UNESCO'S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

2. . . . . .

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THE NATIONALCOMMISSIONSOf UNESCO's 184 Member States (as of 31 July 1995), 177have set up National Commissions (NACs). Composed ofeminent members of the intellectual and scientificcommunities in each country, the NACs form the vital linkbetween UNESCO and its Member States.Unique in this respect within the UN system, the NACsorganize their own activities such as exhibitions and lectures.They also disseminate information, often through publicationof books and documents in national languages, and, notleast, they participate actively in the elaboration, executionand evaluation of UNESCO's programme.In addition, regular meetings of the Secretaries General onthe regional and interregional level serve to keep UNESCOinformed on local as well as global needs and aspirations.

THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEMWhile UNESCO is primarily responsible to its own Member States, it also belongs

to the United Nations family, sharing the same ideals and goals, and maintainingdifferent forms of cooperative relations with the other specialized agencies.

UNESCO participates in the joint machinery for concertation and coordinationwithin the UN system. Besides sharing information and know-how with sisteragencies in the areas of basic education, the environment, development, the

promotion of human rights, peace and democracy, etc., the Organizationparticipates in cooperative programmes and joint projects, or assumes the role of

"key actor" for others. For these diverse projects, the Organization expects toreceive $790 million in "extra-budgetary resources" for 1996-97, of which $72

million will come from the UN system, mainly from the UN DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). It is also expecting

$23 million from the World Bank as well as regional development banks.

ASSOCIATED SCHOOLS PROJECT ANDUNESCO CLUBS

About 3,200 pre-school, primary and secondary schools and teacher-traininginstitutions in 124 countries are involved in the Associated Schools Project

(ASP). This international network, set up in 1953, experiments with andimplements ways and means for enhancing the role of education in preparing

young people to live in a world community.Closely associated with the ASP, often in carrying out joint projects in crucial

areas such as literacy work and the environment, are the over 4,800 UNESCOAssociations, Centres and Clubs - the first of which was founded in 1947 - in115 countries. With members of all ages, these groups are set up in schools,

universities, with associations and centres set up for a wider public. Since 1981,they have been grouped together as part of the World Federation of UNESCO

Clubs, Centres and Associations.To further the ideals of the Organization, the scope of their activities is virtually

unlimited, ranging from reforestation and protection of the world's culturaland natural heritage, to human rights education, the promotion of women, etc.

NON-GOVERNMENTALORGANIZATIONSAND FOUNDATIONSInternational and regional non-governmental organizations(NGOs), which have branches in many countries, bring togetherprofessionals as well as members of social movements directlyconcerned with UNESCO's goals: educators, scientists, authors,librarians, musicologists, journalists, editors, youth and humanrights groups, etc. The same is true for foundations.Accordingly, UNESCO currently maintains "consultative andassociate relations" with 588 NGOs and 28 foundations andnetworks on international and regional levels, for both thepreparation and execution of the programme. These includeorganizations as varied as Amnesty International, the World ScoutMovement and the International Council of Scientific Unions.Diverse forms of financial cooperation exist to support, in certaincases, this intellectual collaboration.The official cooperative arrangements are now being revised. Oncethey are adopted by the General Conference, the Organization'swork methods with NGO's will be completely overhauled.

H A N D I N H A N D

MAJOR PARTNERS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

PAGE AND SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . 4

PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

C O N T E N T S

F O C U S

Cover photo:© PIX/Stephen Simpson

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c opy r i gh tres t r i c t ions and can be reproduced,i n wh i c h c a s e t h e ed i t o r s wou l dapprec ia te a copy. Pho to s ca r ry ingno copyright mark © may be obtainedb y t h e m e d i a o n d e m a n d .

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

I N S I G H T

Editorial and Distribution Services:UNESCOSOURCES, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP. Tel.(1) 45 68 16 73. Fax. (1) 40 65 00 29.This magazine is destined for use as an infor-mation source and is not an official UNESCOdocument. ISSN 1014-6989.

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3. . . . . .

Pages 6 to 16

JOINING FORCESFOR THE

21st CENTURY

PLANET:

Education• THE OTHER HALF OF THE SKY. . . . . 18

Environment• THE ROAD TO THE AMAZON . . . . . 20

Art trafficking• A CLEAN DEAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Communication• REVOLUTIONIZING RADIO . . . . . . .23

LOOKING AHEAD . . . . . . . . . . 24

René L E FORT

And the youth shallinherit the earth...

Hope for the CentralAmazon's degraded land.

DEFUSING THE BOMB

W e mus t empowe r women t o enab l e t h em t o exe r c i s e

powe r. Women i n powe r w i l l p r omo t e t h e empowe r-

men t o f women and t he r eby i n c r ea s e t h e numbe r o f women

in powe r. T h i s i s t h e dua l c ommi tmen t t ha t c an make t h i s

Con f e r en c e a t u rn i ng po i n t . " Wheneve r he had t he oppo r t u -

n i t y, UNESCO ’s D i r e c t o r-Gene ra l , F ede r i c o Mayo r, d rove home

th i s me s sage t o pa r t i c i p an t s a t t h e Fou r t h Wo r l d Con f e ren c e

on Women he l d i n Be i j i n g t h i s pa s t S ep t embe r.

De t e rm ined t o go beyond me re r he t o r i c , h e pu t f o r t h

two g l oba l ob j e c t i v e s wh i c h a r e none the l e s s p r a c t i c a l a s

I nd i a , f o r examp l e , ha s a l r eady adop t ed t hem . F i r s t l y, t o

pa s s l e g i s l a t i on en su r i ng t ha t women f i l l a t l e a s t 30% o f

po s t s o f a l l l e g i s l a t i v e bod i e s , f r om mun i c i pa l i t i e s t o

pa r l i amen t s and c ab i ne t s . S e c ond l y, by t h e yea r 2000 , a t

l e a s t 6% o f t h e g r o s s na t i ona l p r odu c t s hou l d go t owa rd s

edu ca t i on t o a ch i e ve gende r equa l i t y a t a l l s c ho l a s t i c l e ve l s

by 2005 - a c en t r a l p o i n t a s edu ca t i on i s a key t o l i b e r a -

t i on . I t g i v e s e ve r yone t he c han ce t o a c qu i r e t h e s k i l l s

n eeded t o a l l e v i a t e pove r t y, and t hu s ma rk s an e s s en t i a l

s t ep i n d eve l opmen t . E du ca t i on a l s o enab l e s p eop l e t o make

de c i s i on s f o r and by t h emse l v e s and f u l l y en j oy equa l r i gh t s

be tween men and women . T h i s i s a s i n e qua non f o r

d e m o c r a c y.

Co i n c i d en t a l l y, t h e Be i j i n g Con f e ren c e and t he So c i a l

Summi t i n Copenhagen we re he l d j u s t p r i o r t o t h e 28 th

s e s s i on o f t h e Gene ra l C on f e r en c e wh i c h w i l l a dop t t h e

O r gan i za t i on ’s p r og ramme and budge t f o r 1996 -97 - t h e

f o cu s o f t h i s s p e c i a l i s s ue o f UNESCO Sou r c e s . One need no t

be a gen i u s t o p r ed i c t t ha t t h e nex t b i enn i um' s a c t i v i t i e s

w i l l r e f l e c t t h e app roa ch deve l oped ove r t h e yea r s by

UNESCO . Today ’s t h r ea t s t o wo r l d s e cu r i t y a r e i n c rea s i ng due

t o g r ow ing i n equa l i t i e s b e tween t he ma j o r i t y who se l i v e s

a r e imp rov i ng and t he c on s t an t l y g row ing m ino r i t y, l a r ge l y

c ompo sed o f women , f o r whom l i f e i s a s t eady de s c en t i n t o

he l l . On l y t h rough s o l i da r i t y and r e sou r c e - sha r i ng ag reemen t s

e spou sed by u s a l l c an we de fu s e t h i s bomb .

Chinese women training andtransforming their county.

4. . . . . .

P A G E A N D S C R E E N

Publications and periodicals areon sale at the UNESCO Bookshop,or by order from UNESCOPublishing, 7 place de Fontenoy,75352 Paris 07 SP, and inMember States through nationaldistributors. Catalogue availableon request.

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

Mandated by its Constitution to "maintain, increase anddiffuse knowledge", UNESCO is a publishing house un-like any other. With more than 9,000 titles already to itscredit and currently about 10 magazines and some 50

newsletters published in a variety of languages amount-ing to some 200 versions, the Organization today pro-vides an abundance of written material and that of mul-timedia with CD-ROMs in support of its action.

The INTERNATIONAL SOCIALSCIENCE JOURNAL constitutes anexceptional forum for theexchange of ideas amongspecialists of different disci-plines.

MUSEUM INTERNATIONALpresents the latest trends inmuseology around the world.

The COPYRIGHT BULLETINinforms specialists, authors,jurists and the general public oninternational instruments andnational legislation for theprotection of literary, artistic andscientific works.

Doubtless, though, the UNESCOCOURIER is the best known ofthe Organization's publications.With editions in 30 languages,as well as a quarterly selectionin braille, it treats a theme ofuniversal interest each month,viewed from a variety of culturalstandpoints.

BOOKS

Amongst UNESCO's majorpublications:

The WORLD EDUCATIONREPORT, a biennial presenting abroad but concise analysis ofmajor trends and policy issuesin education around the world.The next report, expected at the

The STATISTICAL YEARBOOKpresents a "world in figures"about education, science,technology, culture, the socialsciences and communication.

STUDY ABROAD(see page 17).

year's end, will focus on theeducation of women and girls.

The WORLD SCIENCE REPORTexamines the state of scienceand technology around theworld by looking to relatedindicators, research organiza-tions, funding sources andrecent advances in basicsciences. The second edition isexpected in January 1996.

The WORLD COMMUNICATIONREPORT examines the relatedtechnology, regulations,economic and industrialpatterns, information flows,legal aspects and new communi-cation approaches.A second edition will bereleased in 1997.

The WORLD REPORT ONCULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT,prepared by the Commission ofthe same name, will be pre-sented in 1995 to the GeneralConference of UNESCO and theUN General Assembly. It will bepublished in 1996.

PERIODICALS

Most of UNESCO's periodicalsare published in English, Frenchand Spanish. Some also appearin Russian, Arabic and Chinese.The following represent notablequarterly publications:

PROSPECTS keep its readers upto date on issues, innovationsand research in education inmore than 150 countries.

NATURE AND RESOURCESexplores multidisciplinaryaspects of the environment inpromoting sustainable develop-ment.

French, Spanish, Arabic,Russian, Chinese and Portu-guese) through the AudiovisualDivision of the Office of PublicInformation.

UNESCO produces, co-produces and distributes videoand radio documentaries on itsactivities. In particular, the videoand slide presentation entitled"UNESCO - Towards a Cultureof Peace" will be available inseven languages (English,

RADIO AND VIDEOPROGRAMMES

UNESCO is on-line with allkinds of information - generalinformation on its activities,directories of its RegionalOffices and National Commis-sions, the World Heritage Listand a run-down of biospherereserves, bibliographic cata-logues of its documents andpublications - which can beaccessed on Internet by typing:url:http://www. unesco.org.Detailed information on each ofthe Organization’s programmeswill be progressively added.

ON-LINEINFORMATION

UNESCO’s data bases providingbibliographic references oftranslated works in all disci-plines in some 100 countries,information on thousands ofbird and fish species and morecan all be found on CD-ROMsproduced and co-produced bythe Organization. Soon to bereleased: data bases onrenewable energy sources,world heritage cities andcollections of ancient manu-scripts from Yemen.

CD-ROMs

The UNESCO Collection ofRepresentative Works includessome 950 titles originating in 85countries and written in about100 languages. Its purpose is tocontribute to a broader interna-tional appreciation of theworld's literary heritage bypromoting the translation andpublication, mainly in Englishand French, of works written inthe less widely known lan-guages.Alongside translations of basicphilosophical, religious andhistorical texts are to be foundanthologies of national litera-tures, poetry, sagas, legends,travellers' tales, treatises ofaesthetics, drama, artcatalogues, novels and shortstories.

REPRESENTATIVEWORKS

P E O P L E

drawings and the students' othercreations will be displayed at theOrganization's headquarters dur-ing the General Conference open-ing in October.

In Grenada, the students pre-pared to write the appeal forpeace by watching a video onenvironmental conservation andattending sessions on developingrelationships and resolving

conflicts. In the text, they calledon world leaders to preserve theenvironment and educate youngpeople. They also asked that gov-ernments reduce crime and intol-erance by promoting equality. "Ifthey think of the future and theysee us children as being the lead-ers, they will respond to the ap-peal," says 14-year-old HaitianJean-Baptiste Roosevelt who alsohappens to be the winner of thelimbo contest.

The appeal also askedworld leaders to fund moreworkshops where young peopleof different countries and cul-tures can meet and learn moreabout each other.

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

5. . . . .

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● UNESCO AWARDS PRIZES toindividuals and groups whomake an exceptional contribu-tion to the Organization's idealsand objectives.Accordingly, prizes are regularlyattributed in the fields of literacy,

APRIL, JEAN-BAPTISTE, CASSANDRA AND THE OTHERS ...PEACE IN THE MINDS OF KIDS

ARE THE WORLD 'S DEC I S ION-MAKERS READY TO L I S TEN TO THEM?( Pho t o UNESCO/Myr i am Ka r e l a ) .

Do you think there will be athird world war?" asks the

tall smiling gentleman standing infront of the classroom.

A quiet pause before the girlsitting in the back answers:"There will be a third world warbecause nations are always fight-ing against nations and there willbe no peace."

Then another girl counterswith , "I don't think there will bea third world war because thepeacemakers are more plentifulthan the warmongers."

"Warmongers may be less innumbers but they're more power-ful than peacemakers," warns athird student. "I hope I'm wrong,"she adds as an afterthought.

This animated debate was partof a Culture of Peace Festival forChildren, held from 17 to 22 Julyin St. George's, Grenada (in theCaribbean and not in Spain as in-dicated in Sources no.70). About50 students between the ages of 11to 13 from all over the Caribbeantook part in workshops and debatesbefore coming up with their ownappeal for peace being sent to lead-ers around the world.

They also got the chance to havesome fun, with a cruise alongGrenada's western shore, hikes inthe Grand Etang Forest Reserveand other tourist hot-spots. Alimbo contest - the art of dancingunder a progressively lowered bar- capped off parties which crossedthe Caribbean's ethnic lines withreggae, calypso and zuck music.

The festival was one of aseven-part series organized by theCulture of Peace programme andthe Associated Schools Project incelebrating UNESCO's 50th an-niversary. The peace appeals,

"This is mostly the part Iwanted to put in," says JamaicanApril King, one of the more vo-cal participants. "This builds upmy confidence that we could re-ally do something. I have a feel-ing that if we were able to dosome more workshops like these,with more people, the word willget out to children in the Carib-bean and in the world."

At the tender age of 13, Aprilis the head of an environmentalclub in Jamaica and the author oftwo manuscripts for a novel anda book based on her own experi-ence as a kid coping with her par-ents' divorce.

"I think wars are fought be-cause some people are justgreedy. They want things fromother nations that they don't have.It's pretty much a crime - likethey're stealing. They want... theywant... they want," says King."But even after you are finishedfighting, the problem remains...people die... there is hunger...there is poverty... nothing issolved."

April's campaign for peacedates back a few years ago whenshe visited Switzerland, a coun-try she says is the best exampleof a haven for peace.

"I'll be totally satisfied when Ican see a black person and awhite person walking whileholding hands and nobody saysanything. When I can go toKenya and I can see the chil-dren in clothes and shoes withfood in their hands and moneyin their pockets. That's what Iwant. No more guns, that wouldmake me happy."

Eleven-year-old CassandraMills of Grenada particularly ap-preciates the workshops on tol-erance. "We have learned that tol-erance is the key to peace. With-out tolerance there will be nopeace, no love and our world willbe destroyed by war."

Cassandra has her own ideafor promoting tolerance. "Youmust be kind, you must have com-passion and you must be willingto change your statement if it isnot right."

A culture show where partici-pants paraded as models, an OpenHouse Exhibition featuring awide assortment of cuisine andhandicraft indigenous to the vari-ous Caribbean Islands, as well asthe presentation of certificates toparticipants brought the curtainsdown on what appears to havebeen a successful Culture ofPeace festival.

New friends were made andrelationships created as the stu-dents departed to spread theirmessage of peace.

Rawle TITUSST. GEORGE'S (GRENADA)

Z U C K

science, the teaching of humanrights and peace, communica-tion, the preservation of theenvironment, culture and the arts,including architecture, music andthe crafts.The most recently created is the

UNESCO Prize for Children'sand Young People's Literature inthe Service of Tolerance whichrecognizes works that "promotemutual understanding based onrespect for other peoples andcultures".

Created this year to mark theoccasion of the UN Year forTolerance through the generosityof Spain's "Fundación SantaMaria/Ediciones SM", the prizewill be awarded for the first timein 1997.

N O M O R E G U N S

"THE XXIst CENTURY WILL BE ONE OF SHARING, OR IT WON'T BE" (Photo © Gamma/Benali liaison).

F O C U SAL

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

UNESCO in 1996-1997

7. . . . . . .

Can we muster the solidarity needed to bridge the widening gap between the world's rich and poor?We cannot afford not to, explains UNESCO's Director-General, Federico Mayor, if we want to moveahead with the Organization's priorities in 1996-1997 - a culture of peace and development. Thismonth's dossier examines the ways in which UNESCO's sectors will fortify these "building blocks".

JOINING FORCESFOR THE 21st CENTURY

UNESCO comprises three bodies: the General Conference of Member States, the Executive Board andthe Secretariat. The General Conference, which is sovereign, "shall determine the policies and the mainline of work of the Organization". Meeting usually in the latter half of every second year, the repre-sentatives of all Member States - 184 at the moment - following the principle of one vote per country,finalize the Organization's programmes, the amount and breakdown of its "regular budget", decide onthe Conventions and Recommendations, elect members of the Executive Board, and usually every sixyears, name the Director-General.The Executive Board is more of a legislative body, representing all of the Member States betweensessions of the General Conference. Currently comprising 51 members, this number is expected to riseto 58. Meeting twice yearly to prepare the agenda of the General Conference and any recommenda-tions to be submitted to the sovereign body, the Board is, above all, responsible for the execution of theprogramme adopted by the Conference, and can take any measures necessary to this effect.The Secretariat is UNESCO's executive branch. Under the authority of the Director-General, the staffimplements the adopted programme and provides to the legislative bodies all necessary elements andpropositions required for the successful accomplishment of their work.

U N E S C O : T H E S T R U C T U R E

(Pho to UNESCO/D. Roger ) .

The temptationis to shut

ourselves off,cover our eyesand applaud theuse of force,"wrote Frencha c a d e m i c i a nBertrand Poirot-Delpech in a re-cent column forLe Monde. But

"the tide of the poor keeps coming, waveafter wave, each time stronger and stronger.The Third World War has begun, waged bythe rich against all the others." And, mock-ing the well-known prediction attributed toAndré Malraux: "The XXIst century will bereligious or it won’t BE," which led him toconclude: "The XXIst century will be oneof sharing, or it won’t BE".

These are strong words - to be expectedfrom a polemist. The affirmation that the"war" of "the rich against all the others""has begun" is incisive. But let's turn tothe final conclusion which I agree withword for word. For now more than ever, Iam convinced that a state of extreme emer-gency has been declared, and that the waragainst poverty, exclusion, against in-tolerance towards "others" is at hand. I alsobelieve that in this decisive combat, it isthe weapons of sharing and solidarity thatwill bring victory. And the 28th sessionof the General Conference will espousethis conviction - and this analysis - when,in the coming weeks, it votes onUNESCO’s programme and budget as wellas its Medium-Term Strategy (1996-200l).

Unfortunately not everyone agrees withthis point of view. Even if we disregard the

feeble arguments of those who ignore it outof blindness or reject it through self-inter-est, there are the others. "Nonsense! You’reexaggerating the risks," they chide, andproceed to list the innumerable facts thatplead for the status quo.

For 15 years, they say, the volume ofworld production has increased by morethan 50% at an annual 3%. This rate re-mains well above that of world populationgrowth which, over the same period, grewfrom 4.4 to 5.6 billion people, with aver-age per capita income rising by an annual1%. China, home to over a fifth of human-ity, has in the last 15 years maintained anincredible annual per capita growth rate ofnearly 10%. And even in "rich" countries,plunged into a crisis described as the worstsince World War II, the average annual percapita GNP growth rate has been above 2%since the start of the the 1980s.

Progress in terms of freedom and hu-man rights has been just as positive. Com-munism is nothing more than a distant andterrible memory. Democratization hasmade giant steps in Africa and in LatinAmerica. Ten years ago, who would haveimagined that a system as rigid as apart-heid would crumble in only a few monthsand that South Africa would still avoid tur-moil? Or that the Israelis and Palestinianswould sit at the same table to negotiate?And that Nobel Peace Prize winner AungSan Suu Kyi would regain her freedom.

Greater material well-being, more free-dom and at the same time - and certainlyalso as a result of these gains - exponentialgrowth in scientific knowledge is widen-ing the sphere for its practical applicationsand comprehension. Here again, the factsspeak for themselves. There are now abouttwice as many students as there were 20

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

industrialized countries, public solidaritysystems created in the wake of the last worldconflict are being chipped away: the "wel-fare state" is being dismembered, "social"budgets are being cut. On a planetary scale,official development aid from the "rich"countries declined from 0.34% of GNP in1970 to 0.30% today. And the repaymentof loans by "poor" countries currently ex-ceeds the total value of these loans.

"Alas!" sigh the "realists", the "pragmatists"on all sides, reviewing these ills from theperpsective of profits and losses, as if theamplitude of change justified an inevitabletoll of victims. "Alas! So let’s get going," thephilosopher Vladimir Jankelevitch liked tosay. Indeed, it is now time to react and fast.We know more than enough to move effec-tively into action against "the real threatsto internatioanl security," whose names, asI indicated in my introduction to the Me-dium-Term Strategy, are "exclusion, pov-erty, rural decline, urban decay, mass mi-grations, environmental degradation, newpandemics, and arms and drug trafficking".

We all know that to vanquish these en-emies we must put an end to current in-equalities, lighten the burden of debt, pro-mote lifelong education and vocationaltraining; foster scientific and technologi-cal development so that each country canmaster its own destiny; facilitate urban re-habilitation and rural development; ensurerespect for the law and freedom of expres-sion, the independent functioning of jus-tice and the incarnation of democratic prin-ciples in everyday practice. These are thebasic building blocks for a culture of peaceand of world development, the guidelinesfor the only collective ambition worthy ofthe boldness and imagination needed andthe anchoring points for planetary andconsenual action needed to combat thepowerlessness which feeds division.

Utopian? I will answer this question byborrowing words from Wole Soyinka, win-ner of the Nobel Literature Prize andUNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, cited atlength in the following pages: "It's the no-tion of utopia that keeps humanity alive andprogressive. Whatever advances are madein the sciences, in political engineering,even in philosophy are made only becauseat the back of everybody's mind, there is anotion of utopia." A notion which con-stantly tells us to replace the use of forceby the force of reason and love.

Federico MAYOR

8. . . . . . .

D o s s i e r

at one to 50; and worse, it has doubled overthe last 30 years.

We find ourselves in an invasive cli-mate of suspicion with regard to the "other"promoted to the rank of scapegoat by somany crushed or cast to the roadside bythe mutations underway. As I wrote justtwo years ago in this magazine: "differ-ences, even just otherness, turn too ofteninto a hostility which may lead first to ex-clusion and in the end extermination".

Just over a year ago, a genocide, at least500,000 dead, ravaged Rwanda. Since theextermination of the Jews and Gypsiesduring World War II, we have been con-vinced that this would never happen again.But this time, it was carried out in full viewof us all. Moreover, none of the forceswhich could have prevented or stopped themassacres had the slightest effect on thekillers. An extreme example, but sympto-matic of the most serious evil: a mentalfracture being grafted on a social and eco-nomic one is making it easier to toleratethe intolerable. The poor, the unemployed,the excluded of all kinds, and worse, refu-gees, deportees, the dead, have come topeople our daily lives without really dis-turbing us. It is as if we see them as stran-gers who don't merit a passing glance. Wehave succombed to passivity - a type offatalism steering many citizens to cut them-selves off from the larger world and relin-quish their responsibilities to "decision-makers" who seem distant and almost im-palpable. This feeling of resignation de-mands constant affirmation whereby weexalt the "unessential". We become ob-sessed with acquiring more material goodsat the expense of our spiritual lives and thequest to think critically and freely.

Traditional types of "informal" solidar-ity (family, village, community) are erod-ing because they also are based onproduction methods and cultural valueswhich today are being questioned. In the

years ago. For the first time, literacy is be-ing held in check. Science, notably in thefield of informatics, information and ge-netics, is revolutionizing our methods ofproduction, communication and entertain-ment. The industrial era is behind us. We areentering the information age.

The facts are incontestable, their im-portance immense. They illustrate a fewcharacteristics of this revolution which aretransforming our lives and way of think-ing; changes which I am convinced are forthe better. But here we get to the paradox.For we see this revolution engendering atangible ascension for a majority of human-ity. Yet at the same time, we see - perhapsby its very nature in its present course - itleading to an increasingly rapid decline fora minority which never ceases to grow.

The latter phenomenon can be seen asan inevitable counterpart of the first. Farfrom living in antipodes, the majority andminority increasing overlap, not onlygeographically, but also in the fact that thepassage from relative affluence to extremepoverty may be as sudden as it is unavoid-able. We see humanity marching over twoparallel routes but moving in opposite di-rections, breeding feelings of solitude andimpotence as fear mounts. Divisions andantagonisms which we thought had beencontrolled are now intensifying and oftenerupting in violent clashes among peoplewho can only envisage their future withinethnic, religious, cultural or social frontiersas fanciful as they are pernicious.

Thus, in the various domains I have de-scribed so positively above, the other sideof the coin, is particularly dark. The zonesof extreme poverty are expanding, the in-come gaps deepening. Today 1.3 billionpeople do not have the wherewithal toproperly feed themselves. In the samecountry, the gap may go from one to 30between the richest 20% and the poorest20%. On a planetary level, this gap stands

UNESCO's "regular budget", comprising the bulk of its resources, comes almost entirely from obliga-tory contributions made by Member States. The "regular budget" proposed to the General Conferencefor 1996-1997 is $518,445,000. This sum represents zero growth from the budget for 1994-1995.The amount of the obligatory contributions is calculated for each Member State according to criteriaset for virtually all of the UN system which take into account such aspects as a country's wealth andpopulation. At the other end of the scale, some 90 Third World Member States each pay 0.01%.UNESCO also has "extra-budgetary" resources at its disposal , of which $290m is expected for 1996-1997. This money, contrary to the "regular budget" funds, is paid on a voluntary basis, with the maincontributors being other UN bodies, international or regional financial institutions and Member States.These latter frequently make their contribution under the "Funds-in-trust" system, through which theyfinance an operation of their choice (see pp.12-13).

U N E S C O : T H E R E S O U R C E S

PROF I TS AND LOSSES

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

9. . . . . .

HIS FEET ON THE GROUND, HIS EYES ELSEWHEREIn 1986 Wole Soyinka became the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for literature.At 61 years of age, he has "learned" about patience, but is still seeking his utopia.

P o r t r a i t

Ask him what subject artists should con-centrate on today and Wole Soyinka,

author and fierce defender of freedom, willanswer "tolerance", even if "I generallydon’t approve of art being overtly directedtowards one theme or another". Why? "Be-cause I believe that the world is very men-aced right now by a plague of intolerance,to a point we have not witnessed for many,many years. This is especially true for reli-gious intolerance, which is far more lethaltoday than racial intolerance. So let’s hopethat the Year of Tolerance (the UN havingdeclared 1995 the Year of Tolerance) is notmerely symbolic. Let’s hope that it willstimulate the imagination of creative peo-ple all over the world."

For the Nigerian Nobel Prize laureate (forliterature, 1986), named Goodwill Ambas-sador to UNESCO last October, art is farmore than the expression of an aestheticideal. Rather it "acts like a kind of store-house of possibilities. It stores up horizonsand visions and tries not merely to explainor expose what is directly wrong in society,but rather to expose what is possible as afuturistic project." But, he adds ruefully,"the majority of those who direct the poli-tics of society are totally impervious to theinfluence of art".

Nonetheless this stock of ideas, projec-tions and utopias, is not necessarily castaside. "They are absorbed immediately bythe rest of society, who see their own vi-sion, their own demands of society exposedbefore them. And that in itself can lead toa kind of activism which, sooner or later,forces the hands of the politicians."

"I think that the notion of utopia keepshumanity alive and progressive," he argues."Whatever advances are made in the sci-ences, in politics, even in philosophy aremade only because at the back of every-body’s mind there is a notion of utopia.Unfortunately some notions of utopia arewarped, diseased. The fundamentalist uto-pia, for example, is a sick one. It’s an anti-humanist utopia.

"The communists' world envisioned akind of utopia, but one riddled with con-tradictions and treating human beings asmere statistics. As for the capitalists, I don’tbelieve they have any notion of utopia.Their thinking is very individualistic,whereas utopia tends to be more a concep-tion of society as a whole."

Hence his reticence with the developmentof "cyberspace", which Soyinka classifiesas a "mercantile utopia". "I’ve looked atadvertisements for these new communica-tions techniques - Internet and so forth. Yousit on a little machine and your world iscreated around you. For me that’s very pe-culiar. The people involved in this reallythink they are creating a utopia. But, I wouldcall it a fragmented utopia. Utopia thatindividuates utopia. It atomizes society andthe family even more so. When the world isin your hands, you don’t have to go out anymore to embrace it at more meaningfullevels."

And what is Soyinka’s ideal? "An egali-tarian utopia, without authoritarianism. Weknow that there will never be an absolutelyclassless society. But the very fact that wedream of it, of the possibility, enables soci-ety to advance towards reducing the dif-ferences between classes, be they differ-ences of sex, earning power, birth, race andthe like."

All of which seems like a profession offaith, reaffirmed countless times byUNESCO. "Maybe UNESCO is the Or-ganization of utopia" suggests Soyinka. "Inany case that’s what it’s role should be: toconstantly present to us the possibility ofutopia."

Sophie BOUKHARIand Aracely MORALES

A FUTUR IST I C PROJECT

T H E " E N F A N T T E R R I B L E "( P h o t o U N E S C O / I n e z F o r b e s ) .

But the man who became known as"the tiger" for his radical stand against dic-tatorships - starting with his own country- has learned how to wait. "I have learnedabout patience, and understood that it ispart of the democratic process," he said atthe "Audience Africa" meeting atUNESCO Headquarters early this year.Nonetheless he remains deeply committedto the convictions and passions of hisyouth. Novelist, playwrite, poet and mu-sician, this "enfant terrible" of African lit-erature is also a utopian, with - to para-phrase another great writer, Victor Hugo -his "feet on the ground and his eyes turnedelsewhere".

"As far back as I can remember, since my student days in the early 60s, I’ve been linked up toUNESCO in one way or another. I’ve taken part in seminars and organized others. I’ve taken part inthe activities of the International Theatre Institute" (a non-governmental Organization accredited toUNESCO over which he presided from 1985 to 1987).While he doesn’t hesitate to qualify the Organization as "an enormous bureaucracy", he nonethelessmaintains that UNESCO is "one of the most important achievements of what’s called the ‘globalsociety'", in pointing to " its work preserving ancient monuments, encouraging societies to respecttheir own environments and to discover things that are too easily taken for granted".

ATOMIZ ING SOC I E TY

SOYINKA AND UNESCO: FELLOW TRAVELLERS

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

EDUCATION WITHOUT FRONTIERS

D o s s i e r

10 . . . . . .

Joe is, let's say, too old to learn. Faouzia and Sarafatov don't have the time and Padma has neitherthe money nor consent of her parents. How can they get past these barriers?

S AT E L L I T E S

" E D U C A T I O NM U S T B E

AV A I L A B L EA T A L L

P L A C E S A N DT I M E S "

( P h o t o ©V i d a l /

U N E S C O ) .

A strategy based on continuing educa-tion would enable people to train or retrainas the labour market changes. For this,governments must make it more possiblefor everyone - including those with "on thejob" skills or non-formal training - to haveaccess to formal education or training. "Wesee this in a few countries, like the UnitedStates, France and the Philippines," saysBerstecher. "People can have counsellorsassess their knowledge and talents and thenreceive training in a formal school pro-gramme or university." In Indonesia, mil-lions of adults and young people are ben-efiting from non-formal education made upof courses recognized by the formal sys-tem.

Offering another chance to margin-alized young people, especially those de-mobilized after a war, UNESCO is organ-izing intensive non-formal technical andprofessional training courses adapted to lo-cal conditions and in local languages in,for example, Haiti, Palestine, Rwanda andMozambique.

Time presents another obstacle. Howmany little girls in the world cannot go toschool because they must help their moth-ers at home or at the market or by lookingafter younger siblings? "Education must beavailable at all times and all places - atwork places, in the fields and at home,"insists Berstecher. "Children who work in-stead of going to school could have les-sons at their jobs," says Berstecher."Women and girls forced to stay at home

S ix years after the Jomtien World Con-ference on Education for All, some of

the Member States that took part have falleninto the trap of thinking it simply meanshaving everyone go to school," says DieterBerstecher, acting director of UNESCO’sBasic Education Division. "So UNESCOhas to continue explaining what this high-sounding idea really means." To help getthe message out, UNESCO is relying on"two key notions," says the Assistant Di-rector-General for Education, Colin Power,pointing to education without frontiers andits component, lifelong education for all.The aim is to tackle obstacles such as age,time, space and poverty which keep hun-dreds of millions of children and adults -most of them female - from getting any kindof training.

"If you stick to a traditional school-based conception, education is reservedfor people between the ages of six and 25.After that, you’re into the world of work,"says Berstecher. Universities, notes Power,"tend to prepare young people for jobs that

no longer exist, especially in Eastern andCentral Europe. Young people think thatthey’re going to find a well paid job forlife. In fact, the economy is changing sorapidly that they’ll have to create their ownjobs in the future. In the West, 20 or 25%of young people leaving school or univer-sity are having great difficulty finding astable job. These institutions must moveinto the real world - closer to the commu-nity, to society and to industry," he says.

could be given self-taught courses. Theywould only have to go to school for con-solidating courses and exams."

Reducing discrimination and removingthe cultural barriers which keep women andgirls uneducated is vital in improving adultliteracy worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa,where the gender gap is very wide,UNESCO will be launching several relatedprojects, including those to help 200women in liberal professions strengthentheir decision-making abilities and helpgirls receive scientific, technical and pro-fessional training.

"We’ve got to reach the most remoteplaces," says Berstecher. "You can do thiswith distance education, even in placeswhere there isn’t electricity because thenyou can use solar power." The world’s ninehigh-population developing countries - suchas China, India and Brazil - which are hometo 70% of the world’s illiterates and half ofall out-of-school children plan to use satel-lites to broadcast televised educational pro-grammes and so overcome another obsta-cle: space. The sizeable expenditure neededinitially to buy equipment and produce pro-grammes is off-set by long-term economiesof scale as it is cheaper to educate someonethis way than in the formal system, espe-cially in large countries.

The ideal solution is to use a combina-tion of audiovisual media, like radio, tel-evision and cassettes, along with writtenmaterial, which is sometimes inadequateor mediocre and poorly used by under-qualified teachers who themselves couldbenefit from training programmes also pro-vided by distance education.

Some teachers in Asia and the Carib-bean are already involved. But the qualityof the programmes and the availability ofthe required technology must still be as-sured in the poorest countries. UNESCOis pushing governments, NGOs and busi-ness people (who are looking for respect-ability, partners and an international strat-egy) to work to this end - to dare to makethe old educational structures broader andless formal.

S. B.

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

says Lasserre, as "experimental models forsustainable development, especially fortesting better land-management systemsbased on the participation of everyone con-cerned, starting with the local people."

The Social Sciences Sector (see p.15)is working with its natural science and ecol-ogy partners in helping local authoritiesimprove the quality of life and promote amore active citizenship in urban areas. Allof which is the main objective of the project"Cities : management of social transforma-tions and the environment" (with a$500,000 budget). "Cities are systemswhich usually don’t work well," saysGlaser. "They need better all-round man-agement. Most municipalities deal withproblems one by one as they arise. But youcan’t develop the urban transport system,for example, without considering the pol-lution factor."

Another major project (with a $1.7 millionbudget) criss-crosses environmental anddevelopment concerns of small islands andcoastal regions - home to half the world’spopulation with most of the densest urbandevelopment.

The project’s main goal: help countriesresolve conflicts involving natural re-sources - starting with water - and reinforcesmall islands which are threatened by ris-ing sea levels and are particularly vulner-able to natural disasters.

"UNESCO is there, above all, to findanswers to practical problems," insistsGlaser. The Organization is planning aWorld Solar Summit in Harare (Zimbabwe)next September to focus on one of the mostpressing problems: the availability of en-ergy and the related economic and envi-ronmental costs. Conference participantswill select 300 projects concerning renew-able energy to be set up by the year 2005.The conference will also be the starting-point for a series of global "strategicprojects", from education programmes toa world-wide solar energy information sys-tem, so that the "science sun" will shine atleast on one of the most promising inno-vations for the coming century.

S. B.

BRINGING SCIENCE DOWN TO EARTHUNESCO's Science Sector shifts gears to integrate the scientific, social and economic factorsin preserving the environment.

D o s s i e r

11. . . . . .

At first sight, there is nothing very newunder UNESCO’s "science sun". The

course remains generally the same, head-ing for sustainable development with a pro-posed budget of more than $150 million forthe biennium. Changes taking place are bestsought in the definition itself of the keyconcept of sustainable development. "Thisconcept has been refined in recent years,"explains Gisbert Glaser, co-ordinator ofUNESCO’s environment programmes. "Atthe time of the Rio Conference in 1992, itwas defined as meaning ecologically sound.But we now know that priority cannot begiven to protection of the environmentalone. The chair has to sit on all four legs:the rise in production and other economicactivities; social development, i.e. combat-ing poverty and unemployment; safeguard-ing the major environmental balances; andthe cultural dimension linked to the specificfeatures of the world’s regions."

Scientists must change their cliquish workhabits in adopting an "integrated ap-proach". So, the entire working environ-ment has been reshaped, putting all ofUNESCO’s science sectors - natural sci-ences and social sciences alike - in a singlemajor programme. What’s more, linkedprojects will enable each sector to make itsown contribution in working towards acommon goal.

At the heart of the system, natural sci-entists will be trying, as a priority, to mini-mize the uncertainties surrounding climatictrends in consolidating the scientific foun-dations needed to implement the Frame-work Convention on Climate Change. TheIntergovernmental Oceanographic Com-mission with a rising budget of close toeleven million dollars will also play a keyrole through its Global Ocean ObservingSystem. After all, we know far less aboutoceans than we do about land areas. Forinstance, we need to know more about theoceans’ capacity to absorb carbon dioxideand other greenhouse gases, and the dy-namics involved with the warming of sur-face waters.

Another unique operation, bringing to-gether the International Hydrological Pro-gramme (IHP), the World Meteorological

Organization and the International Councilon Archives, will "for the first time in his-tory," says Andras Szollosi-Nagy, IHP sec-retary, "make an inventory of the data onhydrology and climate available in archive

collections in attempting to develop meth-ods for converting this age-old knowledgeinto modern-day measurements."

The UNESCO-Cousteau Chairs in eco-technology will combine scientific andtechnological advancements with prospectsfor economic and social development. "Theidea is to confront students who alreadyhave specialized training in economics,sociology, anthropology, ecology and simi-lar subjects, with real-life situations, to getthese students out of the ivy towers of theuniversities and into the real world," saysPierre Lasserre, secretary of the Man andthe Biosphere programme. "They’ll beworking in the field to simulate the imple-mentation of development programmes andto try coming up with innovative solutionsto complex problems such as conservingthe primary forest of Brazil’s Atlantic sea-board which neighbours the mega-citiesRio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo."

The biosphere reserves (328 in 82countries) will be playing a greater role,

A COMMON GOALVULNERABLE

T H E R E I S N O S E P A R A T I N G P E O P L EF R O M T H E I R E N V I R O N M E N T

( P h o t o © J e a n - L u c M a n a u d / I C O N E ) .

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL IN 1996-1997:

THE "REGULAR BUDGET": 76% GOES DIRECTLY TO PROJECTS

12 . . . . . .

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

With a general climate of austerity, it comes as no surprise that UNESCO's resources for the next twoyears should remain stable with continuing cut-backs in staff.

This graph shows the proposed breakdownof the "regular" budget, comprising oblig-atory contributions from Member States,for 1996-1997.

The lion's share of this, 76%, is des-tined to UNESCO's activities, with theremaining 24% being used to finance "gen-eral policy and direction" (services of theDirectorate and the work of the GeneralConference and the Executive Board),building maintenance and security, andgeneral administration.

The resources allocated to activities -or "programme" in UNESCO's jargon - arefurther divided into two parts. "Programmesupport", which covers relations with Mem-ber States and various other organizationsetc., will receive 13% of the total budget.The remainder (63% of the total budget) isused for direct execution of the programme,with priority given to education, followedby the natural, social and human sciences,culture, information and communication.

Two types of information are presentedhere. First, the precentage, marked in black,of the increase - or decrease - of UNESCO's"regular" budget from one biennium to thenext.

In red, the Organization's "purchasingpower", calculated on a constant cost levelfor the dollar, using 1971-1972 as the baseyear.

The reference budget thus starts at $91million, climbs to $119 million in 1984-1985 and, after the withdrawal of the Unit-ed States, the United Kingdom and Singa-pore, plunges dramatically. In 1996-1997,the proposal of $85 million remains thesame as for the preceding biennium - afigure significantly lower than that of 20years ago. UNESCO's budget is about thesame as that of a medium-sized universityin an industrialized country.

THE "REGULAR" BUDGET: ZERO GROWTH

THE EVO LUT ION I N R EA L T ERMS OF UNESCO 'S " R EGULAR " BUDGE T S INCE 1971 -72 .

BREAKDOWN OF THE " R EGULAR " BUDGE T FOR 1996 -1997 .

1996-97

Programme support: 12.8%

Education:20.6%

Natural, Social & Human Sciences: 16.8%

Communication, information & informatics: 6.0%

Transdisciplinaryprojects: 4.8%

Capital expenditure: 0.3%

Administration: 8.9%

Gen. Policy and Direction:

7.7%

Maintenance & security: 6.7%

Culture: 8.8%

Diverse: 0.4%

Info. and dissemination services: 6.2%

-30

-20

-10

0

10% 120

110

100

90

80

0 0 0

71/72 73/74 75/76 77/78 79/80 81/83 84/85 86/87 88/89 90/91 92/93 94/95 96/97

4.7 4.15.3 5.8 5

2.7

-1.7

0.9

-27.3

8.2

Millions of $

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

13. . . . . .

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

THE FIRST LEVELS OUT WHILE THE SECOND DROPS

"EXTRA-BUDGETARY" RESOURCES: A RISE IN SIGHT

PERSONNEL: THE CUTS CONTINUE

Source: UNESCO's Bureau of the Budget.Infography: A. Darmon

" EX TRA - BUDGE TARY " R ESOURCES FROM 1971 TO 1997 ( ES T IMAT E ) .

E VO LUT ION OF THE NUMBER OF POSTS F I NANCED THROUGH THE " R EGULAR " BUDGE TAND THE R E L A T I V E WE IGHT OF S T A F F COSTS .

1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 199540

60

80

100

120

140

1997

1996-97Millions of $

Self-benefiting Funds:6.7%

UNDP:14.1%

Associate Experts:3.6%

Special Account:12.1%

Funds-in-trust:44.5%

Regional Banks: 5.3%World Bank: 2.8%Other UN Sources: 4.5%

UNFPA: 6.2%

1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 19952000

2200

2400

2600

2800

3000

1996-97

1997

Number of approved posts

Staff costs:36.6%

Other costs:63.4%

This graph shows (in red) the evolution ofthe number of staff positions financedthrough the "regular" budget since 1971-72. This curve corresponds almost exactlyto that representing the Organization's pur-chasing power (opposite page). It shouldbe pointed out, however, that in recentyears, the number of personnel has contin-ued to fall (2,153 posts proposed for 1996-1997), while the budget has levelled out.

Also illustrated here is the percentageof staff costs on the total draft budget, i.e."regular" and "extra-budgetary" resourcescombined. This percentage represents justover a third of this budget. The same ratio,calculated for the "regular" budget, standsat 57.4%, which is, nonetheless, one of thelowest percentages of all the comparablespecialized agencies in the UN system.

In addition to its "regular" budget, UNESCOrelies on "extra-budgetary" resources con-tributed on a voluntary basis primarily bythe Organization's major partners withinthe United Nations system and MemberStates - in general industrialized countrieshelping to finance UNESCO projects in theThird World. It is these countries that sup-ply the bulk of funds available for SpecialAccounts which are opened to finance long-term activities managed by intergovern-mental committees, as well as Funds-in-Trust, designed to finance a specific projectto be carried out over a given period, andSelf-benefiting Funds, through which aState can finance a specific project carriedout by UNESCO in that country.

Associated experts are "experts" whoare "on loan" to UNESCO from MemberStates which also finance their positions.

In red, the evolution at "current" dollarrates, of extra-budgetary resources since1971-72, as well as their probable break-down for 1996-1997.

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

next two years will also bring the closingreports of the 'Silk Roads' project and pub-lication of the "Atlas of Baroque Cultures".

At the same time, the sector is ensur-ing regional balance in its projects. TheWorld Heritage Centre, for example,"needs to be more universal," says it's di-rector, Bernd von Droste. "We expect morethan 150 State Parties to the World Herit-age Convention (142 as of 17 August) inthe next two years, with a World HeritageList of more than 500 sites (440 as of 17August). But we need to be more balancedin terms of cultural identity and naturaldiversity by getting away from our previ-ously held European bias."

The move is on to get more sites on the Listfrom developing countries. But as vonDroste points out, "how can we ask peopleclose to starvation to think about protect-ing heritage sites for future generations?We need to mobilize the resources so peo-ple can afford to make long-term decisions."

"We also cannot overlook treasures ofa less tangible kind," insists Arizpe, point-ing to "oral traditions like the griots of Af-rica or the music of the Andes. Such treas-ures may even be individuals in whom aspecific art or craft reposes". From initiat-ing a new convention against illicit traf-ficking of artistic and cultural property (seep. 22) to setting up a fund for restoring filmheritage and projects protecting artists'copyrights, the sector is working to pre-serve the world's cultural, intellectual andartistic heritage. At the same time, it is en-couraging creativity in modern culturalindustries and traditional arts and crafts.

Thus cultures as "emblems" are com-ing to mean more in terms of identity, her-itage and governance. But unfortunatelythe sector's responsibilities and opportuni-ties are mounting at a pace which its pro-posed biennial budget of $94 million can-not match. Mission impossible? "Notquite", says Arizpe, adding that UNESCOis not a bank for projects. "Rather it's upto us to provide people with spaces in whichto debate and seek guidance in solving theirown problems."

Amy OTCHET

AN EMBLEM FOR GOOD AND EVILIn a seemingly intolerant world, where wars are fought along cultural boundaries,UNESCO's Culture Sector is trying to pave the way for peace.

D o s s i e r

14. . . . . .

Sometimes the simplest ideas are thehardest to catch on. After all, it took a

World Decade for Cultural Development toreinforce the idea that culture gives peoplemeaning and values so they can live andwork together. So in the Himalayas, for ex-ample, a network of researchers is redis-covering Buddhism as a vehicle for envi-ronmental awareness. Studies are underwayin Arab States to develop "sustainable tour-ism," respecting local traditions and the en-vironment. In Indonesia, a Decade projectinvolving religious leaders is sending outthe family planning message throughmosques. It's all part of a common-senseapproach in which people's values andknowledge are put to work in improvingthe life of the community - a central ideahighlighted in publications and policy pa-pers closing the Decade in 1997 and form-ing the cornerstone of the Report of theWorld Commission on Culture and Devel-opment expected to stress ethics, humanrights, democracy and cultural pluralism.

But UNESCO’s culture sector mustmove quickly if it is to keep up with theworld's rapid cultural changes. "Conflictswill increasingly be fought along culturalboundaries, based on ethnic, national andreligious differences," says Lourdes Arizpe,the sector's Assistant Director-General."Cultures have become emblems in the re-ordering of global, national and regionalaffairs. On the negative side, we see cul-tural differences being manipulated for eth-nic cleansing in Bosnia or for intolerance

in religious fundamentalism and yet we'realso seeing in many places that culture en-hances people's trust, cooperation and soli-darity in working together." So UNESCOhas the double task of "preserving the cul-tural heritage that provides identity andcohesion and of encouraging untamedcreativity since we now live in a world thatis escaping from our minds and systems".

These components form the "culturalcapital" which the sector is investing in apeaceful future. For now more than ever,decision-makers need the tools to promotetolerance. So, a new series of activities isbeing launched with the Organization'sCulture of Peace Programme in which pub-lic authorities, community groups, NGOsand research centres look to successfulmodels of multiculturalism in coming upwith alternatives for their own societies.In Africa, workshops will help young peo-ple from different communities improvetheir quality of life while promoting sharedvalues. Women’s groups in Latin America

and the Caribbean will explore their newopportunities in the democratizationprocess.

Intercultural dialogues have alwaysgiven rise to greater understanding, evenwhen there has been conflict. The 'Roads'project - with the 'Iron Roads', 'MayaWorld', 'Roads of Faith', 'Slave Route' andthat of Al Andalus - revives these dialoguesof the past through a vast network of cul-tural itineraries, researchers, studies andexhibits (See Sources dossier No. 70). The

R E F U G E E SF L E E I N G

K R A J I N A I NA U G U S T 1 9 9 5

D U R I N G T H EW A R I NF O R M E R

Y U G O S L AV I A( P h o t o © S i p aP r e s s / J o e a r d ) .

AFR ICAN GR IOTS

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

. .15. . . . . . .

D o s s i e r

SHAPING THE FUTUREWe can no longer afford to swing from catastrophe to catastrophe,we must learn to manage better.

Is it possible to "manage" the social, eco-nomic and political upheavals the world

is presently witnessing? "Not only is it pos-sible, it has become imperative," arguesFrancine Fournier, Assistant Director Gen-eral for UNESCO’s Social and HumanSciences Sector. "Population pressures andenvironmental problems, to cite just two is-sues, have reached a point where we canno longer afford what I would callunsustainable and unsociable development.But choosing the right direction requires athorough understanding of the how and whythings happen and the implications of de-cisions taken."

Working to shape the future, rather than"swinging from catastrophe to catastro-phe", has thus become the Social ScienceSector’s driving force. Its major vehicle isa programme that goes under the name ofMOST, or the Management of SocialTransformations.

Led by an Intergovernmental Councilcomprising 33 Member States and a Sci-entific Steering Committee composed ofnine highly qualified social scientists,MOST was set up in 1994 to promote in-ternational comparative research in socialtransformations and development, with theaim of increasing our knowledge of theseprocesses; knowledge which decision mak-ers will be urged to draw upon for policy-making and problem solving. It thus servesas a bridge between researchers and gov-ernments.

In the wake of the Social Summit (Copen-hagen, April 1995), which UNESCO iscommitted to following up, MOST hasshifted its focus to the fight against pov-erty and social exclusion, and the questionof social cohesion. "We are concentratingour research efforts on three important as-pects of contemporary social transforma-tions: multi-cultural and multi-ethnic soci-eties, cities and global-local linkages,"Fournier explains.

In tandem with MOST, other "more op-erational activities" are aimed at promot-ing human rights, peace and democracy."How can we achieve social developmentthat is sustainable if there is no real par-ticipation by the whole community? If there

is no real respect for human rights? And ifthere is no peace?" asks Fournier.

Workshops, training programmes, acces-sible publications and projects in these areasare underway or on the drawing board.

A survey of the world’s youth - their situ-ation, lifestyles and aspirations -is one suchproject to be undertaken over the next sixyears. "Initially we will gather data from so-ciological surveys on youth carried out

around the world. This information will bemade broadly available and used to both en-courage kids to express themselves and getgovernments to include them in the prepara-tion of youth policies and programmes," ex-plains Arthur Gillette, director of the Divi-sion of Youth and Sports Activities.

Another example is the Project on Cities:management of social transformations andthe environment. "The disintegration occur-ring in many major cities with the arrival oflarge numbers of generally poor new inhab-itants is evident to all. The shantytowns andfavellas that have sprung up as a result willnot simply disappear. Bulldozing them backinto the dust, as has happened in some places,only creates large numbers of homeless anddesperate people. Rather we need to confrontthe difficulties and look for ways of integrat-ing the newcomers and meeting their needsand desires," Fournier says. The cities projectwill be carried out with the Man and the Bio-sphere Programme (MAB), bringing togetherthe social and ecological sciences. A numberof experiments and pilot projects will be car-ried out in different cities, initially dealingwith social exclusion, drug abuse and

delinquency, improving inter-commu-nity relations and developing local pro-duction activities. Ways and means ofcreating new jobs connected with socialactivities and environmental conserva-tion will be explored and managementtraining programmes devised for munici-pal officials and community organizers.Information on these various activitieswill be made widely available through

publications, CD-ROMs and electronicnetworks such as Internet.

The sector is also promoting researchon the peaceful settlement of conflicts,in close cooperation with other UnitedNations organizations, funds and pro-grammes.

The Social Sciences Sector isUNESCO’s smallest. For the 1996/1997biennium it has set a budget of $16 mil-lion, modest sum for such an ambitiousprogramme. This is perhaps partly dueto the nature of this discipline, and thefact that, unlike the "hard sciences", re-sults in the "soft" social sciences are of-ten difficult to gauge.

"We are dealing with human behav-iour - attitudes, beliefs, cultural patterns,lifestyles and the like, which are diffi-cult to measure, weigh or put a price on,"Fournier says. "Yet it is precisely thesethings that must be better understood ifwe want to change; if we want to achievesustainable development, if we want tobuild a culture of peace."

Sue WILLIAMS

P O V E RT Y A N D E X C L U S I O N

W O U L DY O U L I K ET O L I V EH E R E ?( P h o t o ©B o u t i n / S I P AI m a g e ) .

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

D o s s i e r

SUPERHIGHWAYS, SUBWAYS AND SHOE LEATHERPreparing for the information revolution, by whatever means possible.

COMMUNITY RAD IO

TO FIND OUT MORE ...

If Internet continues growing at its presentrate of 10 to 15% per month, some have

calculated that in three years its traffic willexceed the total world voice traffic. Putanother way, by the end of the decade, 200million computers will be hooked up to it."Figures like these, continues HenrikasYushkiavitshus, Assistant Director-Generalfor Communication, Information andInformatics (CII), cannot be ignored.

Accordingly, the Organization hasbroadened its concept of the free flow ofinformation to include what have becomeknown as the "information super-highways". The CII sector, in particular itsGeneral Information Programme (PGI),has been regeared towards their develop-ment.

"We are especially concerned by the le-gal and ethical aspects of this develop-ment," explains Yushkiavitshus. "We needto ensure that this technology does not in-crease the gap between rich and poor, orthat its growth is not guided by marketforces alone which would inevitablymarginalize intellectual areas. There arecopyright issues (and cultural questions)that need to be resolved. Today, for exam-ple, more than 90% of databases on theInternet are in English. How do we accom-modate other languages?"

With a proposed total budget of $64million for the 1996/97 biennium, CII willalso work to open up access to new infor-mation technologies in developing coun-tries through a series of pilot projects inthe Caribbean, Africa, Latin America and

the Mediterranean region. It will also helpMember States draw up policies andstrategies on the use of and access to in-formation technologies.

New technologies are also the focus ofthe "Memory of the World" project, aimedat safeguarding and promoting endangeredworld documentary heritage. "Ironically,what is written in stone remains with us,but what has been written on paper is dis-appearing," Yushkiavitshus explains. Un-der this project, documents such as the an-cient Sana’a manuscripts and the mediae-val Radzivill Chronicle retracing the ori-gin of the European peoples, and even au-diovisual material will be transferred ontoCD-ROM for preservation.

At the same time, CII will continue its workin developing mass media: radio, televisionand the press, notably through the Interna-tional Programme for the Development ofCommunication (IPDC).

After successful regional seminars inAfrica (Windhoek 1991), Asia (Almaty1992), Latin America and the Caribbean(Santiago 1994), professional media or-ganizations from the Arab countries willmeet in Sana’a (Yemen) early in 1996 towork out a strategy for promoting inde-pendent and pluralist Arab media.

"We have put new emphasis on the de-velopment of community-based media, es-pecially rural radio," says Yushkiavitshus.The "Women speaking to women" projectis one example. Four rural radio stations

designed for and run by women will be setup in least-developed countries in Africa,Asia and the Caribbean.

Neither have training and research beenleft aside. "Over the next two yearsUNESCO and the World Organization ofthe Scout Movement will undertake an in-ternational survey to assess the effects oftelevision and video violence on youngpeople, the results of which will be pub-lished and widely disseminated," saysYushkiavitshus.

ORBICOM (the network of UNESCOChairs in communication) will also be re-inforced and extended. At present nineORBICOM chairs exist in universitiesstretching from Uruguay to Canada andHungary. The target is to establish 20, thusproviding a tool for academics, scientistsand professionals to strengthen the ex-change and transfer of knowledge.

"Communication is a basic componentof all democratic societies and a basicmeans of disseminating knowledge andvalues," said Director-General FedericoMayor at ORBICOM’s inauguration cer-emony in Montreal (Canada) in May 1994.It is essential for development and shouldnot be seen as a "luxury".

"The information revolution is at ourdoor," stresses Henrikas Yushkiavitshus, "andall countries, whatever their state of devel-opment, have to start preparing for it. We arelooking at all possibilities to achieve this:superhighways, to be sure, but also highways,subways or simply going on foot."

S. W.

MEDIUM-TERM STRATEGY 1996-2001.Based on the deliberative reflections of theSecretariat and Member States, it presentsthe directions guiding the Organization intothe 21st century.

DRAFT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR1996-1997 is the main source of infor-mation on UNESCO’s four major pro-grammes and budget for the next two years.

UNESCO TODAY. This brochure provides arun-down on the Organization’s goals andmeans to achieving them.

Leaflets, newsletters and other materials areavailable from UNESCO’s major scientificprogrammes: Man and the Biosphere pro-gramme (notably INFOMAB); the Intergov-ernmental Oceanographic Commission andMarine Science Related Issues (notably IN-TERNATIONAL MARINE SCIENCE NEWS-LETTER); International Geological Correla-tion Programme; the International Hydro-logical Programme.

THE WORLD HERITAGE NEWSLETTER re-ports on the state of WH list sites and ac-tivities of the WH Committee and Centre.

A wide variety of information materials onUNESCO’s programme include notably:

UNESCO: WORLDWIDE ACTION IN EDU-CATION. An illustrated 56-page booklet pre-senting the Organization’s strategy to meetthe challenge of Education for All (EFA).Now available with a CD-ROM of key dataon education, including statistics, biblio-graphical references, photos and videos.

EFA 2000. A quarterly bulletin reportingon activities and progress of inter-agencyefforts to achieve EFA goals.

Having finishedyour secondary studies,you decide to continue

your education overseas,and seek financial support.

Trilingual English, Spanish, French,1.333 pages, 120 FF.UNESCO Publishing,7 place de Fontenoy,75352 Paris 07 SP, France.

STUDYABROAD

presents 3,082 possibilitiesin 134 countries for 1996-1997.

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A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d .

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

E d u c a t i o n

P L A N E T

18. . . . . .

THE OTHER HALF OF THE SKYA women's literacy programme in China is changingmillions of lives.

Ma Xianwei is a young woman of theHui ethnic group, one of the 25 minoritiesliving in Xuan Wei County. Life began tochange for her five years ago when shedecided to attend an ACWF trainingcourse. This 30-year-old woman is nowmaking 30,000 yuan a year from her half-hectare vineyard, many times the incomeof the average family in the county (about600 yuan, or $75). "I was scared to deathat the mere thought of going into a class-room when officials from the Women’s Fed-eration in the city tried persuading me tosign up," she recalls. "I was worried thatnobody would look after the family if I at-tended the class, and besides, I wasilliterate".

Her mother-in-law, hostile to theproject, pressed her to stay at home and dothe housework. Being able to read andwrite and earn money is not part of the tra-ditional role of Chinese women. After all,in southern Yunnan, women are comparedto crabs, inferior creatures, or to sheep.There is also a popular belief that a housebuilt by a woman will inevitably collapseand that if she grafts a tree it will neverbear fruit.

But officials from the federation haveno time for these old superstitions. "Timeshave changed today and women must learnto read and write and master technicalskills so as to fight against poverty on anequal footing with men." Women are asimportant as men, as they frequently claimin the slogan that puts it so well: "Womenhold up half the sky".

In order to convince reluctant families, theorganizers and members of ACWF take nohalf measures: they conduct door-to-doorcampaigns, organize teams to ensure thatwomen come to class regularly, publicizetheir activities in the local media, plasterwalls with newspapers in the villages anddistribute leaflets.

As most of the classes take place in theafternoon and evening, Ma Xianwei andeight other women from the village finallydecided to attend, continuing to work inthe fields and do the housework in themorning. Each course lasts between 15 and30 days. As most of the trainees are

Qi Yiling lives in a village in Xuan WeiCounty, a deprived area on the edge of themountain province of Yunnan in south-westChina. For her and for the other women ofthe village, who work an average of between14 and 18 hours a day, life is an endlessround of washing, cooking, housework,work in the fields, child care, washing,cooking - and so it goes on. When some-thing is wrong or is not done quicklyenough, her husband hurls complaints andinsults at her. Qi Yiling is completely illit-erate. One day, she says, when she was col-lecting her sick daughter from hospital, shewent round and round the bus station, un-able to find the right stop for her bus home.She felt so humiliated that she wanderedaround for a long time before making upher mind to ask someone.

But now Qi Yiling knows that her lifeis going to change. A few days ago, shestarted attending literacy classes and islearning to graft fruit trees, previously re-garded as men’s work. This is possible be-cause the All China Women’s Federation(ACWF), the Yunnan Education Commis-sion, UNESCO, the UN Development Pro-gramme and the Ford Foundation havejoined forces to enable her to take part inthe Skills-based Literacy Programme forWomen, launched in 1990. The project ispart of the "Shuangxue Shuangbi" move-ment (a term which encompasses basiceducation, learning certain technical skillsand the desire to contribute by emulationto social progress), launched by 12 depart-ments of the central government and theACWF. The federation has taught 20 mil-lion rural women to read and write since1989 and has just received the King SejongLiteracy Prize of $15,000, awarded eachyear by UNESCO.

The programme has had an enormousnumber of takers in Xuan Wei County,where 66% of illiterates are women. Thewomen are advised by the ACWF and arethen free to choose the courses they preferfrom the 70 on offer. They include trainingin income-generating activities, reading,writing and arithmetic and other skills use-ful for daily life such as health care, familyplanning and energy-saving.

●

I n add i t i on t o women , you th and t hel ea s t d eve l oped c oun t r i e s , A f r i c a i sc on s i d e r ed one o f UNESCO ' s f ou r p r i o r i t yg roup s . F o l l ow i ng Aud i en c e A f r i c a

L I T E R A C Y C L A S S E S I N A V I L L A G E I N S E N E G A L( P h o t o U N E S C O / I n e z F o r b e s ) .

7 0 C O U R S E S

D E T E R M I N AT I O N

▼

The UNITWIN programme aims toreinforce cooperation betweenuniversities and widen the transferand sharing of knowledge. A majorcomponent is the UNESCO Chairsprogramme offering post-graduatestudents advanced training in theirown countries or those neighbouring.About 200 chairs are currentlyworking in diverse disciplines rangingfrom biotechnology, ecology and theenvironment to human rights andgenetics. In 1996-1997, UNITWINwill constitute one of UNESCO’s majormeans of promoting inter-universitycooperation by increasing allocatedresources to $3,800,000, a 75%increase from the preceding budget.

( F eb r ua r y 1995 ) and w i t h a budge t o fmo re t han $15 m i l l i o n , t h e a c t i v i t i e sp l anned unde r t h e t i t l e o f "AFR ICA INU N E S C O ’ S P R O G R A M M E " i n c l u d e :s uppo r t f o r t h e democ ra t i c p r o c e s s e s ;l i t e r a c y t ea ch i ng f o r women and youngg i r l s i n r u r a l a r ea s ; a c c e s s t o h i ghe redu ca t i on i n s c i en c e and t e chno l ogy ;t r a i n i ng i n a r t i s t i c c r ea t i on and c r a f t s ;d eve l opmen t o f c ommun i t y med i a andt r a i n i ng i n c ommun i c a t i on .

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

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P L A N E T

19. . . . . .

E d u c a t i o n

illiterate, vivid pictures are used in classesinstead of books. "These women are quickto learn," says Liu, a teacher. "Not only canthey easily understand the pictures, butthey are also very good at memorizingcharacters". The literacy classes are usu-ally held between 7 and 9 p.m. Women ofall ages sit in circles around hurricanelamps and learn the basic 1,500 Chinesecharacters. The material covers a widerange of topics from classics like Aesop'stables to Chinese war stories to practical

skills such as pig raising, duck, chicken orquail breeding and tofu making to familyissues. After class, those who have to walka long distance are escorted by "guards"from the community to ensure their safety.

Every school in the county is encour-aged to take on a double role as primaryschool during the day and adult educationcentre in the evening. The teachers are paida subsidy of 10% on top of their salary tocompensate for the extra work.

According to Wang Rongxue, the pro-gramme director, the women very rarelyrelapse into illiteracy as even in the mostremote villages they are constantly in con-tact with writing, if only in the form ofposters and newspapers plastered on thewalls. In addition to reading, writing andarithmetic, the course teaches them basiccraft skills. As there are no technical text-books, the local authorities in the countyare producing their own material, gearingit to local conditions and presenting a posi-tive image of women to enhance their sta-tus. Practical work is done on experimen-tal farms or in specialized institutions, su-pervised by specialists from the agricultural

▼

The 50 UNESCO FIELD UNITS werecreated to better link the Organizationto its Member States. Besides acting asinformation and liaison networks, theyalso serve to advise Member Statesand coordinate activities betweeninternational organizations andNGOs. The decentralization process,started in the last few years, will beintensified with the appropriatetransfers of responsibility and re-sources. It has been proposed that34% of the Organization’s budget forprogramme execution be decentral-ized to this programme.

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I n edu ca t i ona l a rea s , UNESCO ’s wo rk i sunde rp i nned by t h r ee i n s t i t u t e s wo rk i ngi n t h e f i e l d .T he INT ERNAT IONAL BUREAU OFEDUCAT ION ( I B E ) i n Geneva i s d ed i -c a t ed t o deve l op i ng c ompa ra t i v e edu ca -t i on a s we l l a s edu ca t i ona l i n f o rma t i onand do cumen ta t i on . I t s d o cumen ta t i onc en t r e boa s t s n ea r l y 100 ,000 t i t l e sc omp i l ed on da t a ba s e s and j u s t r e c en t l yon CD -ROM. The I BE r e c e i v e s r e s ea r che r sdea l i ng w i t h s c i en c e edu ca t i on andi n t e r n s . E ve r y two yea r s , i t o r gan i z e s t h eI n t e rna t i ona l C on f e r en c e on Edu ca t i onw i t h t h e t h eme o f t h e 1996 c on f e r en c ebe i ng " t h e r o l e o f t e a che r s f a c i ng t h echa l l enge s o f r ap i d s o c i a l and edu ca -t i ona l c hange " .T he U N E S C O I N T E R N AT I O N A LINST I TUTE FOR EDUCAT IONALPLANN ING ( I I E P ) i n Pa r i s f o cu s e s ont h r ee t ype s o f a c t i v i t i e s : annua l t r a i n i ngcou r s e s f o r edu ca t i on p l anne r s andadm in i s t r a t o r s ; r e s ea r ch on edu ca t i onmanagemen t ; d i s t r i bu t i on o f r e l a t edpub l i c a t i on s . I n t h e 1996 -1997 b i enn i um ,t he I I E P w i l l p ay pa r t i c u l a r a t t en t i on t oa s s i s t i ng Membe r S t a t e s r e f o rm o rr e c on s t r u c t t h e i r e du ca t i on s y s t ems .The UNESCO INST I TUTE FORE D U C AT I O N ( U I E ) i n H a m b u rg(Ge rmany ) i s a r e s ea r ch c en t r e s pe c i a l i z -i ng i n l i f e l ong edu ca t i on , l i t e r a c y andpo s t - l i t e r a c y. T he U I E w i l l p repa r e t h eI n t e rna t i ona l C on f e r en c e on Adu l tE du ca t i on i n 1997 and s e r ve a s i t ss e c r e t a r i a t .

T E S T I N GT H E I R K N O W -H O WA T A NE X P E R I M E N T A LF A R M( P h o t oR e n H u a ) .

or livestock departments, health workersand experts on local crafts. This was howMa Xianwei learned to grow grapes andhow Luo Guixiang, a 40-year-old womanof the Yi ethnic group, became the firstdressmaker in her village.

According to Zhu Jiamai, director of theXuan Wei Women’s Federation, for XuanWei County 85% of the women workers inthe county have taken classes of variouskinds, and more than 1,000 have sinceearned at least 10,000 yuan a year.

Thousands of villagers have chosen to raisepigs, grow mushrooms, tobacco or cereals,tend fruit trees, embroider, manage a smallbusiness, etc. So far, 36,000 women havelearned to read, write and calculate, and therate of illiteracy among girls has fallen by29% compared with the average rate forthe province. More than 300 technicaltraining courses have catered for 275,000women.

There has been a palpable effect on thevillagers’ standard of living and on thecounty’s economy. Pig-breeders (pork is themost popular meat in China, and the cheap-est) have increased production by 31%.Maize crops and sanitary conditions havegreatly improved. Many families now havestoves which use little energy but conserve42% more heat, thus reducing air pollutionin houses. Above all, the women of XuanWei County have gained self-confidence.Gradually, the clouds are clearing from halfthe sky...

YAN Wenbin and ZHOU Dongti(Yunnan and Beijing),

and NAMTIP Aksornkool

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A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d .

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

and charcoal from the surrounding forest.And with the factories came workers need-ing building materials for their homes aswell as farmers anxious to expand theirfields in providing agricultural goods andlive-stock for the city's growing markets.Today, forest resources are under danger-ous strain with 65% of the entire statepopulation living in and around Manaus.

"It’s not the people themselves that posethe problem - but for whom they’re work-ing," says Ferraz. "On one hand, there arepeople who slash and burn the forests tofarm for their personal consumption. Theytend to live in isolated regions, using smallamounts of land and moving every threeor four years. This doesn’t cause any sig-nificant damage because the land has thechance to regenerate. The problem is whenthey start moving to more populated areasto work for wages on large or mid-sizedfarms. Suddenly, they’re using chainsawsto destroy the forest, selling timber andcharcoal in town."

Ferraz is not so naive to think that he orINPA can hold market forces at bay. This isafter all, a tax-free zone intended to encour-age economic growth. But the researchersare 'stubborn' enough to insist that environ-mental preservation coexist with social andeconomic development.

"We don’t need to constantly destroymore primary forest," says Ferraz. "Insteadwe can reclaim and reuse the already de-forested and degraded areas." And there’splenty of that to go around. "In 1968, thefederal government was convinced that theAmazon could be the beef producing capi-tal of the world. Technicians pointed to theclimate and soil saying, ‘wouldn’t it bewonderful to have pastures here!’ So thegovernment started investing heavily in theidea, granting enormous subsidies to will-ing investors. The problem is that the pas-tures began to degrade within three years.Later when everyone realized what a hugemistake it was, most of the largelandholders said, ‘OK, we’ve receivedenough money from the government’, andthey just packed up and left."

Today, however, experts like Ferraz arefinding potential gold-mines in these

E n v i r o n m e n t

P L A N E T

20 . . . . . .

THE ROAD TO THE AMAZONNew life is brought to deforested land in Brazil's Central Amazonas highway construction threatens to disrupt the entire region.Call it progress or the inevitable demise ofa mysterious paradise. In the end, it won’tmatter because construction will go on asplanned with workers gunning bulldozersand mixing concrete to lay the roads bring-ing the depths of the Central Amazon to theworld’s markets. Two new roads are slatedfor Brazil’s Amazonas State, but the big-gest impact will be felt with the BR 147highway linking the Central Amazonian cityManaus in Brazil, to Caracas in Venezuela.

Don’t count on any media events withraging environmentalists chaining them-selves to trees in desperate hope of stop-ping construction of what the governmenthopes will be an economic life-line for theentire region. No, the experts are far tooreasonable for such antics. For they fullyappreciate that their best chance to protectone of the world’s richest tropical rain for-est ecosystems lies in finding a way for sus-tainable use of it’s natural resources withthe people living there. So groups like theNational Institute for Amazonian Research(INPA), the region’s largest basic and ap-plied research organization with 13 depart-ments covering everything from botany andforestry to human health, are teaming upwith UNESCO’s Division of EcologicalSciences to try to deal with the opportuni-ties and consequences of contemporarydevelopment.

"We’re going to see the whole area changein that the roads are reviving a lot of oldfarms," says João Ferraz, a reseacher atINPA. "Now farmers only produce enoughfor local consumption in Manaus. Theydon’t produce more because they cannottransport the crops to other markets, espe-cially in the rainy season when everythingwashes out. That’s going to change. Reac-tivated farms will mean more deforestationas people will want to extend their fieldsand pastures. At the same time, we’re see-ing more people come to the area becauseof a lack of land in southern Brazil."

Population size has been on the up-swing roughly since the region became atax-free zone in 1967, thus concentratingindustrial development in core cities likeManaus with electronics multinationalshungry to fire up their factories with wood

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Wi th t h e S i l k Road s ’ s u c c e s s i n p r omo t i ngnew oppo r t un i t i e s f o r i n t e r- c u l t u r a ld i a l ogue and ex change , UNESCO i s

T H E R A I N Y S E A S O N

l o ok i ng t o o t he r r ou t e s f o r g i ng t h eh i s t o r y o f h u m a n i t y s u c h a s : t h e S L AV ER O U T E , a mu l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y s t udy o f t h et r an sa t l an t i c s l a ve - t r ade h i gh l i gh t i ngi n t e r a c t i on s b e tween A f r i c a , t h e Amer i c a sa n d t h e C a r i b b e a n ; t h e I R O N R O A D S ,e xp l o r i ng t h e impa c t o f me ta l l u r gy onA f r i c a n s o c i e t i e s ; t h e A L A N D A L U SROUTES , un cove r i ng t h e c ommonhe r i t age be tween I s l am , Ch r i s t i an i t y andJuda i sm and be tween Eu rope , t h e A rabWor l d and A f r i c a f rom t he e i gh t h t o t h e15 th c en t u r y ; t h e ROADS OF FA I TH ,e xp l o r i ng r e l a t i on s b e tween t he t h r eema j o r mono the i s t i c r e l i g i on s on t h ep i l g r image t o J e ru sa l em .

K H O TA N , A T R A D I N G P O S T A L O N GT H E S O U T H E R N R O U T E I N TA K L A M A K A N( C H I N A ) ( P h o t o © N H K , To k y o ) .

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Building a nursery in a village innorthern India, outfitting a women’ssocial centre in a Senegalese village,providing textbooks for Palestinianchildren - these are just some of themini-projects (about 50 per year)which the CO-ACTION PROGRAMMEhelps financially by launching publicappeals. Contributions go directly tothe projects, as all administrative costsare borne by the Organization.

T H E W O R L D ' S B E E F C A P I TA L

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

P L A N E T

21. . . . . .

E n v i r o n m e n t

degraded lands. By joining forces with lo-cal institutes and with UNESCO’s support,they set out to determine which native spe-cies could be best cultivated on this land.In the end, the Brazil nut took the lead.Planted by Amazon Indians since pre-Columbian times, the tree produces seedsrich in protein and oil, valuable timber aswell as bark used for basket-weaving andmedicinal tea. "People generally stoppedcollecting the seeds because it's not eco-nomically profitable to wander around the

forest collecting them," says Ferraz. "Yetthere is a Brazilian and international mar-ket for the seeds. As the saying goes, 'if youcan produce it, you can sell it.'"

After devising an inexpensive andquick way of producing some 320,000seedlings, planting got underway with de-graded land provided courtesy of AruanaFarm, one of the "few" of those infamouscattle producers dedicated to "finding asustainable alternative," says Ferraz.Within five years, trees began floweringand bearing fruit. The move is on now togrow a hardier tree and more nutritious nut.

The government and private institu-tions have already begun distributing seed-lings to Parcaa-Novos Indians and smallfarmers in Rondônia State. Though Ferrazexpects that the larger and mid-sized farmswill benefit the most by these cultivationtechniques, given that few small farmerscan afford to wait six years to start sellingcrops. Some development experts are con-cerned, however, that if trade in the Brazilnut does take off, the larger farms will ex-tend into forest areas in the bid for greaterprofits. A distinct possibility. Ferraz pointsout that if farmers want to cultivate primary

forest land, they must apply for governmentlicenses which require that they submitplans for 'sustainable management'. "Butunfortunately, no one knows exactly whatthat means."

There are no easy answers given theregion’s extraordinary natural and socialdiversity and the economic interests at stake- which makes it all the more important tosee through current proposals to create thefirst biosphere reserve in Brazil's CentralAmazon. Part of UNESCO’s Man and the

Biosphere Programme's world-wide net-work of reserves, it would gather all inter-ested parties - researchers, forest rangers,manufacturers, farmers, labourers and peo-ple living in the hinterlands - in adaptingdevelopment to the region's environmen-tal and social rhythms. Some areas wouldbe reserved for conservation, others opento economic activity with buffer zones inbetween (See Sources No. 69). "At thispoint, the recommendations are very gen-eral, similar to those which could be ap-plied to other reserves," says Ferraz.

The Amazon certainly presents someunique challenges - consider the logisticsin just finding people living out in the bush.But Ferraz is optimistic, pointing to a se-ries of environmental education pro-grammes - from training kids to be eco-tourist guides to helping adults make fur-niture and handicrafts from wood scraps.Why is education so important? For Ferraz,the answer is simple. "We’ve got to get peo-ple thinking about these kinds of alterna-tives now if we want to preserve the Ama-zon in the future."

A. O.

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The PART I C IPAT ION PROGRAMME ,w i t h a p l anned budge t o f $25 m i l l i o n f o r1996 -1997 , i s i n t ended t o r e i n f o r c e t h epa r t ne r s h i p be tween UNESCO and i t sMembe r S t a t e s by he l p i ng t o c a r r y ou tmode s t bu t p r a c t i c a l p r o j e c t s s u ch a seme rgen cy a i d , s t udy g ran t s , r e s ea r cha n d p u b l i c a t i o n s . T h e p r o g r a m m e ' sa c t i v i t i e s a l s o a im t o s t r eng then s c i en c eand c ommun i c a t i on i n f r a s t r u c t u r e s andthe p r e s e r va t i on o f c u l t u r a l good s i n t h ec a s e o f a c a t a s t r o p h e .NGOs and i n t e r- gove rnmen ta l o r gan i za -t i on s may a l s o t ake pa r t i n t h e p r o -g ramme unde r c e r t a i n c ond i t i on s .UNESCO ' s F e l l ow sh i p Bank , f o r examp l e ,w i l l r e c e i v e f und s t o p r omo te i n t e r na -t i ona l e du ca t i ona l ex change s .

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I n p r omo t i ng t h e mo s t e f f e c t i v e way s o ft r an s f e r r i ng r e s ea r ch r e su l t s f r omacadem i c i n s t i t u t i on s t o i ndu s t r y, t h eUNISPAR (Un i v e r s i t y - I ndu s t r y - S c i en c ePa r t ne r s h i p ) p r og ramme a ims t os t r eng then r e l a t i on s b e tween s c i en t i f i cand t e chno l og i c a l t r a i n i ng , s pe c i f i c a l l yeng i nee r i ng and i ndu s t r i a l a c t i v i t y.F o r examp l e , i n 1996 -1997 t en A f r i c anr e s ea r ch i n s t i t u t e s w i l l b e s e l e c t ed t op r e s en t t h e i r r e s ea r ch r e su l t s o f p r o j e c t sdea l i ng w i t h f ood p r odu c t i on andp ro c e s s i ng , b i o t e chno l og i e s , h ea l t h ,r enewab l e ene rgy and l ow - c o s t ma t e r i a l sa t a r eg i ona l f a i r. T he a im i s t o a t t r a c ten t e r p r i s e s i n t e r e s t ed i n c ommer c i a l i z i ngt h e s e p r o j e c t s .

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Created in 1993, the INTERNATIONALBIOETHICS COMMITTEE gathersscientists, philosophers, economists,lawyers and sociologists in providinga forum for transdisciplinary andmulticultural questioning concerningthe implications of discoveries andtechnological innovations made in thebiological and biomedical sciences.This type of reflection is organizedwith a view to preparing an interna-tional instrument on the humangenome to be adopted by the GeneralConference during its 29th session in1997.

B R A Z I L N U TS E E D L I N G SC O U L D O F F E RA C A S H - C R O PF O R F A R M E R SR E C Y C L I N GD E G R A D E DL A N D( P h o t oU N E S C O / J .F e r r a z ) .

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A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d .

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

A r t t r a f f i c k i n g

22. . . . . .

A CLEAN DEALThe next phase in the battle against art traffickers is launchedwith a new treaty.

P L A N E T

Art thieves beware! A new internationalconvention has come into being that willmake life much more difficult for traffick-ers of stolen art and cultural property.

Initiated by UNESCO in 1984 andadopted in Rome last June 24, theUNIDROIT Convention targets privatemarkets where the majority of illegal trans-actions occur. It thus complimentsUNESCO’S 1970 intergovernmental Con-vention on the Means of Prohibiting andPreventing the Illicit Import, Export andTransfer of Owernship of Cultural Property.

"Together the two conventions closemany of the loopholes that had preventedcourts from combating more forcefully theillegal trafficking of cultural objects," ex-plains Lyndel Prott, UNESCO’s Chief ofInternational Standards and an architect ofthe new framework along with UNIDROITexperts (the International Institute forthe Unification of Private Law).

Under most existing na-tional laws, art dealers neednot reveal the ownershiphistory of an object forsale. Cultural and art ob-jects are the only tradablecommodities of signifi-cant value not subject tosuch documentation, asis required each timereal estate, automobilesor treasury bonds changehands. French law in thisfield is a notable exception,but has not been fully en-forced. Secondly, under mostlaws, it is virtually impossible forrightful owners to retrieve a stolenobject once it has been resold to athird party. This holds true even if the ob-ject in question is widely acknowledged tobe stolen, provided the third-party pur-chaser was never informed or involved inthe object’s theft. Australia, Canada, NewZealand and the United States, whose lawsfavour the original owners of stolen cul-tural property, are exceptions.

The new conventions challenges bothof these constraints by putting the burdenof proof squarely on the holder of alleg-edly stolen cultural property. It states thatthe "possessor of a stolen cultural object

must return it". It denies any compensa-tion for return of a cultural object unless"the possessor neither knew nor ought rea-sonably to have known the object wasstolen".

No previous international law goes sofar in forcing potential art buyers to enquirefully about an object’s past ownership.

Under the UNIDROIT Convention, aclaimant to a cultural object may choose acourt either in the possessor's country orthe one where the object is currently lo-cated. A claimant must file for restitutionwithin three years after the "location of thecultural object" and "the identity of the pos-sessor" is reasonably determined. Suchclaims may be filed up to 50 years fromthe original time of theft. However, if theobject "belongs to a public collection" or"forms an integral part of an identified

monument or archaeologicalsite" claims may be filed

within 75 years orlonger, depending on

existing laws wherethe claim is made.

Delegates from70 nations, includ-ing France andItaly which bothhave major art-im-porting markets,adopted the UNI-DROIT Conventionon Stolen or IllegallyExported Cultural

Objects. The conven-tion will enter into force

six months after full ratifi-cation by the parliaments of

five countries.Prott expressed hope for widespread

ratification of the convention within theyear. "It had the full input and support ofdozens of countries with an interest in de-fending their art markets," she stresses."Their support suggests consensus on thebroader need to defeat art traffickers, whileat the same time serving the interests oflegal art dealers and buyers."

P h o t o : T e r r a c o t t a m a s k ( I V - V I c e n t u r y )s t o l e n f r o m t h e M u s é e a r c h é o l o g i q u e d eS a i n t - B e r t r a n d - d e - C o m m i n g e s ( F r a n c e ) .

wh i c h 142 S t a t e s a r e Pa r t i e s ( a s o f 18Ju l y 1995 ) . I t p l ay s a l e ad r o l e i nen su r i ng ongo i ng mon i t o r i ng o f t h ep rope r t i e s i n s c r i b ed on t he Wo r l dHe r i t age L i s t wh i c h i n c l ude s 440 s i t e s i n100 c oun t r i e s ( a s o f 31 Ju l y ) .One p r o j e c t o f s i x y ea r s du ra t i on , f o rexamp l e , w i l l p romo t e young peop l e ’sawa rene s s o f t h e need and mean s t op re s e r ve s i t e s . L aun ched i n 1994 , i t w i l li n t h e c om ing b i enn i um s e t up c l a s s e s onwo r l d he r i t age i n s e c onda ry s c hoo l s i nabou t 50 c oun t r i e s i n add i t i on t op rodu c i ng and d i s t r i bu t i ng w r i t t en andaud i o - v i s ua l t e a ch i ng ma t e r i a l s .

B A G R AT C AT H E D R A L A N D G H E L AT I M O N A S T E R Y -T H E F I R S T S I T E S I N G E O R G I A I N S C R I B E D O N T H EW H L I S T ( P h o t o U N E S C O ) .

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UNESCO’s WORLD HER I TAGECENTRE wo rk s w i t h Membe r S t a t e s andthe gene ra l pub l i c i n p r omo t i ng t h eConven t i on f o r t h e P r o t e c t i on o f t h eWor l d Cu l t u r a l and Na tu ra l He r i t age t o

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The elaboration, adoption andratification of NORMATIVE INTERNA-TIONAL INSTRUMENTS are also part ofUNESCO’s tasks. To date, 32 suchinstruments have been adopted underthe Organization’s auspices with thefirst being the Beirut Agreement(1948) aiming to reduce customsduties on audio-visual materials of aneducational, scientific or culturalnature. The best known instrumentsinclude the Universal CopyrightConvention (1952) protecting intellec-tual property signified by the © signand the World Heritage Convention(1972) protecting selected culturaland natural sites.

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o . 7 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 9 5

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P L A N E T

23. . . . . .

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine publishedby the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul-tural Organization. English and French editions are pro-duced at Paris Headquarters; the Spanish and Catalaneditions in cooperation with the UNESCO Centre of Cata-lonia, Mallorca 285, 08037 Barcelona, Spain; the Chi-nese edition in cooperation with the Xinhua NewsAgency, 57 Xuanwumen Xidajie, Beijing, China; thePortuguese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO, Avenida InfanteSanto, No. 42-5°, 1300 Lisbon, Portugal.

Editor-in-Chief: R. Lefort. Associate editors:S. Williams, S. Boukhari, A. Otchet. Assistant Man-aging Editor: C. Mouillère. Spanish edition:E. Kouamou (Barcelona), L. Sampedro (Paris). Lay-out: G. Traiano, F. Ryan. Circulation and Secre-tariat: D. Maarek.

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCO Work-shops. Distribution by UNESCO's specialized services.

C o m m u n i c a t i o n

REVOLUTIONIZING RADIO

There’s music floating out over the red-brick buildings of the University of theNorth (UNIN): the slick, smooth sounds ofKenny G’s saxophone. The music is issu-ing from a loudspeaker outside the studentcentre, the home of Radio Turf.

Radio Turf - it takes its name fromTurfloop, the village where the universityis situated - is one of several communityradio stations modestly revolutionizing theworld of media in South Africa.

The station came into being late in1994. Initially it broadcast only to the cam-pus itself, owing to the stringent regula-tion of South African broadcasting. But theadvent of democracy in South Africachanged government thinking on broad-casting and opened the way for commu-nity radio: stations operating on a non-com-mercial basis, serving a relatively smallarea, and reflecting the voices and aspira-tions of the community they served.

Radio Turf, together with the othercampus-based stations that are affiliatedwith the South African Student Press Un-ion, seized the opportunity and was of thefirst to receive a licence. UNESCO pro-vided a more powerful transmitter to Ra-dio Turf and five other stations like it, aswell as training for personnel.

The station went on the air early in April1995, broadcasting 18 hours a day over a50 km radius. Its motto: "the station thatlistens to the people".

One of the new station’s most impor-tant functions is keeping people up to dateon the opportunities presented by the newgovernment, which with its Reconstructionand Development Programme has placeda high priority on improving the lives ofpeople who were neglected by the old re-gime. Northern Province Premier NgoakoRamatlode has spoken on a talk-show onRadio Turf - lawyers, politicians, develop-ment experts and anyone else who can givean insight into current events, appear regu-larly on the station.

Radio Turf's open-door policy ensuresthat the station is anything but a propa-ganda mouthpiece - the station is also a fo-rum for discussion about the effectivenessof government initiatives. Educational

programmes cover health issues such asAIDS, or information on legal rights.

News bulletins keep listeners up to dateon national and local happenings. "Throughus people get a sense of who they are,"Mkhari says.

The community-first philosophy alsoapplies to music broadcasting. The station’slicence includes the agreement that at least60 % of the music played must be SouthAfrican . "Local Beat", a programme of mu-sic made by people in the immediate vicin-ity of the station, some of whom had neverrecorded before. Otherwise, the station getsby with demo tapes donated by South Afri-can artists and the ingenious system of"sponsored programmes": a student willlend the station his or her collection of tapesand CDs, rewarded only by the DJ announc-ing that this programme was made possi-ble by so-and-so.

The experience of working at a radiostation has already been hugely beneficialin improving students’ skills in media, fi-nance, public relations and management. Asthe station draws in people from outside theuniversity, the whole community will havethe opportunity to learn skills like these.

"The radio station has restored people’ssense of value in life," Mkhari says. "Some-thing like radio is seen as belonging to anelite - and this gives them a sense of pridein owning it."

Justin PEARCETurfloop

L I S T E N I N G T O T H E P E O P L E

K E E P I N G P E O P L E U P T O D A T EO N R A D I O T U R F ( P h o t o J u s t i n P e a r c e ) .

After decades of strict control, South African broadcastingis opening up and moving closer to the people it serves.

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The INT ERGOVERNMENTALINFORMAT ICS PROGRAMME ( I I P )he l p s d eve l op i ng c oun t r i e s s e t up t h e i rown i n f o rma t i c s s y s t ems by f o cu s s i ng ont r a i n i ng , s o f twa re deve l opmen t andse t t i ng up o f c ompu t e r ne two rk s l i k e t h eI be ro -Amer i c an Reg i ona l I n f o rma t i onNe two rk on Edu ca t i ona l S o f twa re and t ha tf o r d i s t an c e edu ca t i on i n L i t huan i a .C r ea t ed i n 1986 , t h e I I P ha s f i nan ced o rc o - f i nan ced s ome 108 p r o j e c t s f o r a t o t a lamoun t o f $8 ,133 ,000 .

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The transdisciplinary project,"ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATIONEDUCATION AND INFORMATION FORDEVELOPMENT" helps Member Statesfulfill commitments made at the RioEarth Summit (1992), the CairoConference on Population andDevelopment (1994), the CopenhagenSummit for Social Development andthe Beijing Conference on Women(1995). Projects planned for thecoming six years will encouragewomen of the nine high-populationdeveloping countries to act as agentsof change in community development,population programmes and environ-mental protection. Projects will alsoaim to get young people of developingcountries to espouse a healthy way oflife, tolerance and non-violence.

L O O K I N G A H E A D ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

SOURCESU N E S C O

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Each year, UNESCO convenes about 40 conferences attended by representatives of Member States,and organ-

izes an equivalent number of meetings of experts coming from all the world's regions. In addition, thousands

of men, women and young people attend courses, workshops and training seminars organized by UNESCO

around the world.

The PRINCIPAL MEETINGS to take place during the 1996-1997 period include:

A CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF EDUCATION of Latin America and the Carib-

bean (Kingston, Jamaica, 1996). Two INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES: on education

(Geneva, 1996) and adult education (Hamburg, Germany, 1997). Sessions of INTERNATIONAL

AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEES AND COUNCILS will focus

on: drafting an International Instrument on the Protection of the Human Genome (UNESCO Headquarters,

1996); the International Geological Correlation Programme (Headquarters, 1996 and 1997); the Man and

the Biosphere Programme (Headquarters, 1997); the International Hydrological Programme (Headquarters,

1996); the Management of Social Transformations Programme (Headquarters, 1997); the World Heritage

(Headquarters, 1996 and 1997); the Return and Restitution of Cultural Property (Headquarters, 1996); the

Universal Copyright Convention (Headquarters, 1997) and the Rome Convention (Geneva, 1997); the Inter-

national Programme for the Development of Communication (Headquarters, 1996 and 1997); the General

Information Programme (Headquarters, 1996). Two GENERAL ASSEMBLIES will also be held

concerning: the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (Headquarters, 1997) and the States Parties

to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Headquarters, during the last

quarter of 1997). The EXECUTIVE BOARD will, as usual, meet biannually and, finally, the

GENERAL CONFERENCE will hold its 29th session in the last quarter of 1997.

UNESCO will celebrate its FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY from 16 November 1995 to 4 November

1996. Diverse activities will be organized to mark the occasion including concerts, exhibitions and symposiums.