In the preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), UNESCO called for an emphasis to be placed not on the Information Society, but on the Knowledge Society. That was the genesis of its report titled Toward Knowledge Societies.
UNESCO staff felt that WSIS was too likely to be a conference about connectivity. More important issues than the availability of information involve the quality of that information, whether it is internalized, what is learned, and how that learning is put to use. The focus on Knowledge Societies was an improvement.
I have been thinking about UNESCO a great deal, and it occurs to me that the founders of that organization were thinking "towards wise societies". The world had just emerged from World War II, and people everywhere understood that society had to be wise enough to avoid another world war, one that would be fought with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. The more farsighted among the leaders recognized that the inequities in the world distribution of power, wealth, income, and knowledge were unwise.
UNESCO was created with a unique mission and structure. It was to focus on the minds of men. Education was and remains a central focus of the organization. So too were the sciences. For Americans, it is not always clear what UNESCO means by the sciences, for they include not only the natural sciences and the social sciences, but the human sciences. That latter term reflects French thinking, and includes in the mission of UNESCO what Americans tend to think of as the humanities. Thus history and philosophy were and are key areas of concern for UNESCO. UNESCO's mission also included culture, again a field misunderstood by many Americans who think of "high culture" involving art, music, drama, literature, and dance. UNESCO does include these fields, and they clearly are critically important in determining our understanding of life and how to act. However, UNESCO also deals more holistically with culture, using a definition such as that employed by social scientists to include the entire body of knowledge and institutions that define a people or a society. Finally, UNESCO includes communication and information in its mandate, perhaps reflecting the early influence of William Benton, the advertising genius and State Department official who later became a U.S. Senator. UNESCO recognizes the need for libraries and a strong global information infrastructure, for book publishing and an intellectual property rights regime which encourages expression, as well as militating for freedom of expression everywhere.
If you think about this mandate, it is a mandate to work to make nations and peoples act more wisely!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Towards Wise Societies
In the preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), UNESCO called for an emphasis to be placed not on the Information Society, but on the Knowledge Society. That was the genesis of its report titled Toward Knowledge Societies.
UNESCO staff felt that WSIS was too likely to be a conference about connectivity. More important issues than the availability of information involve the quality of that information, whether it is internalized, what is learned, and how that learning is put to use. The focus on Knowledge Societies was an improvement.
I have been thinking about UNESCO a great deal, and it occurs to me that the founders of that organization were thinking "towards wise societies". The world had just emerged from World War II, and people everywhere understood that society had to be wise enough to avoid another world war, one that would be fought with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. The more farsighted among the leaders recognized that the inequities in the world distribution of power, wealth, income, and knowledge were unwise.
UNESCO was created with a unique mission and structure. It was to focus on the minds of men. Education was and remains a central focus of the organization. So too were the sciences. For Americans, it is not always clear what UNESCO means by the sciences, for they include not only the natural sciences and the social sciences, but the human sciences. That latter term reflects French thinking, and includes in the mission of UNESCO what Americans tend to think of as the humanities. Thus history and philosophy were and are key areas of concern for UNESCO. UNESCO's mission also included culture, again a field misunderstood by many Americans who think of "high culture" involving art, music, drama, literature, and dance. UNESCO does include these fields, and they clearly are critically important in determining our understanding of life and how to act. However, UNESCO also deals more holistically with culture, using a definition such as that employed by social scientists to include the entire body of knowledge and institutions that define a people or a society. Finally, UNESCO includes communication and information in its mandate, perhaps reflecting the early influence of William Benton, the advertising genius and State Department official who later became a U.S. Senator. UNESCO recognizes the need for libraries and a strong global information infrastructure, for book publishing and an intellectual property rights regime which encourages expression, as well as militating for freedom of expression everywhere.
If you think about this mandate, it is a mandate to work to make nations and peoples act more wisely!
UNESCO staff felt that WSIS was too likely to be a conference about connectivity. More important issues than the availability of information involve the quality of that information, whether it is internalized, what is learned, and how that learning is put to use. The focus on Knowledge Societies was an improvement.
I have been thinking about UNESCO a great deal, and it occurs to me that the founders of that organization were thinking "towards wise societies". The world had just emerged from World War II, and people everywhere understood that society had to be wise enough to avoid another world war, one that would be fought with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. The more farsighted among the leaders recognized that the inequities in the world distribution of power, wealth, income, and knowledge were unwise.
UNESCO was created with a unique mission and structure. It was to focus on the minds of men. Education was and remains a central focus of the organization. So too were the sciences. For Americans, it is not always clear what UNESCO means by the sciences, for they include not only the natural sciences and the social sciences, but the human sciences. That latter term reflects French thinking, and includes in the mission of UNESCO what Americans tend to think of as the humanities. Thus history and philosophy were and are key areas of concern for UNESCO. UNESCO's mission also included culture, again a field misunderstood by many Americans who think of "high culture" involving art, music, drama, literature, and dance. UNESCO does include these fields, and they clearly are critically important in determining our understanding of life and how to act. However, UNESCO also deals more holistically with culture, using a definition such as that employed by social scientists to include the entire body of knowledge and institutions that define a people or a society. Finally, UNESCO includes communication and information in its mandate, perhaps reflecting the early influence of William Benton, the advertising genius and State Department official who later became a U.S. Senator. UNESCO recognizes the need for libraries and a strong global information infrastructure, for book publishing and an intellectual property rights regime which encourages expression, as well as militating for freedom of expression everywhere.
If you think about this mandate, it is a mandate to work to make nations and peoples act more wisely!
Monday, May 7, 2007
Building Partnerships for the Knowledge Society
I attended a presentation on this topic today by Abdul Waheed Kahn, the Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Communication and Information. Dr. Kahn is responsible for the newest, and one of the smallest sectors of UNESCO -- a sector that was created only in 1990. Of course, UNESCO's interests in information and communication technologies extends back to the origins of the organization in the 1940's, but with the Information Revolution, it has grown stronger.
The meeting was sponsored by the State Department and UNESCO, and was attended by several member of the National Commission for UNESCO, as well as members of civil society organizations. The U.N. Foundation provided the facilities for the meeting, in their elegant headquarters at 1800 Massachusetts Ave.
The Assistant Director General was able to stop in Washington on his return from Medellin, Colombia, where he had attended the activities in honor of World Press Freedom Day. He mentioned that each year the Guillermo Cano Prize is given to a reporter who has led in the battle for press freedom (and each year, UNESCO angers the home government of that reporter, which had usually tried to suppress press freedom.
Dr. Kahn stressed that UNESCO is a very strong advocate of Freedom of the Press, and indeed informed the leaders of the World Summit on the Information Society that WSIS would be considered a failure by UNESCO if it did not proclaim the importance of freedom of the press. UNESCO succeeded in making WSIS about building knowledge societies, and not simply a meeting about increasing connectivity. It has been given the responsibility as lead agency in many of the follow-up programs of WSIS.
Dr. Kahn mentioned programs managed under his authority:
The ADG said that he would put his power point presentation on the Internet soon.
I was impressed by Dr. Kahn's acknowledgment of the primacy of education among UNESCO's program. As the former head of the world's largest university, he should of course value education. He stressed the importance of ICT in making education affordable and accessible through distance education. He also underlined the importance of the technology in making education available to the 10 percent of the world's population suffering from disabilities of one kind or another.
Dr. Kahn was exceptionally sensitive to the problems of maintaining cultural diversity in the face of homogenizing forces unleashed by new technologies and globalization. He emphasized the cultural dimensions of UNESCO's mission of building the defenses of peace first in the minds of men.
The meeting was sponsored by the State Department and UNESCO, and was attended by several member of the National Commission for UNESCO, as well as members of civil society organizations. The U.N. Foundation provided the facilities for the meeting, in their elegant headquarters at 1800 Massachusetts Ave.
The Assistant Director General was able to stop in Washington on his return from Medellin, Colombia, where he had attended the activities in honor of World Press Freedom Day. He mentioned that each year the Guillermo Cano Prize is given to a reporter who has led in the battle for press freedom (and each year, UNESCO angers the home government of that reporter, which had usually tried to suppress press freedom.
Dr. Kahn stressed that UNESCO is a very strong advocate of Freedom of the Press, and indeed informed the leaders of the World Summit on the Information Society that WSIS would be considered a failure by UNESCO if it did not proclaim the importance of freedom of the press. UNESCO succeeded in making WSIS about building knowledge societies, and not simply a meeting about increasing connectivity. It has been given the responsibility as lead agency in many of the follow-up programs of WSIS.
Dr. Kahn mentioned programs managed under his authority:
* The International Program for the Development of Communications, andIn the new biennium, the Communication and Information program may devote as much as 22 percent of its budget to inter-sectoral efforts, such as ICT for Education the applications of ICT to science.
* The Information for All Program
The ADG said that he would put his power point presentation on the Internet soon.
I was impressed by Dr. Kahn's acknowledgment of the primacy of education among UNESCO's program. As the former head of the world's largest university, he should of course value education. He stressed the importance of ICT in making education affordable and accessible through distance education. He also underlined the importance of the technology in making education available to the 10 percent of the world's population suffering from disabilities of one kind or another.
Dr. Kahn was exceptionally sensitive to the problems of maintaining cultural diversity in the face of homogenizing forces unleashed by new technologies and globalization. He emphasized the cultural dimensions of UNESCO's mission of building the defenses of peace first in the minds of men.
Building Partnerships for the Knowledge Society
I attended a presentation on this topic today by Abdul Waheed Kahn, the Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Communication and Information. Dr. Kahn is responsible for the newest, and one of the smallest sectors of UNESCO -- a sector that was created only in 1990. Of course, UNESCO's interests in information and communication technologies extends back to the origins of the organization in the 1940's, but with the Information Revolution, it has grown stronger.
The meeting was sponsored by the State Department and UNESCO, and was attended by several member of the National Commission for UNESCO, as well as members of civil society organizations. The U.N. Foundation provided the facilities for the meeting, in their elegant headquarters at 1800 Massachusetts Ave.
The Assistant Director General was able to stop in Washington on his return from Medellin, Colombia, where he had attended the activities in honor of World Press Freedom Day. He mentioned that each year the Guillermo Cano Prize is given to a reporter who has led in the battle for press freedom (and each year, UNESCO angers the home government of that reporter, which had usually tried to suppress press freedom.
Dr. Kahn stressed that UNESCO is a very strong advocate of Freedom of the Press, and indeed informed the leaders of the World Summit on the Information Society that WSIS would be considered a failure by UNESCO if it did not proclaim the importance of freedom of the press. UNESCO succeeded in making WSIS about building knowledge societies, and not simply a meeting about increasing connectivity. It has been given the responsibility as lead agency in many of the follow-up programs of WSIS.
Dr. Kahn mentioned programs managed under his authority:
The ADG said that he would put his power point presentation on the Internet soon.
I was impressed by Dr. Kahn's acknowledgment of the primacy of education among UNESCO's program. As the former head of the world's largest university, he should of course value education. He stressed the importance of ICT in making education affordable and accessible through distance education. He also underlined the importance of the technology in making education available to the 10 percent of the world's population suffering from disabilities of one kind or another.
Dr. Kahn was exceptionally sensitive to the problems of maintaining cultural diversity in the face of homogenizing forces unleashed by new technologies and globalization. He emphasized the cultural dimensions of UNESCO's mission of building the defenses of peace first in the minds of men.
The meeting was sponsored by the State Department and UNESCO, and was attended by several member of the National Commission for UNESCO, as well as members of civil society organizations. The U.N. Foundation provided the facilities for the meeting, in their elegant headquarters at 1800 Massachusetts Ave.
The Assistant Director General was able to stop in Washington on his return from Medellin, Colombia, where he had attended the activities in honor of World Press Freedom Day. He mentioned that each year the Guillermo Cano Prize is given to a reporter who has led in the battle for press freedom (and each year, UNESCO angers the home government of that reporter, which had usually tried to suppress press freedom.
Dr. Kahn stressed that UNESCO is a very strong advocate of Freedom of the Press, and indeed informed the leaders of the World Summit on the Information Society that WSIS would be considered a failure by UNESCO if it did not proclaim the importance of freedom of the press. UNESCO succeeded in making WSIS about building knowledge societies, and not simply a meeting about increasing connectivity. It has been given the responsibility as lead agency in many of the follow-up programs of WSIS.
Dr. Kahn mentioned programs managed under his authority:
* The International Program for the Development of Communications, andIn the new biennium, the Communication and Information program may devote as much as 22 percent of its budget to inter-sectoral efforts, such as ICT for Education the applications of ICT to science.
* The Information for All Program
The ADG said that he would put his power point presentation on the Internet soon.
I was impressed by Dr. Kahn's acknowledgment of the primacy of education among UNESCO's program. As the former head of the world's largest university, he should of course value education. He stressed the importance of ICT in making education affordable and accessible through distance education. He also underlined the importance of the technology in making education available to the 10 percent of the world's population suffering from disabilities of one kind or another.
Dr. Kahn was exceptionally sensitive to the problems of maintaining cultural diversity in the face of homogenizing forces unleashed by new technologies and globalization. He emphasized the cultural dimensions of UNESCO's mission of building the defenses of peace first in the minds of men.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
New Edition of the NatCom Newsletter
Comments from the Executive Director:
Contents
The first part of 2007 has been particularly productive for the United States and its involvement with UNESCO. As you will see, the articles in this issue clearly demonstrate the high level of participation in two of our priorities - literacy and water. In addition, we are pleased to see the progress of the development of the U.S. World Heritage Candidate List, the success of the L'Oreal Women in Science Awards Program, and the honoring of the 200th anniversary of the end of the transatlantic slave route. Finally, enjoy the article about "A Celebration of Jazz", a well-attended event that took place immediately prior to the Executive Board, and hosted by our Mission. Here in Washington, the attention of the Commission Secretariat is now focused on preparations for our upcoming 3rd Annual Meeting, to be held May 21-22, in Washington DC. The theme of the meeting is "UNESCO as Capacity Builder: Pursuing its Mandate through Education, the Sciences, Culture, and Communications".
Click here to read the newsletter online.
Volume 3, Issue 1, January/February/March/April 2007
Volume 3, Issue 1, January/February/March/April 2007
Contents
- Overview from the Executive Director
- First Lady Laura Bush Hosts Roundtable on Literacy and Teacher Training at UNESCO
- UNESCO Middle East Regional Literacy Conference in Qatar a Success
- International Webchat Celebrates Education For All Week
- 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Route Exhibit Opens at UN
- U.S. Mission to UNESCO Hosts Jazz Music Cultural Event at UNESCO
- U.S. National Parks Service Receives Submissions for UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List
- U.S. National Committee for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission conducts first meeting
- L'Oreal For Women in Science Awarded to American; 2007 International Fellowship opens
- UNESCO Job Vacancies
New Edition of the NatCom Newsletter
Comments from the Executive Director:
Contents
The first part of 2007 has been particularly productive for the United States and its involvement with UNESCO. As you will see, the articles in this issue clearly demonstrate the high level of participation in two of our priorities - literacy and water. In addition, we are pleased to see the progress of the development of the U.S. World Heritage Candidate List, the success of the L'Oreal Women in Science Awards Program, and the honoring of the 200th anniversary of the end of the transatlantic slave route. Finally, enjoy the article about "A Celebration of Jazz", a well-attended event that took place immediately prior to the Executive Board, and hosted by our Mission. Here in Washington, the attention of the Commission Secretariat is now focused on preparations for our upcoming 3rd Annual Meeting, to be held May 21-22, in Washington DC. The theme of the meeting is "UNESCO as Capacity Builder: Pursuing its Mandate through Education, the Sciences, Culture, and Communications".
Click here to read the newsletter online.
Volume 3, Issue 1, January/February/March/April 2007
Volume 3, Issue 1, January/February/March/April 2007
Contents
- Overview from the Executive Director
- First Lady Laura Bush Hosts Roundtable on Literacy and Teacher Training at UNESCO
- UNESCO Middle East Regional Literacy Conference in Qatar a Success
- International Webchat Celebrates Education For All Week
- 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Route Exhibit Opens at UN
- U.S. Mission to UNESCO Hosts Jazz Music Cultural Event at UNESCO
- U.S. National Parks Service Receives Submissions for UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List
- U.S. National Committee for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission conducts first meeting
- L'Oreal For Women in Science Awarded to American; 2007 International Fellowship opens
- UNESCO Job Vacancies
"U.S. Fights Off Bid to Punish UNESCO Official"
Read the full article subtitled "Former Congressman Accused of Giving 'Preferential Treatment' on Contract to Chicago Firm" by Colum Lynch in The Washington Post of May 6, 2007.
The United States and its key allies last week fended off a campaign by developing countries to discipline UNESCO's highest-ranking U.S. official, Peter Smith, a former Republican congressman from Vermont. Smith resigned in March after an audit found he granted "preferential treatment" to a Chicago-based consulting firm that received $2.15 million in contracts -- often without competitive bidding.
The move placed the United States -- which has long called for greater transparency and accountability at the United Nations -- in the awkward position of opposing an initiative to improve accountability and fiscal integrity in the global body. Louise Oliver, the U.S. representative to UNESCO, recently told foreign delegates it is time to put the matter to rest and implement reforms Smith put in place before he left the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)