REPORT on WORK at UNESCO 2005
by Simone Landry (translation June Raynal)

GENERAL CONFERENCE of UNESCO and INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE of NGOs

Simone was kept busy from the end of September till mid-December. She was present at the 21 days of the General Conference and the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations and Unesco, and took part in the following preparations of the International Conference of NGOs. June joined her at the NGO Conference itself for which they had both prepared a document on the longstanding collaboration between WILPF and Unesco. (available in French)

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Five Commissions shared the space and the time-table of the 21 days of the Conference at Unesco House in Paris :

Commission I - administration - general questions and support for the programme

Commission II - Education- the main point : Education for All

Commission III - Natural Sciences (Earth, Basic and Engineering sciences) ; Social and Human Sciences
Main axes of action : gender equality - anticipations and prospectives
Transversal themes : eradication of poverty , fight against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.

The Resolution on Social and Human Science concerns the instauration of inter-regional and intercultural philosophical dialogue in order to facilitate international cooperation between Philosophy and Human Sciences as well as a commitment to the consolidation of peace and human security in face of all forms of violence.

Commission IV - Culture - Universal Forum of Cultures in 2007 in Mexico.
Draft project of a Convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural content and artistic expressions.
Axes for action : improving recognition of the links between biological diversity and cultural diversity as a basic requirement for sustainable development.

Commission V - Communication and Information
The knowledge society is based on four basic pillars :
Freedom of expression - quality education for all - universal access to information and knowledge - respect for cultural and linguistic diversity.

( The Unesco Courier is now only available on-line . No more paper editions !)

The sixtieth anniversary of Unesco was celebrated by : a Seminar, 16-17-18th November to which the WILPF representatives were invited, and a magnificent concert : Ludwig Beethoven's 9th Symphony, screening of films of the first session of the General Conference in November 1946, illustrated by filmed interviews of important participants and Round Tables. All of the talks deserve to be published. It was emphasised that PEACE is endangered by IGNORANCE and CLAUDE LEVIS-STRAUSS declared that cultural diversity and biodiversity are organically linked together.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY : on October 22nd , 2005, the General Conference adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions by 148 votes in favour, 2 against and 4 abstentions. Work on this convention will continue until the next General Conference of UNESCO in 2007.
(The Convention is available in the six languages used at Unesco. In December 2005 Canada became the first state to ratify the convention which needs 30 ratifications to enter into force.)

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE of NGOs at UNESCO 14-15-16 the December 2005
KNOWLEDGE FOR ALL : TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Every two years, after the General Conference of UNESCO, a conference is organized by the NGOs. Round Tables and Workshops take up the three days of this conference. The President of the NGO Liaison Committee and the Members of this Committee Elections are elected.

Monday 14th - Mr Ahmed Sayyad , Assistant Director General opened the morning session , and after activity and finance reports the agenda of the conference was approved.

A Round Table on : EDUCATION for SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, PROMOTING VALUES took place in the afternoon - with the participation of Albert JACQUARD who began his talk by expressing two wishes ; commitment to satisfy the needs of the population and the humanising of globalisation. He called on all humankind to take part, to be interested in the social and political issues (governance) of their time and commit 7O% of their lives to this cause. Quoting Paul Valéry he said that the time of the finite world was commencing, and that we must all change our ways of thinking. The tremendous on-going increase in world population forces us to re-think our lifestyles. When we make choices we must ask ourselves : What do we want? Are our projects compatible with the capacities of our planet? Formal and informal education must develop decision-making capacities in our young people.
After a debate, a representative of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Students said we should draw up a document to try to find meeting points between all the incompatabilities, incomprehensions and complexities in order to mobilize the energy of creative capacities. Finally Utopia is a vital necessity.

Thursday 15th : Three workshops :

I : Education for sustainable development : the role of the media
II : Education in Urban Areas : promoting values
III : Women, Actresses for Change.

I: Education for sustainable Development - the role of the media.

This complex issue raises concepts of multi-facetted definitions, all the more so as the link between the media and sustainable development is not evident at the moment, provoking interrogations and definitions : What should be the role of the media in education for sustainable development? Who should be responsible for imposing the theme of sustainable development on the media? How can we get the media to sensibilize public opinion to Sustainable development? What forms of communication need to be invented that don't yet exist?
One definition in particular is worth remembering ; The media claim to be supports of diffusion of information and culture. They provide the opportunity to express and inform and transmit and can be the basis for communication which entails confidence and relationship.

III : Women , actresses for change.

This workshop adressed the issue of poverty, under-development, and illiteracy and heard concrete examples from Chiapas, Mexico, Madagascar and Benin, Philippines, Cameroun and Bangladesh of how women, through access to micro-finance, mutual support and a minimum of education were able to make the improvements they thought important in their own lives and those of their families and communities. NGOs -ALSol, from Chiapas, Arts and Crafts Women of Madagascar -told of the real difficulties women experience in isolated rural communities and of their vitality and capacities to build on the slightest help. They know their problems, they know what they need for their families and can organize together and use the elements of literacy (reading, writing, counting) that these NGOs, and others, give them with help from Unesco. Experience has shown that fighting poverty by micro- credit for women, accompanied by basic education, however modest, and peer support, empowers women who transform their societies as a whole.

Friday 16th : Round Table on : 60 YEARS OF COOPERATION ONG/UNESCO: overview and prospects-presentation and discussions of the workshop reports , recommendations, election results (Mme Françoise Sauvage is re-elected as President) and closure of the session by Mr Ahmed Sayyad.
For more details consult the website http://ngo-liaison-committee.unesco.org