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| | Koïchiro Matsuura pays first official visit of a UNESCO Director-General to St Vincent and the Grenadines
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18-01-2006 - The Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, paid his first official visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines from 12 – 13 January 2006. |
It was the first official visit of a UNESCO Director-General to the country. He was accompanied on this visit by Mr Wafiq Said, Permanent Delegate of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to UNESCO.
During his visit, the Director-General met with the highest authorities of the country. First among these was His Excellency Sir Frederick Ballantyne, Governor-General of the Island. The discussions covered a broad range of subjects including the ongoing meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Region, which the Director-General had opened on 10 January 2006 during his official visit in Barbados (see Flash Info n°003 and 004).
At his meeting with Mr Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Director-General paid tribute to the remarkable progress made by the country in its efforts to achieve universal enrolment both at the primary and secondary educational levels, as well as to improve the number of students in tertiary education. Upon the request of the Prime Minister, the Director-General promised UNESCO’s support in the Island’s efforts to improve the adult literacy levels, including through the country’s national literacy campaign and the national resource centres being built in each district. The Director-General also informed the Prime Minister of his intention, with the support of Japanese Funds-in-Trust, to launch a capacity-building project in the area of educational statistics for the English-speaking Caribbean countries.
The Director-General was also able to engage in discussions with a number of cabinet ministers during the dinner held in his honour on Young Island (the Grenadines) by Mrs. Girlyn Miguel, Minister of Education and Chairperson of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Commission for UNESCO.
Two of the most powerful moments of the Director-General’s visits were his visit to the UNESCO-supported Community Multi-Media project for Indigenous People in the Caribbean, which he launched in Sandy Bay Primary School (in the Garifuna heartland), and his visit to the Community High School on the Island of Bequia (the Grenadines) to visit the UNESCO-supported Small Island Voice (SIV) and Interdisciplinary environmental (Sandwatch) project. At each of these sites, the Director-General was given an enthusiastic reception by the young people involved in the UNESCO projects and treated to cultural representations that were performed in the local Creole language. The visits represented a unique occasion for him to see the successful implementation of a UNESCO project in the field and to get a feel of the impact that such a project can have on the beneficiary communities.
At the launch of the Community Multi-Media project, which took place in the presence of Mr. Jerrol Thompson, Minister of Telecommunications, Science, Technology and Industry and Mr Montgomery Daniel, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Representative of the area of Sandy Bay, the Director-General stressed the importance of safeguarding and maintaining cultural heritage and he urged the country, particularly its Garifunas, to endeavour to maintain their cultural traditions and language.
In his address to the Bequia Community High School, the Director-General congratulated the students on their achievements, especially in the area of waste recycling. “This”, he said, “is an excellent example of sustainable development. It is important to teach children about sustainable development at school and I am happy to see that we are already doing this through the Sandwatch project”.
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Flash Info n°007-2006
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