MOST: un "Think tank" pour les nations

There is a good video on the Management of Social Transitions (MOST) program of UNESCO, UNESCOs flagship social science program. Rather than using a traditional disciplinary approach *Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, etc.) or an area studies approach (Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies, etc.), UNESCO has chosen to look at social transitions drawing upon all the social science disciplines.

This video reviews the history and progress of the MOST program since its creation in 1994, The voice over is in French with English subtitiles. 

Management of Social Transformations: Round Table of Ministers of Social Development at UNESCO

Ministers of Social Development from 18 countries met in Paris on 16-17 July to discuss ways of linking social science research and policy development in order to strengthen the capacity of governments to act effectively for the welfare of their citizens and the social development of their countries. The roundtable took place during the 8th session of the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO’s Management of Social Transformations program (MOST).

Ministers of Social Development from Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Malaysia, Montenegro, Morocco, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Uganda and Venezuela participated in the round table on Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, the Minister of Education from Argentina and the Minister of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services from Kenya will also shared their experiences in connecting research to policy development.

About the MOST Program

The Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Program is UNESCO's flagship social science effort. In his address to the Eighth Session of the Intergovernmental Council (IGC) of the MOST Program, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, summarized recent progress.

Excerpt:

Four years ago, after the thorough evaluation of MOST’s Phase-One, the Intergovernmental Council underscored the need for MOST to fully play its role in efficiently bridging research, policy and practice. Since then, and particularly in the last biennium, MOST has made a specific effort to support multi-partite networks at sub-regional and regional level with a view to producing policy-relevant knowledge under its priority themes.

MOST has also strengthened its strategic alliances with, on the one hand, the users of social science knowledge: with governments, regional and sub-regional organizations and civil society organizations; and on the other hand, with international and regional social science organizations and national research councils.

All of MOST’s cooperation efforts culminated in what has been named the “Buenos Aires Process”. The process gave birth to the International Forum on the Social Science-Policy Nexus which took place simultaneously in three cities of Argentina: Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario; and in the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo, in February 2006 and to which you are dedicating tomorrow’s morning session.