Turkish President urges UNESCO Member States to maintain investment in education and culture

Paris, 8 October

Abdullah Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey, called on governments to maintain investment in culture and education despite the global economic and financial crisis, in an address to a Plenary Ministerial Forum organized as part of UNESCO’s General Conference, on 8 October.

The Forum focused on two topics: “Investing out of the crisis and maintaining progress towards international development goals–through action in education, the sciences, culture and communication and information” and “Shaping UNESCO for the next decade as an effective multilateral actor including in pursuit of international goals and United Nations reform”.

Mr Gül recognized the importance of the Forum “to find creative solutions to current global challenges and improve UNESCO’s role in handling them.” The current crisis, he continued, “has clearly proven that improved global governance is of key importance.” The President also called for a “new and reinvigorated multilateralism.”

Governments, he stated, should resist the temptation to cut first in social sectors, and continue to invest in culture, because “investing in the protection of cultural heritage means helping the strengthening of our societies.” Furthermore, he said, cultural diversity, as a driver of economic and social progress, should be integrated in development strategies. He cited the UNESCO-led International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures 2010 as “timely”, particularly because “fostering mutual understanding is key to effective conflict prevention.”

Mr Gül underlined that “Never in history has it been more pressing to invest in education”, as well as in scientific and technological progress, “essential for sustainable development”. He also warned that the economic and financial crisis should be prevented from “negatively affecting democratic reform processes and human rights standards”, particularly freedom of expression.

The President provided examples of how Turkey supports UNESCO’s priorities with “deeds to support words”, such as the “Outreach to Africa” policy it launched in 2005. “Working to achieve gender equality is also a priority for Turkey,” Mr Gül stated, noting that women in Turkey accounted for 40% of academics, 54% of health professionals, 33% of law professionals and 27% of diplomats.

Mr Gül, the first Turkish President to address the General Conference, held bilateral talks with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, before the Forum.

In his introductory remarks to the Forum, Mr Matsuura cautioned: “We must avoid the pitfalls of the 1980s recession, when a reduction in investment hit the social domains. [….] Consider education, for example. Spending on education is one of the best investments a country can make. Research shows that each extra year of schooling increases GDP per capita by 4 to 6 percent.”

• Author(s):UNESCOPRESS
• Source:UNESCO Press Release No. 2009- 117
• 09-10-2009