Sixty States have already ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage session has been rescheduled for November 18^th-19^th, 2006. In preparation for this event, an extraordinary session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the convention will be held on November 9^th, 2006 at UNESCO Headquarters. Six additional members will then be elected to the Committee. Mr. Mohammed Bedjaoui (Algeria), President of the General Assembly of the States Parties, and Mr. O. Faruk Logoglu (Turkey), the Assembly Rapporteur, were elected during the first ordinary session in June 2006. Sixty states have already ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Intergovernmental Committee will thus, as of its first session in Algiers on 18 and 19 November 2006, consist of the maximum number of members as stipulated by the Convention.

Read more on:
*The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Speeches, Safeguarding, FAQ...
*The Intangible Cultural Heritage

© Photo: UNESCO/Michel Ravassard - Click here for full article

Sixty States have already ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage session has been rescheduled for November 18^th-19^th, 2006. In preparation for this event, an extraordinary session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the convention will be held on November 9^th, 2006 at UNESCO Headquarters. Six additional members will then be elected to the Committee. Mr. Mohammed Bedjaoui (Algeria), President of the General Assembly of the States Parties, and Mr. O. Faruk Logoglu (Turkey), the Assembly Rapporteur, were elected during the first ordinary session in June 2006. Sixty states have already ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Intergovernmental Committee will thus, as of its first session in Algiers on 18 and 19 November 2006, consist of the maximum number of members as stipulated by the Convention.

Read more on:
*The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Speeches, Safeguarding, FAQ...
*The Intangible Cultural Heritage

© Photo: UNESCO/Michel Ravassard - Click here for full article

UNESCO supports MTV's first film competition on HIV/AIDS prevention

"Within the framework of UNESCO’s Global Network of Young TV Producer’s on HIV and AIDS and as part of MTV International’s ongoing HIV and AIDS prevention campaign, Staying Alive, the fortyeightfest competition is a first-time event that gives 48 youths, mainly from developing countries, 48-hours to write, shoot, edit and deliver three-minute short films on HIV and AIDS grassroots efforts during the Toronto XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) 14-16 August 2006."

"The fortyeightfest competition will be broken into eight teams of six filmmakers from all over the world, who are also youth delegates to AIDS 2006." Their short films will be compiled into a 30-minute documentary that will showcase the films as well as behind-the-scenes footage as the young filmmakers progress through their many stages of film production.

"On August 17, all of the shorts will be screened by the contestants, their mentors and AIDS 2006 delegates." The fortyeightfest short films and documentary will be made available for broadcast across MTV’s network of TV channels, broadband services and websites as well as for rights-free and cost-free worldwide broadcast to third party broadcasters in September 2006.

"Fortyeightfest is supported by a consortium of partners and donors including the Canadian International Development Agency, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNESCO and The Kaiser Family Foundation. The event is hosted by MTV in Canada."

For full article, please refer to: UNESCO supports MTV’s first multi-platform film competition on HIV and AIDS prevention

Read more about UNESCO's Global Network of Young TV Producers on HIV/AIDS:

* Launching Africadoc 2005
* Meeting of Young TV Producers on HIV/AIDS in South Africa
* Young TV producers network in Asia on HIV/AIDS

UNESCO supports MTV's first film competition on HIV/AIDS prevention

"Within the framework of UNESCO’s Global Network of Young TV Producer’s on HIV and AIDS and as part of MTV International’s ongoing HIV and AIDS prevention campaign, Staying Alive, the fortyeightfest competition is a first-time event that gives 48 youths, mainly from developing countries, 48-hours to write, shoot, edit and deliver three-minute short films on HIV and AIDS grassroots efforts during the Toronto XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) 14-16 August 2006."

"The fortyeightfest competition will be broken into eight teams of six filmmakers from all over the world, who are also youth delegates to AIDS 2006." Their short films will be compiled into a 30-minute documentary that will showcase the films as well as behind-the-scenes footage as the young filmmakers progress through their many stages of film production.

"On August 17, all of the shorts will be screened by the contestants, their mentors and AIDS 2006 delegates." The fortyeightfest short films and documentary will be made available for broadcast across MTV’s network of TV channels, broadband services and websites as well as for rights-free and cost-free worldwide broadcast to third party broadcasters in September 2006.

"Fortyeightfest is supported by a consortium of partners and donors including the Canadian International Development Agency, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNESCO and The Kaiser Family Foundation. The event is hosted by MTV in Canada."

For full article, please refer to: UNESCO supports MTV’s first multi-platform film competition on HIV and AIDS prevention

Read more about UNESCO's Global Network of Young TV Producers on HIV/AIDS:

* Launching Africadoc 2005
* Meeting of Young TV Producers on HIV/AIDS in South Africa
* Young TV producers network in Asia on HIV/AIDS

Documents for the Executive Board Meeting

Documents for the next (175th) meeting of the Executive Board of UNESCO are now available on the Executive Board's website. The meeting is to take place in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, 26 September-12 October 2006.

The documents are:

* Report by the Director-General on implementation of the reform process: staff policy
* Report by the Director-General on the state of academic freedom and institutional autonomy within the context of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel (1997)
* Convening of the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) in 2009
* Proposal for the establishment of an IHP regional centre for the scientific study on management of shared groundwater resources under the auspices of UNESCO and WMO in Tripoli, Libya
* Arts education: the follow-up to the Lisbon World Conference
* Report by the Director-General on the advisability of elaborating an International Declaration on Science Ethics to serve as a basis for an ethical code of conduct for scientists
* Jerusalem and the implementation of 33 C/Resolution 50 and 174 EX/Decision 12
* Proposal for the establishment of the International Children Centre (ARTEK) as a centre under the auspices of UNESCO (category 2)
* Report by the Director-General on the implementation of the UNESCO Evaluation Strategy
* Monitoring of the implementation of UNESCO's standard-setting instruments
* Report on the fourth meeting of the Joint Expert Group UNESCO (CR)/ECOSOC (CESCR) on the Monitoring of the Right to Education (2006)
* Dates of the 34th session of the General Conference
* Report by the Director-General on the status of contributions of Member States and of payment plans
* Report by the Director-General on the implementation of the Participation Programme and emergency assistance
* Report by the Director-General, in cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, on managing the UNESCO complex
* Relations with non-governmental organizations, foundations and similar institutions
* UNESCO's cooperation with African subregional and regional organizations
* Implementation of 33 C/Resolution 68 concerning the strengthening of cooperation with the Republic of Guinea-Bissau
* Report by the Director-General on the cultural and educational institutions in Iraq
* Report by the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) on the activities of the Institute
* Proposal for the establishment of the IHP International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) in the Netherlands under the auspices of UNESCO
* Convening of the Fourth International Conference on International Education in 2007 in Ahmedabad, India

The United States is a member nation of the Executive Board. The U.S. Representative to UNESCO and her team will have a busy couple of months!

Documents for the Executive Board Meeting

Documents for the next (175th) meeting of the Executive Board of UNESCO are now available on the Executive Board's website. The meeting is to take place in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, 26 September-12 October 2006.

The documents are:

* Report by the Director-General on implementation of the reform process: staff policy
* Report by the Director-General on the state of academic freedom and institutional autonomy within the context of the Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel (1997)
* Convening of the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) in 2009
* Proposal for the establishment of an IHP regional centre for the scientific study on management of shared groundwater resources under the auspices of UNESCO and WMO in Tripoli, Libya
* Arts education: the follow-up to the Lisbon World Conference
* Report by the Director-General on the advisability of elaborating an International Declaration on Science Ethics to serve as a basis for an ethical code of conduct for scientists
* Jerusalem and the implementation of 33 C/Resolution 50 and 174 EX/Decision 12
* Proposal for the establishment of the International Children Centre (ARTEK) as a centre under the auspices of UNESCO (category 2)
* Report by the Director-General on the implementation of the UNESCO Evaluation Strategy
* Monitoring of the implementation of UNESCO's standard-setting instruments
* Report on the fourth meeting of the Joint Expert Group UNESCO (CR)/ECOSOC (CESCR) on the Monitoring of the Right to Education (2006)
* Dates of the 34th session of the General Conference
* Report by the Director-General on the status of contributions of Member States and of payment plans
* Report by the Director-General on the implementation of the Participation Programme and emergency assistance
* Report by the Director-General, in cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, on managing the UNESCO complex
* Relations with non-governmental organizations, foundations and similar institutions
* UNESCO's cooperation with African subregional and regional organizations
* Implementation of 33 C/Resolution 68 concerning the strengthening of cooperation with the Republic of Guinea-Bissau
* Report by the Director-General on the cultural and educational institutions in Iraq
* Report by the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) on the activities of the Institute
* Proposal for the establishment of the IHP International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) in the Netherlands under the auspices of UNESCO
* Convening of the Fourth International Conference on International Education in 2007 in Ahmedabad, India

The United States is a member nation of the Executive Board. The U.S. Representative to UNESCO and her team will have a busy couple of months!

The Mondialogo School Contest

Go to the contest website.

"Intercultural dialogue forms the basis for mutual understanding, respect and, above all, tolerance. That’s why DaimlerChrysler and UNESCO since October 2003 jointly launched the Mondialogo School Contest to motivate students to explore and appreciate the cultural diversity on our planet.

"The Mondialogo School Contest is the biggest contest between schools in the world where school students between 14 and 18 years of age from around the world get into contact and dialogue with one another. Mondialogo is aimed at giving a platform to students to take an active interest in others and to build bridges towards a harmonious coexistence.

"To do this, we are contacting thousands of schools around the globe, and are inviting teachers and their classes to join. Intercultural dialogue between the students plays a crucial role in the contest. During the project phase, all participants are encouraged to create new bonds and even forge new friendships. Participants shall learn the importance of openness, respect, tolerance and mutual understanding as prerequisites for living together in peace.

"The first Mondialogo School Contest 2003/2004 with approximately 1,500 participating teams and 25,000 students from 126 countries in the world, initiated the dialogue of people and an intensive exchange over borders. The overwhelming resonance and the positive feedback exceeded all expectations.

"For the contest each school will form a partnership with a paired school from another country or from another continent. Together, the students of both schools will specify a project topic that both schools will work parallely. This should involve an in-depth dialogue with one another.

"During the work on the project the teams should go through the following process:

* the conscious discussion with the own culture(s) (I)
* the goal based discussion with the culture(s) of the partner team(s) (YOU)
* the active dialogue with students from other cultures and countries and the development of a common project (WE)

"The results of the two schools that form a partner team are evaluated jointly. Decisive factors in the appraisal are the project results, but particularly the dialogue and the documentation of the project.

"Taking part in the international Mondialogo Symposium in November 2006 in Rome, Italy will thus become one of the highlights of the contest.
This is where two “Ambassadors" from the 25 most committed partner teams together with their teachers will meet the representatives of their partner schools and other participants. During a festive Awards ceremony, three outstanding partner teams will receive a symbolic donation of either EUR 500, EUR 1000 or EUR 1500 to be used for the benefit of their schools.

This years contest is well under way, and the final event of the Mondialogo School Contest 2005/2006 will take place from 4 to 7 November 2006 in Rome, Italy.

Watch the contest website, since we can hope there will be another contest next year.