Nicholas Burnett named Assistant Director-General for Education.

Mr Nicholas Burnett has been appointed to the post of Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO.

Dr Burnett worked for many years at the World Bank both as an education sector economist and program manager. He has also run his own consulting company and worked at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office as an Economic Adviser on Africa and
Latin America. Since October 2004, Mr Burnett has been Director of UNESCO’s Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report. Every year, this report assesses where the world stands on its commitment to provide a basic education to all children, youth and adults by 2015. It is perhaps the most important annual report on education in the world.

Click here to read more about Nicholas Burnett.

Nicholas Burnett named Assistant Director-General for Education.

Mr Nicholas Burnett has been appointed to the post of Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO.

Dr Burnett worked for many years at the World Bank both as an education sector economist and program manager. He has also run his own consulting company and worked at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office as an Economic Adviser on Africa and
Latin America. Since October 2004, Mr Burnett has been Director of UNESCO’s Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report. Every year, this report assesses where the world stands on its commitment to provide a basic education to all children, youth and adults by 2015. It is perhaps the most important annual report on education in the world.

Click here to read more about Nicholas Burnett.

UNESCO WSIS Action Directory: How UNESCO is implementing the WSIS Action Plan

UNESCO works with all stakeholders towards the implementation of the outcomes of WSIS.

UNESCO’s role in the implementation process is three-fold:

* UNESCO implements concrete activities included in the Geneva Plan of Action within the framework of its regular programme and budget.

* UNESCO helps facilitating the coherent implementation of the Action Lines in its areas of competence.

* UNESCO, together with ITU and UNDP, is engaged in shaping the overall multi-stakeholder coordination of the Facilitators of all Action Lines

Click here to read about UNESCO's follow up to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

Click here to see UNESCO's WSIS Action Directory

UNESCO WSIS Action Directory: How UNESCO is implementing the WSIS Action Plan

UNESCO works with all stakeholders towards the implementation of the outcomes of WSIS.

UNESCO’s role in the implementation process is three-fold:

* UNESCO implements concrete activities included in the Geneva Plan of Action within the framework of its regular programme and budget.

* UNESCO helps facilitating the coherent implementation of the Action Lines in its areas of competence.

* UNESCO, together with ITU and UNDP, is engaged in shaping the overall multi-stakeholder coordination of the Facilitators of all Action Lines

Click here to read about UNESCO's follow up to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

Click here to see UNESCO's WSIS Action Directory

From Friends of World Heritage

Friends of World Heritage sent me this message:

Dear friend,

Did you know that the United States was the first country to sign the treaty that established UNESCO World Heritage sites? Or that there are 20 U.S. national parks and monuments inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List?

One of the most popular of these sites is Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, a unique and beautiful landscape that is home to two of the world’s active volcanoes. Its designation as a U.S. National Park (since 1916) and a UNESCO World Heritage site (since 1987) helps preserve the area’s striking geology, biodiversity and culture. But with over 1.7 million visitors last year alone, the challenges of conservation depend on a healthy relationship between the park and its visitors.

To learn more about this breath-taking site and the challenges it faces we interviewed Cindy Orlando, superintendent of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Read on to find out about touring two of the most active volcanoes in the world, the hundreds of species that are found only on their slopes, and the people who coexist on this constantly changing island.

FoWH: What makes HVNP a special place?

Orlando: There’s so much that makes the park special. Two of the five volcanoes on the island are within the park, making the volcanoes an important component of the park visit. The ability to approach an active volcano gives visitors an opportunity to discover first-hand how the Earth was born. And learning about the Hawaiian people who still inhabit these lands gives visitors a glimpse into the stories and journeys of the host culture of this area. Lastly, it contains outstanding natural values – such as craters, summit trails, desert and rainforest.

To read the full interview, click here.

From Friends of World Heritage

Friends of World Heritage sent me this message:

Dear friend,

Did you know that the United States was the first country to sign the treaty that established UNESCO World Heritage sites? Or that there are 20 U.S. national parks and monuments inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List?

One of the most popular of these sites is Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, a unique and beautiful landscape that is home to two of the world’s active volcanoes. Its designation as a U.S. National Park (since 1916) and a UNESCO World Heritage site (since 1987) helps preserve the area’s striking geology, biodiversity and culture. But with over 1.7 million visitors last year alone, the challenges of conservation depend on a healthy relationship between the park and its visitors.

To learn more about this breath-taking site and the challenges it faces we interviewed Cindy Orlando, superintendent of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Read on to find out about touring two of the most active volcanoes in the world, the hundreds of species that are found only on their slopes, and the people who coexist on this constantly changing island.

FoWH: What makes HVNP a special place?

Orlando: There’s so much that makes the park special. Two of the five volcanoes on the island are within the park, making the volcanoes an important component of the park visit. The ability to approach an active volcano gives visitors an opportunity to discover first-hand how the Earth was born. And learning about the Hawaiian people who still inhabit these lands gives visitors a glimpse into the stories and journeys of the host culture of this area. Lastly, it contains outstanding natural values – such as craters, summit trails, desert and rainforest.

To read the full interview, click here.

I will be working in West Asia for two weeks

I will be working abroad for the next couple of weeks and will probably be pretty busy and constrained by limited connectivity. I probably will not post much. Sorry!

John Daly