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| | The Director-General of UNESCO met with Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat
07-03-2005 - The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, met with Mr Donald McKinnon, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat on 4 March 2005, in order to review areas of cooperation between the two organizations. |
That collaboration is long-standing, dating back to an agreement signed in 1980. Five main topics were discussed: education; information technology and the digital divide; health (including the HIV/AIDS epidemic); tsunami early warning systems; and indigenous culture.
With regard to education, Mr McKinnon said that 2005 was the Year of Education for the Commonwealth. He highlighted the recent steps being taken by the Commonwealth Secretariat to strengthen its educational work, especially in regard to primary and secondary education, through the Commonwealth Institute, now established within the University of Cambridge (UK) under the leadership of Professor Christopher Colclough (former Director of the EFA Global Monitoring Report team). Note was also made of UNESCO’s collaboration with The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), now led by former ADG/ED Sir John Daniel. The Director-General welcomed cooperation between UNESCO and these bodies, particularly in the framework of the drive towards Education for All (EFA), which addresses the educational situations of developing countries within the Commonwealth. Mr McKinnon also mentioned the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat in the area of education against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including the youth-to-youth approach embodied in its “Ambassadors for Positive Living” initiative. The Director-General spoke of UNESCO’s emphasis on prevention education within the context of the Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Education.
Mr Matsuura informed the Secretary-General about developments subsequent to the Indian Ocean tsunami, including the international meeting presently taking place at Headquarters. He stressed that, while UNESCO’s role through the IOC was crucial for the development of regional and, indeed, global warning systems, its work at national level needs to be supplemented and called upon the Commonwealth Secretariat to help in this regard. Mr McKinnon took note of this.
The discussion turned to information technology and the forthcoming Tunis Summit. Mr McKinnon noted that a Heads of Government meeting would take place in Malta in November on the theme of “networking the Commonwealth for development”. With regard to indigenous peoples and their cultures, he stressed the risks they faced in the context of growing liberalization and globalization. It was noted that UNESCO was very much involved in the protection of indigenous cultures. Discussion also extended into the realm of post-conflict situations; Mr McKinnon mentioned the programme it is developing in Uganda for young ex-soldiers and abductees returning from Sudan and invited UNESCO’s collaboration in this area. The Director-General spoke of UNESCO’s work of preventive action and post-conflict reconstruction (e.g. in Liberia, Sierra Leone, DRC, Angola), especially through education.
The Director-General and Mr McKinnon both emphasized the value of collaboration between their two organizations, which looks set to continue and to develop in the future.
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Flash Info 040-2005
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