01 Jan

World AIDS Day 2009 : “Universal Access and Human Rights” this year’s theme

Universal access to prevention and treatment will not be possible “without fully respecting the universality of human rights, regardless of a person’s age, sex, ethnicity, occupation, religious beliefs and sexual orientation,” stresses UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in her message for 1 December, World AIDS Day.

  • More
  • Director-General’s message
  • Joint United Nations Program
01 Jan

2010 International Essay Contest for Young People



The Goi Peace Foundation and UNESCO organize an international essay contest for young people from all over the world. Participants will express themselves on the theme: “My Role in Creating a Peaceful World”. What is your vision of a peaceful and harmonious world? What can you and the young people of the world do to realize that vision?

To participate in the 11th edition of the Contest people up to 25 years of age can submit their essays in one of the following categories: children (ages up to 14) and youth (ages 15 – 25). Essays must be 800 words or less in English, French, Spanish or German; or 1600 characters or less in Japanese, typed or printed. They must have a cover page indicating the category (children or youth), the title of the essay, the name of the participant and their personal information (mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, nationality, age as of June 2010, sex, school name (if any) and word count). Essays must be original and unpublished and they must be written by one person.

01 Jan

Accelerating Efforts to Advance the Rights of Adolescent Girls

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova joined other leaders of the United Nations Adolescent Girls Task Force in issuing a joint statement as delegates gathered for the 15 year review of the Beijing Platform for Action.


Many of the 600 million adolescent girls living in developing countries remain invisible in national policies and programmes. Millions live in poverty, are burdened by gender discrimination and inequality, and are subject to multiple forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation, such as child labour, child marriage and other harmful practices. The full potential of these girls and their contribution to their communities have yet to be realized.

The leaders pledged to “work with governments, civil society, communities, adolescent girls and boys on five strategic priorities:

  • Educate adolescent girls: Ensure adolescent girls have access to quality education and complete schooling, focusing on their transition from primary to post-primary education and training, including secondary education, and pathways between the formal and non-formal systems.
  • Improve adolescent girls’ health: Ensure adolescent girls’ access to age-appropriate health and nutrition information and services, including life skills-based sexuality education, HIV prevention, and sexual and reproductive health.
  • Keep adolescent girls free from violence: Prevent and protect girls from all forms of gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation, and ensure that girls who experience violence receive prompt protection, services and access to justice.
  • Promote adolescent girl leaders: Ensure that adolescent girls gain essential economic and social skills and are supported by mentors and resources to participate in community life.
  • Count adolescent girls: Work with partners to collect, analyse, and use data on adolescent girls to advocate for, develop and monitor evidence-based policies and programmes that advance their well-being and realize their human rights.”

01 Jan

Rebuilding Education for the 21st Century

For children to reach their full potential, the gains in universal primary education need to be replicated at the next level; only 54% of children in developing countries attend secondary school.

How can education systems be rebuilt to deliver their full potential in the 21st century? Speakers:

H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Irina Bokova, John T. Chambers, Trevor Manuel, Harold McGraw III, Riz Khan

Watch the Video from the World Economic Forum:
01 Jan

U.S. World Heritage Sites

There are twenty (20) World Heritage sites in the United States (including two bi-national sites jointly administered with Canada). The U.S. Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage has identified many more sites (cultural and natural) as likely to meet the criteria for future nomination to the World Heritage List. Since the fall of 2006, a new Tentative List is being prepared by the National Park Service and the George Wright Society.

In a joint effort between the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) and the United States Committee, International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS) a website has been developed to inform the public about the U.S. World Heritage sites.

01 Jan

Swiss Trains – RhB UNESCO Heritage Route

Swiss Trains – The RhB UNESCO Heritage Route – through Southeastern Switzerland is one of the most beautiful sections of track in the world.

01 Jan

Ambassador Killion Meets With Americans for UNESCO

Ambassador Killion sits at the head of the table
Photo: Nicole Varchaver

Ambassador David Killion, together with Kelly Seikman (the Director of the UNESCO Affairs Office in the State Department) and Elizabeth Kanick (the Executive Director of the National Commission for UNESCO), met yesterday with members of the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO. They expressed great satisfaction with the visit of UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova to the United States. Director General Bokova met with both the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Education as well as with Congressional leaders during her visit, and all offered encouragement for her efforts to lead UNESCO and support for UNESCO’s mission to promote peace, education, science and culture.

We were also informed that there will soon be recruitment of new staff members for both the UNESCO Affairs Office and the Delegation in Paris), and that efforts are under way to reconstitute the National Commission membership and plan for a meeting of the National Commission this year.
UNESCO is currently recruiting senior staff to fill out Director General Bokova’s team, including a new Deputy Director General and seven Assistant Director Generals. The conversations this week were of course often concerned with Haiti, but also with efforts to improve education and especially girls education. 2010 is the International Year of Rapprochement of Cultures, and of course UNESCO will play a key role in its observation.
Elizabeth Kanick to Killion’s left and Kelly Seikman to his righ
Photo: Nicole Varchaver

01 Jan

Online discussion on Gender equality, Education and Training

10 January to 7 February 2010

As part of the debates and events commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, the United Nations’ Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) is organizing a series of online discussions dedicated to specific critical areas of action related to gender equality. These discussions will contribute to the 15-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action at the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women from 1-12 March, 2010

The online discussions are designed to catalyze debate, to analyze progress and to provide an important interactive forum where perspectives, successful initiatives and information can be shared.

UNESCO will be hosting the online discussion focusing on the theme of Gender equality, Education and Training from 10 January to 7 February. During these four weeks, discussions will be organized around a framework of thematic questions in order to stimulate debate between participants.

Read more!
01 Jan

Cultural Property: its Illicit Trafficking and Restitution

This is one of UNESCO’s flagship programs! UNESCO has been actively involved in the return and restitution of cultural property for many years. It has led in the elaboration of a set of multilateral treaties:

An information note has been prepared to facilitate the understanding of the complimentarity between and the functioning of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention.

Read more on the UNESCO program!
01 Jan

Space Looking out for World Heritage

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

The German Aerospace Center is collaborating with UNESCO to exhibit Large satellite images of World Heritage Sites. The exhibition ‘What a Sight – Space Looking out for World Heritage’ is currently being shown at the UN campus in Bonn. This exhibition was also held in Paris, Berlin, Stuttgart, Cologne and Brussels.

Click here to see an online gallery of the 30 satellite images that are presented in the exhibition.

© 2010 General Education

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