What our friends to the north are doing

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO held its 47th Annual General Meeting in Ottawa on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2007. More than 200 persons from across Canada, representing the fields of education, the sciences, culture and communication and information, attended the meeting. The theme of the meeting was Linking Networks, Sharing Ideas. Thus, the meeting focused on the growth of both formal and informal networks in advancing and sharing knowledge around the world. The keynote speaker, Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, discussed links between biodiversity and cultural diversity.

Read the Communique from the meeting.

What our friends to the north are doing

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO held its 47th Annual General Meeting in Ottawa on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2007. More than 200 persons from across Canada, representing the fields of education, the sciences, culture and communication and information, attended the meeting. The theme of the meeting was Linking Networks, Sharing Ideas. Thus, the meeting focused on the growth of both formal and informal networks in advancing and sharing knowledge around the world. The keynote speaker, Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, discussed links between biodiversity and cultural diversity.

Read the Communique from the meeting.

Ambassador Louise Oliver's Statement to the 176th UNESCO Executive Board Meeting

Ambassador Louise Oliver

Click here to read the full statement.

She began her remarks with thanks for the expressions of sympathy to the people of the United States after the shootings at Virginia Tech, and continued:

The numerous documents that have been given to us during the past month have made it clear that the Director General and his colleagues in the Secretariat have worked very hard to try to respond to the needs and desires of UNESCO’s member states, as well as to the variety of internal and external pressures currently faced by the Organization.

We would particularly like to commend the Director General for the efforts he has made to transform UNESCO into a more effective results-based organization, and to give it a stronger voice within the United Nations (UN) system as the UN searches for better ways to address the challenges of our world today.

As we all know, the process of reform is not an easy one, particularly in an intergovernmental organization. Because it tends to be disruptive and unsettling, the purpose of reform should be clearly articulated. At UNESCO the goal of reform must be to help the Secretariat do high quality work that achieves the objectives set by its Member States more effectively and efficiently.

Ambassador Louise Oliver's Statement to the 176th UNESCO Executive Board Meeting

Ambassador Louise Oliver

Click here to read the full statement.

She began her remarks with thanks for the expressions of sympathy to the people of the United States after the shootings at Virginia Tech, and continued:

The numerous documents that have been given to us during the past month have made it clear that the Director General and his colleagues in the Secretariat have worked very hard to try to respond to the needs and desires of UNESCO’s member states, as well as to the variety of internal and external pressures currently faced by the Organization.

We would particularly like to commend the Director General for the efforts he has made to transform UNESCO into a more effective results-based organization, and to give it a stronger voice within the United Nations (UN) system as the UN searches for better ways to address the challenges of our world today.

As we all know, the process of reform is not an easy one, particularly in an intergovernmental organization. Because it tends to be disruptive and unsettling, the purpose of reform should be clearly articulated. At UNESCO the goal of reform must be to help the Secretariat do high quality work that achieves the objectives set by its Member States more effectively and efficiently.

Exec. Board Session on the Old City of Jerusalem

As a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Jerusalem has always been of great symbolic importance. Among its 220 historic monuments, the Dome of the Rock stands out: built in the 7th century, it is decorated with beautiful geometric and floral motifs. It is recognized by all three religions as the site of Abraham's sacrifice. The Wailing Wall delimits the quarters of the different religious communities, while the Resurrection rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre houses Christ's tomb.

The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls has been a World Heritage Site since 1981, and has been inscribed on the list of World Heritage sites in Danger since 1982. UNESCO'a Executive Board and General Conference have repeatedly requested the application of internationally recognized principles in protection of the sites, especially the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (the Hague, 1954), the 1956 New Delhi Recommendation on International Principles Applicable to Archaeological Excavations and the 1972 World Heritage Convention. In conformity with UNESCO's resolutions, financial aid for heritage restoration projects in Jerusalem has been requested from Member States. Favorable responses to these appeals have enabled UNESCO to finance the restoration and conservation of a number of monuments and religious and cultural properties in the city.

A UNESCO technical mission to the Old City of Jerusalem (27 February to 2 March 2007) has completed its technical assessment on the works conducted on the Mughrabi pathway leading to the Haram el-Sharif.

Read the report of that mission.

Koïchiro Matsuura sent this report and its conclusions to the Presidents of the Organization's Governing Bodies, the President of the World Heritage Committee, and the Permanent Delegates to UNESCO and convened an Information Meeting for UNESCO Member States on 19 March 2007, in the presence of the expert members of the mission.

The Executive Board of UNESCO, which met last week in Paris, discussed the situation in Jerusalem and the report of the technical mission.

Click on a title below to read key materials from the Board preparations:

Jerusalem and the Implementation of the General Conference Resolution (176 EX/20)

Latest Developments in the Situation of the World Heritage Site of the Old City of Jerusalem (176 EX/Special Plenary Meeting 1)

Report of the Technical Mission to the Old City of Jerusalem (176 EX/Special Plenary Meeting/INF.1)

Comments by the Director General on the Occasion of the Special Session (in French)

Exec. Board Session on the Old City of Jerusalem

As a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Jerusalem has always been of great symbolic importance. Among its 220 historic monuments, the Dome of the Rock stands out: built in the 7th century, it is decorated with beautiful geometric and floral motifs. It is recognized by all three religions as the site of Abraham's sacrifice. The Wailing Wall delimits the quarters of the different religious communities, while the Resurrection rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre houses Christ's tomb.

The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls has been a World Heritage Site since 1981, and has been inscribed on the list of World Heritage sites in Danger since 1982. UNESCO'a Executive Board and General Conference have repeatedly requested the application of internationally recognized principles in protection of the sites, especially the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (the Hague, 1954), the 1956 New Delhi Recommendation on International Principles Applicable to Archaeological Excavations and the 1972 World Heritage Convention. In conformity with UNESCO's resolutions, financial aid for heritage restoration projects in Jerusalem has been requested from Member States. Favorable responses to these appeals have enabled UNESCO to finance the restoration and conservation of a number of monuments and religious and cultural properties in the city.

A UNESCO technical mission to the Old City of Jerusalem (27 February to 2 March 2007) has completed its technical assessment on the works conducted on the Mughrabi pathway leading to the Haram el-Sharif.

Read the report of that mission.

Koïchiro Matsuura sent this report and its conclusions to the Presidents of the Organization's Governing Bodies, the President of the World Heritage Committee, and the Permanent Delegates to UNESCO and convened an Information Meeting for UNESCO Member States on 19 March 2007, in the presence of the expert members of the mission.

The Executive Board of UNESCO, which met last week in Paris, discussed the situation in Jerusalem and the report of the technical mission.

Click on a title below to read key materials from the Board preparations:

Jerusalem and the Implementation of the General Conference Resolution (176 EX/20)

Latest Developments in the Situation of the World Heritage Site of the Old City of Jerusalem (176 EX/Special Plenary Meeting 1)

Report of the Technical Mission to the Old City of Jerusalem (176 EX/Special Plenary Meeting/INF.1)

Comments by the Director General on the Occasion of the Special Session (in French)

Masterpieces of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Mother and child: consultation with a Kallawaya herbal practitioner.

UNESCO administers the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) as part of its cultural program. ICH is manifested, among others, in the following domains:

* Oral traditions and expressions including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;
* Performing arts (such as traditional music, dance and theatre);
* Social practices, rituals and festive events;
* Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;
* Traditional craftsmanship
* Cultural spaces.

The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is an international distinction created by UNESCO in 1997. It concluded in 2006 with the entry into force of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Read:

* Definition, justification and objectives of the program
* Selection Criteria and procedure

Proclamations of Masterpieces were made in 2001, 2003 and 2005. Check out the website mapping locations and giving details about the proclaimed masterpieces:

* in 2001 and 2003
* in 2005.

None of the proclaimed masterpieces are from the United States.
The Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo communities in the Southwest come to mind as holding masterpiece cultural spaces as part of man's heritage.

Samba de Roda of Recôncavo of Bahia