UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
Speech by Professor Michael Abiola OMOLEWA
Mr. Chairman of the Executive Board,
____
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
President of the UNESCO General Conference
And Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO
At the 170th Session of the Executive Board
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France:
5 October, 2004
Mr. Director-General,
Distinguished members of the Board,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends:
I am indeed honoured and happy to participate once again in the work of
the Executive Board, as you commence your deliberations at this 170th
Session.
This is a most important session because it is the meeting point of the
consideration of the past, the examination of the present and the
planning of future activities of the Organization.
You have before you the report on the implementation of the Programme and
Budget for the last biennium. At the same time, the External Auditor's report
covering the same period is presented for your appreciation.
If you add to these, the Director-General's report on the activities
undertaken during the first half or so, of the biennium, and his proposals
for the Programme and Budget for the next biennium, this session, has
firmly in hand the ingredients for appraising our performance in the past
and in the present, as well as those for pronouncing yourselves on our
future activities.
UNESCO continues to be in the very centre of the search for the means
of improving the lot of the peoples of the world. Therefore our
commitment, determination and the seriousness with which we, in
UNESCO, face our responsibility must always reflect that centrality.
Every effort of UNESCO to implement its purposes and functions must
manifest itself in concrete results that move us nearer to our goal.
But the work of UNESCO is never done, and new challenges call for
innovation and further commitment. For, although we may not always
realize it, indeed it is often our duty to restore hope, optimism and faith
for those in need and those struck by all kinds of violence and disasters. This
we must always keep in the forefront of our thoughts, plans and proposals as we
face the daunting task of examining the proposals that the Director-General has
presented to us for our bi-annual Programmes and Budget for 2006/2007.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
As you are aware, since the beginning of the biennium I have had the
privilege of taking the message of UNESCO to several parts of the world,
and participating in a number of meetings both here at Headquarters and
in Member States.
Within the context of the proclamation of 2004 by the United Nations as
the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and
its Abolition I took part in the celebrations in Haiti, marking the
bicentenary of the proclamation of this first black state. As a historian
myself I was excited by the opportunity to join in the celebration in Haiti.
Together with his Excellency, Ambassador Hans-Heinrich Wrede, I also
participated in the exquisitely organized 28th session of the World
Heritage Committee in Souzhou, China.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank most warmly the host
Countries of these activities, the governments and people of Haiti and
China for their excellent organization and welcome. I wish to sympathise
with Haiti and all the countries recently affected by hurricane and other
natural disasters all over the world especially the Caribbean, Florida and
the Russian Federation.
Thanks to the constructive spirit of the debates held during the 32nd
session of the General Conference and the 169th session of the
Executive Board, despite the evolution of the situation on the ground,
UNESCO has been able to strengthen its action in the Middle-East. The
sixth meeting of the Joint UNESCO/Palestinian Authority Committee took
place at UNESCO Headquarters on 15 and 16 July 2004. In accordance
with 169EX/Decision 3.7.1, new steps have also been taken with regard
to the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem.
In this regard, I wish to inform you that I was asked to participate in the
event that celebrated the inscription of the White City of Tel-Aviv - the
Modern Movement on the World Heritage List in June, this year. My
gratitude goes to the Mayor of Tel Aviv and the Government of Israel for
this kind invitation.
I would also like to recall three other visits to Member States, in the
context of UNESCO's cultural interests. In Morocco, on the kind invitation
of the Royal Kingdom a good number of Permanent Delegations was able
to savour the cultural wares of the country during a tour that took us
to several cities among them the historical city of Marakesh, Casablanca,
Agadir, and Tam Tam in Senegal, in pursuit of a programme of
sensitization in the field of Cultural Heritage, I was happy and proud to
participate in the vigorous effort mounted by the Culture sect or to
increase awareness as concerns the importance of UNESCO's normative
action in Culture especially on the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The gestures by these Member States, to foster these activities show
their increased awareness of the importance of UNESCO's contribution
to the sharpening of the international focus on the richness and strength
of the diversity of our cultures.
This same awareness informed the journey to Italy and the Vatican in
the company of the Chairman of the Executive Board and several other
distinguished Ambassadors when we were able to meet with the Holy
Father himself - Pope Paul John II, and to visit several important cultural
sites in a programme very kindly and efficiently prepared by the Vatican
and the Italian authorities.
Here at Headquarters, I participated in the first meeting of the
governmental experts, working towards the preparation of a first "draft of
a convention on cultural diversity", concerning the protection of the
diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions, to be presented to
the 33rd session of the General Conference. This work, flowing from the
resolution adopted at the 32nd session, represents a huge step forward
towards implementing strategies on cultural diversity preservation at the
national and international levels.
Finally I was also present, here at Headquarters, in September, at the
Forum of regional and sub-regional organizations meeting to support
cooperation between UNESCO and NEPAD (FORASUN). As a result of
that meeting, FORASUN and UNESCO identified priority areas of joint
action in the Organization’s fields of competence.
In the field of Education, I had the privilege at the beginning of
September of participating in the International Adult Learners Week
2004, together with the National Adult Learning Network in South Africa
during that Member State's celebration of Ten Years of Freedom. I wish
to congratulate the government of South Africa and the UNESCO
Institute for Education (UIE) on this initiative. The lesson was drawn
home clearly at the meeting of the importance of the quality of learning
and thus of a vibrant tertiary education support and research for Basic
Education.
Let is also be clear that the realization of the right to education as a
fundamental human right and the provision of equal opportunities for
Education for All (EFA) constitute the core of UNESCO’s constitutional
mission and is our highest priority. In our role at the global level, we
have to focus on promoting normative standards and on the importance
of putting them into practice. In our drive for EFA, the New Literacy
Initiative for the Excluded (LIFE) is of crucial significance, even as we
have to pay special attention to quality and standards in higher education.
As I promised at the last session of the Board, please allow me now to
briefly give you an update on the progress of the work concerning the
relation between the three organs of UNESCO. I am delighted that one
of the excellent core members I appointed to the group, the Ambassador
of Jamaica, is being honoured by his government during the next few
days.
Mesdames et Messieurs:
Je suis heureux de vous informer que depuis la dernière session, la
résolution 32/81, concernant le group de travail ad hoc chargé
d’examiner les relations entre les trois organes de l’UNESCO a
beaucoup évolué. Comme vous le savez, le groupe de travail ad hoc
tiendra sa deuxième réunion du lundi 18 au vendredi 22 octobre 2004,
juste après la clôture de la 170ème session du Conseil des membres du
groupe ont été très actifs depuis leur première réunion en avril dernier, et
nous disposons donc d’un bon nombre de contributions qui constituent
une base solide pour entamer une discussion de fonds sur cette
question importante pour l’avenir de notre Organisation. Les journées du
18 au 22 octobre seront donc consacrées à débattre les différentes idées
et opinions exprimées par les experts afin de dégager des positions
consensuelles en vue de la rédaction du rapport final du groupe.Nous
aurons également l’honneur de compter, le mardi 19 octobre, avec la
présence de trois invités spéciaux qui partageront avec le groupe de
travail leurs riches expériences respectives sur les questions de
gouvernance et de réforme institutionnelle au sein d’autres organisations
internationales.
J’espère vivement que ces cinq jours de travail intense serviront
à tirer des conclusions susceptibles de devenir des recommandations
précises en vue du renforcement des rôles respectifs de nos organes
directeurs. Conformément aux termes de la Résolution 32 C/81, ces
recommandations seront présentées à la Conférence générale à sa 33e
session, accompagnées des commentaires du Conseil exécutif qui – à
cette fin - en prendra connaissance à sa prochaine session, au
printemps 2005. Puis-je vous rappeler que les réunions du groupe de
travail ad hoc sont ouvertes à la participation, en tant qu’observateurs,
des représentants de tous les Etats membres. J’espère donc vous voir
nombreux le lundi 18 octobre à 10 heures en Salle IV.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Undoubtedbly, the most important question which this session will tackle
is the beginning of the preparation of our Programme and Budget for the
next biennium 2006-2007. In other words, the future activities of the
Organization. This is a most important responsibility which must be
approached with all the seriousness it deserves. We are all looking for
a happy outcome of our deliberation in that regard. Your recommendations
will also be of great importance to the Permanent Delegations Forum
which will have its next session in the afternoon of 2nd November. You
will remember that this is the continuation of our successful tradition,
instituted by my predecessor, the poet, musician, and singer Ahmad
Jalali, of holding informal discussions on topics of importance to
the evolution of UNESCO.
The subject of the debate at this next meeting will be "UNESCO, which
future". We are glad that our dear sister, Mrs. Françoise Rivière, will
serve as one of our key note speakers together with other distinguished
Permanent Delegates.
Mr. Chairman:
As I will take leave of you before the conclusion of this session, please
allow me to add my voice to the many who have expressed their appreciation
of the value of the service of our out-going Secretary Mr. Mohammed
Al-Shaabi. We will all miss his quiet efficiency and unfailing
courtesy as he managed - without seeming so to do - all 58 of us,
without any fuss!! We will miss you. But we wish you all the very
best as you start on your well-merited retirement.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
There is no doubt that our efforts, as Member States, to see our
Organization move forward through a series of reform programmes, are
beginning to bear fruits; good fruits. We are conscious of the
tremendous contribution that the Director-General continues to make to
this burning issue which is vital to the future of UNESCO.
It is in the light of this that we express our appreciation of the Director
General's leadership which, we are happy to note, has contributed to
increased confidence in the Organization.
We should continue to build on this sure foundation in our cooperative
effort for progress for us all, through UNESCO. I wish you "bon courage"
as the work of the session gets into its stride for assured as we are by
the leadership of the Chairman of the Board, our work will be crowned
with success.
I thank you very much for your attention.