A Positive Step for Iraqi Education and Communication

Installation of a transmission unit
© UNESCO

The Iraqi education and communication network received a large boost yesterday as UNESCO and the Education Minister of Iraq launched the Iraqi Educational TV Channel (IRAQ EDU). This channel will run 24 hours a day on NILESAT at 10775 Hz; it will broadcast programs based on Iraqi school curriculum. Its focus is primary and secondary students within and outside of Iraqi.

This project, funded by the European Union for US$6.5 million, aims to act as a way to counter the high security risks many students feel in attending school. These risks have led to high rates of absenteeism and the subsequent closing of schools. They have also contributed to low initial enrollments rates. In fact, data from UNICEF-Iraq show initial enrollment rates were around 46% in 2006, and the Ministry of Education reported only 28% of 17-year-olds sat for their final exams that same year.

However, there is much optimism about this new measure. It is particularly interesting to note that IRAQ EDU will emphasize peace and tolerance in its programs. Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, indicated this and the other contributions IRAQ EDCU will make could certainly"inspire initiatives in other countries and regions that are in conflict or post-conflict situations."

And it seems that there is certainly work to be done to restore the Iraqi educational system to its former regional eminence. In the early 1980s, the Iraqi educational system was seen as one of if not the best in the region. UNESCO reported Gross Enrollment Rates around 100% and illiteracy rates for ages 15 to 45 less than 10%; yet there has been constant instability ever since.

Yet the war with Iran in the mid-1980s, the Gulf War, and the instability beginning in 2003 have left the educational system tattered to say the least. Class size can average in size of 100 students, teachers face constant threats of violence, and the scheduled curriculum may be rarely finished or addressed. Although many positive programs have been enacted, much more clearly needs to be done. It is initiatives such as IRAQ EDU that may provide another way to access this deserving population: the children of Iraq.

The Grand Canyon

Last week I visited Grand Canyon National Park, one of the places chosen by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. We visited the north rim of the canyon rather than the more frequented south rim.


One approaches the north rim, which is quite isolated, passing through the forests and meadows of the Colorado Plateau. As the above photo shows, in October the aspens found among the pine forests turn gold. From the road we saw herds of grazing deer, and even a coyote, as well as cattle grazing in the multiple use national forest adjacent to the national park.



The two images above are taken from the lodge on the north rim. Reconstructed after a fire that destroyed the original building, it is again an imposing and interesting building, which we were told is important in the architectural history of the United States, representing a peak achievement of the arts and crafts movement. Certainly the first view of the Grand Canyon itself from the lobby of the lodge leaves an indelible impression.


Walking along a rim trail one sees great views across the ten mile expanse of the mile deep canyon framed by tall and graceful pines.



A road branches off that to the lodge, traveling for miles along the Colorado Plateau, with viewing points provided on the rim providing views such as those provided above.

Archaeologists have discovered many prehistoric sites within Grand Canyon National Park itself, and even today there are Native American communities above and below the national park on the Colorado River. Indeed the history of the region through the expansion of the United States has fascinated Americans, and the larger region surrounding the Grand Canyon has been the site of many western movies.

Teacher Development grows in Africa

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) office of Education held a 3 day conference for the AU from the 17th to the 19th of June, 2008 in South Africa to discuss implementation strategies in teacher development for the second generation of African Education. The focus was Science, Math, and Technology teaching (SMASE) as well as distance learning for teacher training
At the meeting, the role of UNESCO in African teaching was outlined. These include:

• advocating the cause of education at G8 meetings
  
• Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa
  
• Plan of Action for the Second Decade of Education
  
• Collaboration with the African Union Commission

Preserving Underwater Cultural Heritage in Asia-Pacific Waters

Now ratified by twenty States, the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage will enter into force on January 2, 2009. The Convention, adopted in 2001 by UNESCO’s General Conference, is designed to help preserve cultural heritage by safeguarding marine archaeological sites and submerged shipwrecks.

The growing threat posed by looting, combined with unintentional damage and negligence from fishing, exploitation of sea-bed resources and major shore-line and offshore constructions, constitutes a great loss to the study of the history of civilizations. Furthermore, legal efforts to protect underwater heritage sites have lagged behind laws protecting cultural heritage sites on the ground. By drafting this treaty, UNESCO sought to correct this imbalance and provide a framework for cooperation to help preserve underwater history and cultural heritage for future study.

The need for the Convention is starkly clear in the Asia-Pacific region, which, with its rich history of maritime commerce, hosts many shipwrecks. The contents of shipwrecked vessels, such as the Tek Sing, which sank in the waters off Indonesia in 1822, have been auctioned off and irretrievably dispersed. By attempting to guard against further harm to cultural heritage, the Convention supports the regional pillars of UNESCO’s efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, including “extending international protection to endangered, vulnerable and minority cultures and cultural expressions.”

While the treaty provides a framework to address the problem, there are practical obstacles to overcome before it can be implemented, including a scarcity of trained underwater archaeologists. This is a particularly pressing need in the Asia-Pacific region, and it should be addressed urgently to help ensure the treaty’s effectiveness.

So far, Cambodia is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region to ratify the treaty, though all Member States agreed that its Annex, which presents detailed guidelines concerning activities directed at underwater cultural heritage, should be accepted and applied as the reference document for interventions concerning underwater cultural heritage.

For more information, please visit UNESCO’s Bankgok’s Underwater Cultural Heritage in Asia-Pacific Waters project site. For information about the efforts of other regions, please see UNESCO’s Underwater Cultural Heritage site.

UNESCO’s Earthquake Response Programme: "building back better"

Over 73,000 people in Pakistan perished in the devastating 2005 earthquake. In Bam, India, the earthquake of 2003 left 18,000 children without classrooms. In response to these disasters and other similarly affected areas, UNESCO has developed the Earthquake Response Programme which focuses on reactivating the education system through training.

UNESCO's program has challenged the traditional response of rebuilding education. "Building back better" involves more than just physical structures. The Earthquake Response Program focuses on: 

• initial and follow-up training in management of recovery and reconstruction
• case specific materials
• literacy programs
• much needed psychosocial support 

In addition to the local level response, UNESCO is also working among policy makers to increase awareness regarding the importance of education.

UNESCO and Inter-American Development Bank

Rigoberta Menchu, Nobel Laureate,
addresses participants at a UNESCO/IDB Seminar. .

The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, and the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, signed today in Paris a Memorandum of Understanding for a Strategic Partnership to expand existing cooperation between the two organizations.

According to the agreement UNESCO and the IDB will be able to undertake joint activities in Latin America and the Caribbean in the following areas:

• capacity building for the achievement of Education for All (EFA) goals;
• the use of information technologies (ICTs) in education;
  
• ethics of science and technology;
• strengthening of national science and technology capacities;
• youth violence prevention; protection and promotion of biological and cultural diversity, including the promotion of multilingualism;
• prevention of natural disasters;
• protection and safeguarding of natural and cultural heritage, including intangible cultural heritage;
• development of cultural industries; and
• urban development.

Picturing America

Picturing America is an exhibit developed by the National Endowment for Humanities. It was shown at UNESCO recently as part of American History and Culture Week. The show provides exhibition size and quality photos of masterpieces of American art. It is also available for use in classrooms and libraries. The Picturing America website has an interesting interactive show of the images contained in the exhibit.