Nod to Nollywood

Bollywood and Hollywood take note: Nollywood is on the rise. UNESCO's Institute of Statistics (UIS) released the results of a global survey today indicating that while India remains the world's leading film producer, Nigeria's industry is gaining momentum and has surpassed the United States for the second-place position.

The survey, measuring 2005-2006, took data from 101 countries and was based on questionnaires and alternative sources. Results indicated that while Bollywood produced 1,091 films, Nollywood produced 872. The United States produced 485 films with only eight other countries producing more than 100. More specific findings can be found here:

UIS International Survey on Feature Film Statistics

UIS indicated the survey was useful in showing regional trends in the film industry. Yet as the data chiefly came from the United States and Europe, UIS pointed out generalizability of findings are limited due to the unequal geographic representation.

Nollywood's growth, however, is unquestionable. Its growth is attributed to the practice of shooting low-budget films in digital video formats over a period of a few weeks. Further, films are both distributed and viewed informally; 99% of screenings are in home theater settings. The 1992 film Living in Bondage is often noted as the first Nollywood movie developed and distributed using these techniques. These Nollywood techniques are now increasingly being used in developing countries in Africa and around the world, although piracy is a growing concern.

Another reason given for Nollywood's rise is its multilingualism as around 56% of films are in local languages, and the rest are in English. This growth in multilingual films was noted in other countries as well: In Bollywood, for example, only 2% of films are produced in English where the rest are around 30 other languages. UIS likewise found films are more frequently being produced in regional languages in recent years, although the lack of data makes this growth difficult to quantify.

In noting this rising linguistic diversity in film, UIS did point out English is still the dominant language as 36% of all films and all the top 10 films in 2006.

These trends are certainly intriguing and can also illustrate cultures in powerful ways. As Director-General of UNESCO Koïchiro Matsuura pointed out, "Film and video production are shining examples of how cultural industries - as vehicles of identity, values and meanings - can open the door to dialogue and understanding between peoples, but also to economic growth and development." It is hoped this growing diversity in film, therefore, can lead to positive conversations and initiatives around the world.

International Conferences of the UNESCO History Project

The opening of UNESCO's first General Conference at the Sorbonne, Paris (20 November to 10 December 1946).

The International Scientific Committee for the UNESCO History Project is organizing a series of three international conferences in 2009-2010, with the common purpose of encouraging and stimulating historical research and reflections on UNESCO's programs, activities and orientations from 1945 to date. These three conferences are a follow up to the international symposium on UNESCO's history that took place in Paris on the occasion of the Organization's 60th anniversary in November 2005.

The Committee has selected the following three themes:

1. "Towards the Transnational History of International Organizations: Methodology / Epistemology". This conference will pay special attention to UNESCO as a case-study, and take a broader view of methodological issues relating to the study of the history of international organizations. The conference was hosted by the Center for History and Economics at King's College, Cambridge University, United Kingdom, and took place on 6 and 7 April 2009.
2. "UNESCO and the Cold War". UNESCO was an important arena for the Cold War, but it was also an actor with an agenda of its own. The purpose of the conference is to explore different historical perspectives concerning the extent of the Cold War's impact on UNESCO and vice versa. The conference is to be hosted by the Heidelberg Center for American Studies at the University of Heidelberg and to take place on 4 and 5 March 2010.
3. "UNESCO and Issues of Colonization and Decolonization". Among UNESCO's founding Member States were both colonial powers and former colonies. This Conference invites students and scholars utilizing a range of methodological approaches and intellectual frameworks to reflect on UNESCO's historical role, relevant orientations and actions in regard to colonialism and the era of decolonization. The conference will be hosted by the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and take place on 1 and 2 October 2009.

There is a very brief history of the Organization on its website. The website of UNESCO's Archives has a number of featured links on various aspects of the history of the organization, Additional materials may be found using the "history tag" of the online UNESCO bibliography.

There are several historical studies specific to UNESCO's education program.

• "UNESCO 50 Years for Education," produced in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of UNESCO.
• "Towards and Open Learning World: 50 Years. UNESCO Institute of Education," 2002. The organization is now called the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning (UIL)
• History of the International Bureau of Education (brief, online history).
  

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialog and Development

21 May

The Day proclaimed by UNESCO provides us with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to “live together” better.

Upcoming Meetings of the UNESCO Future Forum

Source of figure: Futures of Europeans

The UNESCO Future Forum series is part of the Foresight programme of UNESCO which aims at fostering the reflection on key future-oriented issues in the domains of the Organization.

• 9 June 2009
  
  “The Discoveries of Genomics: Towards a New Industrial Revolution” – session organized within the framework of the International Economic Forum of the Americas in Montreal, Canada.
  
  
• 11 May 2009
  
  "The Future Forum on Knowledge Acquisition and Sharing", UNESCO Headquarters
  
  
• 7 May 2009
  
  “Investing out of the Crisis and Towards a Green Economy through Action in the Social Domains” – session organized within the framework of the World Civic Forum 2009 in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

CONFINTEA VI postponed

The Government of Brazil has decided to postpone the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) – which had been due to take place in Belém do Pára (Brazil) from 19-22 May 2009 – following the spread of the influenza virus H1N1 (“swine flu”).