A Conversation With Nina V. Fedoroff

The New York Times has published an interview with Nina Fedoroff, science adviser to the secretary of state and to the administrator of the Agency for International Development. I quote:

Q. WHY DOES THE SECRETARY OF STATE NEED A SCIENCE ADVISER?

A. Because science and technology are the drivers of the 21st century’s most successful economies.

There are more than six billion of us, and the problems of a crowded planet are everyone’s: food, water, energy, climate change, environmental degradation. Other nations, even those that have lost respect for our culture and politics, still welcome collaboration on scientific and technological issues.

Read more of the interview!

Read more about Dr. Federoff

Aksum Obelisk successfully repatriated and reinstalled

The third and last block of the Aksum Obelisk was successfully mounted by the UNESCO teams at the end of July in its original location in Ethiopia. The monument’s reinstallation was greeted with joy by the local people, who spontaneously organized musical concerts yesterday at the site.

Weighing 150 tons and 24 meters high, the obelisk is the second largest stela on the Aksum World Heritage site in northern Ethiopia, close to the border with Eritrea. Transported to Rome by the troops of Mussolini in 1937, it was returned in April 2005 by the Italian government. Its dismantling in Rome, transport and reinstallation were funded by the Italian government.

Read more!

200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade

Source: Locke and Slavery

August 23rd is the day marked by UNESCO to commemorate the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. On March 2, 1807, the U.S. Congress approved an act to abolish the importation of slaves effective January 1, 1808. Thus, this year marks the 200th anniversary of that event.

Here are a number of useful resources available related to the anniversary celebration:

• The Global Slavery Rememberance website
• The U.S.National Commission Rememberance website
• UNESCO's Slave Trade Archives
• The Breaking the Silence project website. The project was created to help educators break the silence about the slave trade.
• ASPNet Breaking the Silence, a website created for the Associated Schools Project Network to facilitate teaching about the slave trade in those schools.

UNESCO CultureLink Network

The Network's aim is "to strengthen communication among its members, encouraging international and intercultural communication and collaboration. The Culturelink Network's long-term objective is the development of a world-wide information system for the study of cultural development and cooperation."

The CultureLink Website contains resources that emphasize the connections between culture and the broader aims of human endeavor that have been part of UNESCO's core constitutional mandate of "advancing, through the educational, scientific and cultural relations of the peoples of the world, the objectives of peace and the common welfare of mankind."

" The fight against doping; More than tactical success"

The International Herald Tribune suggests that the 2005 UNESCO Convention Against Doping in Sport may pay off with fewer abuses in these Olympic Games.

Before the 2005 convention, only members of sports organizations were held accountable or penalized for their actions. Now, all athlete support personnel, including coaches, trainers, managers, team support staff, agents, administrators, officials and medical or paramedical practitioners are open to scrutiny, as are those who manufacture or supply drugs to athletes.

Today, the convention encourages all countries to evenly apply antidoping laws and regulations and ensure the implementation of the World Anti-Doping code by all sports organizations. But while countries have rapidly ratified the convention, they need to move much faster to implement it.

United States ratifies International Convention against Doping in Sport

On 4 August, President George Bush signed the instrument of ratification of UNESCO’s International Convention against Doping in Sport, following its approval on 22 July by the US Senate. More than 90 countries have now ratified the Convention.

• Read the UNESCO news report.
• Read the Statement by the President

Latin America and the Caribbean: diversity, creativity and dialog

Latin America "resonates with varied forms of creativity, which constitutes what is perhaps its most common characteristic. In this way, this region has given rise to the notion of a culture rooted in diversity and renewal." Check out this material about UNESCO's Culture Program activities in the region:

Culture activities:
A regional point of vue
World Heritage List:
118 outstanding sites in 25 countries
The Garifuna Language, dance and music:
Common traditions in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
Inspira Project (in Spanish):
An on-line regional course on Art Education
The Slave Route:
Places of Memory in the Caribbean
The CERLALC (in Spanish):
A regional centre promoting book publishing