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| | Swaziland receives UNESCO Director-General
Pas disponible en Français.Disponible en Anglais.
04-03-2004 - At the invitation of the Kingdom of Swaziland, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, paid an official visit to the country from 1-2 March 2004. This was the second visit of a UNESCO Director-General to the country, the first one having taken place in 1980. |
In the presence of Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the Director-General held talks with His Majesty King Mswati III on issues relating to education, HIV/AIDS and culture in Swaziland. The Director-General offered UNESCO’s full support in raising international awareness on the importance of Swaziland’s struggle against HIV/AIDS. HE commended the efforts of the government in preparing the Swaziland Plan for Education for All (EFA) and encouraged the country to stay on track. The Director-General stressed his intention to strengthen UNESCO’s active presence in Swaziland through its Office in Windhoek.
He also welcomed the government’s preparatory work towards the ratification of the 1972 World Natural Heritage Convention. Furthermore, the Director-General paid tribute to the country’s attachment to its intangible heritage and urged that the newly adopted Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage be ratified. His Majesty King Swati III assured the Director-General of Swaziland’s readiness to ratify both Conventions and commended UNESCO for reviewing and strengthening its preventive education strategy against HIV/AIDS. He also expressed his appreciation for the recent agreement on “Capacity-building in Teacher education” signed last November and financed by Japanese Funds-in-Trust.
Mr Matsuura met the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the President of Senate and Members of Parliament within the framework of the Forum for African Parliamentarians on Education (FAPED). The Director-General expressed his hope that the Swaziland Parliament would give its full support to the Swaziland EFA programme, preventive education for HIV/AIDS and the ratification of UNESCO’s international instruments in the field of culture. The Members of Parliament expressed their commitments to these goals; they also drew the Director-General’s attention to the critical circumstances faced by children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and informed him that their priority is to introduce free, quality education in Swaziland.
During the working luncheon hosted by Mrs Constance Simelane, Minister of Education, and attended by all Ministers responsible for UNESCO’s fields of competence, appreciation was expressed regarding UNESCO’s support to Swaziland and indications were given regarding the areas where cooperation needs to be strengthened.
At the end of the official visit, a joint communiqué was signed by Mr Absalom Dlamini, Prime Minister of Swaziland and the Director-General of UNESCO.
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Source |
Flash Info 033-2004
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