CITW: Canadians & UN - James Harrison: A Brighter Side of UNESCO - Science

CITW: Canadians & UN - James Harrison: A Brighter Side of UNESCO - Science:

"The science program of UNESCO then (1973-76) received between 25 and 28 per cent of the total budget. It still does, and has suffered less than other parts of the organization from the U.S. and British withdrawal. Harrison says: 'There are a whole lot of misconceptions about UNESCO's budget. It now amounts to $180 million a year, which is about the same as a good-sized Canadian university. Most programs of UNESCO depend heavily on national support for any particular project, beyond the country's general contribution made to the organization. So nearly every program is a co-operative venture. Man and the Biosphere (MAB) is a good example. Each state plans its own program, and there is a MAB secretariat in Paris that acts as clearing-house, and an International Co-ordinating Council.'..............

""One of the things I discovered, when I came back in 1976, was that, while UNESCO may not be important to the U.S.A. or even to Canada, it is enormously important to Third World countries. I fear this is not recognized well enough by the industrialized world, who see it too much from their own individual point of view."

James Harrison, a Canadian, was Assistant Director-General (Science) of UNESCO for more than three years starting in 1973.