Hundred and sixtieth Session

1. The main purposes of this report of the Executive Board’s Task Force on UNESCO in the Twenty-First Century (TF21) are to:

• assist the Executive Board in preparing the debate on the Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2002-2007 (C/4) and beyond;

• provide some practical recommendations relative to the upcoming Programme and Budget (C/5);

• submit recommendations on practical governance-related matters.

2. This is a twofold exercise: the recommendations of the Task Force concern both the "what" and "how" of UNESCO’s future. The example of the current Medium-Term Strategy is very significant. It is an excellent document, in full accord with UNESCO’s mission and containing a clear and coherent vision of the Organization’s strategy, over the last five years, but it never has been matched by clear, coherent and effective programmatic follow-through.

3. Bridging the gap for UNESCO between promise and realization is what reform must be all about. As the Director-General recently put it, "UNESCO must change, not in mandate and mission, but in the ways in which they are given practical expression, thus responding to the expectations of the international community … We have to demonstrate our usefulness, or disappear in the midst of widespread indifference".

4. The Task Force, in submitting this its final report and thus concluding its work, wishes to express its sincere thanks for the valuable contributions, including numerous thoughtful papers, of all its participant members, the active involvement of many permanent delegations accredited to UNESCO and the significant assistance of the Secretariat, especially the Analysis and Forecasting Office for its insightful document "The Twenty-First Century: Towards the identification of some main trends".

5. In many long and thorough discussions at formal meetings and in working groups as well as through the invaluable "virtual" interchanges made possible through the Internet, a clear consensus emerged.

6. It was the Task Force’s deliberate determination not to dwell on philosophical debates without evident consequential follow-through. Rather, the Task Force sought early agreement on a central unifying objective: how UNESCO should be modernized so as to be more effective, credible and visible in its service to peace and human development.

7. The Task Force identified as a compelling twenty-first century unifying theme for UNESCO’s activities that of "the humanization of globalization".

8. The Task Force sought to propose to the Executive Board, and through it to the Director-General, as well as the General Conference, a systematic analysis of the practical tools such as: guiding principles, comparative advantages and criteria needed for deciding on programmatic directions and for fashioning supportive governance practices that would enable those activities to be identified and delivered in a timely and effective manner. The Task Force has sought to point the way to a renewed and revitalized UNESCO, freshly enabled to be the world’s leader in its critically important spheres of competence.

9. To briefly recap the recommendations made by the Task Force in its interim report (159 EX/39), five major related elements were developed:

• A refreshed Mission Statement for UNESCO;
• An assessment of what makes UNESCO unique, in essence an elaboration of five special characteristics of UNESCO;
• The elaboration of sectoral priorities for each of the main areas of activity of UNESCO – education, science, culture and communication;
• The articulation of three principles to guide the reform and renewal of UNESCO programming;
• The development of a three-level set of programming criteria designed to assess the relevance of current and future activities and provide a basis for objective decision-making.

10. After the submission of its interim report at the 159th meeting of the Executive Board and 159 EX/Decision 8.4, the Task Force on UNESCO in the Twenty-First Century decided to focus its efforts on two complementary fields: programming considerations and the review of a select number of governance-related issues. It was decided to establish subcommittees working on each of the two areas, programming and governance.

11. During the intersessional period, a subcommittee co-chaired by Ms Zabrina Holmstrom and Mr Shem Wandiga, examined programming issues. They received a number of contributions.

12. The governance subcommittee was co-chaired by Mr Mohamed Ahmed Alaswad and Mr Kwon Tai-joon. Two working meetings of representatives of permanent delegations, chaired by Mr Alaswad, were held over the course of the summer and a number of separate contributions were received.

13. This final report is organized in the following manner:

14. UNESCO’s overall mission and mandate is to contribute to peace and security within its fields of competence, striving to narrow the gaps between "haves" and "have nots". The "ideal" UNESCO is one Organization with one overall mission: that of a centre for excellence, a forum for intellectual cooperation and a source of ethical leadership.

15. UNESCO’s vocation is to catalyse and pioneer world action in the spheres of its competence. It is essentially an upstream agent of change, constantly challenged to proactively expand the world consciousness of emerging and contentious issues within its areas of competence. UNESCO, to be true to its very nature and to maximize its visibility and credibility, cannot be content simply to be passive.

16. During the recent consultation process, a growing consensus emerged concerning the fundamental nature of UNESCO that parallels the conclusions that the Task Force drew in its interim report. Furthermore, the Director-General explicitly accepted these conclusions in his proposals contained in 160 EX/5, Parts II and III. Accordingly, it might be useful to recap these five unique characteristics of UNESCO that comprise its comparative advantage:

Laboratory for ideas;

Clearing house;

Capacity-builder;

Standard-setter;

Catalyst.

Taken together, they make of UNESCO, within its spheres of competence, a unique point of reference and source of inspiration and leadership for humanity.

17. It is through such forward-looking characteristics and cast against the background of its constitutional areas of competence that UNESCO’s role in any given situation can be identified, and thus determine specific actions with clearly identified and evaluable programme objectives, timetables and the commitment for appropriate programme evaluation.

18. Furthermore, both the Task Force in its interim report and the Director-General in document 160 EX/5, Parts II and III have articulated a series of programming criteria that can be used to guide actual decisions among activities. In Part II, the Director-General elaborated five complementary programmatic principles. In Part III, he explicitly endorsed the Task Force’s managerial and programmatic criteria. Additionally, in Part III, he embraced the Task Force’s stipulation that all programmes must have clear evaluable objectives and anticipated outcomes.

19. Taken together, all this points to a new rationalized approach to programming selection. The challenge remains for UNESCO to identify what types of programming relate to its primary mandate so as to achieve the degree of concentration that all recognize as essential for the future.

20. The consultation process on the upcoming Medium-Term Strategy and Programme and Budget documented in 160 EX/5 contained numerous listings of suggested areas of concentration, many identical with those identified by the Task Force in its interim report. Additionally, the Director-General in his preliminary proposals (160 EX/5 Part II) outlined very ambitious sector-by-sector areas of strategic objectives for the upcoming Medium-Term Strategy.

21. Cumulatively these lengthy lists of areas of concentration, without real prioritization, risk adding up to continuing programmatic fragmentation and an undermining of the development of a tightly focused new Medium-Term Strategy as a road map towards concentrated and high-impact programming. Such proposals must cause the Organization to fall prey to a debilitating attempt to "do more with less" in the face of a series of seemingly endless priority areas. In support of the need for concentration, the Director-General in 160 EX/5 Part II advocated: "... the necessary concentration of the Organization’s efforts on a limited number of priority areas in order to ensure that its action has lasting effect...". To that end, in 160 EX/5 Part III, he proposed five "absolute fields of action":

• basic education;

• water resources management;

• the ethics of science and technology;

• diversity, pluralism and intercultural dialogue;
• broader access to information, in particular information in the public domain.

22. If UNESCO tries to be all things to all people it will inevitably do too little too late. Activities it has carried out in the past should neither limit nor forestall what it could do in future. It is therefore imperative to take into account the importance of reconciling new challenges and opportunities with current activities.

23. UNESCO should not only renew itself in the short term. It should ensure, over the long term, that it has the capacity, competencies and tools to be able to continue to respond effectively and sensitively to successive and constantly evolving challenges. UNESCO’s forward-looking mandate will help shape the future course of the Organization that must adapt itself to the realities of changing needs.

24. Given the current reality of the Organization’s fixed budgetary environment, the reform initiatives should not only be a justification for austerity measures, but should arm it to perform critical work. Changes will require judicious use and transfer of resources to higher priority areas. Such simplistic cost-cutting formulas do not work in a longer term and the more the Organization dilutes its programming activities, the less effective its individual programmes are bound to become.

25. If, as heralded, the upcoming Medium-Term Strategy is to be a strategic and focused road map that responds to challenges of the future in UNESCO’s areas of competence; and if it is to become a "rolling plan", there would appear to be a crucial need for UNESCO to articulate a major unifying and timely theme expressing the essence of UNESCO’s challenge at the dawn of a new century. This overarching theme would provide a needed unity and focus to UNESCO’s programming.

26. In the light of many opinions already expressed within the framework of the consultation process on the Draft Medium-Term Strategy and Programme and Budget, such an integrating idea could be the humanization of globalization. Globalization is a reality in all of UNESCO’s fields of competence, not least in communication and information technologies where proactive partnering with the private sector will be essential. Globalization for UNESCO, then, means globalization in the service of humanity.

27. Furthermore, a theme such as the humanization of globalization reflects the fundamental changes that have arisen since the founding of UNESCO at the end of the Second World War. The challenges to peace and human security have become more complex and now are seen to include more than just the absence of conflict. The exercise of the fundamental freedoms which are at the heart of a contemporary understanding of peace and security demand that development in all its aspects respect these human values.

28. In this regard, recently the Heads of State and Government of all the United Nations, at the Millennium Summit, reaffirmed that peace and security are at the core of the future of humanity. Furthermore they recognized that "… the central challenge we face today is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the world’s people. … Thus, only through broad and sustained efforts to create a shared future based on our common humanity in all its diversity can globalization be made fully inclusive and equitable".

29. UNESCO is especially well placed to identify new challenges of globalization in its spheres of competence, to organize worldwide dialogue and to propose policies to address particular problems in the spirit of solidarity, interdisciplinarity and cooperation. Thus the Organization would continue, in a twenty-first century setting, to be true to the goals enshrined in its Constitution: building peace in the minds of men and security, particularly through sustainable and shared human development.

30. This concept of the humanization of globalization is indeed a contemporary expression of the challenges facing shared human development at the dawn of the new century. It is about much more than economics or cultural preservation. It speaks of how humanity will face challenges and how humanity will respond in ways that respect the fundamental human values at the core of peace. For UNESCO, such a theme requires the Organization to reach out – to the other relevant actors in the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions (the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), the World Trade Organization and non-governmental organizations – in adopting and implementing the humanization of globalization. In particular for this to come to pass, the Organization needs to raise the consciousness of the Bretton Woods institutions concerning the ethical and moral aspects of placing a more "human face" on development.

31. In this connection, developing a comprehensive "humanization" response to globalization in the areas of UNESCO’s competence requires an integration of relevant activities, in order to enable effective concentration of effort.

32. To that end, the Director-General, in 160 EX/5 Part II, challenged UNESCO to "... give globalization a meaning and a conscience ... and in the light of the prevailing global trends ...", to focus on "three distinct yet interrelated tasks":

• developing universal principles and norms, based on shared values, in order to meet emerging challenges in education, science, culture and communication and to protect and strengthen the "common public good";

• promoting pluralism, through recognition and enhancement of diversity together with the observance of human rights;

• promoting empowerment and participation in the emerging "knowledge societies" through capacity-building and sharing of knowledge" (160 EX/5 Part II, para. 12).

33. In view of the major trends identified in the Task Force’s interim report, to serve the humanization of globalization, particular emphasis should be placed on issues concerning threats to cultural and linguistic diversity, disparity in education, widening gaps in scientific development, new ethical challenges in science, increasing inequalities within and among nations with regard to access to modern information and communication technologies, etc.

34. As for concrete programmes which could be developed that speak directly to the overarching theme of the humanization of globalization, the following could be seen as some examples:

• In Education:

• In Science:

• In Culture:

• In Information and Communication:

36. The principal implication of the Task Force’s interim report is that UNESCO’s future must be planned in an orderly, rational, analytical and coordinated fashion with each of the three pillars of the Organization – the General Conference, the Executive Board and the Director-General – working in their own areas of authority to shape a new UNESCO.

37. These recommendations collectively require a sequential approach to planning the future of UNESCO, starting with strategic decision-making in the form of the nature and content of the Medium-Term Strategy, and moving towards specific programming decisions in the Programme and Budget (C/5), based on an analytical review of the impact and relevance of all current or anticipated programming activities, rather than through ad hoc decisions on no coherent basis.

38. The recommendations made by the Task Force in its interim report (159 EX/39), accepted by the Executive Board, provide a set of related principles aimed at improving both the substance and the delivery of programming. These recommendations have been largely endorsed through the recent regional consultation process and by the Director-General in his draft proposals for the next Medium-Term Strategy and the next Programme and Budget (160 EX/5, Parts II and III). Implementing these recommendations, however, depends on them becoming an organic part of the Organization’s reform agenda and on the Member States expressing their political will accordingly.

39. In light of the results of the consultation process on the next Medium-Term Strategy (160 EX/5 Part I), and the proposals made by the Director-General in 160 EX/5, Parts II and III, it is apparent that UNESCO is on the verge of altering somewhat its primary strategic planning document – the Medium-Term Strategy – to enable UNESCO to become more responsive to the rapid pace of global change. For example, it has been noted that the magnitude of the challenge to human security posed by HIV/AIDS was not immediately apparent when the current Medium-Term Strategy was developed some years ago. The Task Force welcomes this drive towards greater responsiveness and flexibility, noting that such developments may enable UNESCO to exercise proactive leadership within its spheres of competence.

41. The following programming issues were identified during the recent extensive consultations undertaken on the Draft Medium-Term Strategy, and from input provided directly to the Task Force. They focus on two primary themes fundamentally related to the humanization of globalization:

42. These overarching issues were addressed by four primary questions:

43. UNESCO’s revitalization of its programming in the light of the challenges and opportunities of the new century presented by the humanization of globalization should be a measured process of thoughtful review. It cannot be accomplished overnight, or by simple declaration. Given the current situation of limited internal resources and the need to show positive action, a comprehensive approach to programme review might be the best means of fundamentally addressing the relevance of activities and carefully phasing them in and out. Tough decisions are inevitable and consensus not always possible. But, to avoid the spectre of UNESCO "... disappear[ing] in the midst of widespread indifference ...", such an approach will be essential.

44. The magnitude of such an exercise should not be underestimated. Programmatic reorientation within any organization is a demanding challenge – one which calls for strong, open and dynamic leadership and one which recognizes that the process of change will not always be easy or smooth. Experience shows that careful planning, persistent concentration of efforts and a conscious reinforcement of momentum building from success to success are key ingredients in the management of programmatic change. Inherent in any change process must also be a recognition of the need to adapt an organization’s culture and norms to new requirements.

45. Given the magnitude of the challenges of programmatic reorientation, combined with the structural and administrative reorganizations under way, it may be that an incremental step-by-step approach to programmatic reorientations is the best and most realistic use of UNESCO’s limited resources.

46. UNESCO’s biennial budgetary cycle lends itself to such a step-by-step process. One or two major programmes could be comprehensively reviewed over the coming months in the manner described above, and the fruits of this labour integrated into the Draft Programme and Budget for 2002-2003 (31 C/5). Subsequently, while proceeding to implement document 31 C/5, the remaining major programmes could be similarly reviewed with the target of a fully refreshed set of UNESCO programming being presented in the Draft Programme and Budget for 2004-2005.

48. Systematic implementation, strengthened through widespread staff participation at all levels, would enable UNESCO to not only assess programme relevance, but also put into place the required results-based managerial frameworks that will enable the sensitive evaluation of the effectiveness of UNESCO’s work – the assessment of its impact and its outcome – key recommendations made by the Task Force in its interim report and echoed by the Director-General in his recent report on the reform process (160 EX/6).

49. Programming might be further streamlined and focused through altering the current approach to the identification of priority groups and regions. Many of the recent regional consultations identified newer and more functional approaches to this issue, as has the Director-General.

50. It is not that priority groups and regions would be abandoned. Rather, UNESCO’s identification of priority groups and regions should be continued and strengthened through mainstreaming and integration into the programmes. All programmes of UNESCO should take into account the specific needs of the different population groups and geographical regions involved. As an example, there should be a gender perspective in all activities.

51. It should be noted that Africa has been identified by the United Nations as a priority. "Nowhere is a global commitment to poverty reduction needed more than in Africa south of the Sahara, because no region of the world endures greater human suffering". (We the Peoples: the Role of the United Nations in the Twenty-First Century. Report of the Secretary-General).

52. To this end, the Director-General has suggested in 160 EX/5 Part II that a functional priority be given to meeting the needs of marginalized and excluded groups in all aspects of UNESCO’s programming. One example for possible consideration and reflection might be the elderly, due to the growing number of older people who are living longer in societies with no or diminishing social security systems, or in environments where the role of older persons is unclear and not valued.

53. Superficial treatment of priority groups and regions or their use as simply showcase examples of what the Organization is doing should be avoided. The idea of target groups should not lead to the reduction of rigour with regard to problem identification and analysis, or give licence for patronizing attitudes. The problems related to priority groups must be seen within the wider social and international context of the challenges of humanizing globalization.

55. The crucial importance for UNESCO of all these matters logically implies that progress on it be reported on regularly and systematically by the Director-General to the Executive Board, in order to help sustain necessary impetus.

57. The world has undergone a great transformation since the end of the Second World War when the resolve of the world community was strong to prevent other genocidal ventures of totalitarian regimes and since the Cold War conflicts of political ideologies subsequently divided the world into two parts.

58. While the emerging order of the globalization process is mostly left to the market and the free trade protective mechanism of the Bretton Woods institutions, somewhat hesitant efforts for building consensus in the non-economic spheres of the United Nations system are being made in the name of humanizing globalization and safeguarding peace in the world community.

59. It has been noted that the Bretton Woods institutions have moved in recent years from involvement largely in economic development to a broader approach to human development, where issues involving areas such as education, health and good governance have become targets of major programmatic activity. There are many signals coming from Bretton Woods institutions that hold positive potential for cooperation with UNESCO.

60. What really counts, however, is the capacity to deliver concrete results effectively. To be accepted as a serious partner by other organizations, UNESCO has to assert its relevance by delivering its services in a timely and highly professional manner, with high quality and relevant actions.

61. The natural temptation, in the face of complex issues and competing agendas of other organizations simply to withdraw from involvement, pleading insufficient means or a wish to avoid "duplication", is unworthy of UNESCO’s vocation.

62. UNESCO has a specific mandate among United Nations organizations to exercise an ethical, moral and intellectual leadership within the areas of its competence. These are UNESCO’s responsibilities – no one else’s – and the issues are not so much about "leadership", or "budgets" or "useless duplication", but about the proper exercise by UNESCO of its own competence. It is incumbent on UNESCO to establish ways of effective cooperation and coordination that recognize this. At the same time, reform of UNESCO’s cooperation with other members of the United Nations system has to be seen as part of the broader need for reform of that entire system. Furthermore, UNESCO faces the challenge of exercising proactive leadership, not simply being reactive to the initiatives of others in the areas of its competence, for example concerning prevention of conflicts and ethical issues.

63. In such a transformational situation, the first thing for an intergovernmental organization such as UNESCO to do is to reassert its raison d’être. And of course the reassertive action has to be relevant in the context of the changing world situation. There needs to be positive action to re-establish the governance system of the Organization that will be relevant, credible and effective in the new century.

64. UNESCO has started to improve its relations with all its partners. The Director-General has begun to explore how best to make practical progress in this area, utilizing multilateral fora within the United Nations system such as the ACC, in parallel with specific bilateral action with partners such as UNICEF.

65. What is needed is to reinforce this through a systematic step-by-step bilateral process to improve the relationship with each partner – among the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions, NGOs and the private sector – reflecting the unique characteristics of each relationship. In this way, UNESCO can reassert its upstream leadership mandate and highlight the unique contributions it alone can bring.

66. Over the longer term, once UNESCO has evidently reasserted its role and its unique contributions in such a broad-based bilateral manner, some consideration could be given to seeking agreement on a broad multilateral framework to provide for systematic harmonization, primarily among the member organizations of the United Nations system.

67. To do this effectively, UNESCO itself must determine how its work with others actually will be carried out – those among the United Nations system and elsewhere. It must develop a comprehensive and rational approach to its cooperative activities. There are basic questions that UNESCO should ask itself.

68. First, UNESCO should identify the issue involving partnership. Is it specific to a Member State, to a region or the global community? Is it related to any identified UNESCO priority or special need? There must be an identification of UNESCO’s distinctive role in each case.

69. Related to this, UNESCO should answer the question "who are we addressing?" It is mandatory that a knowledge of the constituency being addressed should be clear so as to give pertinent answers. Without clear knowledge of the target group and the reasons for the question arising UNESCO’s response may not have the impact intended.

70. It is only through assessment and synthesis of the knowledge base of an issue that UNESCO’s contribution would be distinctive. Therefore, UNESCO also needs to answer the questions: What is known? What is unknown? How can UNESCO bridge the knowledge gap? How can the solution of the issue improve humanity and environment? What will be achieved? What tools do we use?

71. How UNESCO communicates knowledge assessment and synthesis is essential to cooperation. For instance, should UNESCO’s response address its partners, the target groups or both? Is the response clear? How effectively is it presented? These questions are also related to the issue of UNESCO’s credibility and visibility, which can only be achieved through the quality of its responses. Timeliness of such responses is essential. A delayed response to an issue often finds interest faded or diverted to another pressing challenge. UNESCO should therefore proactively develop coherent communications strategies for the Organization and its priority areas of action.

72. UNESCO should have evaluation and monitoring mechanisms for its responses to issues. It should develop an assessment yardstick and corrective mechanism.

74. Such new relationships ought to include well-conceived collaborations with private sector organizations that can be arranged to further UNESCO’s purposes. Additionally, partnering with both national and international NGOs should be a significant feature of UNESCO’s strategy in this area.

75. UNESCO brings more than just one special capability to bear on the international stage. In some instances it may be a moral leader or an information clearing house; in others a pioneer working with partners on pilot and demonstration projects, or an interlocutor bringing others together to develop common solutions.

76. Accordingly, there are sound reasons for UNESCO to consider identifying several key areas and relationships where it may wish to immediately identify some targets for model joint activities to demonstrate a new, focused and results-oriented UNESCO.

78. Building new more effective partnerships is an essential component in the reform and revitalization of UNESCO. It is much more than a question of procedural improvement. The nature of these partnerships has clear programming impact. Therefore, some reporting mechanism should be developed to enable the Executive Board, and through it the entire membership of the General Conference, to gauge the pace of progress and to harness complementary resources. For example, such reporting might offer Member States the opportunity to better coordinate their input and participation across organizational lines within the United Nations system.

80. To further enrich input into the development of the Medium-Term Strategy, some consideration might be given to holding a series of sectoral meetings of ministers from Member States’ governments sufficiently in advance of the formulation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy so as to maximize opportunities for the development of common positions.

81. In practical terms, the balance between reflection and action could be achieved if UNESCO’s modes of action are more diversified and not reduced only to inward-looking seminars, conferences, etc. The key to the relevance of such activities and their ability to contribute to the quest for the humanization of globalization in the future may lie in ensuring that they focus on results-oriented objectives and lead to practical implementation (like model projects) and other follow-up activities. The challenge for UNESCO is to ensure that intellectual and reflective activities such as conferences, seminars and meetings produce results-oriented activities and visible follow-up.

82. Setting a dynamic balance between action and reflection involves considering the nature of the need being addressed, in light of the five comparative advantages of UNESCO (cited in the Task Force’s interim report and recently the Director-General in 160 EX/5 Part II):

Laboratory for ideas;

Clearing house;

Capacity-builder;

Standard-setter;

Catalyst.

83. Clearly several of these fundamental characteristics are more oriented towards reflection, while others are clearly action-oriented with UNESCO playing a pioneering or catalytic role.

84. Furthermore, the dynamic balance between action and reflection for UNESCO should also reflect the interrelationship between UNESCO and other key actors in specific areas. Useless duplication must be avoided; however, this does not imply that UNESCO abandon activities within its fields of competence.

• UNESCO’s intellectual activities, such as conferences, seminars, etc., be more results-oriented and include follow-up procedures as necessary elements of programming.

86. One of the major challenges facing UNESCO is its ability to develop transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to programmes that address the complex problems facing the world such as the humanization of globalization. As an intellectual forum and a laboratory of ideas, UNESCO needs to take the lead in developing model approaches and knit together insights gathered within the Organization, to address issues of development, sustainability and building peace in the minds of men.

87. This implies that the major programmes should not be seen as separate and compartmentalized entities. The Director-General in his report on the reform process confirmed the recognition of the interconnected nature of programming activity. Furthermore, he suggested in 160 EX/5 Part II that "... two transverse issues should be selected chosen for their high degree of priority and their topicality and requiring for their translation into action the convergence of a wide variety of approaches, disciplines and skills". Accordingly, there should be a strong commitment to achieve convergence and linkages when and wherever relevant to a major unifying theme such as the humanization of globalization.

88. Notwithstanding the temptation for early identification of target areas, transdisciplinarity is not an instant solution. A process of the gradual integration within the upcoming biennium of one or two cross-cutting activities, based on the careful use of programming criteria and the inclusion of measurable objectives and the means for evaluation, will be superior to simply announcing a lengthy series of new purported transdisciplinary measures which are not integrated, or trying to depict everything as "transverse". Such a step-by-step approach to transdisciplinarity lends itself to the sort of sector-by-sector review of programme relevance described above.

89. Thematic areas frequently cut across organizational lines and reflect to a far greater degree than before the interconnected nature of the challenges facing humanity. The drive towards interdisciplinarity should be focused initially on breaking down long-standing artificial barriers, for example, between education and the other major programmes – for example with Major Programme II concerning science education; with Major Programme III involving education in values and attitudes; with Major Programme IV for multilingual education, etc.; and, between Major Programmes II and III on the ethics of science and technology.

90. The Director-General, in document 160 EX/5 Part II, identified two possible areas for transverse activities:

• eradication of poverty, especially extreme poverty;

• the contribution of new information and communication technologies to the development of education, science and culture, and the construction of a knowledge society.

91. At this time, the chief challenge to the realization of transverse activities may be to break down organizational barriers and to build up within the Organization a new ethos of working together across organizational lines to address complex and multi-faceted problems. This is far more than just establishing new transverse units. It entails a functional or issues-based approach to management and creativity. Furthermore, every effort should be made to resist establishing new stand-alone transverse units.

93. This part of the final report of the Task Force presents practical proposals to the Executive Board on the improvement of the "governance system" of UNESCO designed to strengthen the Organization’s effectiveness, visibility and credibility and thus enable it to better meet the emerging challenges of the humanization of globalization.

94. The following major issue areas (and specific questions) relative to governance were identified:

• arrangements for collaboration between UNESCO and other elements of the United Nations and international system; including the following specific sub-issues:

• the implications for UNESCO, given its ethical, normative and intellectual mandate, of working with those involved in direct programme delivery;
• the nature of relations with the Bretton Woods institutions in particular;
• the implications of perceived duplication of efforts;
• how to break down barriers between organizations;

• the nature and framework of partnering with the various entities of civil society including the roles played by National Commissions, including the following sub-issues:

• how to enhance the effectiveness of National Commissions;
• how to more effectively engage civil society in UNESCO’s spheres of competence;

• the reorientation of how UNESCO seeks and manages extrabudgetary resources;

• conditions for an enhanced visibility and credibility for UNESCO, based particularly on the relevance of its involvement and its capacity for impact, and specifically what communications initiatives might be developed to better profile UNESCO’s role and its work.

95. There is much to do in the governance area, and the Task Force is by no means alone in being challenged to make a constructive contribution.

96. The Director-General is uniquely positioned to deal with changes in the Secretariat. And the Special Committee of the Executive Board has its own responsibilities, chiefly dealing with the future role of the Board itself. Recently, an ad hoc Working Group of the Special Committee tabled a report addressing a number of procedural, regulatory and structural governance-related issues.

97. The Task Force has noted this excellent work and has determined that its own contribution to addressing important governance issues would be largely functional in nature. The work of the Task Force should not overlap with or duplicate that of others involved in the renewal of UNESCO. Accordingly, the Task Force has largely confined its work in this area to matters which form the bridge between governance and programming.

98. There is an undeniable need for UNESCO to renew how it relates to its partners in the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions, NGOs and civil society more broadly, and the private sector, and how it portrays itself on the world’s stage. The ultimate objective for UNESCO is to reform its governance system as a whole to overcome the present weakness in carrying out its mandate and mission in the face of massive global changes and challenges such as the humanization of globalization. These "weaknesses" are concisely summarized in the Director-General’s report on the reform process to the 159th session of the Executive Board: "Lack of focus with regard to activities, … uncertain or superficial impact, … absence of … practical results, … the gradual tarnishing of UNESCO’s image…" and "at the same time many organizations – governmental and non-governmental – have begun to invest in the fields of competence which were … the preserves of the Organization".

99. There is undoubtedly a sense among many observers of UNESCO that its very nature and purpose, to bring not only governments but peoples together, to build an ethos of peace and security, and contribute to the humanization of globalization can too easily be lost sight of through concentrating on its intergovernmental context alone. What seems to be clear is that UNESCO will only have visibility and credibility if many different partners beyond the purely governmental sphere engage in, support and are motivated by its activities.

100. The existence of National Commissions is a characteristic of UNESCO and one of its key linkages to civil society and the public at large worldwide. Healthy and intellectually vigorous National Commissions must be a goal of UNESCO.

101. Since National Commissions are "distinctly national", they can come to reflect the unique nature of each civil society that comprises humanity, thus enabling a sensitive and appropriate interaction with UNESCO and its activities. For example, the nature of the relationship of NGOs with civil society clearly varies from country to country. National Commissions provide UNESCO a unique window on the nature of diverse civil societies.

102. To that end, the scheduled regional consultation meetings of National Commissions for input into the development of the Medium-Term Strategy and/or the Programme and Budget offer unparalleled opportunities for sharing of experiences and insights. Notwithstanding some shortcomings at present, this process deserves to be evaluated and strengthened. Better and earlier planning would lead to more debate and sharing of ideas at these regional meetings, thus enhancing their value as consultative fora and as windows into civil society.

103. A number of National Commissions have asserted that there are disparities between the National Commissions’ role and capacity as set forth by the Charter of National Commissions and reality. Inadequacy of financial and human resources, even a lack of opportunity to function meaningfully, are common problems in their view. As well, some knowledgeable commentators have observed that in some countries National Commissions are often empty or lifeless structures because of their limited means or because they are too narrowly governmental.

105. UNESCO itself cannot merely call on Member States to improve the condition of National Commissions without itself assuming some responsibilities.

109. Since the early 1990s, UNESCO has given its official recognition to the partnership with non-governmental organizations, both national and international, by adopting two Directives for it on the occasion of the 26th and the 28th sessions of the General Conference.

110. Recognizing the recent improvements in the streamlining of relations with NGOs, and since, in the opinion of some Member States, there remain some problems relative to the graded categorizations of NGOs and the relations with national NGOs, there may be a need to review these matters.

112. The role that extrabudgetary resources play in the overall impact of UNESCO’s programming is crucial.

113. There have undoubtedly been problems in how these extrabudgetary contributions have been planned and managed and how they have impacted on the regular budgeted programmes.

114. The above therefore implies that UNESCO "have its house in order", including its rules and practices, with respect to how it works with others, and be able to show prospective partners the "value for money" inherent within UNESCO and the mutual benefits of partnering with UNESCO.

115. In the sense of "getting its house in order", therefore, some modalities must be found for placing these extrabudgetary activities in a comprehensive and transparent framework that ensure an effective interplay with the regular programme, while involving the donors in design and approval of UNESCO’s activities they fund, and in the monitoring of the implementation of the activities.

116. The Task Force recommends to the Executive Board that:

117. It has been argued that enhancement of UNESCO’s visibility and credibility in a rapidly changing world environment requires a willingness on the part of the Organization to run risks, to ask the tough, difficult questions, to explore the controversial issues in its fields of competence.

118. This truly goes to the heart of UNESCO’s ethical peace-building mission and the strategic goal of the humanization of globalization. It challenges all the decision-making elements of UNESCO to truly work to make it an "upstream agency", deliberately focusing the world’s attention on priority issues where there are bound to be vested interests and conventional wisdoms that would favour inaction and no spirit of crisis.

119. But for UNESCO to serve that end with maximum effectiveness, of stirring up and enlivening genuine illuminating examination of key issues, thus engaging the attention and action of key opinion leaders, pivotal figures in the private and non-governmental sectors, as well as governmental decision-makers, it must sharpen its own information and communications instruments and tools in order to reach beyond specialized scientific and intellectual elites. It must be visible and its value understood far beyond its programmatic clientele or it runs the risk of being marginalized.

120. What will make UNESCO visible – and interesting – to people outside "the family"? It is the inescapably controversial and meaningful nature of countless issues within its mandate areas that offer the potential for significant communications visibility – and the enhanced credibility that goes with it. Communicating how the Dakar Agreement on "Education for all" is being implemented and setting forth what UNESCO is doing in the field of education for human rights, bioethics and in inter-cultural relations comprise only four issues where enhanced communications could lead to better visibility and an improved understanding of UNESCO’s unique contributions.

121. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, underlined the imperative of visibility and effective communications recently when he stated that "the role of communications should be seen not as a support function but as an integral part of the substantive programme of the United Nations".

122. The key questions for UNESCO therefore may be: What is to be communicated? To whom? How? The "communications" dimension should be taken into consideration when dealing with any activity or programme. This implies that all projects, from their inception, should have a "communications" component. When their overall outcomes are being evaluated, the communications aspects of the activity should be analysed as well.

124. The Task Force also considered the need for a follow-up mechanism concerning the execution of the Programme and Budget.

126. This final report contains a series of proposals to the Executive Board for it to deal with according to its own appropriate practices and processes.

127. There is also necessarily a major role for Member States in the carrying out of UNESCO’s programmes. Indeed, Member States have a decisive function to perform in the revitalization of UNESCO’s cooperation with other agencies within the United Nation system in which these same Member States are also present.

128. In these times of rapid change for humanity there is a need to reflect carefully on the development of appropriate measures to better follow up on the implementation of UNESCO’s programme and identify emerging trends and opportunities, possibly with the aid of the most modern world-spanning communication technologies. Such an environmental scan could be developed annually and the document "The Twenty-First Century: Towards the identification of main trends" (159 EX/39 Part II) could serve as an initial inspiration and useful tool for reflection and analysis.

129. Finally, the Executive Board might wish to pursue further its reflections on partnership with civil society, from the perspective of a clearer identification of things that UNESCO should continue to do itself, things that UNESCO should do with others, things that UNESCO should do through others, and finally things that UNESCO should leave to others.

130. The following constitutes the consolidated recommendations of the Task Force.

1. The Task Force therefore recommends that, in unity with the set priorities of the United Nations system, including those highlighted in the Millennium Declaration of the General Assembly, the Draft Medium-Term Strategy incorporate:

• an overarching strategic vision of "the humanization of globalization" that would provide a common basis for all programming and which would be clearly linked to identified emerging and future trends. This would represent a contemporary articulation of the ideals of UNESCO;
• strategies to equip UNESCO to influence the development of globalization in humanistic directions and thus to enable UNESCO to partner within its fields of competence with other members of the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector;

• strategies appropriate to the different types of partnerships to fashion common ethical rules and norms needed to harness the potentially positive power of globalization.

2. The Task Force therefore recommends to the Executive Board that it requests that the Director-General in developing the Draft Medium-Term Strategy and Programme and Budget take into account the following specific programming-related recommendations:

3. The Task Force therefore recommends that:

• how each activity is linked to the fundamental core mission of UNESCO to build peace in the minds of men;
• how it contributes to the strategic challenges of "the humanization of globalization";
• how it relates to emerging and future trends such as those identified by the Task Force in its interim report (159 EX/39 Part II);
• how it complements UNESCO’s five identified comparative advantages, and how it contributes to enhancing inter-agency cooperation within the United Nations system; and
• how it relates to the sets of programme criteria contained in the Task Force’s interim report (159 EX/39);

4. The Task Force therefore recommends that a firm commitment be made in the Medium-Term Strategy to ensure that UNESCO activities will be targeted to the urgent needs of marginalized and excluded groups, and geographic regions, including those presently identified as priorities or those that might be identified in the future, (recognizing the requirement for close integration with regional plans), and that their needs will be mainstreamed and integrated into the programmes.

5. The Task Force therefore recommends that the Director-General report, within the context of his report on the execution of the programme, relative to programming reform and to the implementation of new approaches to integration of priority groups into the mainstream of programmes.

6. The Task Force recommends to the Executive Board that it urge the Director-General to take into account the following issues when planning and subsequently managing all present or contemplated joint programming activities with member organizations of the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions including the regional development banks, NGOs, Member States themselves and the private sector:

• What is the issue being addressed and how does it relate to the core mandate of UNESCO and any articulated priority or themes such as the humanization of globalization?

• Who are the potential clients and recipients to be served or addressed by a joint activity?

• What can UNESCO bring to such a joint activity within its fields of competence?

• How will UNESCO communicate the results of such joint activities to various audiences and ensure the profiling of its unique contributions?

• How will UNESCO assess or evaluate the results of joint activities and how will the results of such assessments be integrated into overall UNESCO evaluation and assessment regimes?
• How will UNESCO assert proactive leadership, while working with other partners?

7. The Task Force recommends that the Executive Board urge the Director-General to examine the range of programmes set out in the Programme and Budget in order to identify an initial select number of targeted joint activities where improved collaboration could further the objectives of those activities while serving to break down barriers and establishing new and improved patterns of broader cooperation. In addition to activities with member organizations of the United Nations system, such targeted joint activities might include some with NGOs and with the Bretton Woods institutions.

8. The Task Force recommends that the Executive Board request the Director-General to report, as part of his report on the execution of the programme, about the current status of formal relations and programmatic partnerships and UNESCO’s role in mobilizing resources both financial and non-financial, with member organizations of the United Nations system and with the Bretton Woods institutions, including the regional development banks.

9. The Task Force therefore recommends that:

• related to the process of programmatic reorganization and reprofiling, consideration be given to ensuring that a dynamic balance is set between action and reflection with the following being given as illustrations of the nature of such a balance:

• UNESCO’s intellectual activities, such as conferences, seminars, etc., be more results-oriented and include follow-up procedures as necessary elements of programming.

10. The Task Force therefore recommends that:

• ethics of scientific and technological progress;
• several aspects involved in the interrelationship of education and the other major programmes such as:

• education for all;

• science education;

• education of values and attitudes ("learning to live together", including values and practices of human rights, democracy, tolerance and dialogue between civilizations for the promotion of a culture of peace);

• multilingual education;

• the relationship of humanity with the environment;

• eradication of poverty (especially extreme poverty);

• the implications of new information and communication technologies for the construction of a knowledge-based society.

11. The Task Force therefore recommends that, in order to stimulate and assist the Member States’ initiatives and commitments relative to National Commissions, the Executive Board urge the Director-General to develop long-term sustained efforts to provide technical and professional assistance when necessary to help the Member States’ efforts to strengthen the National Commissions in compliance with the Charter.

12. The Task Force further recommends to the Executive Board that it urge the Director-General to prepare a compendium of best practices of National Commissions, including in particular the important relationships between National Commissions and NGOs as key instruments of outreach to civil society.

13. The Task Force also recommends to the Executive Board that it urge the Director-General to report within the context of his report on the execution of the programme on the technical and professional assistance that he has provided to National Commissions.

14. The Task Force recommends to the Executive Board that:

15. The Task Force, in light of the fact that the visibility and credibility of UNESCO depends on the relevance, quality and effectiveness of its programmes, and, in view of the need to improve the visibility and credibility of the Organization, recommends to the Executive Board that it urge the Director-General to:

16. The Task Force recommends to the Executive Board that it consider the difficulties facing certain National Commissions in Member States, and make recommendations to improve where necessary the situation of National Commissions.

17. The Task Force recommends that the Executive Board ask the Committee on NGOs to review the current practices as described in this report dealing with the relationship of UNESCO with NGOs, with the view of improving them where necessary, within the framework of a coherent strategy.

18. The Task Force recommends that, in order to enhance the constitutional role and decision-making capacity of the Executive Board, and in accordance with Article V, paragraph 6(b) of the Constitution of UNESCO, the Executive Board consider the possibility of creating a new mechanism which would enable it to effectively fulfil its constitutional duty of monitoring the execution of the Programme and Budget and allow the Member States to follow more closely the development of UNESCO’s programme activities and react in a timely manner to the new challenges within the Organization’s spheres of competence.

The Executive Board,