The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
758 The inter-governmental organizations HEADQUARTERS AND REGIONAL OFFICES HEADQUARTERS Food and Agriculture Organization Viale délie Terme di Caracalla Rome 00100, Italy Cable address: FOODAGRI ROME REGIONAL AND OTHER OFFICES Food and Agriculture Organization Re- Food and Agriculture Organization Re- Food and Agriculture Organization Re- gional Office for Africa gional Office for Latin America gional Office for the Near East North Maxwell Road Oficina Regional de la FAO P.O. Box 2223 P.O. Box 1628 Casilla 10095 110 Shuria Kasr El Alni Street Accra, Ghana Avenida Providencia 871 Cairo, Egypt Santiago, Chile Food and Agriculture Organization Re- Food and Agriculture Organization Liai- gional Office for Asia and the Far Food and Agriculture Organization Re- son Office for North America East gional Office for Europe 1325 C Street, S.W. Maliwan Mansion Viale delle Terme dl Caracalla Washington, D.C. 20437, United States Phra Atit Road Rome 00100, Italy Bangkok 2, Thailand Food and Agriculture Organization Liai- son Office with the United Nations United Nations Headquarters, Room 2258 New York, N.Y. 10017, United States Chapter IV The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) In 1972, the United Nations Educational, Scien- basis for strategies to develop education. Other tific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ¹ empha- ideas put forward in the report were reflected in sized the need for new responses to problems in the activities of the organization, particularly the the fields of education, science, culture and com- need for innovation and the abolition of artificial munication. distinctions between in-school and out-of-school Membership of UNESCO rose to 130 at the end learning. of 1972 with the admission of Bangladesh (28 Special attention was given to the role of the October) and the German Democratic Republic new technologies, including the use of computers (24 November). During the year, Bahrain, Oman, and space communication. Activities in the area Qatar and the United Arab Emirates became full of programmed instruction included the evalu- members of the organization. The withdrawal of ation of a pilot project in Asia; the organization Portugal from UNESCO took effect as of 31 De- of an international documentation and pro- cember 1972. grammed instruction materials centre in Turin, Italy; and the initiation of a study of programmed Education instruction, with the International Institute for In 1972, the activities of UNESCO in the educa- Educational Planning, in collaboration with the tion field were reoriented towards realizing the International Bank for Reconstruction and De- universal right to education and introducing in- velopment. A demonstration centre for new educa- novative methods to provide it. tional methods and techniques was opened at A major event in this regard was the publication UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. of the report of the International Commission on Eighteen secondary and technical teacher-train- the Development of Education, headed by Edgar ing projects were launched during the year, fi- Faure, former Prime Minister and Minister of Education of France. The report, Learning to Be (published simultaneously in a dozen European, 1 Fur information about the activities of UNESCO prior to 1972, see reports of UNESCO to the United Nations, reporta Asian and African languages), concluded that the of the Director-General of UNESCO to the General Conference concept of life-long education should serve as the and previous volumes of Y.U.N. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 759 nanced by the United Nations Development a developing state or region, was shared by Viktor Programme (UNDP). Emphasis was laid on the Kovda (USSR), a soil scientist, and a group of training of a new type of teacher who would be Austrian scientists who developed an economical both class-room instructor and community "ani- steel production process. mator," able to stimulate the process of life-long Three volumes on new trends in science educa- education. tion were published, and a meeting was held on The organization prepared a report on higher the use of new technology in this field. Twenty- education in Togo, organized a mission to study nine projects were carried out under UNDP for the educational reforms in Morocco and sent a con- training of engineers and technicians. sultant to advise on (he organization of higher Committees for UNESCO'S interdisciplinary re- technical education in Egypt. It was also contri- search programme "Man and the Biosphere" were buting to the preparations tor an international set up in over 50 member States. Research was university, approved by the United Nations to be focused on the structure and functioning of General Assembly at its 1972 session. the biosphere. The Third International Conference on Adult The 1972 UNESCO General Conference adopted Education, held in Tokyo, Japan, from 25 July the Convention for the Protection of the World's to 7 August, was attended by some 20 ministers Cultural and Natural Heritage. The Convention of education and representatives of 85 countries. was drawn up by UNESCO in co-operation with the Particular stress was laid on the need for active International Union for the Conservation of Na- participation by adults in their own education and ture and Natural Resources. It provided for the on the requirements of culturally deprived groups. creation of a world heritage fund to safeguard Education for international understanding in- monuments and sites in peril, with priority volved varied activities in a large number of mem- consideration to be given to requests based on ber States. The Associated Schools Project, natural calamities and disasters. An international launched in 1953 to encourage primary, secondary committee of 15 countries parties to the Conven- and teacher-training schools to set up educational tion was to determine priorities and establish a programmes to further international co-operation "World Heritage List" of monuments and natural and peace, operated through more than 900 insti- sites considered to have outstanding universal tutions in 62 States during the year. These under- value. took activities centred on the study of the aims The 1972 General Conference also approved an and workings of the United Nations system, on international geological correlation programme, human rights and on other countries and cultures. sponsored jointly by UNESCO and the International A study of the educational aims of 61 countries Union for Geological Sciences and aimed at aiding was completed during the year. The study com- prospection for natural resources by correlating pared the material resources of the countries with phenomena occurring in different regions. their educational needs, in order to enable The organization responded to two natural Governments to determine the assistance they disasters in 1972, sending an earthquake recon- would need to develop their educational systems naissance team to Fars in southwest Iran, following over the coming five years. an earthquake in April, and a team of experts to the island of Luzon, Philippines, devastated by Natural sciences Hoods in July. In 1972, the activities of UNESCO'S science sector A symposium on the hydrology of marshes was were focused on problems related to the protec- organized at Minsk, Byelorussian SSR. A survey tion of the environment and the use of science of ground-water resources in the northern Sahara and technology in economic development. was completed; this was one of three current Thirteen developing countries were given assis- UNDP projects in hydrology. tance in the planning of science policy and re- Cameroon and Kenya joined the Intergovern- search, and a grant of $250,000 was allocated to mental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), raising the International Council of Scientific Unions. its membership to 74. The UNESCO General Conference, meeting in October 1972, approved a World Science In- Social sciences, humanities and culture formation System designed to help scientists and The first European inter-governmental con- engineers keep up with an annual flow of 2 million ference on cultural policies was held in Helsinki, books and articles. Finland, from 19 to 28 June 1972. The conference, The Kalinga Prize for the popularization of attended by some 300 delegates from 29 European science was awarded to Pierre Auger (France). The countries and Canada, reached a large measure of UNESCO Science Prize, awarded for an outstanding agreement on such questions as: broadening access contribution to the technological development of to, and participation in, cultural life; the use and 760 The Inter-governmental organizations impact of the mass media; environment; the role Communication of the artist in contemporary society; instruments The year 1972 was observed by UNESCO as Inter- of analysis of cultural development; and prospects national Book Year. Some 125 countries parti- for European cultural co-operation. cipated in the drive to encourage authorship and The UNESCO publication Cultural Development: translation, stimulate book production, build up Experiences and Policies was available to con- libraries and encourage the habit of reading and ference participants. Twenty monographs in the the use of books in education and in international UNESCO series Studies and Documents in Cultural understanding. Policies had been published by the end of the Book exhibitions were staged in most member year. States and 36 book fairs were