EXECUTIVE BOARD MAPS FUTURE
PRIORITIES AND ACTIVITIES OF UNESCO
Paris, October 26 (No. 2000-107)
- UNESCO’s Executive Board, chaired by
Sonia Mendieta de Badaroux (Honduras), ended its 160th session yesterday,
Wednesday, broadly endorsing Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura’s proposals
to reform the Organization and refocus its programmes, presented in his draft
Medium Term Strategy for 2002-2007 and draft Programme and Budget for 2002-2003.
Closing the session, Ms Mendieta de Badaroux spoke of
globalisation, a central issue in the Board’s debates. She notably declared:
“The discussion on globalisation […] has successfully highlighted the
adverse effects of globalisation on the eradication of poverty in the world […]
Whatever the face of globalisation, or whatever way it is defined, the bottom
line for us in this Organization must be that this historical process should
make a palpable contribution to the issues UNESCO has been dealing with since
its inception: namely, the eradication of hunger, poverty, illiteracy,
exclusion, violence […].”
The proposals of Mr Matsuura, in office since November 1999,
embody his vision and are based on the determination to concentrate on areas
where UNESCO can make a difference. These areas are: providing access to basic
education for all; protecting public service education; fighting against the
standardisation and impoverishment of educational contents; improving
knowledge-sharing; helping bridge the digital divide; protecting and promoting
cultural diversity in the face of globalisation. The Organisation must also
encourage international awareness and debate on the ethical implications of
scientific advances in fields such as the life sciences and energy utilisation.
The Board agreed that over the coming years, UNESCO’s
activities should be based on the unifying theme of “contributing to peace and
human development in an era of globalisation through education, sciences,
culture and communication”. It emphasised the need for UNESCO to meet emerging
challenges in education, science, culture and communication by focusing on: 1)
developing and promoting universal principles and norms based on shared values
and protecting and strengthening the “common public good”; 2) promoting
pluralism through the recognition and enhancement of diversity together with the
observance of human rights; 3) promoting empowerment and participation in the
emerging knowledge society through equitable access, capacity-building and
sharing of knowledge.
The Board emphasised the need to build on the outcome of the
major international conferences organised in UNESCO’s fields of activity over
the past decade. In education, it said UNESCO should focus on the strategic
objectives of bolstering education as a fundamental right; improving the quality
of education through the diversification of contents and methods and fostering
of universally shared values; promoting experimentation, innovation and the
dissemination and sharing of information as well as policy dialogue.
In the sciences, UNESCO should concentrate on the promotion
of ethical norms to guide scientific developments and technologies as well as
social transformation; improving human security through better management of the
environment and social change; enhancing scientific, technical and human
capacities to participate in the emerging knowledge societies.
In culture, priority is to be given to the development of
standard setting instruments; protecting diversity and encouraging pluralism and
intercultural dialogue; and enhancing the link between culture and development.
To this end, it recommended that special attention be paid to the preservation
of oral and intangible heritage, living cultures, traditions and linguistic
diversity.
On the subject of information and
communication, the Board
highlighted the need for UNESCO to participate fully in international efforts to
bridge the digital divide and focus on the promotion of the free flow of ideas
and universal access to information; the promotion of expressions of pluralism
and cultural diversity in the media and information networks; and bridging the
communication and information gap.
To perform effectively, the Board confirmed that UNESCO, in
all its activities, must serve as a laboratory of ideas, a standard-setter, a
clearing house, a capacity-builder in Member States, and a catalyst for
international co-operation.
Regarding the draft Programme and Budget for 2002-2003, the
Board approved the Director-General’s proposal to give absolute priority, and
additional financial resources, to basic education for all; water resources and
ecosystems; the ethics of science and technology; diversity, pluralism and
intercultural dialogue; broader access to information, especially information in
the public domain. It also accepted proposals to reinforce interdisciplinarity.
Furthermore, the Board decided that UNESCO should through all
its programmes favour activities aiming to reduce poverty and promote the
utilisation of information and communication technologies to build knowledge
societies.
The proposals examined by the Executive Board will be further
developed before they are submitted to the General Conference of UNESCO’s
Member States, the Organization’s supreme governing body, when it next meets
in the autumn of 2001.
One major decision by the Board provides for the creation of
an Information for All Programme which will contribute to the Organization’s
activities in education for all, to the free exchange of ideas and knowledge,
and to improving communication between peoples. The Programme, designed to
narrow the gap between information rich and information poor, will begin
operating on January 1, 2001.
Another major subject of discussion was the Report of the
External Auditor on the financial statements of UNESCO for 1998-1999. The Board
deplored the infringement of rules which led the Auditor to express reservations
but recognised the fact that the Director-General took steps to remedy these
problems as soon as he took office. It also welcomed Mr Matsuura’s agreement
with the External Auditor’s recommendations.
***
