UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)

Statement by Professor Michael OMOLEWA
President of the UNESCO General Conference
and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO
On the occasion of the visit of His
Excellency: Gilberto Gil Brazilian Minister
of Culture and UNESCO Artist for Peace
Room-IX Fontenoy
UNESCO-Headquarters
Paris, France

Honourable Minister

Eminent Ambassadors and
Permanent Delegates

Members of the G77

Dear friends

Distinguished ladies
and gentlemen:

I have the pleasure of joining my greetings to those of the President of the Group 77, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Senegal to UNESCO, His Excellency Mr Mame Birame Diouf and the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Brazil to UNESCO, His Excellency, Mr Antônio Augusto Dayrell de Lima, as well as all those from the entire Organization! who will never forget the memorable performance you gave to mark the closing ceremony of the 2004 International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition. Over and above this celebration is a duty to remember. This commemoration was a means of studying and informing people about the countless interactions that have taken the channels of dialogue enforced by slavery to shape a host of cultures throughout the world, thereby renewing their diversity as is the case in your country and in your music which definitely bear the stamp of its African influence mainly of Yoruba origin.

As our renowned UNESCO Artist for Peace, you can be rest assured that we are proud of your accomplishments and exemplary approaches for dialogue among civilizations and cultures.

Honourable Minister You have not only proved to be a committed statesman but you have also confirmed your talent as a peaceful artist and activist. You have indeed proven to be a man of culture, an extraordinary singer, composer, instrumentalist and founder of the internationally celebrated “Tropicalia movement” in the 1960’s. We are challenged by the relentless dedication of your work to the Fundacao Gregorio de Matos, the institution responsible for the cultural activities and the preservation of the historical landmarks of the city of Salvador. May I also seize this opportunity to congratulate you on your nomination as Man of the year at the Latin Grammy awards.

Honourable Minister, I commend the exceptional initiatives you and the government of Brazil have taken, and are still taking in uplifting culture and sustainable development among and between the developed and developing countries. The role of creators in society is every bit as important, and UNESCO is strongly in favour of recognizing their legal and social status and strengthening their networks around the world. The Organization has embarked on encouraging the development of the arts by means of art education. The programme aims to place art education at the heart of formal and informal education. As you know, very early UNESCO recognized the need for partnership with common interest, goals and objectives. One of such groups is the G-77, which has provided a good support for UNESCO, assisting in measuring the views of developing countries in several areas of its mandate. The G77 is an important tool which provides a strong voice and a potent means for the developing world to articulate and promote its collective economic interests and enhance its joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues in the United Nations system in addition to promoting economic and technical cooperation among developing countries. This partnership will continue to pursue its agenda for development especially towards meeting the Millennium Development goals.

UNESCO has clearly demonstrated its competence in culture and development through its world cultural programmes, pilot projects and researches such as the “Safeguarding of the Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage”, the “Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expression” and the “Slave Route” projects and programmes. To achieve sustainable development we must continue to actively embark on concrete actions such as the promotion of local products, and by improving technical know-how and capacity building at local levels. As you are aware, the cultural dimension and policies are of vital importance for sustainable development. I am pleased to note that already, UNESCO, whose Constitution as long ago as 1945 had called for the defence of the “fruitful diversity of cultures” has continued in this direction by the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, in November 2001. This is a legal instrument, which recognizes, for the first time, cultural diversity as a "common heritage of humanity" and considers it’s safeguarding to be a concrete and ethical imperative, inseparable from respect for human dignity. Subsequently, the General Assembly of the United Nations welcomed the Declaration and the main lines of the Action Plan and proclaimed 21 May as World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (Resolution 57/249).

The World Day will provide us with an opportunity to deepen understanding of the values of Cultural Diversity and to learn to “live together” better. This is why UNESCO appeals to its Member States as well as to all civil society to celebrate this World Day by involving as many actors and partners as possible. Among UNESCO’s chief missions is ensuring space for and freedom of expression to all the world’s cultures. This cultural dialogue has taken on a new meaning in the context of globalization and of the current international political climate. Thus it is becoming a vital means of maintaining peace and world unity. That is why UNESCO will be working actively to promote the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage to make it an integral part of preservation policies since it constitutes a key component of cultural diversity and human creativity.

UNESCO will continue to foster and strengthen the innovative attitudes and approaches fertile to achieving sustainable development in your country in its field of competence.

Once more I thank you “Knight of Arts and Letters” as decorated by the former French minister of Culture, Jack Lang, for your very fruitful partnership and cooperation.

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