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Executive Board paves the way for the forthcoming session of UNESCO’s General Conference
The 58 Members of UNESCO’s Executive Board today ended their 197th session, which was dedicated to the Organization’s governance and preparations for the General Conference of UNESCO. The Executive Board is chaired by Mohamed Sameh Amr, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Egypt to UNESCO.
The Programmes ad Extrenal Relations Commission is chaired by the Ambassador too Mexico and cochaired by the Trinidad and Tobago Representative, Dr Kris Rampersad.
During its session the Executive Board of UNESCO committed the Organization to pursue work on education in the framework of the newly adopted United Nations sustainable development goals and implement the outcomes of the World Education Forum 2015.
The Board also discussed UNESCO’s work towards implementing the 2030 Agenda and adopted important decisions thereon related, such as on investing for more efficient delivery in the implementation of this universal agenda, on a reinforced strategy and action for countering violent extremism through education and on the protection of culture and the promotion of cultural pluralism in the event of armed conflict.
The Board also recommended to the General Conference the admission of the Republic of Kosovo* as a Member of UNESCO.
The forthcoming 38th session of the General Conference will bring together representatives of all of UNESCO’s 195 Member States from 3 to 18 November. On this occasion, the Member States will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Organization with a Leaders' Forum that is expected to draw the attendance of an unprecedented number of Heads of State and Government. See more unesco.org
Happy 70th birthday to the UN and UNESCO: My Birthday wish that our consensus building techniques be shared with all to Build Peace in the Minds of Men and Women - a Sustainable Development Goal #post2015 #SDG
The near US$400 million debt owed by the United States of America to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and its potential value in advancing UNESCO’s work in the Caribbean and elsewhere were placed before US Secretary of State Senator John Kerry in a meeting as the Trinidad and Tobago Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board.
“We are working it out,” Senator Kerry responded, when he met members of the Board us at one-on-one discussions during a luncheon hosted by the US Representative on the Board, Ambassador Crystal Nix-Hines, following an address to Board members at UNESCO’s Paris Headquarters on Sunday (November 18). Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova described the US debt as “a small problem to fix”, and efforts were being made to “work it out.”
I drew to Senator Kerry's attention that the Caribbean, as the small island neighbours of the United States, could benefit tremendously from resumption of its payments. This amounts to more than one fifth of UNESCO's total budget - some 22 percent and has resulted in cuts in several programme and other initiatives as the debt was accumulating since 2011 and escalated as the US suspended payments and subsequently lost its voting rights in UNESCO. in 2013 over the admittance of Palestine as a member of UNESCO.
I drew to Senator Kerry's attention that the additional mandate of UNESCO for protection of Oceans and special focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the new UN Sustainable Development Goals, along with its traditional focus on culture, education, science and information and told Senator Kerry that while there has been tremendous focus on the science associated with Oceans with risks of of climate change and sea level rise, the Oceans to the Caribbean also held tremendous underplayed cultural value and part of the migration memory of its ancient, colonial and contemporary history, along with it being a resource for fishing, tourism and transport. I pointed out the region’s vulnerability with its open borders to arms, narcotics and human trafficking required concerted international action and funding and resourcing.
In direct response, Kerry affirmed the US commitment and support to combating arms, narcotics and human trafficking and to UNESCO in shared efforts at building a culture of peace across the world.
The United States is seeking re-election to the UNESCO Executive Board at elections carded to take place at the upcoming UNESCO General Conference in November 2015.
In his earlier address, Kerry commended UNESCO’s work on sustainable development and Oceans and emphasised the importance of education, announcing that the US and UNESCO will engage other partners for the first-ever conference on “Preventing Violent Extremism through Education” at the General Conference.
He also asserted that the US was committed to Freedom of Expression and protection of journalists, commending UNESCO’s work in these areas.
Kris Rampersad will chair the Education Commission at the General Conference, is a journalist and independent development educator/consultant, the UNESCO-trained heritage expert for the English-speaking Caribbean and has served as an independent member of UNESCO’s international intergovernmental committee on intangible cultural heritage.
@krisramp @lolleaves @glocalpot @KrisRampersadTT #Demokrissy #LeavesOfLife #LeavesOfLive #LiTTscapes #GlocalKnowledgePot For more see Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kris.rampersad1
Photo caption:
1.(From L) US Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry greets Trinidad and Tobago Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board, Dr Kris Rampersad at a luncheon held at UNESCO by the US Representative, Crystal Nix Hines. Photo Courtesy UNESCO/Pilar Chiang-Joo. All Rights Reserved
2.US Secretary of State, John Kerry and US UNESCO representative Crystal Nix-Hines discuss UNESCO fun Caribbean issues with Trinidad and Tobago Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board, Dr Kris Rampersad who proposed sustainable development priorities of the Caribbean and Small Island Development States during a luncheon meeting hosted by the US for members of the UNESCO Executive Board and permanent delegates to UNESCO at UNESCO headquarters, Paris, on Sunday (November 19). Photo Courtesy UNESCO/Pilar Chiang-Joo. All Rights Reserved. Ask About LiTtscapes, LiTTours & LiTTributes
UNESCO’s Finance Commission has unanimously
supported the call to challenge the development categorisation of countries
according to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) tabled by Trinidad and Tobago’s
representative to the UNESCO Executive Board, Dr Kris Rampersad with colleagues from the Caribbean and other Small Island Developing States and supporters from other countries.
We are advocating revision
of the GDP basis for economic categorisation of States into small, medium and
large categories promoted by global financial organisations like the World Bank as it does not reflect the tremendous disparities in income, levels of
poverty and inequalities within countries. It is part of a draft resolution proposed
by Caribbean representatives and global SIDS with support from others for
UNESCO to develop a focussed strategy of programme implementation and means of financing
and resourcing an action plan for SIDS.
It requests that UNESCO’s Institute
of Statistics collate the relevant data for phased presentation to the
Executive Board, “taking account of the
vulnerabilities linked to limitations of size and resources economies of scale,
indebtedness, external economic shocks and natural hazard occurrences and
resources.” Support for the resolution ha already come from not only Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans but also ‘developed’ island
states as the UK as well as countries like the United States, Sweden, and China
who recognised the place of SIDS in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
Goals and to ‘the future of the planet.’
UNESCO’s Finance Commission (FA)
is charged with examining budgetary provisions of the organisation. It is one
of two commissions, with the Programme and External Relations Commission (PX),
which is chaired by the representative of Mexico with co-chair, the Trinidad and Tobago Representative.
The resolution has implications for not
only on SIDS but all of the developing world, Unless these misrepresentations
are addressed we are likely to face the same pitfalls in meeting the United
Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as with the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), Persistent
poverty and other glossed-over internal challenges have hampered achievement of
the Millennium Goals. The GDP classifications have also restricted
access to technical and other resources by civil society and others working to
redress the imbalances at poverty, gender disparity and other inequalities at ground
level.
Dr Kris Rampersad is an independent development educator/consultant who has been promoting culture-centred approaches to development as the UNESCO-trained heritage facilitator for the Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago’s Representative to the Executive Board, 2013-2017.Trinidad and Tobago became a
member of the UNESCO Executive Board with the highest number of votes among the
Group of Latin American and Developing Countries (GRULAC) at UNESCO elections
of 2013. New members will be admitted to the 58-member Executive Board
following elections carded for the upcoming UNESCO General Conference in
November 2015, where all Executive Board resolutions will be finalised and
adopted.
Amenable and consensus discussions on UNESCO's participation in the preparation of the Post 2015 Agenda and Management of Social Transformations as Trinidad and Tobago representative to the UNESCO Executive Board Dr Kris Rampersad unanimously elected to CoChair UNESCO Programme and External Relations Commission for fourth consecutive session of the Board at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris France.
The
time has come to review skewed development classifications so as to redress
economic misrepresentations that are negatively affecting our countries’ access
to technical assistance and resources towards achieving effective
sustainability.
This draws from discussions with members
of civil society, development agencies, trade and international and foreign representatives on
the disadvantageous position placed on small island states like Trinidad and
Tobago by its economic categorisation as middle income on an equal footing with
other larger world economies.
UNESCO - with its work on
the ground with marginalised communities and to identify intangible value that
are generally unfactored and accounted for in development statistics - is well-positioned
to begin directly redefining and redressing this.
We are promoting a resolution requesting targeted strategic actions and aligned budget
and funding plan for small islands that also request revisiting development
classifications, which has received widespread support from among Executive
Board delegations UNESCO.
Ill-informed data on an unequal
playing field has misdirected policies, decision making, budgets and allocation
of resources that entrench ill advised economic and consumption habits,
practices of power and influence that have contributed to the spiral of poverty,
inequalities and underdevelopment and the unfulfilled dimensions of the
Millennium Development Goals.
We challenge any representation
as helpless and needy that deny our rich resource of talents and people who
function against tremendous odds to survive high handed, high powered, hand me
down directives and policies, institutional constipation, historically
entrenched status quos that handicap our ability to carve our societies in our
own image and create the World We Want.
We commend UNESCO’s successful
efforts in framing the Sustainable Development Goals, and particularly for its
pivotal role in shaping the goals on education, oceans, clean water, science,
technology and innovation, culture as a driver and enabler of development,
information as a right and key to transparent governance; and transformational
powers of advancing the status of women and girls.
We are convinced that the new Sustainable
Development Goals offer opportunities to re-set the clock; to revise the
failing approaches that have seen such tremendous gaps in achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals. We believe
that the roadmap to implementation of the new goals offer us all an opportunity
to re-create development and its approaches and perspectives into the image of
the World We Want to combat persistent poverty and inequalities..
We congratulate the Director
General for her prompt response to a request for the return of the Young
Professionals programme through which, she expressed the hope that many skilled
and talented youths explore career options in UNESCO.
Dr Kris Rampersad is the Trinidad and Tobago Representative on the UNESCO Executive Board and an independent media, cultural and literary consultant/facilitator. She is the UNESCO-trained cultural development educator/facilitator in safeguarding heritage in the English-speaking Caribbean and has served as an independent member of UNESCO’s international intergovernmental committee that reviewed applications for its lists on Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Full address to UNESCO Executive Board 197th Session coming soon.
See also http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-Time-to-review-skewed-economic-classifications,-Trinidad-representative-tells-UNESCO-27906.htmlCaption: Trinidad and Tobago Representative, Dr Kris Rampersad,
addressing the 197th session of the UNESCO Executive Board currently
in session in Paris.
