This message from the Director General of UNESCO was posted in August 2011, just before the United States began to withhold its funding from the Organization.
Friday, September 28, 2012
The U.S. and UNESCO
This message from the Director General of UNESCO was posted in August 2011, just before the United States began to withhold its funding from the Organization.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
About the future of Americans for UNESCO (AU)
This post is intended to bring you up-to-date on the history of US-UNESCO relations since the departure of the USA from UNESCO in December 1983. So, relax and bear with me because this is a long story.
The Past
During the two decades that the United States was out of UNESCO, the organization survived the financial crisis that the withdrawals had caused, and reformed many of the bureaucratic processes that had been noted in the decision to withdraw. The State Department continued a small effort to monitor the organization. The number of U.S. citizens on the UNESCO staff was reduced. U.S. educators, scientists, and cultural leaders continued involvement in the Organization, but at a lower level than in the Organization's early years.
As is explained in a background paper on AU, the organization is an outgrowth of Americans for the Universality of UNESCO (AUU) - a not for profit powerhouse organization headed up by the late and former Deputy Director General of UNESCO (John E. Fobes). AAU was the only domestic source of information about UNESCO during the 19 years of U.S. absence from the Organization at a time when the US National Commission for UNESCO existed only on paper, having been forced into deep hibernation, and there were only a smattering of individuals at the State Department and the US Mission in Paris in charge of UNESCO affairs.
To assess the centrality of AUU's involvement in UNESCO's activities and to gain an appreciation of what it sought to accomplish, one need only go to the library of the State Department to read the bound production of AUU's numerous and voluminous newsletters. Not only did they serve to keep the executive and legislative branches of the US Government and the American public informed about UNESCO's activities, but, more importantly, they kept the spirit of UNESCO alive in the United States/
The Present Crisis
Last year the UNESCO General Conference, on the recommendation of the UNESCO Executive Board, voted to admit Palestine as a member state of the Organization. The admission was strongly opposed by the U.S. Delegation to the General Conference (as the recommendation had been in the Executive Board). Two decades before that vote, the U.S. Congress had enacted legislation requiring that the U.S. Government withhold funding from the United Nations or any of its affiliated organizations that admitted Palestine to membership, legislation that does not provide the executive branch with waiver authority. Thus the United States is withholding its contributions -- some 22 percent of the UNESCO regular budget. UNESCO as a result is dealing with a financial crisis. UNESCO programs of importance to the United States are being threatened.
The upper graph shows the frequency that UNESCO was used as a search term on Google in 2011. It suggests a tripling of searches at the time of the meeting of the General Conference. The lower graph shows the frequency of news stories indexed by Google during the same year that dealt with UNESCO. It too showed a very large spike at the time of the General Conference. While Google generally shows a long term decrease in relative interest in UNESCO, the experience in October 2011 was quite different.
There are groups in the United States that oppose the United Nations family of organizations, and UNESCO has been a favorite target of these groups. There are also many people in the United States that support UNESCO, but they are generally not vocal in that support. Nor are they organized collectively to create wider public support for UNESCO. Supporters and opponents of U.S. involvement in UNESCO have published articles expressing their views during the past year.
Governmental Effort with Respect to UNESCO
In the years since the United States rejoined UNESCO in September 2003, the Department of State appointed competent civil and foreign service staff at the Office of UNESCO Policy, the US National Commission for UNESCO, and the US Permanent Mission to UNESCO. All told, there are now 15 full time professionals.These staffs include three education officers (two Washington-based,one Paris-based) ; three science officers (two Washington-based, one Paris based); and three culture/communications officers (two Washington-based, one Paris- based). The UNESCO Policy Office has a director and a deputy director. The US National Commission has a full time Executive Director. The US Mission to UNESCO has, in addition to the aforementioned officers, a highly active Ambassador, a Deputy Chief of Mission, as well as a secretarial staff and an experienced local hire available for general duty.
Our unofficial estimate of the cost to the Department of State for this staff is somewhere between $ 2.5 and 3.5 million taking into account salaries, travel, office rentals, and leased telephone and internet lines. That is probably on the low side. This figure does not take into account the part-time contributions of personnel from the legal and environmental science bureaus of the State Department ,USAID, the Department of Education, NASA, NOAA, and the National Science Foundation to name only a few. $ 4.0 milliion plus strikes us as a more accurate figure.
In addition, it should be noted that the Washington-based staff travels frequently to Paris, has instant on-line contact with members of the UNESCO Secretariat staff and U.S. Mission, and is thus well informed on UNESCO matters. Moreover, the Secretary of State for International Organizations and her deputies are favorably disposed towards UNESCO and also travel to Paris on occasion. The Secretary of State visited UNESCO in May 2011, the first such visit ever by an occupant of this position. The Deputy Secretary of State for Management visited UNESCO in December 2011, and the Secretary of Education addressed UNESCO staff earlier in the year.
Americans for UNESCO
AU is not a membership organization but it has a mailing list of more than 2,500 people interested in UNESCO -- many of whom have contributed funds to AU. The AU Board of Directors, with a nominal 21 Directors, is currently recruiting ten new members, signifying an opportunity for a considerable rethinking of AU's purposes and activities. The new President of AU is a distinguished educator and educational administrator with long experience with UNESCO. Each of the Board's current members has decades experience with UNESCO and broad knowledge of the history of U.S.-UNESCO relationships.
One consequence of the stepped-up governmental backstopping of UNESCO is that AU's once perceived core mission -- of advising the State Department on UNESCO -- is no longer much needed. Indeed, AU can bring little, if any, information or expertise to the UNESCO policy debate that cannot be provided by the State Department's professional staff. With, on the one hand, AU having a limited budget, no staff, and an ageing Board of Directors and, on the other hand, with the US Government supporting full time staff officers in Washington and Paris as well as the recent establishment of a Washington-based UNESCO liaison office in the quarters of AU, new members are being sought for the Board. It will be up to them to redefine the raison d'etre for AU -- what more should it do beyond continuing its useful role of safeguarding the ideal of constructive U.S. engagement with UNESCO.
The Future
Despite this changed situation, we believe that AU can play a useful role in helping intellectual communities and civil society become more involved in UNESCO's activities. It can do so in two ways by :
Upon the return of the USA to UNESCO, AU has been seeking to change the focus of US-UNESCO relations from that of benefactor to beneficiary ( a change welcomed by many program officers of UNESCO) as has the U.S. National Commission under the direction of Eric Woodard (who left his post September 11 to assume his new duties as Director of the Smithsonian's Internship and Fellowship Programs) by encouraging private sector involvement in such UNESCO programs as World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Associated Schools, Creative Cities, and UNESCO Clubs. Under the present circumstances, this is the way to go and the key to success for AU in this regard is to be selective, do things that are important and that are not being done elsewhere, and stick with it until there is no longer a useful role to play.
All of which brings us back to the question about AU's central mission for the immediate future. Recent experience would seem to suggest there is a greater public appreciation among the American people for the many useful and complex tasks that UNESCO performs often under trying and dangerous conditions. AU might work in that context, as described above, to enhance the linkages between UNESCO's programs and supporters in other nations and their counterparts in the USA.
However, there is a real risk that the Congress will insist that the United States will continue to withhold funds from UNESCO; if it does so, UNESCO by its laws will no longer allow the United States to vote in UNESCO's governing bodies. If worse comes to worse, AU might well consider returning to a role more like that of AAU in the past.
The Past
During the two decades that the United States was out of UNESCO, the organization survived the financial crisis that the withdrawals had caused, and reformed many of the bureaucratic processes that had been noted in the decision to withdraw. The State Department continued a small effort to monitor the organization. The number of U.S. citizens on the UNESCO staff was reduced. U.S. educators, scientists, and cultural leaders continued involvement in the Organization, but at a lower level than in the Organization's early years.
As is explained in a background paper on AU, the organization is an outgrowth of Americans for the Universality of UNESCO (AUU) - a not for profit powerhouse organization headed up by the late and former Deputy Director General of UNESCO (John E. Fobes). AAU was the only domestic source of information about UNESCO during the 19 years of U.S. absence from the Organization at a time when the US National Commission for UNESCO existed only on paper, having been forced into deep hibernation, and there were only a smattering of individuals at the State Department and the US Mission in Paris in charge of UNESCO affairs.
To assess the centrality of AUU's involvement in UNESCO's activities and to gain an appreciation of what it sought to accomplish, one need only go to the library of the State Department to read the bound production of AUU's numerous and voluminous newsletters. Not only did they serve to keep the executive and legislative branches of the US Government and the American public informed about UNESCO's activities, but, more importantly, they kept the spirit of UNESCO alive in the United States/
The Present Crisis
Last year the UNESCO General Conference, on the recommendation of the UNESCO Executive Board, voted to admit Palestine as a member state of the Organization. The admission was strongly opposed by the U.S. Delegation to the General Conference (as the recommendation had been in the Executive Board). Two decades before that vote, the U.S. Congress had enacted legislation requiring that the U.S. Government withhold funding from the United Nations or any of its affiliated organizations that admitted Palestine to membership, legislation that does not provide the executive branch with waiver authority. Thus the United States is withholding its contributions -- some 22 percent of the UNESCO regular budget. UNESCO as a result is dealing with a financial crisis. UNESCO programs of importance to the United States are being threatened.
There are groups in the United States that oppose the United Nations family of organizations, and UNESCO has been a favorite target of these groups. There are also many people in the United States that support UNESCO, but they are generally not vocal in that support. Nor are they organized collectively to create wider public support for UNESCO. Supporters and opponents of U.S. involvement in UNESCO have published articles expressing their views during the past year.
Governmental Effort with Respect to UNESCO
In the years since the United States rejoined UNESCO in September 2003, the Department of State appointed competent civil and foreign service staff at the Office of UNESCO Policy, the US National Commission for UNESCO, and the US Permanent Mission to UNESCO. All told, there are now 15 full time professionals.These staffs include three education officers (two Washington-based,one Paris-based) ; three science officers (two Washington-based, one Paris based); and three culture/communications officers (two Washington-based, one Paris- based). The UNESCO Policy Office has a director and a deputy director. The US National Commission has a full time Executive Director. The US Mission to UNESCO has, in addition to the aforementioned officers, a highly active Ambassador, a Deputy Chief of Mission, as well as a secretarial staff and an experienced local hire available for general duty.
Our unofficial estimate of the cost to the Department of State for this staff is somewhere between $ 2.5 and 3.5 million taking into account salaries, travel, office rentals, and leased telephone and internet lines. That is probably on the low side. This figure does not take into account the part-time contributions of personnel from the legal and environmental science bureaus of the State Department ,USAID, the Department of Education, NASA, NOAA, and the National Science Foundation to name only a few. $ 4.0 milliion plus strikes us as a more accurate figure.
In addition, it should be noted that the Washington-based staff travels frequently to Paris, has instant on-line contact with members of the UNESCO Secretariat staff and U.S. Mission, and is thus well informed on UNESCO matters. Moreover, the Secretary of State for International Organizations and her deputies are favorably disposed towards UNESCO and also travel to Paris on occasion. The Secretary of State visited UNESCO in May 2011, the first such visit ever by an occupant of this position. The Deputy Secretary of State for Management visited UNESCO in December 2011, and the Secretary of Education addressed UNESCO staff earlier in the year.
Americans for UNESCO
AU is not a membership organization but it has a mailing list of more than 2,500 people interested in UNESCO -- many of whom have contributed funds to AU. The AU Board of Directors, with a nominal 21 Directors, is currently recruiting ten new members, signifying an opportunity for a considerable rethinking of AU's purposes and activities. The new President of AU is a distinguished educator and educational administrator with long experience with UNESCO. Each of the Board's current members has decades experience with UNESCO and broad knowledge of the history of U.S.-UNESCO relationships.
One consequence of the stepped-up governmental backstopping of UNESCO is that AU's once perceived core mission -- of advising the State Department on UNESCO -- is no longer much needed. Indeed, AU can bring little, if any, information or expertise to the UNESCO policy debate that cannot be provided by the State Department's professional staff. With, on the one hand, AU having a limited budget, no staff, and an ageing Board of Directors and, on the other hand, with the US Government supporting full time staff officers in Washington and Paris as well as the recent establishment of a Washington-based UNESCO liaison office in the quarters of AU, new members are being sought for the Board. It will be up to them to redefine the raison d'etre for AU -- what more should it do beyond continuing its useful role of safeguarding the ideal of constructive U.S. engagement with UNESCO.
The Future
Despite this changed situation, we believe that AU can play a useful role in helping intellectual communities and civil society become more involved in UNESCO's activities. It can do so in two ways by :
- building new American institutional ties with UNESCO (e.g. on-going exploration of establishing a UNESCO Chair at George Washington University to advance inter-university research, training, and program development in certain fields of UNESCO competence through the transfer of knowledge across borders) ; and
- serving as a ready source of information (e.g. hosting a symposium to inform the American public about the status of congressional funding to UNESCO and strategies to restore them - now in progress).
Upon the return of the USA to UNESCO, AU has been seeking to change the focus of US-UNESCO relations from that of benefactor to beneficiary ( a change welcomed by many program officers of UNESCO) as has the U.S. National Commission under the direction of Eric Woodard (who left his post September 11 to assume his new duties as Director of the Smithsonian's Internship and Fellowship Programs) by encouraging private sector involvement in such UNESCO programs as World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Associated Schools, Creative Cities, and UNESCO Clubs. Under the present circumstances, this is the way to go and the key to success for AU in this regard is to be selective, do things that are important and that are not being done elsewhere, and stick with it until there is no longer a useful role to play.
All of which brings us back to the question about AU's central mission for the immediate future. Recent experience would seem to suggest there is a greater public appreciation among the American people for the many useful and complex tasks that UNESCO performs often under trying and dangerous conditions. AU might work in that context, as described above, to enhance the linkages between UNESCO's programs and supporters in other nations and their counterparts in the USA.
However, there is a real risk that the Congress will insist that the United States will continue to withhold funds from UNESCO; if it does so, UNESCO by its laws will no longer allow the United States to vote in UNESCO's governing bodies. If worse comes to worse, AU might well consider returning to a role more like that of AAU in the past.
Richard Nobbe (Vice President and Treasurer of Americans for UNESCO)
and John Daly (former member of the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO)
and John Daly (former member of the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO)
This article represents the opinions of the authors and does not necessarily represent that of Americans for UNESCO.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Learning to protect biodiversity
A video showing how to address biodiversity through Education for Sustainable Development and mobilise teachers, students, researchers and decision-makers to reflect on biodiversity issues and their interdependence with global sustainable development issues. It shows how education can help us better understand the value of biodiversity and the causes of biodiversity loss. It also gives examples of how educators and students can get active and help conserve biodiversity. It aims to increase public awareness of biodiversity issues by inspiring stakeholders, including young people, teachers and media professionals.
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Thanks to Eric Woodard
Eric Woodard left the job of Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO to become Director for Fellowships and Internships at the Smithsonian. He has done a great job improving the information coming from the State Department on UNESCO and repopulating and reviving the National Commission. He will be missed!
From 2010: The UNESCO Senior Staff
- Jānis Kārkliņš, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information;
- Lalla Aïcha Ben Barka, Assistant Director-General, Africa Department;
- Gretchen Kalonji, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences;
- Qian Tang, Assistant Director-General for Education;
- Getachew Engida, Deputy Director-General;
- Irina Bokova, Director-General;
- Hans d’Orville, Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning;
- Francesco Bandarin, Assistant Director-General for Culture;
- María del Pilar Álvarez-Laso, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences;
- Khadija Ribes Zammouri, Assistant Director-General for Administration;
- Eric Falt, Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information.
- Absent from photo: Wendy Watson-Wright, Assistant Director-General and Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
Friday, August 24, 2012
Officers of Americans for UNESCO
Americans for UNESCO has recently elected a new slate of officers. The full slate of AU officers consists of:
President Mary Futrell
Senior Vice-President Ray Wanner
Vice-President Susie Rauch
Vice-President Emily Vargas-Baron
Vice President/Treasurer Richard Nobbe
Secretary Laura Engel
Thursday, August 23, 2012
New UNESCO-Pepsi Partnership
UNESCO recently announced their intention to sign an agreement with Pepsi that will create a partnership designed to promote vocational training for young people in Burma.
Our Ambassador to UNESCO David Killion released a statement praising this vitally important partnership between UNESCO and a major U.S. Corporation, which you can see here.
Fall 2012 Laura Bush Travelling Fellowship Deadline Approaching
If so, please let them know about the Laura W. Bush Travelling Fellowship. This program named in honor of our former First Lady is designed to help young Americans conduct short term research projects abroad relating to the sectors of UNESCO's mandate.
The next application deadline is Monday 9/24/12. Find out more here.
Meeting of the National Commission scheduled.
 |
| 2011 U.S. National Commission for UNESCO Annual Meeting |
The Commission will again be accepting the hospitality of George Washington University, as it did last year.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
A World of science Vol 10 n°3
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too is utility. As Iain Stewart from Plymouth University
(UK) observed last February at the 40th anniversary of the International Geoscience Programme
(IGCP) at UNESCO in Paris, show a piece of coal to an industrialist and they will see a source of
fuel; show it to an ecologist and they will see a source of carbon emissions; show it to a geologist
and they will see a climate which existed more than 300 million years ago (Ma).
Geoscientists help us to travel through time. The IGCP was founded in 1972 to confirm the
existence of Gondwana, one of two megacontinents with Laurasia which formed about 145 Ma,
by correlating the geology of modern continents. As time went by and supporting evidence for
Gondwana became overwhelming, IGCP research teams turned to questions of special societal
relevance. New disciplines emerged like archaeoseismology, which draws on both the geological
and archaeological record to identify past earthquakes. One IGCP project in 2000 was even at
the origin of a new field: medical geology, the science dealing with the impact of our natural
environment on human and animal health. Arsenic, for example, is a natural chemical which poisons
millions of people worldwide who absorb it unwittingly through groundwater.
Given the concern over climate change and the looming shortage of fossil fuels and uranium
which overshadows our industrial future, geoscientists are focusing more on renewable energy these
days. Kenyan geoscientists, for instance, are currently employed on a government project to develop
geothermal energy in the Great Rift Valley.
A Call to Action: Forest Whitaker encourages youth to speak out
http://www.planwithyouth.org
Forest Whitaker, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation and a co-founder of the International Institute for Peace, sends an inspirational message to youth everywhere, encouraging their participation in the online discussions for the upcoming Policy Forum on 'Engaging Youth in Planning Education for Social Transformation'. This virtual, pre-forum dialogue is important becauseit will shape the discussions at the event in Paris, ensuring that voices of youth are included in the Policy Forum's Agenda for Action.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Task Team Report: Realizing The Future We Want For All
In this report, the UN System Task Team lays out a vision for transformative change towards the future we want. The report was prepared to inform the open and inclusive consultations that are taking place in preparation for an ambitious development agenda beyond 2015..
Overview
Enormous progress has been made towards achieving the MDGs. Global poverty continues to decline, more children than ever are attending primary school, child deaths have dropped dramatically, access to safe drinking water has been greatly expanded, and targeted investments in fighting malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis have saved millions.
The MDGs are making a real difference in people’s lives and, with strong leadership and accountability, this progress can be expanded in most of the world’s countries by the target date of 2015.
After 2015, efforts to achieve a world of prosperity, equity, freedom, dignity and peace will continue unabated.
The UN is working with governments, civil society and other partners to build on the momentum generated by the MDGs and carry on with an ambitious post-2015 development agenda.
At the September 2010 MDG Summit, UN Member States initiated steps towards advancing the development agenda beyond 2015 and are now leading a process of open, inclusive consultations on the post-2015 agenda. Civil society organizations from all over the world have also begun to engage in the post-2015 process, while academia and other research institutions, including think tanks, are particularly active.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established a UN System Task Team to coordinate preparations for beyond 2015 and to support the work of a High-level Panel that the Secretary-General will appoint to advise him on the post-2015 agenda. President Yudoyono of Indonesia, President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Prime Minister Cameron of the United Kingdom have accepted the Secertary-General's invitation to co-chair the High-level Panel.
The post-2015 agenda will reflect new development challenges and is linked to the outcome of “Rio+20” -- the UN Conference on Sustainable Development -- that took place in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
UNESCO contributed to the report. Check the UN website providing a number of resources related to the task force report.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
UNESCO: Building Equitable, Inclusive Green Societies
Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCO.
Click here for more on UNESCO's support for sustainable development and Rio + 20, The Earth Summit.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Learning to address climate change
The newly released UNESCO video "Learning to address climate change" shows in four minutes why climate change education is important to shape sustainable development and how it works in practice.
It shows how education can help us understand the causes of climate change. It also gives examples of how teachers and students can get active and address the challenges of climate change.
The War On Doping - Trailer
In the run up to the opening of the 30th Olympic Games of modern times, in London, the United Kingdom, from July 27 to August 12, UNESCO will host, on June 7, 2012, a first-ever pre-release screening of the documentary film "The War on Doping." The film presents the first decades in the campaign against doping in sport.
This is a trailer of the one hour documentary about the fight on doping in sports. It shows some of the faces involved and touches some of the issues that has been going on for more than 40 years. In this film, and for the first time, the world's most respected authority in the subject, the renown doping hunter, Professor Arne Ljungqvist, will guide us through all of them. The big scandals. The big names. The inside story. A mirror of society.
More information: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/anti-doping/sv15/news/one_month_before_the_launch_of_the_london_olympics_unesco_hosts_the_pre_release_screening_of_the_film_the_war_on_doping/
Saturday, June 09, 2012
UNESCO-IHE Fieldwork Coastal Engineering
In June 2011 UNESCO-IHE Coastal Engineering students participated in a five-day fieldwork exercise at the coast of the Netherlands. The fieldwork is funded by the Building with Nature programme and focuses on swimmer safety around the mega sand nourishment that is currently being completed between Hoek van Holland and Kijkduin.
See also:
Coastal Zone and Port Development specialization page: http://www.unesco-ihe.org/hecepd
Website Building with Nature Programme: http://www.ecoshape.nl
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Future water scenarios
William J. Cosgrove is Senior Adviser to the UN World Water Assessment Program for the 4th edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report and the Manager of the World Water Scenarios Project. Mr. Cosgrove is a former vice president of the World Bank, past-president of the World Water Council, and served as chairman of the International Steering Committee of the Cooperative Program on Water and Climate. He was one of the panelists in the UNESCO Future Forum on Global Water Futures 2050+ held on 12 April 2012.
Water Expert Appointed to National Commission
 |
| Commission member Rich Meganck on the Upper Deschutes River in Central Oregon |
Newly appointed to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO is Richard Meganck.
After a 34 year career in international development, including a 6.5 year stint as Rector for the UNESCO Institute for Water Education in Delft, the Netherland, Rich has resettled in Oregon with his spouse Janet and their three Pacific Northwest based daughters.
Besides his new appointment to the Commission, Rich serves as a member of the U.S. Committee for the International Hydrological Program and is a part-time Fellow at the Institute for Wather and Watersheds at Oregon State University with the support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers institute for Water Resources (IWR) in association with its International Center for Integrated Water Resource Management UNESCO Category II Center (ICIWaRM). Rich is also consulting with the Brazilian Government to develop a new UNESCO Category II Center in the State of Minas Gerais.
Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME)
Next week our Ambassador to UNESCO David Killion will be attending a meeting about SESAME, the Middle East's first major multi-country scientific research center, which is being developed under the auspices of UNESCO. You can read more here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)