ceremony of International Fair Play trophies
The Declaration of Punta del Este, adopted at the 3rd International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS III, held from November 30 to December 3, 1999) expressed concern that despite the growth of high-level sport and sport-for-all programmes, physical education in schools was on the decline in many countries and was accompanied by a sharp increase in juvenile delinquency and violence and a rise in medical and social costs. The ministers emphasised the ethical values involved in sport and called on all countries to fight practices that undermined them, such as doping. UNESCO is now bringing the ministers together again to discuss ways to strengthen physical education and sport in schools, protect young sports enthusiasts and draw up an international legal instrument to combat drug-taking in sport.
The meeting will include the presentation of International Fair Play awards - made by the International Fair Play Committee - to: Simone Moro (Italy), climbing (Pierre de Coubertin Trophy, fair play gesture); Eusebio Ferreira da Silva (Portugal), football (Borotra Trophy, sporting career); Kipchoge Keino (Kenya), long-distance running and humanitarian aid (Willi Daume Trophy, promoting fair play).
Contact: International Fair Play Committee, Katalin Gereben, tel: (+36) 1 471-41 35, mobile: (+36) 30 241-8411, e-mail: katalin.gereben@fairplayinternational.org

January 13-15, Room IV
8th joint UNESCO/NGO consultation on higher education
Representatives of NGOs will review the situation since the last World Conference on Higher Education (October 1998 in Paris) and discuss privatization, globalization, new technology and the higher education market. Three workshops will be held: on the contribution of higher education to Education for All and to sustainable development, the internationalization of higher education and international cooperation.

January 20-23, Baoding, Hebei province (China)
International symposium on rural education
About 150 formal and non-formal education experts from all over the world specializing in basic, higher and adult education in rural areas will discuss how changes in the countryside affect education there.
Contact: Beijing.ed@unesco.org or Beijing@unesco.org