UNESCO Executive Board meets from 14 to 30 April

UNESCO’s Executive Board, chaired by Ambassador of Benin Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yaï, is to meet from 14 to 30 April in Paris for its 181st session. The session will be marked by the visits of the President of Benin, Boni Yayi, and the United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, former President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio. It will also feature a thematic debate on UNESCO’s role as lead agency in Education for All (EFA).

The Board’s plenary sessions will take place from 20 to 22 April, and then on 25, 29 and 30 April. President Yayi of Benin will address the Board on 20 April at 3 p.m. and the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations will speak on 23 April, also at 3 p.m. The thematic debate on UNESCO’s role as the lead agency for EFA and coordination among convening agencies, with special emphasis on progress on EFA in Africa, will be held on 25 April.

Notable items on the agenda of the 181st session include: consideration of the procedure to be followed for the nomination of the Director-General of the Organization; the global economic and financial crisis and its effects on education; the Draft Programme and Budget for 2010 2011; the establishment of institutes and centres under the auspices of UNESCO; and the report by the Director-General on a detailed plan of action for UNESCO’s strategy for action on climate change.

During its two yearly sessions, the Executive Board brings together 58 of the 193 Member states of UNESCO to oversee the execution of the programme adopted by the Organization’s General Conference. The Secretariat, under the leadership of the Director-General, is responsible for the implementation of the programme.

World Press Freedom Day 2009: Dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation

The way the media influences thought and action and its capacity to foster dialogue, understanding and reconciliation will be the focus of discussions at a UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day 2009, to be held in Doha (Qatar) on 2 and 3 May.

In his message for World Press Freedom Day 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO Koïchiro Matsuura stressed that: “We must strengthen our efforts to build a media that is critical of inherited assumptions yet tolerant of alternative perspectives; a media that brings competing narratives into a shared story of interdependence; a media that responds to diversity through dialogue.”

Based on the premise that only a free media will innately contribute to the dialogue and understanding across divides, the two day programme will be divided into four sessions, during which media professionals from around the world will discuss:

• The capacity of the media for intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding;
• The need to establish ethical and professional standards in order to build models of accountability as well as effective self regulation for journalists;
• What specific place for media in promoting interreligious dialogue and mutual understanding?
• Media and enhancing dialogue as a tool for empowering citizens.

The conference has been organized under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al- Missned, consort of His Highness the Emir of Qatar Shiekh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.

H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, Chairman of the Board, Doha Center for Media Freedom (Qatar) will open the event with George Anastassopoulos, President of UNESCO’s General Conference, and Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information.

South-African journalist Allister Sparks, the author of several critically acclaimed books on his country’s transition from apartheid including, most recently, Beyond the Miracle: Inside the New South Africa, will present the keynote speech.

During the conference, Mr Matsuura will present the 2009 World Press Freedom Prize, awarded posthumously to murdered Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge. Mr Wickrematunge’s widow, Sonali Wickrematunge, will accept the prize, which is supported by the Ottaway and Cano foundations and JP/Politiken Newspaper LTD.

Education for All (EFA) International Coordination

The Big Read: Global Action Week 2009
Puts Spotlight on Literacy

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• © GCE

Global Action Week 2009 (April 20 to 26) focuses on youth and adult literacy and life-long learning to raise awareness about the global literacy challenge.

Worldwide, some 776 million adults lack literacy skills, 75 million children are out of school and millions more leave school early without acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills. Literacy is a basic right. It is a fundamental condition for being part of today’s knowledge societies. Literacy is a key to reduce poverty, increase economic opportunities, improve child and maternal health, prevent HIV and AIDS and encourage political participation.

Global Action Week, led by the Global Campaign for Education, will send a strong signal to policy-makers and the international community on the importance of one of the most neglected Education for All goals. More political commitment, more effective literacy programs and more funding are required to make literacy a basic right for all.

The highlight of the campaign is the “Big Book”, a collection of short stories about how education changes lives. “Big Read” events will be organized, during which individuals will read from this book and sign a statement at the back of it calling for more commitment and investments to ensure that everyone is able to read and write.

The Global Action Week is an advocacy campaign organized each year by the Global Campaign for Education. UNESCO, as coordinator of the EFA movement and of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012), supports this campaign and will be organizing activities around the world related to the “Big Read.”

Check this site regularly for stories, videos, presentations and studies about literacy and Global Action Week 2009.