January 14, 2024

UNESCO: Promotion of Education, Science and Culture

This article has been written by Ms. Zuha, a 4th year BA.LL.B student studying at the University of Kashmir, J&K.

Abstract

“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed

 In this article, I will attempt to develop an understanding of the extensive and elaborate work done by UNESCO and the underlying objective behind its inception and subsequent journey.  By the end of this read, we will have a fair idea of what the body of UNESCO is, how it is run internally, the kind of work they do and the global impact they are making as an international body in its commitment of promoting peace and harmony. My key focus will be on exploring the achievements of UNESCO in the promotion of sectors of Education, Science and Culture with appropriate examples and some recent developments. It will reflect how the body truly believes in rising and growing together towards creating a better and peaceful world. 

 Why was UNESCO formed?

The idea behind the inception of UNESCO was very simple. It was that political dialogues and agreements are not sufficient to prevent an atmosphere of war and animosity between nations. If we want to build a culture of peace, we must strive to promote and raise each other collectively. It called for intellectual and cultural development of each other. Global prosperity can only come when we help each other to prosper. Thus, UNESCO stepped in to become a facilitator of the same. UNESCO runs with the objective of promoting international peace by educational, scientific and cultural promotion of all. The approach of the body was both preventive as well as corrective. It definitely worked for preventing recurrence of war like situations. Also, it put its efforts in undoing to some extent the damage that had been caused by the Second World War by rebuilding schools, libraries and museums in Europe. Subsequently, it directed its efforts on reducing illiteracy, eradicating poverty, preserving culture and scientific development.

Historical Background

The roots of the organisation can be traced way before the United Nations; its parent body came into existence. The inspiration of having a body like the UNESCO was drawn from the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME) which was an initiative taken by the allied powers in the backdrop of World War II wherein it was to be discussed and assessed the level and extent of damage which had been caused to the education system and how it could be restore and restarted afresh.  In the same year when the United Nations was born i.e. 1945, as many as forty four countries came together in a conference and envisioned the formation of a body that could work for the “intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind”.  Thus, UNESCO was formed on 16 November, 1945. At present, the UNESCO with its headquarters in Paris, France consists of a total of 194 member states and has around 53 offices across the world.

Organisational structure

 UNESCO structurally consists of three main bodies. They are as follows: 

  • General Conference– It is an inclusive body for all the member states of the UNESCO. It is the main working body of the UNESCO which sets the agenda of work to be implemented by the Executive body. It decides on the policies and the budget of the UNESCO by meeting every two years in its general conference sessions (latest being conducted in November 2023) and sometimes even conducts extraordinary sessions, the latest being conducted in June 2023. Furthermore, it is governed by its own rules of procedure just like Lok sabha and Rajya sabha have their own.  
  • Executive Board– As the name suggests, it brings into action the programmes, agenda, and mission set by the general conference. It is pertinent to mention that the membership of this body is decided by the General conference from amongst the member nations of the UNESCO. The membership of the executive board is decided against the electoral groups prepared by the UNESCO to ensure equitable representation.  It composes of 58 members elected every four years. The board meets twice a year and conducts elaborate sessions stretching for two to three weeks.
  • Secretariat– Secretariat composes of the director general and such staff as may be required and approved by the general conference. Director General who gets nominated by the executive board and appointed by the General conference monitors the overall working of the board. He is primarily tasked with the responsibility of reporting on the works of the executive board. Furthermore, he also puts forth suggestions as to the agenda of the general conference and the budgetary plans. H eis essentially assigned to track the progress levels of the organisation.

Objectives

 UNESCO runs on the mission of achieving some global objectives. In addition to setting of general objectives, it has also identified certain key areas of priority and works separately for the same which include “Africa” and “Gender Equality”. The general objectives are as follows: 

  • Ensuring universal access to education and lifelong learning
  • Creating environment of cultural promotion and integration
  • Pushing for scientific as well as sustainable development 
  • Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges like poverty
  • Facilitating sustainable development goals(SDG’s)
  • Cultural preservation by identifying heritage sites
  • Knowledge sharing that helps the world at large

 Workings of UNESCO-

 Statement on Race (1950) – UNESCO choosing not to remain oblivious to the fact that the brutal human rights abuses that laid at the cornerstone of Second World War like Nazism, apartheid, slavery etc were run by the underlying idea of racism or racial inferiority.   In an open endeavour to challenge this mind set, it issued “Statement on race” and proposed that the existence of races or racial differences had no scientific backing but was more of a social construct. Although the statement invited a plethora of criticism by the scientific community, it essentially tried to convey that race cannot be used to justify superiority in terms of mental cognition or bodily adaptability. To illustrate, one of the scientists of UNESCO, Arthur Ramos opined that tropical diseases prevalent in the Brazilian community cannot be attributed to race or biological factors but to lack of access to public hygiene and sanitation. 

Literacy campaigns in Italy and Korea– UNESCO is also known for its national literacy campaigns that it successfully implemented in countries like South Korea, Italy, Peru and Afghanistan. It worked on different levels; the most popular ones being its distribution of textbooks programme of which very recently, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon mentioned of his one of his address.

Universal Copyright Convention– This was adopted on 6 September 1952 in an effort to unify our understanding of copyright laws and its enjoyment.  The underlying objective was to ensure that copyright is protected not only through domestic laws but also extra-territorially. It recognised that copyright protection (protection of intellectual work which is the product of one’s mind) is a human right and thus, warrants protection irrespective of what the laws of a country prescribe for its enjoyment. It put forth a mechanism that could ensure the protection of copyright in foreign countries ruling out the requirement of complying with that foreign country’s copyright procedure. Furthermore, all such work was required to bear copyright symbol, name of the author and publication date. Thus, it served dual interests; it served the intellectual rights of author as well as encouraged knowledge and information sharing inters states. It is interesting to note that UCC could be signed by any country irrespective of whether a member of UNESCO or not.  

Nubian campaign– The potential and its commitment of its vision was truly seen in the commendable help extended by the UNESCO in preserving the Nubian heritage sites such as the famous pharaoh temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the sanctuary of Isis at Philae by relocating them to an higher altitude in a bid to save them from being damaged by the likelihood of getting submerged by the river Nile. The process started from 1960 onwards when the Egyptian and the Sudanese governments appealed to the UNESCO for assisting in protecting its cultural heritage. The international help that soon followed was a testament to the UNESCO’s objective of promoting global peace and promoting cultural heritage.   

Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) –   the convention is of pivotal importance in the sense that it recognised the need for preservation of ‘intangible heritage’. It is that component of culture which is living, one that passes from generations to generations. The element of ‘living’ quickly suggests that it is more susceptible to loss and decay if we detach and stop associating ourselves with it. For instance, folklores, traditional songs, plays, rituals, proverbs, mythological stories, craftsmanship, all form living heritage. UNESCO believes that “Living heritage is about people, resilience and knowledge passed on from generation to generation”. Its role is to identify these forms of living heritage and work for their promotion so that they can be carried forward to future generations. In Indian context, Durga Puja from Kolkata or Ramleela, famous mythological play and others find mention in the list of intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO.  Very recently, “Garba’’ made it to the list of the ICH. Some newly added to the list are,  Elechek, traditional female headwear, Al manouche, special Lebanese flatbread, midwifery practices prevalent in Columbia, Germany, Nigeria, Slovenia etc. Interestingly, the very popular practice of kimjang of South Korea, a community gathering where women prepare kimchi in bulks is also enlisted. 

World Heritage Convention, 1972 (Convention concerning the protection of the world Cultural and Natural Heritage) – The convention acknowledges that we are nothing but our culture. It is what we inherit and it is what will be passed on. Covering cities, buildings monuments, castles to mountains, all are testament to our shared cultural history.  However, these sites of cultural and historical importance are in danger due to natural factors (climate change, earthquakes, and floods) and manmade factors (pollution, tourism). Thus, it becomes imperative to preserve as well as promote these cultural hotspots. It does so by formulating list of World Heritage sites with additions made regularly to protect our world heritage.  Additionally, World Heritage Committee is established to see the implementation of the convention. They identify, preserve and work for the promotion and celebration of these culturally and naturally significant hotspots. These heritage sites receive funding and become subjects of UNESCO’s special attention. In India, the two latest additions include Santiniketan and the Sacred Ensembles oh the Hoysalas making the total Indian inscription count to 42. 

Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) – Launched in 1971 with the idea that human development cannot run at the cost of biodiversity degradation in the long term. We, being part of the biodiversity of this planet cannot exhibit total lack of concern for the other living species around us. The prime focus of this scientific program was to infuse the concept of development with sustainability keeping in mind its environmental, cultural, social and economical consequences. As the UNESCO believes, the idea was to reconcile the conflict between man and his biosphere and improve the relationship between the two. The program works by identifying crucial biosphere hotspots where the interplay of various sustainable factors can be seen. Biosphere reserves, form vast natural and cultural landscapes where the priority is to link development with environmental protection and cultural preservation by involving the local community/indigenous community in the whole process. These are those sites where if the correct balance is not reached, nature will have to give in to the way of development. For Example, the entire population of the Sumatran Orang-utan (6000) lives in the Gunung Leuser Biosphere Reserve, Indonesia. If they aren’t protected, they will be gone forever. Currently, there are around 748 biosphere reserves in 134 countries and encompass all kinds of ecosystems from mountains, forests, plains to islands Great Nicobar, Nilgiri, Khangchengzonga are few of the Indian biosphere reserves listed by the UNESCO. The important question here is that how MAB supports the mission of bio-conservation. To illustrate, in the Bia Biosphere Reserve in the Ghana region of West Africa, the locals who are cocoa farmers relied on the forest resources such as honey, mushrooms, and snails (in the BR) for their livelihood during the off season. This posed a threat to the species of the reserve. Unesco’s team in its innovative initiative under the (MAB) trained the locals to take up Mushroom production, snail rearing, and honey extraction as an alternative livelihood on their land without affecting the biosphere resources of the reserve. They were incentivised by being provided spawns and training. 

Priority Africa

 Africa is one of the two global priorities of UNESCO. That implies that UNESCO formulates and develops specialised strategies and programs to contribute to the holistic development of the African continent. The special conditions of the region and its lack of access to a host of essential services warrants the need of special attention from international bodies. Under the global priority program, some major flagship initiatives have been launched such as the General History of Africa, under which an endeavour has been made to provide a platform where the history of Africa can be written by and for the African people. It is an attempt to present them with an opportunity to speak about what and who they are, and not how the west presents and portrays them. It is to look beyond the colonizing history of the region. The GHA in the year 2009 took a step further by allowing the use of its data in schools for propagating and advancing the African history to the future generations. Secondly, there are also education centric programs which focus on providing access to quality education in the sub-Saharan regions by providing them textbooks and internet connection to access online resources. There is Campus Africa project as well which aims at promoting the quality of higher education in the country in forms of capacity building, resource availability, recognition of degrees etc.  

Gender Equality-   Promoting the idea of Gender Equality forms the second area of global priority of UNESCO. The organisation firmly believes that education not only empowers and benefits individually but has positive implications for the whole world as well. Presently, substantial portions of illiterate population in the world are women and girls. Thus, it becomes imperative to help and encourage girls to join schools and also continue their education. Towards that end, unesco has launched Her Education, Our Future program which aims to encourage girls to gain access to education and also to inculcate entrepreneurship skills and pursuance of secondary education. Gender quality not only focuses on women and girls but also boys who drop out of schools at secondary levels due to child labour, gender based violence etc. Understanding the disengagement of boys from schools also remains a focal point of UNESCO.   

 

Recent developments:

  • Revival of the spirit of Mogul– The battle of Mogul, a quest for power from both sides brought distraught and misery for the people of the city of Mogul. Starting in 2014, it created an atmosphere of fear and hopelessness with civilians being used as human shields on ground and air raids from the sky leaving the common man to go nowhere. It suffered destruction and devastation at humongous scale so much so that that it turned one of the most crucial heritage sites, Al Nouri mosque and its minaret, Al Hadba to ruins. The people of the city of Mosul lost their homes and their generation’s old cherished cultural sites and were subject to large scale displacement. The year 2019 presented a ray of hope for the Iraqi people as the UNESCO stepped in with its revival initiative and invited international cooperation to rebuild the Al nouri mosque along with the old city’s ancient architecture and other sites of cultural or religious importance.  Moreover, it also focused on combating the leakages in the education system following the end of war. Realisation was quick to follow that ensuring access to education and quality education is the least of concerns where common life is at stake. Hence, UNESCO’s work is also directed on reconstructing schools, training teachers, providing textbooks and instilling the spirit among children towards their empowerment. 
  • United States Comeback– Recently, in the year 2023 United states joined back UNESCO after formally withdrawing from it in the year 2019. The withdrawal from the organisation was based on the reason of UNESCO’s formally recognising and subsequently inducting Palestine as a member in 2011. Naturally, this move went against Israel’s interests. Soon after, both the U.S as well as Israel stopped paying its dues to the organisation and ceased to be members of the same. 
  • Response to COVID 19: Amidst the challenges thrown by the Covid-19 pandemic, UNESCO made several efforts to combat its influence on the free flow of ideas, education and communication. It started its global coalition education program, distance learning initiative to ensure that children are not deprived of learning due to not being able to attend schools. It also enabled the public to access resource centres, webinars, and video resources to tackle disinformation and fight the pandemic scientifically.

To conclude, the efforts of unesco have been praiseworthy. They bear testament to the fact that it is indeed empowering to rise and grow together. Over the years the efforts of the organisation have compounded and the benefit has reached the remotest of areas. Researching about the kind of work that the organisation does was truly enlightening and an eye opener about the leakages and loopholes that still exist around the developmental systems the world. It is essential that we enhance our knowledge on these issues and work for the betterment of the same. Unesco is not just a think tank of United Nations but it actively works to achieve better results towards a better and peaceful nation. 

 References: 

  • Dattaro.L.How the modern story of postwar antiracism ignored the global south. Penn Today.Nov.10.2023
  • UNESCO. Constitution of the UNESCO. Second edition. 1946

 

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