UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)

Informal Forum of Permanent Delegates:
Introduction by H. E. Professor Michael Omolewa
President of the General Conference
Second session, Tuesday: 2 November, 2004
at 3:00 PM. in Room XIV (Bonvin building)
Theme of debate: “UNESCO - what Future?”
“UNESCO- Quel Avenir?”
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris: France

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am so pleased to see such an excellent turnout here today for a subject of such importance as "The Future of UNESCO". It is not my intention to make this meeting a sterile series of monologues, nor to conform to a rigid debate-style structure. Let me remind us all that this Forum is of an informal nature: no records shall be kept, save the summary of our debate that I shall ensure reaches the Director-General.

I sincerely hope that we will all work together in harmony in examining the noble question set before us. However, our time together today is limited and I do beg the indulgence of all colleagues to heed the words of Shakespeare's Hamlet who said that "... since brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief ..." Ambassador Saberwhal, of India, your illustrious predecessor, your Excellency, once admonished me that I spend too much time on my knees - caring for my soul. Today you can see that I am indeed in my Chair, and I can assure you all of my own brevity while being mindful of our collective wit!

To help me in this task, I am very pleased and honoured to have the respected Ambassadors Diop of Senegal and Craddock of the United Kingdom who shall act as Rapporteurs helping to summarise the major ideas that shall emerge during our debate, bringing to the fore the highlights of what I am sure will be fruitful discussions.

To ensure that our discussions are indeed fruitful, I have persuaded our distinguished colleague, Ambassador Abdulrazzak Al-Nafisi of Kuwait and Madame Françoise Rivière, ADG/ODG to kick off our discussion - the one a relative newcomer to the Organization, thus bringing to the floor fresh perspectives that are so vital to the life-force that contribute to the creation of a living Organization and you, Madame, the personification of solid institutional memory, hence bearing the wisdom requisite to guide us in our path into the unknown.

While I am confident that today's debate will be a forward-looking one, I cannot but look to the past for some words of wisdom and indeed guidance. Clement Atlee, the British Prime Minister, during his inaugural address at the opening of the Conference convened to establish UNESCO, in 1945 stated that there was a great necessity to create an organization for intellectual co-operation to counter "the wars that begin in the minds of men". We all know the subsequent fate of these famous words as they were taken up so nobly by Archibald MacLeish of the United States of America.

It was on the basis of the need for enhanced international understanding and cooperation amongst the peoples of the world that UNESCO was established. Current day realities regrettably still reflect the need for this type of understanding and cooperation, driven by rapid globalisation, intra- and non-state conflicts, the challenges of hunger, the scourge of terrorism, old and new ignorances, hatred, non-respect for Human Rights and underdevelopment, amongst other pertinent issues in today's world.

France's Léon Blum, the first President of the General Conference, said that UNESCO has a duty to work towards the making of "un monde où l'esprit devienne un état stable, ou plutôt un état naturel - un monde où l'esprit de paix devienne une des garanties (et peut-être la plus sure) de la paix".

The then Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Trygve Lie, expressed his confidence and great hopes in the nascent role for UNESCO in his message to the first session of the General Conference:

"...The freedom of thought, the free
circulation of ideas, their free flow to all
parts of the world, the distribution of the
varied riches of human knowledge across the
frontiers, among all the nations of our orbit,
are probably the indispensable conditions for
mutual understanding between men; and this
mutual understanding, we know, is the basis
of peace..."

However, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Mr Victor Doré, head of the Canadian Delegation during that same General Conference, drew the attention of all to the possible obstacles that the Organization could face:

"... like all human institutions, UNESCO
is not secure against surprises and snares.
It will meet numerous obstacles. Its acts
and its gestures will be variously welcomed
and variously interpreted; they will give
rise to more than one conflict of opinions,
if not of interests. It therefore faces
a praiseworthy but difficult task."

Indeed, in this era of streamlining and shrinking resources, human, financial and material, the praiseworthy but difficult task before us is the challenge to further fine-tune UNESCO's performance in the fulfilment of its mission. While basing ourselves on the principles established in the Constitution we must firmly bear in mind current world realities. To neglect this need is to court failure and disaster.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the development and promotion of universal principles and norms, based on shared values; the promotion of pluralism, through recognition and safeguarding of diversity, together with the observance of human rights; and the promotion of empowerment and participation in knowledge societies still remain pertinent thrusts for our Organization.

Today UNESCO is being called upon to face new challenges, in the combat against terrorism, in the fight against HIV/AIDS and also most importantly in the promotion of increased dialogue among civilisations. These no doubt are pointers to the nature of the calls that would be made on the Organization in the years ahead.

In fact, examples of the continuing relevance of all the areas of UNESCO's concern and responsibility abound in our programmes - in the fields of Science, Culture, Communication and of course Education. The Organization's normative action, we all are aware have taken on enduring relevance and fresh importance. But UNESCO cannot and should not attempt to act in isolation. As part of a worldwide movement, we must coordinate our action more and more with other bodies interested in or engaged in areas relevant to our responsibilities. We must boldly pursue the search for relevant partnerships in our efforts to meet the needs of the international Community.

In this context I am happy to draw attention to a recent initiative, the joint UNESCO/OECD partnership in the area of cross border higher education which I have followed with close interest. This is an example of meaningful action, today, which will undoubtedly reach forth into the future activities of Member States in the context of UNESCO.

I have participated in the first two drafting meetings on quality provision of cross-border education. The second drafting meeting, held just two weeks ago in Japan was an important one in that it examined the initial text of the guidelines with a view to amend and comment upon them. It is hoped that this opening will be extended further to other areas of the mandate of UNESCO and also to other international organisations that share UNESCO's vision.

To meet the challenges before us, we as Member States cannot, responsibly, ask UNESCO to do and be all things at all times. Conversely, we must be mindful of UNESCO's relevance to all of our needs, perceived or otherwise, in its endeavour to contribute to peace and human development in an era of globalization.

Combining these two elements within this delicate balancing act takes great skill as noted by the Executive Board's Task Force on the Twenty-First Century when it stated that UNESCO "should be modernized so as to be more effective, credible and visible in its service to human development."

We must know how to clearly demonstrate UNESCO's relevance to the citizens of each of its Member States'. In 1949, the Director-General Jaime Torres Bodet stated that he had met many who knew nothing about UNESCO. I can attest that this remains true today. Señor Torres Bodet continued by saying that these people were "our brothers for whom UNESCO was created ... to whom we have not stretched out our hands to draw them to us ... if they could only be made aware of our existence." This is the challenge of an excellent communication strategy based on our own Medium-Term Plan and the Approved Programme and Budget. We should encourage all, especially through the National Commissions, to meet this challenge, thereby demonstrating best practice in each of the principle priorities of the Organization.

My Dear Friends:

The time is ripe for a discussion such as ours today. We enter into the final biennial Programme and Budget of the current Medium-Term. Soon, we will be called upon by the Director-General to begin the process of elaborating another. At this crucial juncture in the history of our Organization, I refer back to the wisdom of Senor Torres Bodet who said: "UNESCO would be but a mere bureaucratic mechanism if it did not also provide the opportunity for frank and fruitful exchange between those who have faith in its future." I know that we here have faith in the future of UNESCO. Therefore, I ask that we be frank in our discussion and use this Forum as a space to speak not as representatives of our countries with instructions from our capitals but as citizens of the world interested in the global - in fact truly Universal - mission of UNESCO. Indeed our capital is our aggregate vigour, intelligence, wisdom and institutional memory, combined with our desire for an Organization as worthy as the cause that is UNESCO!

My dear colleagues, what future for UNESCO? I will affirm, a future of continuing relevance in some of the most meaningful areas of concern for humankind's well-being.

I wish you the best in your discussions, and invite Ambassador Al-Nafisi to kick off our debate on the Future of UNESCO.

Ambassador Al-Nafisi, you have the floor.

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