United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Organisation des Nations unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture

QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE DRAFT MEDIUM-TERM

STRATEGY FOR 2008-2013 (34 C/4) AND

DRAFT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET

FOR 2008-2009 (34 C/5)

This questionnaire is designed to elicit the views, suggestions and comments from Member States and Associate Members, together with intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on key principles, priorities and core issues, in line with 33 C/Resolution 1 of the General Conference which should inform the preparation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013 (34 C/4) and Draft Programme and Budget for 2008-2009 (34 C/5).

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Page

I. INTRODUCTION 3

II. THE CONSULTATION PROCESS AND ITS PHASES 4

III. PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE ELABORATION OF 6 THE DRAFT MEDIUM-TERM STRATEGY ESTABLISHED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

IV. QUESTIONNAIRE 6

Cluster 1: Mission – overarching objectives – strategic 6 programme objectives for the 34 C/4

Cluster 2: Sectoral priorities for the 34 C/5 12

Cluster 3: Fostering intersectorality 15

Cluster 4: Delivering the programme – partnerships and 16 UNESCO’s role within the United Nations system – improving the visibility of the Organization

Cluster 5: Resources (for response by Member States only) 20

ANNEXES 23

Annex I: 33 C/Resolution 1 – Principles and guidelines in the 23 preparation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013

Annex II: 33 C/Resolution 2 – Overall review of Major Programmes II and III 27

Annex III: 33 C/Resolution 64 – Reflection on the future role of UNESCO 29

Annex IV: Roadmap and timetable for the preparation of 31 draft 34 C/4 and draft 34 C/5 documents

Annex V: List of Institutes and Centres under the 35 auspices of UNESCO (category 2)

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I. INTRODUCTION

1. 33 C/Resolution 1 adopted by of the General Conference at its 33rd session defined a framework and a number of guiding principles to be applied for the preparation of the Draft Medium-term Strategy 2008-2013, including strong emphasis on results-based programming, budgeting, management and monitoring (RBM) approaches. It invited the Director-General to reflect the content of this resolution in the questionnaire to be prepared in order to elicit the views and input of Member States and National Commissions. This questionnaire shall also serve as a basic document for the regional consultations of the Director-General of National Commissions as well as cluster consultations to be held in this context. The full text of this Resolution is attached as Annex I.

2. At the same session, each Main Commission of the General Conference discussed separately substantive issues relevant for the preparations of both the Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013 (34 C/4) and Draft Programme and Budget for 2008-2009 (34 C/5), which will constitute the first (of three) biennial phase(s) of implementation of the new Medium-Term Strategy. Reports of the debates held in the five Main Commissions on these two items are contained in a separate information note.

3. At the 33rd session, the General Conference also adopted other resolutions which will have a direct bearing on the preparations for the draft 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 documents:

(a) 33 C/Resolution 2 on a comprehensive review of Major Programmes II and III (see annex II as well as the Director-General’s blue note DG/Note/06/14 of 28 February 2006);

(b) 33 C/Resolution 64 on “the future role of UNESCO” (see annex III), which envisages a global consultation led by the Director–General, in consultation with the President of the General Conference and the Chairman of the Executive Board. This global consultation shall be informed by a background document by the Secretariat, which will also be made available to the recipients of the questionnaire and the cluster and regional consultations. Indeed, the results of discussions on this subject are expected to yield relevant input of a long-term visionary and policy nature for the draft 34 C/4 – thereby complementing the framework defined in 33 C/Resolution 1;

(c) By 33 C/Resolution 4 “Combating fanaticism, extremism and terrorism”, the General Conference recognized the link between activities in support of the dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, and efforts to discourage and dissuade extremism and fanaticism. Further, it requested the Director-General to prepare for draft document 34 C/5 an inter-sectoral programme, involving all sectors, to continue and strengthen initiatives in the development of curriculum frameworks and materials for education for shared values for intercultural and interfaith understanding;

(d) By 33 C/Resolution 3 “Programme of action for the sustainable development of small island developing states (SIDS): further implementation”, the General Conference invited the Director-General, inter alia, to continue to mainstream the Mauritius Strategy in the Organizations activities and work programmes, to nurture intersectoral cooperation and to include appropriate proposals for UNESCO’s further contribution to the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy in the preparation of the Organization’s Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013 (34 C/4);

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(e) By 33 C/Resolution 5 “Preparations for the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI)” the General Conference invited the Director-General to consider the inclusion of provision for CONFINTEA VI when preparing document 34 C/5.

4. The 2005 World Summit Outcome document adopted at the summit meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2005 called for an increased participation in joint United Nations system activities at the country level, which for the Organization implies the need to revisit and adjust the planning and programming methods to increase the prospects for tangible impact on the ground, as also requested by UNESCO’s governing bodies. Thus, the ambition is that the new medium-term strategy will be able to articulate and project a clear vision for UNESCO, its role and mission contributing to a world undergoing multiple changes induced and driven by globalization. Details of the provisions of the Outcome document and their pertinence for UNESCO are reported in document 174 EX/4 Add.2.

II. THE CONSULTATION PROCESS AND ITS PHASES

5. Annex IV contains a roadmap and timetable for the preparation of the draft 34 C/4 and draft 34 C/5 documents leading to the adoption of both key documents by the General Conference at its 34th session (also published as document 174 EX/5 Add.2 Rev.). Furthermore, the attached single-page chart seeks to capture the various stages along a time-line, leading to the 34th session of the General Conference.

6. It should be borne in mind that there are specific phases for input to be provided by different stakeholders, which will at a later stage be consolidated by the Executive Board in October 2006. Thus, each recommendation and input represents but a partial contribution to the overall process. The recommendations emanating from the consultations with the National Commissions in five different regions and at the cluster level are developed relatively early on in the exercise. They will be brought in full to the attention of the Executive Board. Likewise, the comments received from Member States, Associated Members, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, to be received at a subsequent stage by 15 July 2006, will be submitted in a synthesized form to the Executive Board. Special input will also be coming from the Panel set up for the overall review of Major Programmes II and III. The preliminary proposals of the Director-General will take account of the various contributions resulting from these earlier phases, but will also contain his own recommendations and proposals. It will then be up to the Executive Board to review and reconcile – in a political process – all these proposals and adopt a comprehensive decision providing guidance to the Director-General for the preparation and elaboration of the two draft documents.

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Timetable for the preparation of theMedium-Term Strategy 2008-2013 (34 C/4)

and Programme and Budget 2008-2009 (34 C/5)

2006

2007

January

early March Finalization & dispatch of questionnaire for 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 andFinalization and dispatch of discussion document for globalconsultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO

174 ExB April – May Cluster and/or national consultations withNational CommissionsConsultations of the President of the General Conferencewith Permanent Delegates

May – July Regional consultations of Director-Generalwith National Commissions

15 July Deadline for submission of written comments by Governments,IGOs and NGOs on DG’s questionnaire

mid-August Preliminary proposals by the DG for 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

175 ExB 12 October Executive Board adopts decisions concerning 34 C/4 and 34 C/5end October Publication of DG blue note on preparation of draft 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

early March Dispatch of draft 34 C/4 and draft 34 C/5

176 ExB

34 GenCon

26 April Executive Board adopts decisions with recommendations ondraft 34 C/4 and draft 34 C/5

177 ExB

178 ExB

FebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJuly

AugustSeptember

OctoberNovemberDecember

JanuaryFebruary

MarchAprilMayJuneJuly

AugustSeptember

OctoberNovemberDecember

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7. Thus, it is a complex and multi-layered process, at the end of which a range of suggestions are bound to be aggregated, in order to arrive at the common denominator shared by the largest number of stakeholders. Clearly, choices will have to be made and not all recommendations, whether they emanate from regional consultations or Governments or other actors, will and can ultimately be retained. The more concrete and succinct proposals are, the higher the probability of their integration into the final framework decision with its global scope to be adopted by the Executive Board in October 2006. But even thereafter, very specific recommendations, say from certain regions, could still be reflected, at the subsequent stages of the elaboration, particularly as regards the contents of the 34 C/5 document.

III. PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE ELABORATION OF THE DRAFT MEDIUM-TERM STRATEGY

ESTABLISHED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

8. The Medium-Term Strategy for the period 2002-2007 (31 C/4) was built around a single unifying theme: Contributing to peace and human development in an era of globalization through education, the sciences, culture and communication, three strategic thrusts, and a limited number of strategic objectives – three for each of UNESCO’s four main domains, 12 in total for the entire Organisation. These strategic objectives were complemented by two cross-cutting themes (CCTs) – Eradication of poverty, especially extreme poverty, and The contribution of information and communication technologies to education, science and culture, and the construction of knowledge societies – each having three strategic objectives of their own. The CCTs were to be intrinsic to all programmes and to constitute a particular important entry point for intersectorality, both at Headquarters and in the field.

9. In 33 C/Resolution 1, the General Conference, recognizing the good quality of the 31 C/4 and the important contribution it has already made towards strengthening the Organization, invited the Director-General to ensure due consideration in the preparation of the 34 C/4 of a set of principles and guidelines, which build on results-based programming, budgeting, management and monitoring (RBB and RBM) methodologies used within the United Nations system. The resolution setting out the principles and guidelines is reproduced in full in Annex I.

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IV. QUESTIONNAIRE

10. Documents C/4 and C/5 together constitute the programmatic and conceptual framework for all of UNESCO’s action, comprising strategic objectives, expected outcomes, programme strategies to be followed as well as expected results, performance indicators and benchmark targets to be achieved. Based on the principles and guidelines in 33 C/Resolution 1 and taking into account the discussions in the various programme commissions of the General Conference on the 34 C/4 and the 34 C/5, Member States, National Commissions and other stakeholders are invited to address the subsequent questions. The key issues relate to the definition of the mission statement, overarching objectives, strategic programme objectives, intersectorality and delivery aspects of the Programme, on which respondents are invited to focus in particular.

Cluster 1: Mission – overarching objectives – strategic programme objectives for the 34 C/4

11. Defining UNESCO’s vision in a single mission statement, and capturing in contemporary terms the Organisation’s purpose and objective, must build on the provisions of the UNESCO Constitution. This has been underlined by the General Conference in 33 C/Resolution 64 on

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“Reflection on the future role of UNESCO” (see annex III) and it can be expected that substantial input for the articulation of this part will also flow from the global consultations envisaged under this resolution, providing the substantive underpinning and overarching policy framework for document 34 C/4.

12. The Preamble to the UNESCO Constitution declares that “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed” and set the following purpose for the Organization: “… to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations”. 13. Being an ethical organisation, UNESCO is founded on the principles of universality, diversity and dignity as well as the commonly shared values of justice, solidarity, tolerance, sharing and equity, respect for human rights, including women’s rights, pluralism and democratic principles. Over the past years, UNESCO has transformed itself into a modern multilateral organisation with focus on core competencies, concentration on programme principal priority areas, a balance between global, regional and national focus and between normative and operational tasks, a strong development results orientation and an effective and accountable management at all levels.

14. A central task for UNESCO throughout the current medium-term period was and is to help countries attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed development goals, especially with respect to halving poverty by 2015, through activities in its domains. UNESCO has begun to implement and align its programmes with the 2005 World Summit Outcome document, which addresses many issues of direct relevance for UNESCO, such as EFA, cultural diversity, sustainable development, communication and information, action in support of Africa and LDCs, women’s empowerment, dialogue and a culture of peace. As a specialized agency of the United Nations system, UNESCO is making manifold contributions to the UN joint efforts, especially at the country level, aimed at harmonized, high-quality and results-based programme delivery in support of national development efforts and priorities.

15. UNESCO is an Organization responsive to the needs of the disadvantaged and excluded and committed to addressing effectively the needs of Africa, the least developed countries, women and youth. A knowledge broker and trusted interlocutor/facilitator in all its domains, it is served by a cadre of skilled staff, in the setting of a learning organization.

Q.1: Would you suggest other issues of relevance to define the future role and mission of UNESCO?

Q.2: What would you consider to be the main mission challenges for UNESCO in the coming medium-term period, taking into account global and regional trends as well as emerging challenges?

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16. As is the wish of the General Conference, a limited number of overarching objectives, replacing the three strategic thrusts of the 31 C/4, shall further concretise and operationalize the mission statement.

Q.3: Based on your views of UNESCO’s mission, what should be the limited number of overarching objectives in the 34 C/4 covering all the Organization’s fields of competence.

Q.4: What should be the most important measurable outcomes for each of these overarching objectives, which you are proposing?

17. In the 31 C/4, UNESCO’s functions had been defined as a (i) laboratory of ideas; (ii) a standard-setter; (iii) a clearing house; (iv) a capacity-builder in Member States; and (v) a catalyst for international cooperation.

Q.5: Are you in agreement to retain these five functions of UNESCO for the 2008-2013 period?

Would you like to propose other functions – and if so which ones? Or would you suggest a prioritization among the existing functions?

18. In the discussions of the Programme Commissions at the 33rd session of the General Conference, a number of key objectives were proposed to be considered for the 34 C/4 for each of the four programme areas (for details see separate background document). These discussions may inform the definition of a limited set of strategic programme objectives, with measurable expected outcomes.

(a) Education – The overriding objective will be to assist countries to achieve the EFA goals and the education-related MDGs by 2015.

Regarding coordination of international support, the Global Action Plan for Achieving the Education for All (EFA) goals (document 174 EX/9) serves as a means to increase the coordination and coherence of international support to EFA at country level.

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Q.6: In your situation, how can UNESCO best support improved national dialogue in the education sector and serve as a catalyst for better coordination among international partners?

The Global Action Plan proposes five areas in which international support at national level can be particularly important: raising the profile of EFA through communication and advocacy, building national capacity to implement EFA, mobilising resources for EFA, making aid more effective, and enhancing accountability through peer evaluation among agencies and countries.

Q.7: In building coordinated support at national level, which of these areas (one or more) should UNESCO focus its efforts on, in order to have the biggest impact on the country’s performance in EFA?

In implementing the Global Action Plan, UNESCO will emphasise the critical role of government leadership in EFA at country level. This implies special attention to building the capacity of countries in policy formulation and planning, as well as the capacity of national institutions to sustain quality implementation and monitoring of EFA.

Q.8: Is this the best role? And, if so, what areas of focus do you consider in building the sustainable capacity of national institutions in EFA policy formulation, planning and implementation?

UNESCO’s Strategic Directions in Education: As detailed in the Global Action Plan, UNESCO’s Education Sector is considering some strategic directions in its programme work for the next ten years to support the implementation of EFA. These include:

• From access to success: quality learning available to all leading to the successful use of learning on socially productive occupations;

• Literacy, through the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE), as a key tool in enabling adults and children to engage in learning and benefit from it;

• Workforce education: connecting education with work, particularly at the secondary level;

• Teacher training, particularly but not only through the Teacher Training Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA), building local training capacity;

• Technology: as a means of multiplying possibilities of high-quality learning.

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Q.9: What input would you like to give UNESCO on the orientation of these strategic directions, regarding their relevance, importance, scope and feasibility?

In pursuing these directions, what roles would you see as most appropriate for UNESCO as an international organisation?

South-South cooperation is a key means of learning and sharing experience in achieving EFA, and UNESCO sees its promotion as an integral and important part of its global coordination role.

Q.10: From your perspective, in what ways would strengthened South-South cooperation enhance your achievement of EFA goals, and how could UNESCO best support that process?

(b) Sciences – The contribution of sciences to poverty alleviation and policy-making for sustainable development, including through ecological sciences and environmental protection as well as activities related to the Decade for Education fir Sustainable Development; and the promotion of policy reform, scientific cooperation and capacity-building in science, technology and innovation;

The overall review of Major Programme II (Natural Sciences) and Major Programme III (Social and Human Sciences), which was launched by the General Conference at its 33rd session (see annex II), is expected to contribute - against the background of UNESCO’s mandate, country and regional priorities and today’s global needs – to the elaboration of a forward-looking strategic framework for the sciences programmes of UNESCO. In that, it will focus on three interrelated needs:

– the need for UNESCO to take a forward-looking perspective on prioritization and promote a progressive agenda giving proper emphasis to emerging trends, challenges and new priorities;

– the need to reinforce the essential role of the sciences for UNESCO in the fight against poverty, with contributions and benefits to institutional and human capacity-building, education and sustainable development;

– the need to contribute to the production of new forms of knowledge and the implementation of innovative forms of action for resolving problems, given the new complexities of the strategic direction of science at the global level.

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Q.11: What are your proposals regarding the three inter-related needs to be addressed by the Panel for the Overall Review of Major Programme II and III, taking into account the objectives stated in 33 C/Resolution 2?

Q.12: What would you propose to be the strategic objectives for the Sciences? Please indicate up to two such strategic programme objectives, together with expected outcomes.

Q.13: If you are in favour that document 34 C/4 should provide for separate strategic objectives for the Natural Sciences and for the Social and Human Sciences, please indicate them for each of the two fields:

Natural Sciences:

Social and Human Sciences:

(c) Culture – The protection and promotion of cultural diversity were proposed to be the key strategic objective of the 34 C/4 expressed in an increased synergy and articulation of actions to protect diverse forms of cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible - and while maintaining a clear linkage to intercultural dialogue and conflict prevention; continued relevance of the Stockholm Action Plan and call to develop further the conceptual evidence of the fundamental role of culture in development strategies, notably through the preparation of the UNESCO World Report on Cultural Diversity and the development of cultural statistics and indicators in the light of the intrinsic cultural dimensions of globalization with a continued focus on the consolidation/implementation of existing normative instruments;

Q.14: Which should be the strategic objectives for Culture? Please indicate up to two such strategic programme objectives, together with expected outcomes.

(d) Communication and information – The contribution of media and info-structures to development and poverty eradication remains at the core of the programme with the objective to build inclusive and pluralistic knowledge societies, as envisaged in WSIS. The principles of freedom of expression and universal access to and sharing of information and knowledge are the pillars of the programme’s actions. A changing

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world raises new social, legal and ethical questions to ICTs, including support to peace-building efforts and mediation in conflict-situations and to enhance tolerance, reconciliation and dialogue. While new digital media and information formats are being developed, traditional media require continued attention as a major source of information for the majority of the world’s population. This is particularly important in relation to the role to be played by ICTs and community media in mobilizing local content production and utilizing knowledge for sustainable development. Enhancing the professional standards of media and information professionals and creating a safe environment for these groups are other important areas of action, as is knowledge preservation and distribution.

Q.15: Which should be the strategic objectives for Communication and information? Please indicate up to two such strategic programme objectives, together with expected outcomes:

19. The 31 C/4 contains two cross-cutting themes, namely “Eradication of poverty, especially extreme poverty”, and “The contribution of information and communication technologies to education, science and culture, and the construction of knowledge societies”, each having three strategic objectives of their own. These two themes were to be intrinsic to all programmes and were intended to serve as a particular entry point for intersectoral action.

Q.16: Do you favour the retention of cross-cutting themes for the 34 C/4? Do you prefer to maintain the present two themes or do you have other suggestions?

20. In document 31 C/4 and in documents 31 C/5, 32 C/5 and 33 C/5, a number of flagship programmes/activities/projects have been highlighted related to programme action that has yielded positive results over a sustained period and attracted visibility for UNESCO.

Q.17: Are you in favour of continuing the practice whereby flagship programmes/ activities/projects are highlighted in the 34 C/4 and 34 C/5? If so, what criteria should be used to select such flagships?

Do you have suggestions for designating specific flagships?

Cluster 2: Sectoral priorities for the 34 C/5

21. In the past, the General Conference and the Executive Board have insisted on the need to reflect clearly the link between the strategic programme objectives in the C/4 document and the

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sectoral priorities proposed in the C/5 documents. They also called for more focused sectoral priorities in the biennial programme and budget documents, building on the results achieved and lessons learned from past evaluations. For the past three C/5 documents, each of the five major programmes has been built around one principal priority and typically a set of three other priorities each, which allowed a rationalisation in the programmatic presentation of other sectoral activities. Principal priorities also benefited from increased budgetary allocations. The General Conference debates on the preparation of the 34 C/5 generally favoured the continuation of the existing programme programmes priorities and pointed also to the need of a holistic perspective, whereby all priorities would need to be mutually supportive and contribute to the overall objectives of UNESCO.

Q.18: Are you in favour of retaining for document 34 C/5 the structure whereby each major programme would have one principal priority and a limited number of other priorities?

If you consider that prioritization should be structured otherwise, what would you suggest?

22. Throughout the three biennial periods of the current 31 C/4, the principal priority for each Major Programme has progressively become more focused and clearer articulated. The 33 C/5 Approved contains the following principal and other priorities for the five Major Programmes:

(a) Education – Principal priority: basic education for all with special attention being given to literacy, HIV/AIDS education and teacher training in sub-Saharan Africa;

Other priorities: secondary education, including technical and vocational education and training as well as science and technology education; promoting quality education, with special reference to values education and teacher training; higher education;

(b) Natural sciences – Principal priority: water and associated ecosystems;

Other priorities: Oceans; capacity-building in the basic and engineering sciences, the formulation of science policies and the promotion of a culture of maintenance; promoting the application of science, engineering and appropriate technologies for sustainable development, natural resource use and management, disaster preparedness and alleviation and renewable sources of energy;

(c) Social and human sciences – Principal priority: ethics of science and technology, with emphasis on bioethics;

Other priorities: promotion of human rights and the fight against all forms of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and related intolerance through activities in UNESCO’s fields of competence; foresight, philosophy, human sciences, democracy and the enhancement of human security; management of social transformations;

(d) Culture – Principal priority: promoting cultural diversity, with special emphasis on the tangible and intangible heritage;

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Other priorities: cultural policies as well as intercultural and interfaith dialogue and understanding; cultural industries and artistic expressions;

(e) Communication and information – Principal priority: empowering people through access to information and knowledge with special emphasis on freedom of expression;

Other priorities: promoting communication development; advancing the use of ICTs for education, science and culture.

During the debate by the General Conference at its 33rd session, a range of suggestions was made for priorities by the various Major Programmes. They are summarised in the separate background document capturing the gist of the debates during the 33rd session.

Q.19: Which principal priority would you propose for each of the five major programmes in the 34 C/5?

Education (MP I):

Natural Sciences (MP II)

Social and Human Sciences (MP III)

Culture (MP IV)

Communication and information (MP V)

Q.20: Which “other priorities” would you propose for each Major Programme in the 34 C/5?

Education (MP I):

Natural Sciences (MP II)

Social and Human Sciences (MP III)

Culture (MP IV)

Communication and information (MP V)

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Cluster 3: Fostering intersectorality

23. Intersectoral approaches are one of UNESCO’s comparative advantages in the multilateral system, allowing the Organisation to respond to complex problems in a more comprehensive and substantively appropriate manner, facilitating the resolution of existing problems beyond a mere pooling of financial resources. At the 33rd session of the General Conference, virtually all Member States requested an intensification of intersectorality, to find its expression in a larger number of intersectoral programmes and activities in the consecutive C/5 documents, involving all or some programme areas.

24. Document 31 C/4 had introduced two cross-cutting themes (CCTs) around which intersectoral action should be undertaken. In document 33 C/5 the General Conference approved funding for 28 intersectoral projects pertaining to the CCTs. Furthermore, the General Conference welcomed intersectoral actions included in the 33 C/5 devoted to enhancing the linkages between cultural and biological diversity as a basis for sustainable development; the Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Education (EDUCAIDS); e-learning and ICTs in education; broadening access to scientific and technical information through media and ICT; United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development; enhanced protection of World Heritage in small island developing States; promoting World Heritage values in education policies and practices; science and technology education for all; and disaster prevention and preparedness, including tsunami warning system. Moreover, during the 33rd session, the General Conference endorsed additional themes for future intersectoral action, namely promotion of languages and multilingualism, cultural and linguistic diversity; media and good governance; media education; dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples; education for shared values for intercultural and interfaith understanding; preservation of digital heritage; youth violence in Central America; and action in favour of SIDS (implementation of the Mauritius Plan of Action). Another possible area is education and culture, as demonstrated at the Khartoum summit of the African Union in January 2006.

Q.21: Are there in your opinion other topics/themes that should be pursued in an intersectoral and interdisciplinary manner?

Q.22. Should UNESCO choose a small number of carefully selected intersectoral approaches into which it would invest the critical resources intersectorality requires? Which ones?

Q.23. How should UNESCO proceed in order to pursue the proposed intersectoral activities?

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Q.24. Do you support a continuation of the modality whereby a number of intersectoral projects pertaining to the cross-cutting themes of the C/4 are to be implemented during successive C/5s?

If so, do you favour the allocation of specific resources of the 34 C/5 for this purpose?

25. Mainstreaming: beginning with document 31 C/4, a new approach had been introduced aimed at mainstreaming the needs of Africa, the least developed countries (LDCs), women and youth. This implies that the demands emanating from these groups must be addressed by all sectors in all their programmes and at all stages of the programming and implementation process. As stipulated in the 2005 World Summit Outcome document, special attention will need to be paid to gender mainstreaming approaches and activities. In addition, throughout all UNESCO’s efforts, there is a special focus on the needs of disadvantaged and excluded groups and the most vulnerable segments of society. Likewise, the Organization is committed to promote a culture of peace, especially in the context of its role as lead agency for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for Children of the World (2001-2010).

Q.25: Do you favour the continued use of the mainstreaming approach as a programming principle for document 34 C/4 and its application in subsequent C/5 documents?

If not, what alternative approaches would you suggest?

Q.26: If so, what areas would you recommend for mainstreaming in 34 C/4 and 34 C/5:

(a) maintain the present mainstreaming mandate for Africa, LDCs, women and youth?

(b) Reduce the present number of mainstreaming areas and groups by dropping ________ ?

(c) Add as new areas for mainstreaming: ________ ?

Cluster 4: Delivering the programme – partnerships and UNESCO’s role within the United Nations system – improving the visibility of the Organization

26. The Organization’s reform process initiated by the Director-General throughout the period of the current medium-term strategy has brought about enhanced managerial effectiveness, programmatic coherence including with respect to global lead roles assigned to UNESCO, results-orientation (following the RBM approach), decentralisation and country-level contributions, accountability and transparency, delivery quality, intersectorality and mainstreaming performance.

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These features will need to be retained and consolidated, if not sharpened in the period of the forthcoming medium-term strategy. UNESCO’s decentralization strategy seeks to enhance the presence of UNESCO and its action at the country level with a view to strengthening its relevance and impact and to strike a balance between the global, regional and national responsibilities of UNESCO. Cluster and national offices are the principal platform for UNESCO programme delivery at the field level and the roles for cluster and national as well as regional bureaux have been clearly defined, which was taken note of by the Executive Board, in decision 171 EX/Decision 5, section III. Action at the country level is becoming ever more relevant in the follow-up to the 2005 World Summit Outcome document which calls for the adoption of comprehensive national development plans by Member States, an integrated programming and monitoring framework for the activities of the United Nations development system at the country level and special consideration for least developed countries.

27. Moreover, UNESCO’s new programme management cycle defines a common global framework linking Headquarters, field offices and institutes. It aims at ensuring a more equitable, rational and transparent distribution and allocation of resources and staff, realising synergies within UNESCO and, overall, a clearer integration of country needs and priorities, in consultation with national counterparts. The present cycle also serves to better adapt UNESCO’s global strategies to regional and national circumstances, to draw on partnerships at various levels and, ultimately, accomplish a better reflection of regional, sub-regional and national priorities in field office work plans, when implementing the C/5 document approved by the General Conference. This is of particular importance for UNESCO’s action in Africa, where it collaborates closely with the African Union – most recently at its Khartoum summit – and its NEPAD programme (New Partnership for African Development) and other international initiatives.

Q.27: Do you have any amendment to the programme management cycle – covering both the preparation and implementation of the C/4 and the C/5 documents?

Q.28: Do you have suggestions how UNESCO could best continue to support Africa in its

development efforts, especially through NEPAD?

28. The National Commissions as a constituent element of UNESCO have a critical role to play in the conceptualization, implementation and delivery of UNESCO’s programmes, especially at country level. They are also involved in the decentralisation process, developing synergy and interface with field offices, raising the visibility of UNESCO at the country level, and enhancing partnerships with civil society. Efforts will continue to be undertaken to enable them to fully discharge their role as bodies for consultation, liaison, information, evaluation and programme execution, while expanding their field of action to include the search for funding and the mobilization of new partnerships. The October 2005 “Guidelines for interface and cooperation between UNESCO field offices and National Commissions for UNESCO” are an important step in this direction.

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Q.29: Do you have suggestions for measures, initiatives or modalities that could further the role of National Commissions and enhance the interaction between National Commissions and the Secretariat, in particular cluster and national offices and regional bureaux?

29. The prospects for a measurable impact of UNESCO activities will increase with a more pronounced involvement of UNESCO in common UN system country programming exercises – aimed at attaining the MDGs – designed to respond to national priorities and needs, as defined in relevant national plans and poverty reduction strategies, as well as in support of countries in post-conflict and post-disaster situations. UNESCO will also seek to contribute to and implement measures aimed at simplification, harmonization and quality of delivery, as outlined in the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. This will involve, but not be limited to, the preparation of Common Country Assessments (CCA), United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF) with their results-based matrixes, Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS), sector-wide approaches (SWAp) – especially in education, culture and science - and joint assistance strategies (JAS) involving all multilateral and bilateral contributors and donors. Efforts have begun, on a pilot basis, to prepare UNESCO country programming documents to capture in a strategic manner the contributions envisaged by UNESCO to a country’s development efforts and to the common UN system support.

Q.30: Given the trend towards increased harmonization and integration of United Nations system activities at the country level, do you have particular suggestions for further enhancing UNESCO’s involvement and impact?

Q.31: Do you consider that UNESCO should continue its involvement in post-conflict and post-disaster countries? If so, which action by UNESCO would be in your opinion be the most effective response to such situations?

30. Given the challenges and expectations confronting UNESECO, partnerships, alliances and other cooperative mechanisms with intergovernmental entities, non-governmental organizations, actors of civil society and the private sector, are indispensable. Beyond, partnerships have the potential to be effective modalities for ensuring coherent and coordinated joint responses by multiple stakeholders to existing needs, based on a division of labour that respects core mandates and competencies of each partner without causing overlap. Partnerships can also lead to the mobilization of a critical mass of resources and expertise. UNESCO has acquired extensive experience with different types of partnerships, including public-private partnerships (PPP), in all its domains. Furthermore, it has been assigned by the General Assembly of the United Nations or by

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UN inter-agency bodies a lead role in areas, where it has recognized core competence, such as EFA, ESD, water, oceans, World Heritage, follow-up to WSIS, anti-doping convention or bioethics.

Q.32: Do you have specific suggestions for UNESCO’s partnership approaches that should be reflected in the 34 C/4?

Q.33: What kind of synergies would you see as essential to get better and more effective partnerships?

Q.34: Do you have proposals for new partnerships which UNESCO should initiate and pursue?

31. At present, UNESCO has designated 25 institutes and centres under its auspices (category 2 centres), with the full list contained in annex V. Category 2 institutes and centres, as defined in 33 C/Resolution 90, are entities which are not legally part of the Organisation, but which are associated with it through formal arrangements by the General Conference. The General Conference underlined the importance for UNESCO of ensuring a substantial, effective and sustainable contribution of category 2 institutes and centres to the implementation of UNESCO’s programme action, thereby making use of all available resources and strengthening the Organization’s global outreach and impact. This corresponds to the criteria of the overall strategy for category 2 centres, whereby their activities should make a substantial contribution to UNESCO strategic objectives and programme priorities and whereby the scope of their activities must be global or regional in nature or supported by a broad coalition of Member States so as to ensure sufficient outreach. Given their status outside the institutional arrangements of UNESCO, optimizing contributions of these centres to the attainment of strategic programme objectives may require specific approaches and mechanisms.

Q.35: What measures could be taken to draw effectively on the work and contributions of category 2 centres more effectively in the pursuit of the strategic programme objectives of UNESCO?

32. The General Conference has expressed its desire to see the results of UNESCO’s action enjoy greater visibility. The communication and public information strategy in place since 2002 has made it possible to introduce new working methods, exploit opportunities and identify factors promoting the Organization’s visibility, namely:

- a strong link between programme activities and information activities;

- more specific programming of information activities taking account of the objectives pursued and audiences targeted;

- concerted use of various tools to obtain the best impact (publications, Web, audio-visual, events, media activities, and so on) while maintaining a consistent identity;

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- systematic evaluation of achievements in visibility resulting from action taken, in order to make the best use of experience acquired.

33. UNESCO’s visibility in general depends essentially on the results of its programme activities and consequently its image in Member States. That image can be strengthened by communication and information activities that are both diversified (taking into account national circumstances) and coordinated between Headquarters, field offices, national authorities (in particular National Commissions) and any local partners. Such cooperation seems to be indispensable in order to pool available resources and ensure consistent action.

Q.36: What is your opinion with regard to the factors that could make the Organization’s information and communication activities more effective and consequently afford it greater visibility?

Q.37: How could the Organization’s visibility be strengthened locally by encouraging cooperation

between the various bodies concerned? Can they make proposals that would lead to improvements in the way the Secretariat and national actors, including National Commissions, plan and intensify their cooperation in this field?

Cluster 5: Resources (for response by Member States only)

34. UNESCO receives extrabudgetary contributions from the United Nations system organisations, multilateral development banks, bilateral contributors, foundations, civil society actors and the private sector. These contributions will continue to be a major source of support enabling UNESCO to achieve its objectives and accomplish the necessary outreach and impact, especially at the regional and country levels. A major challenge is to ensure the full harmonization and alignment between the strategic programme objectives of the Medium-Term Strategy, the sectoral priorities of the regular programme and budget and the activities proposed for extrabudgetary funding. UNESCO policies and practises, including the preparation of sectoral and cluster strategic frameworks, require to take into account available extrabudgetary resources and to indicate priority areas for which extrabudgetary support are to be sought. Document 174 EX/INF. 4 outlines a series of measures by which such harmonization shall be pursued in future. Furthermore, the ongoing recast of SISTER – integrating information on both regular and extrabudgetary programme resources – is a step in enhancing a transparent implementation, reporting and monitoring of the Programme.

Q.38: Do you have suggestions which further measures could be introduced to ensure and strengthen a coherent programming of all available resources, i.e. regular and extrabudgetary resources combined, around the approved strategic and programme priorities?

35. Determining the budget envelope is a decision of major importance for the activities of the Organization. Member States are invited to indicate how they envisage providing the necessary human and financial resources to respond to the priorities identified. During the period of the current medium-term strategy 2002-2007 (31 C/4), one biennial programme and budget (32 C/5) benefited from a 12.05% increase whereas two biennial programme and budgets were based on zero-nominal growth (31 C/5 and 33 C/5). It should be noted, however, that the adoption of the

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33 C/5 was linked to the establishment of a US $25 million fund to be fed from voluntary contributions to enhance programme delivery in programme priority areas.

Q.39: Do you prefer that the budget envelope for the 34 C/5 be based on

(a) zero nominal growth,

(b) zero real growth, or

(c)real growth – and if so, how much?

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ANNEXES

Annex I

33 C/Resolution 1 Principles and guidelines in the preparation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-20131

The General Conference, Recalling the discussions at the 32nd session of the General Conference, as well as at the subsequent sessions of the Executive Board, on the Organization’s priorities, Recalling 171 EX/Decision 30 concerning the preparation of the provisional agenda of the 33rd session of the General Conference, Having examined document 33 C/6, Emphasizing the need for UNESCO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations system, to pursue effectively its purposes and functions as laid down in its Constitution, and to contribute effectively to the objectives of the wider multilateral system, to inter-agency activities and to the development needs of Member States within its domains, Recalling the 2005 World Summit Outcome adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations and the Millennium Declaration, Considering that the Summit Outcome adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations and reflection undertaken in connection with the 60th anniversary of UNESCO present an opportunity for the Director-General to set out a vision for UNESCO and how it could be managed as a modern, forward-looking United Nations organization, together with the requisite framework, Also considering UNESCO’s mandate and its comparative advantage within the system of international organizations in its areas of competence, Further considering that UNESCO’s mission, rooted in its Constitution, should be defined in the light of the evolving dynamics of global development, Further considering it essential that the General Conference issue clear guidance to the Secretariat and the Executive Board on the preparation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy, Further considering it important that UNESCO’s programmes have clear results and contribute to genuine change in the world, Cognizant of the good quality of the Medium-Term Strategy for 2002-2007 and the important contribution it has already made towards strengthening the Organization, in particular thanks to its strategic character and its clear focus,

I

1. Invites the Director-General to ensure due consideration in the preparation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy (34 C/4) of the following principles and guidelines, which build on results-based programming, budgeting, management and monitoring (RBB and RBM) methodologies used within the United Nations system:

(a) to define UNESCO’s vision in a single mission statement, describing in contemporary

terms the Organization’s purpose and objectives, replacing the “unifying theme”; (b) to define a limited number of overarching objectives, covering the full breadth of

UNESCO’s mandate, further concretizing the mission statement, replacing the “strategic thrusts”;

1 Resolution adopted on the reports of Commissions I to V, on 20 and 21 October 2005.

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(c) to further define and operationalize the overarching objectives into a limited set of strategic programme objectives, one or two for each of the four programmes, which in turn form the basis for a limited number of biennial sectoral priorities with measurable goals, expected results and clear benchmarks in future C/5 documents;

(d) to set measurable expected outcomes for the overarching objectives and the strategic programme priorities;

(e) to draw on the full implementation of RBM, with strict orientation on results and impact;

(f) to include in document 34 C/5 a road-map, including a timetable, towards full implementation of RBM;

(g) to structure the Medium-Term Strategy in such a way that it allows, in consecutive C/5 documents, for the development of a larger number of intersectoral programmes;

(h) to ensure that due attention is paid to the improvement of the visibility of the Organization;

(i) to define the complementary roles of Headquarters and the field so as to ensure measurable impact of UNESCO’s activities at the country level, particularly in the least developed countries;

(j) to define the contribution of category 2 centres to strategic programme objectives; (k) to focus UNESCO’s general role on those areas in which the Organization has a core

mandate and comparative advantage within the United Nations system, making sure that proposed actions of UNESCO and those of other international organizations are within their respective core mandates and not overlapping with each other;

(l) to make the Medium-Term Strategy a reader-friendly reference document for UNESCO’s Member States and Secretariat, preferably limited to 30 pages, and with comprehensive summaries, as appropriate;

2. Further invites the Director-General to take into account the guidance offered by the General Conference at its 33rd session on the preparation of the Medium-Term Strategy;

3. Encourages the Director-General to make the appropriate organizational changes for the full delivery of the Medium-Term Strategy, including the introduction of structures facilitating greater intersectorality;

II

4. Requests the Director-General in the consultative process of Member States and National Commissions, which is an integral part of the preparation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy:

(a) to reflect the content of this resolution in the questionnaire to be sent to Member States

and National Commissions, as well as in the regional consultations of these Commissions;

(b) to create conditions for a high response rate to the questionnaire, among others by considerably reducing the number of questions in the questionnaire;

(c) to submit to the Executive Board, besides the programmatic analysis of the responses of Member States and National Commissions to the questionnaire, a quantitative analysis of these responses, in order for the Board to assess the extent of support for specific programmes and initiatives;

5. Requests the Director-General to ensure that views shared by a majority of Member States are all taken into account in the process of the preparation of the Medium-Term Strategy;

6. Further requests the Director-General to submit progress reports to the Executive Board at its 174th and 175th sessions;

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7. Urges the Director-General in preparing the Medium-Term Strategy to take due account of the recommendations and guidance offered by the internal and external auditors and the Joint Inspection Unit, as well as “when appropriate” guidance emanating from other internal or external evaluations or strategic reviews;

III

8. Requests the Member States of UNESCO and the UNESCO National Commissions to take this resolution into account in the process of consultation for the preparation of the Draft Medium- Term Strategy;

9. Requests the Executive Board to ensure that the above-mentioned principles and guidelines are taken into account in the preparation of the Draft Medium-Term Strategy;

10. Decides that the Draft Medium-Term Strategy (34 C/4) shall be submitted to the General Conference at its 34th session.

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Annex II 33 C/Resolution 2 Overall review of Major Programmes II and III2 The General Conference, 1. Decides to launch an overall review of Major Programmes II and III against the background

of UNESCO’s mandate, country and regional priorities and today’s global needs, which would form an integral part of and contribute to programme planning;

2. Requests the Director-General to undertake a review with a mandate along the lines indicated below by setting up a team of expert scientific representatives of Member States, inclusive of all regions, and appropriate intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations, working in close partnership with the Secretariat;

3. Further requests the Director-General to submit a report on the conclusions and recommendations of the expert team through the Executive Board to the General Conference at its 34th session with a view to integrating the agreed conclusions and recommendations into the Programme and Budget (34 C/5) and the Medium-Term Strategy (34 C/4);

4. Welcomes the intention of the Director-General to adjust the evaluation plan for 2006-2007 with a view to providing $120,000 from regular resources under the Programme and Budget for 2006- 2007 (33 C/5) for the purposes of conducting the team review;

5. Urges Member States to provide adequate complementary extrabudgetary resources in addition to those to be provided from the regular programme and budget (33 C/5), and to do so at the earliest possible time.

2 Resolution adopted on the report of Commission III at the 18th plenary meeting, on 19 October 2005.

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Annex III 33 C/Resolution 64 Reflection on the future role of UNESCO3 The General Conference, Inspired by the continuing relevance of UNESCO’s Constitution, 60 years after its adoption, and the need to re-read the Constitution in this regard to address the challenges of the twenty-first century, Guided by the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 and the 2005 World Summit Outcome document, Desirous of maintaining the vitality and effectiveness of the Organization and of enhancing its capacity to contribute to international cooperation in its domains – education, science and culture, as well as communication and information – and to the national development of Member States, Underlining the special role accorded to the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, especially as standard-setters, policy advisors, policy advocates and builders of human and institutional capacities in Member States, 1. Expresses its appreciation to the Asia and the Pacific group for its timely and important

initiative; 2. Considers it desirable for a thorough and broad-based reflection and review to be undertaken,

in the context of UNESCO’s Constitution, with a view to: (a) ensuring a succinct articulation of the core competencies of UNESCO in each of its

domains; (b) providing a clear programmatic definition of UNESCO’s place, orientations and

functions in the United Nations system; (c) specifying the policy and programmatic lead roles that have already been entrusted to or

should be asserted by UNESCO; (d) clarifying the position to be assumed and the contribution to be made by the

Organization in the multilateral context, at the global and regional levels as well as at the country level;

(e) identifying innovative measures to involve civil society in UNESCO’s deliberations and programme implementation, especially through the work of the National Commissions;

(f) specifying UNESCO’s role as a catalyst for harnessing the energy of the private sector; (g) designing innovative structures and decentralization modalities, benefiting from

synergies with existing facilities and resources, which may enable the Organization to deliver top-notch services and ensure high-quality impact and results in a timely manner (e.g. through scientific programmes, category 2 institutes, UNITWIN networks, the ASP Network, and greater interaction and cooperation with the United Nations University);

3. Expresses its desire to achieve a clear concentration of the programme around thematic issues/clusters which is aimed at the realization of attainable results, and is furthermore reflected in resource allocation;

4. Underlines the critical importance of working to ensure tangible recognition of and high visibility for UNESCO’s mission and activities so as to secure understanding and support for its mission among policy-makers, experts in various fields and, especially, among the public at large;

5. Highlights the positive impact of well-defined flagship programmes and projects with a positive track record, both in programmatic terms and in terms of public information approaches;

3 Resolution adopted on the report of Commission I at the 20th plenary meeting, on 20 October 2005.

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6. Requests the Director-General, in consultation with the President of the General Conference and the Chair of the Executive Board, to lead a global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO – using the modalities, inter alia, of the forthcoming regional consultations on documents 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 – with the Permanent Delegations, the National Commissions, nongovernmental organizations in consultative status with UNESCO, youth constituencies, including delegates to previous youth fora, and other United Nations bodies, in particular the United Nations University;

7. Further requests the Director-General to prepare for this global consultation a succinct and engaging discussion paper identifying issues, trends and challenges of relevance for the future role of UNESCO, including themes identified at the 33rd session of the General Conference and taking into account the recommendations contained in the report of the Task Force on UNESCO in the Twenty-First Century (160 EX/48);

8. Requests the Director-General to draw on the results of this ongoing global consultation in the preparation of his vision and proposals for the Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013, and to present a brief report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Conference at its 34th session.

Explanatory note: The occasion of the 60th anniversary of the birth of UNESCO has motivated the Asia and the Pacific group to discuss the question of the future of UNESCO, both visionary and programmatic, in several of its plenaries, and this was further discussed in an Asia and the Pacific working group. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, re-reading the Constitution of UNESCO to discover its probable under-utilized capacities and to elaborate on the visionary insight that was in the minds of its founders could equip us to better face the new challenges of our age vis-à-vis UNESCO. Constructing the defences of peace in the minds of men and founding that peace upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind is a sacred task which deserves continuous oversight to mobilize even further various relevant resources. The prospect of the world in front of us indicates that this oversight is indeed what we need for a more visible and effective UNESCO in the future, to ensure its original function of intellectual watchtower and moral conscience of the United Nations family.

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Annex IV

ROADMAP AND TIMETABLE FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE DRAFT MEDIUM-TERM STRATEGY 2008-2013 (34 C/4)

and THE DRAFT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR 2008-2009 (34 C/5)

(and part of the global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO) Date Action to be taken

end March/early April 2006

Finalisation and dispatch of questionnaire for 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

Secretariat prepares the questionnaire

early April 2006 Finalisation and dispatch of discussion document for global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO

Note: the discussion paper by the Secretariat shall inform the global consultation to be led by the DG, in consultation with the President of the General Conference and the Chairman of the Executive Board, using inter alia the modalities of the regional consultations – but also other approaches outside these consultations

28 March – 13 April 2006

174th session of Executive Board

Director-General (DG) reports to Board about preparations made for the 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 process as well as for global consultations on the future role of UNESCO

April/May 2006 Cluster and/or national consul-tations with National Com-missions by Field Office Directors

FO Directors undertake cluster or on national basis consultations on issues raised in questionnaire and related programming matters as well as in discussion paper

May-July 2006 Regional consultations of Director-General with National Commissions

Conduct of five regional consultations with National Commissions on preparation of 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 (as well as on the future role of UNESCO); Each consultation adopts report – with recommendations – which will be submitted to the Executive Board at its 175th session

15 July 2006 Deadline for submission of written comments by Governments, IGOs and NGOs on DG’s questionnaire

In line with the recommendation of the Krogh Commission, the deadline for the submission of the written comments by Governments, IGOs and NGOs falls shortly after the last regional consultation (which is the Consultation for LAC, to be held from 3-6 July 2006 in Jamaica); In line with stipulations of resolution 1 of 33rd GC, Secretariat prepares synthetic/analytical report, which will be submitted as a document for the 175th session of the Executive Board

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mid-August 2006 Preliminary proposals by the DG for 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

DG prepares a document containing his preliminary proposals for the 34 C/4 and 34 C/5, bearing in mind the provisions of resolution 1 of the 33rd session of the GC and the outcome of the regional consultations as well as the written comments received

26 September- 12 October 2006

Consideration by Executive Board, 175th session

Executive Board considers the preparations for the 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 on the basis of the preliminary proposals of the DG, the analytical report of the written responses to the questionnaire and the written reports with recommendations emanating from the five regional consultations; Executive Board will also receive an interim report about status of deliberations of Review Group on Major Programmes II and III; Executive Board addresses discusses 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 issues in Plenary, in PX and FA ; a specially constituted Drafting Group will be charged with preparation of two separate draft decisions defining framework for formulation of both 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

12 October 2006 Executive Board adopts decisions concerning 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

Based on the proposal of its Drafting Group and the FA Commission (on administrative and financial issues), Executive Board (plenary) adopts two separate draft decisions providing framework and policy as well as programming direction to DG for preparation of 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

end-October 2006

Publication of DG blue note on preparation of draft 34 C/4 and 34 C/5

DG blue gives instructions to Secretariat for the preparation of draft C/5, including budget envelope, guidelines for the elaboration of Sectoral Strategic Framework (SSF), with inclusion of strategy for mobilization of extrabudgetary resources; format for preparation of Resource Allocation Matrix (RAM); and criteria for the assessment and selection of cross-cutting theme (CCT) projects, should this modality of intersectorality be retained for the new 34 C/4 period/exercise

early-March 2007

Dispatch of draft 34 C/4 and draft 34 C/5

Statutory deadline for submission of draft 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 to Member States

10-26 April 2007

176th session of Executive Board

Consideration by the Executive Board of the Draft 34 C/4 and 34 C/5; Discussion in Plenary, PX and FA Commissions and by a Drafting Group

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26 April 2007 Executive Board adopts decisions with recommendations on draft 34 C/4 and draft 34 C/5

Based recommendations by its Drafting Group and FA Commission, Executive Board approves two separate decisions containing its observations and recommendations on 34 C/4 and 34 C/5, to be submitted to General Conference at 34th session (as documents 34 C/6 and 34 C/11)

October 2007 34th session of General Conference

General Conference holds 34th session and discusses draft 34 C/4 and draft 34 C/5 in light of recommendations by Executive Board on draft 34 C/4 (document 34 C/11) and draft 34 C/5 (document 34 C/6), as well as amendments submitted by Member States and considered admissible; General Conference approves 34 C/4 and 34 C/5, whose implementation shall begin on 1 January 2008.

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Annex V

List of Institutes and Centres under the auspices of UNESCO (category 2)

1. International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (INRULED), Baoding, China.

2. Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (ACEIU), Inchon, Republic of Korea.

3. Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development Centre for Africa (GCY), Lilongwe, Malawi.

4. International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES), Beijing, China.

5. Regional Humid Tropics Hydrology and Water Resources Centre for South-East Asia and the Pacific (WRCSEAP), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

6. Regional Water Centre for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC), Panama, Panama.

7. Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM), Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.

8. International Centre for Pure and Applied Mathematics (CIMPA), Nice, France.

9. International Centre for Human Sciences (ICHS), Byblos, Lebanon.

10. International Institute for the Study of Nomadic Civilizations (IISNC), Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

11. International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS), Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

12. Regional Centre for Book Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLALC), Bogotá, Colombia.

13. The International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), Paris, France.

14. Nordic World Heritage Foundation, Oslo, Norway.

15. Regional Centre for Training and Water Studies of Arid and Semi-arid Zones (RCTWS), Egypt.

16. International Centre on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures (ICQHHS), Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran.

17. Regional Educational Planning Centre, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

18. Latin American Physics Centre (CLAF), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.*

19. Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latin America (CRESPIAL), Cusco, Peru.

* Established in 1962 prior to the formulation of guidelines pertaining to UNESCO institutes and centres.

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20. International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (CIEFFA), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

21. Regional centre for biotechnology training and education, India.

22. International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM), Tsukuba, Japan.

23. Regional Water Centre for Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAZALAC), La Serena, Chile.

24. European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology, Łódź, Poland.

25. International IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.

11 May 2006

Reflections on the Future Role of UNESCO: Some Key Issues, Trends and Challenges

Discussion paper prepared by the Director-General

for the global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO pursuant to General Conference 33 C/Resolution 64

Background 1. At the initiative of the Asia and Pacific Group, the General Conference, at its 33rd session, adopted Resolution 64 entitled “Reflection on the future role of UNESCO” (see full text in the annex). In this resolution, the General Conference, inter alia,:

“6. Requests the Director-General, in consultation with the President of the General Conference and the Chair of the Executive Board, to lead a global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO – using the modalities, inter alia, of the forthcoming regional consultations on documents 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 – with the Permanent Delegations, the National Commissions, nongovernmental organizations in consultative status with UNESCO, youth constituencies, including delegates to previous youth fora, and other United Nations bodies, in particular the United Nations University;

7. Further requests the Director-General to prepare for this global consultation a succinct and engaging discussion paper identifying issues, trends and challenges of relevance for the future role of UNESCO, including themes identified at the 33rd session of the General Conference and taking into account the recommendations contained in the report of the Task Force on UNESCO in the Twenty-First Century (160 EX/48);

8. Requests the Director-General to draw on the results of this ongoing global consultation in the preparation of his vision and proposals for the Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013, and to present a brief report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Conference at its 34th session.”

2. The General Conference, in its resolution 64, also reiterated certain key principles for determining the future role of UNESCO, including:

• the continuing relevance of UNESCO’s Constitution, 60 years after its adoption,

and the need to re-read the Constitution in this regard to address the challenges of the twenty-first century;

• the need to be guided by the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 and the 2005 World Summit Outcome document;

• the desire of maintaining the vitality and effectiveness of the Organization and of enhancing its capacity to contribute to international cooperation in its domains – education, science and culture, as well as communication and information – and to the national development of Member States;

• the special role accorded to the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, especially as standard-setters, policy advisors, policy advocates and builders of human and institutional capacities in Member States.

3. In preparing the present discussion paper, due attention was paid to a host of resources, including: the deliberations of the 33rd General Conference; the report of the Task Force on UNESCO in the Twenty-First Century (160 EX/48);1 the UNESCO World Report on “Building Knowledge Societies” (2005); other sectoral reports, including the various issues of the EFA Global Monitoring Report; relevant meetings held on the future of UNESCO by the Social and Human Sciences Sector; and reports emanating from UN system organizations or independent commissions. 4. The paper restates the abiding relevance of UNESCO’s mandate (chapter I), describes emerging global trends (chapter II), and identifies challenges most likely to influence the multilateral system at large and especially UNESCO (chapter III). Chapters IV and V then place in context the reform of the UN system and the implications for UNESCO’s future role and orientations. I. The abiding relevance of UNESCO's mandate 5. This paper will demonstrate that UNESCO’s mandate as set out in its Constitution remains as relevant as ever. The basic purposes and functions, as defined in Article I of UNESCO’s Constitution are “to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations”. 6. The overarching goals for which UNESCO was established remain valid and relevant today, even though the context within which the Constitutional mission is being carried out, and consequently the priorities for action, continue to evolve and in the process open up new opportunities and challenges. Certain trends that were only emerging at the time of the Organization’s foundation – or for that matter at the time when the current medium-term strategy (31 C/4) was formulated - have since became more marked, while others have undergone a shift and certain medium- or longer-term processes are taking shape. UNESCO’s provides a platform where some of the global challenges can be discussed, if not tackled, on the basis of equality among Member States. 7. The medium term strategy for 2002-2007 (31 C/4) stipulates that the Organisation pursues its mandate by (i) developing universal principles and norms, based on shared values, in order to meet the emerging challenges in its areas of competence and to strengthen the common public good;

1 Final Report of the Task Force on UNESCO in the Twenty-First Century, “Towards peace and security in the twenty-first century: The challenges and opportunities of the humanization of globalization” (document 160 EX/48, 11 October 2000).

(ii) promoting pluralism, through recognition and enhancement of diversity together with the observance of human rights (with particular emphasis also on the right to education); (iii) promoting empowerment and participation in the emerging knowledge society through equitable access, capacity-building and sharing of knowledge. 8. Throughout its activities, UNESCO performs a number of functions for the international community: - catalyst for international cooperation - laboratory of ideas - standard-setting - clearing-house - capacity builder in Member States. The document will examine to what extent these functions remain valid in the present environment and the foreseeable future. II. Some global trends 9. Among the trends impacting on UNESCO’s mission directly and indirectly are the following: 10. The world’s population is predicted to increase by about half in the coming 50 years to around 9.3 billion and to stabilize at approximately 10 billion by the end of the twenty-first century. In many countries, because of rural–urban migration, rural populations have already ceased to grow and rural and urban population numbers on a global scale are forecast to be equal by 2006. Particularly in those regions and countries where population growth rates fall, an increase can be expected in per capita incomes, associated with a progressive fall in the number of people living in extreme poverty. While there will be a drop in the proportion of people living in poverty in many countries of Africa and parts of South Asia, absolute numbers are expected to grow, at least until 2030, if present trends continue. 16 11. The processes of globalization, affecting all societal spheres, impacting on national developments and driven by market forces, can be expected to remain the main driving force, if not a dominant mega-trend, entailing increased global flows and movement of information and communication, capital, goods and people worldwide. Yet, the unprecedented economic expansion taking place in the world today is accompanied by ever-increasing phenomena of exclusion, impoverishment and widening disparities. Globalization will bring about a greater interdependence between countries from all regions. Increasingly, the policies of some countries are likely to have an impact on other countries, creating a need for greater understanding of the nature of interdependence and of other peoples. Within each country, there will be an asymmetry between different elements of society, some who benefit and some who bear the brunt of sacrifices induced by globalization. This will give strong impetus to efforts aimed at “humanising globalisation”. If national decision-makers begin to perceive that the costs of openness – equated with globalization – exceed the costs of isolation, further globalization may well be halted. In any case, globalization will bring about a general decline in state sovereignty and in the ability to influence key parameters of state life

traditionally under the control of national governments. This may be accompanied by a shift of power from states to inter-state networks and evolving new alliances and regional or sub-regional integration entities. 12. New political and economic powers are likely to emerge and impact the global political and economic structure and relationships, such as China (expected to eradicate poverty by 2050 and increased average life expectancy to 80 years), India, Brazil, Indonesia and countries endowed with strategic resources. In the process, old categories of international relations will become obsolete, such as East and West, North and South, developed/industrialised versus developing countries. Emerging regional and subregional integration organizations and trading blocs may mature into global players in their own right. They will enjoy a comparative advantage in harmonising hitherto national policies and are capable to address a host of transboundary issues in an efficient manner. 13. The fight against poverty will continue to command center stage and it will become more pronounced in all regions. There has been progress, but far from enough. Even in “winner countries” such as China, Brazil and India deep pockets of poverty will persist in rural areas, together with continued high numbers of illiterate people. According to the World Bank, the proportion of the world’s population living on US$ 1 a day or less was 22% in 1993 or 1.2 billion people. By 2001, the proportion had fallen to 17.8 % or just over 1 billion people – predominantly attributable to Asia while there was regress in Africa the causes of which experts attribute to war, ravages of disease, an unfair trading regime, low investment flows and poor governance. If present trends persist, the poverty figures may have dropped to around 620 million people by 2015 or about 9% of world population. Success, yes – but still a staggering figure. Overall, the world is not on track neither of meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 of halving poverty by 2015 nor other MDGs for that matter, most of which are directly linked to the poverty dynamics. As a result, countries can be expected to adopt policies with better focus and sectoral targeting. The battle against poverty will be extended to a more determined struggle against lingering intra-country inequalities and fragmentations to prevent a development of “segmented societies”, drawing also on the potential of ICTs and the contribution of media, with their innate ability to capture the interests and needs of marginalised segments of societies and to focus on contributing factors to poverty like corruption or mismanagement. Africa will continue to require continuous and special attention, also in an effort to stave the apperance of failing states. 14. Education will be under stress. Most of the EFA goals – two among them MDGs - may be missed in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in parts of South and West Asia and the Arab States. The MDG of universal primary education will be missed due to demographic pressures (growth of school-age population will outgrow enrolment). and the MDG of gender parity will equally be missed (growth rates for girls would have to be an unrealistic 3 per cent per year). In 2005, 60 per cent of 128 countries were missing gender parity at primary and secondary levels by 2005. The adult literacy goal is likely to be missed in a large number of (big) countries with high population growth (India would have to increase its literate population aged 15 and

over by nearly 22 million annually until 2015 to reach with the goal, Bangladesh and Pakistan would require 3.9 and 3.4 million respectively per year. 15. The employment dynamics sends mixed, if not inconclusive signals. In OECD countries, unemployment in 1993 stood at 7.8% of the work force and the latest figures for 2004 show a decrease to 6.3%. Yet, within rich countries an increase in inequality has occurred. From a global perspective, the expansion of the global labour force, especially due to developments in Asia, has held down income levels of unskilled labor in all countries. The spread of ICTs had a similar effect. Outsourcing leads to job gains in developing countries at the expense of industrialised countries. These trends are gradually spawning a rise in economic nationalism in many industrialised countries. In both industrialised and developing countries there will be, across the board, an increase in women’s participation in paid jobs, which in turn is projected to buttress economic growth. 16. Burgeoning migration bolsters capital flows and fuels domestic tensions. International migration is set to rise from 175 million today to 230 million people in 2050 (though this nominal increase translates into a relative decline from 2.9 per cent of world population to 2.6 per cent). Likewise, intra-state migrations are on the rise: urban-rural migration trends point to the likely emergence of a world with a large number of semi-autonomous mega-cities with millions of population (the percentage of population in urban areas is projected to increase from 48 % in 2003 to 61 % in 2030), which may affect the authority and control of central governments. The challenges of managing cultural diversity within nation states and the observance of human rights of migrants may trigger debates about migration policies in immigration countries. On the other hand, developed countries with a decreasing population may offer incentives to attract certain immigrants. Migration will increasingly become a major economic factor, as migrants’ remittances are already surpassing levels of official development assistance (ODA) by more than half. Likewise, the number of refugees and migrants leaving their homes due to environmental pressures is projected to rise considerably. 17. Environmental problems by their sheer scale and gravity may impinge on human well-being and safety and may generate new forms of conflict. This may be due to the fact that the competition for scarce, if not dwindling and increasingly expensive natural resources is accelerating. Conflicts may occur over or involve land, water, mineral and energy resources – affecting predominantly developing countries -, aggravated by the impact of climate change (rising sea level, intense storms and hurricanes, continent-wide « dust bowl » effects, reduced food security). The danger is not seen so much with sudden degradations of the environment per se, but more with the consequences for human societies, that might entail famines or mass migrations. Poor countries in particular will find it exceedingly difficult to cope with the consequences of climate change. Global warming will increasingly have an impact on access to water, food security, flooding of large areas, and the health situation (e.g. the annual number of malaria cases is expected to rise from 50 million a year to 80 million by 2100). The use, availability and quality of water and related ecosystems will be of paramount importance. Currently, an estimated one billion people has no access to clean drinking water and 2.6 billion are without adequate sanitation. Water is recognized not only as a commodity, but

as a glu that binds humanity together through complex interactions – it touches on every aspect of human existence and is the basis for sustainable development and existence. Scientific and technological solutions are only part of the equation – the other part comprises sustainable water management, good governance, cultural and biological diversity. 18. The effective management of risks related to global hazards and natural disasters will become a global priority, as will be the necessity to set up early warning systems. Lessons from the tsunami tragedy and other natural disasters shall increasingly influence and condition future preparedness and readiness. Emergencies seem poised to become more frequent and larger in scale, which is partly due to the human-induced degradation of ecosystems, extremes in meteorological conditions and long-term changes in weather patterns, all of which may require fundamental adjustments in many regions of the world. 19. Technoscience will make further strident advances. For the first time in history humankind will be capable to genetically modify itself. The ethical, legal and normative limits and barriers of the scientific knowledge upon us must be addressed and defined in order to protect the principle of human dignity. While advances in science and technology, especially in the biological field, offer new hope for the development and well-being of societies and individuals, they raise at the same time novel and grave ethical questions. By developing the means and techniques to master biology through genetic tinkering and manipulation, the possibility is being created to control certain evolutionary factors and to domesticate the human race itself. 20. The processes of globalization, especially the rapid increases in the number of people travelling over long distances and in the movement of goods across boundaries and oceans, introduce new, as yet unmanageable new global security issues. In particular, they accelerate the spread of diseases and epidemics – such as SARS or bird flu – which may cause new, rapidly multiplying global health crises in the form of epidemics. The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia may have an additional, and unpredictable negative impact on economic growth in those countries affected – and on their human resource capacities for sustainable development. 21. Globalization equally affects cultural diversity, which is closely linked to the construction of a genuine cultural pluralism based on a democratic ideal that is defined by the capacity of a society to recognize individual and collective rights and to assure the full participation and representation of every section of society. Globalization also impinges on languages and multilingualism. They are essential conditions for sustainable development in all environments, including cyberspace, education systems, cultural expressions and exchanges, at international, regional and national levels. It is estimated that there are over 6000 languages spoken in the world today, with 96% of these languages spoken by just 4% of the world’s population. At least half of these languages are in danger of disappearing within several generations. Half of all languages can be found in just eight countries: Papua New Guinea (about 800),

Indonesia (about 700), Nigeria (about 500), India (about 400), Mexico (about 300), Cameroon (about 250), Australia (250) and Brazil (230). 22. Threats to peace and international security will persist. Apart from the specter of conflicts over resources, failing states may become a threat to global security, spawning new conflicts and intensifying calls for humanitarian interventions. There may as well be an upsurge in violence in many countries, in particular among the youth. New environments for conflicts may open up also in space and cyberspace. Fanaticism and terrorism will cotinue to afflict societies on a global scale and in an indiscriminate manner. 23. Transnational organized crime is likely to grow, especially within failed states. It may take the form of narcotrafficking, narcoterrorism, human trafficking, including of women and children for sexual exploitation, as well as illegal traffic – or destruction - of cultural property and may spawn tentacles around the globe, challenging the power of the state and insidiously penetrating all sectors of society and the economy. 24. The global phenomenon of aging may trigger new forms of poverty, especially in industrialized countries, such as age poverty or poverty due to shrinking or insufficient social security nets or coverage. The reproductive rates of most developed countries (such as European countries, Russia, Japan, Australia, and North American countries), but also of developing countries like China, Turkey or Algeria are dipping below the level of 2.1 children per woman, necessary to maintain long-term population stability. For one, China will have 400 million inhabitants over 65 by 2020. 25. Changes are evolving within countries affecting the respective roles of the state, the private sector and civil society. The power of non-state actors is predicted to rise, such as in the form of multinational companies and the private sector at large, global socially/rights-oriented NGOs, single issue pressure groups and civil society, mobilised via the internet or through membership schemes, youth and women groups, local government entities, professional associations and religious and faith leaders. 26. The rise of global religions and faiths is injecting new forms of social interaction and politics beyond the realm of the nation state. Trends suggest that the proportion of Christians and Muslims with regard to world population will increase, as sects and new religions will continue to spread in all regions. Identities will be influenced by a diversity of ethnic, linguistic and religious factors, which may cause tensions, within and beyond national boundaries, if pluralism is not properly nurtured and managed at the national level. 27. The information and communication revolution, comparable in its impact with the industrial revolution, is bringing about a substantial restructuring of societal arrangements, interaction and networking. It offers enormous new opportunities for social and human development and for poverty alleviation, not least facilitating the worldwide exchange of knowledge for the benefit of the greatest number, but it may equally be capable of causing new rifts and forms of exclusion. However, in the wake of technological innovations, new digital divides will arise. While Internet and mobile phone

connections will be pervasive in high-income groups in all countries, the access divide will remain in rural areas, not serviced by privatized communication companies. Satellite communications will introduce a new dynamics. A content divide is equally emerging, as more and more information will be digitized and protected by DRM (digital rights management) structures. The possibilities for harnessing knowledge and promoting its sharing through ICT-enhanced media will continue to increase in line with the rapid evolution of ICTs. New challenges to freedom of expression will arise due to the transboundary flow of information, emerging security issues and the need to thwart the use of ICTs, especially the internet, for terrorist purposes. 28. South-South cooperation is on the ascendancy. Overall, there has been an impressive growth in technical skills and institutional capacities in almost all developing countries. Apart from reducing the demand for long-term technical assistance involving large teams of internationally recruited experts, this has opened up exciting opportunities for expanding South–South cooperation programmes and facilitating an increase in cross-country training and collaborative research opportunities. It has also altered the mix of skills which countries will seek when soliciting assistance. 29. Governance, at both the worldwide and national levels, may need to be adjusted to cope with the complexity of the global problems, to find sustainable and coherent strategies and solutions and to deal with powerful national and multinational stakeholders. At the national level, demands will continue to seek improved governance through a strengthening of participation in democratic processes, the observance of the rule of law and the separation of powers, ensuring the independence of the judiciary, the adoption of effective measures against corruption, the promotion of transparency and accountability, a broadening of access to information and full respect for human rights. In this regard, pluralistic and independent media of high professional and ethical standards will be critical. 30. Flows of official development assistance (ODA) are increasing, but are not sufficient to reach the MDGs. At the international level, following the Monterrey Consensus that emerged from the International Conference on Financing for Development in March 2002, the Gleneagles Communiqué, issued at the end of the G8 meeting held in July 2005, put on record the commitments of many developed countries – including the 25 countries of the European Union, as well as Japan and Canada – to double aid within five years. During their September 2005 meetings, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank both reached agreement to cancel the debts owed to them by 18 developing countries and opened up the prospect of extending similar arrangements to many more of the poorest countries. This would mean that current levels of US$ 80 billion would indeed grow until US$128 billion by 2010. However, the 2010 target ODA level of 0.36% of GNP (currently at 0.26) would only be marginally above that of 1990. -6According to the OECD-DAC Development Cooperation Report 2005, ODA would have to double from US$ 69 billion in 2003 to US$135 billion in 2006 to fully finance the MDGs, rising thereafter to US$195 billion by 2015. This goes well beyond existing commitments and calls for long-term and targeted commitments by donors. Also, current trends like directing ODA to select post-conflict countries and heavily favoring bilateral and tied aid as well as global funds (not administered by the

UN) are likely to gain ground, thereby further eroding the financing base of multilateral organizations. 31. The UN reform process will go on unabatedly and will intensify. While the quest for UN reform has been on the international agenda for decades, it has arguably now reached a level of urgency, being pursued at the highest levels of Government and seen as a once-in-a-generation necessity. Apart from persistent efforts to bring the multilateral structures in line with new power and economic realities of a changed world, such as through better international governance and in particular a reform of the UN Security Council, the bulk of initiatives is seeking to ensure that the international development system will deliver with requisite quality on the promises of 2000 (UN Millennium Declaration) and 2005 (UN World Summit Outcome document). Concretely, this will mean realizing efficiency gains by streamlining the uncoordinated proliferation of programmes, pruning duplication and waste and enhancing the impact of operational action at the country level, yielding measurable results and preventing and resolving conflicts This means that the character of the UN system will be transformed from one that has been created to preserve peace and promote international cooperation in the wake of major conflagrations and economic depression to one that will derive its legitimacy from international cooperation pursuing MDGs and ensuring human security. Structural and governance reforms creating a group of entities around major themes may affect the present balance between specialized agencies, UN funds and programmes as well as the Bretton Woods institutions. Overall, the future role, comparative advantages and niches of all these entities will need to be re-articulated and confirmed. In that process, special attention must be paid to instilling a balance and productive linkage between normative and operational activities – which are the hallmark and strength of specialised agencies. The outcomes of these reform efforts are very difficult to predict, as Member States are either beginning or are in the middle of negotiating major proposals. Yet, the creation of new special-purpose mechanisms, such as Global Funds, outside the UN system, or resort to regional mechanisms may impact on the future role of the UN system as well as the magnitude of development funds channeled through it. Likewise, the considerable growth in institutional capacities and skills in many developing countries will require many UN organizations to change their approaches and menu of assistancer in significant ways. III. Challenges to the multilateral system and especially UNESCO 32. The perceived global trends and developments will pose immediate challenges to, but also opportunities for the multilateral system in general and to UNESCO more specifically. Some of the trends described may well have been apparent six years ago, when the last medium-term strategy was adopted. Yet, this time the emphasis and urgency is on the need to define more precisely the particular challenges in order to lay the foundations for concrete action. UNESCO needs to make timely and proactive contributions to tackling these challenges – preferably ahead of the “international activity curve”. The present chapter therefore sets out the principal challenges and outlines some directions for UNESCO’s future actions, newly to be initiated or sharpening current activities. . 20

Fighting poverty 33. In the development sphere, the fight against poverty will not only become the central focus, but it will define in specific terms programme action by all multilateral organisations. The persistence and deepening of poverty globally can and must be tackled through a better understanding of the multiple dimensions of poverty and a better focus on areas, some often neglected in traditional poverty paradigms, that can be tackled through action by the Organisation, such as education, science, especially the role and application of local and indigenous knowledge, approaches aimed at preserving cultural diversity, or the poverty-reducing potential of ICTs, including through a promotion of good governance and free and independent media. UNESCO has prepared itself increasingly, also through interdisciplinary action, to contribute to the attainment of the MDGs. One of its major contributions thus far has been the management of the EFA process and the building of requisite capacities in Member States. The publication of the annual EFA Global Monitoring Report (fed almost exclusively by UNESCO's own statistical arm UIS) has internationally been recognized as a landmark accomplishment for policy development (and a reference point for MDG monitoring) and it is likewise a starting point for capacity building. UNESCO education institutes play a unique role in fine-tuning and providing advice and training to beef up national capacities. However, much remains to be done, especially in terms of localized goals/action, and UNESCO must bring its competence to bear more visibly and effectively in delivering concrete solutions. UNESCO will be challenged to further reinforce its work in favour of women and girls, sub-Saharan Africa, the disadvantaged and marginalized populations (rural and urban poor, people with disabilities, migrants, victims of conflicts and natural disasters). 34. The needs of the urban and rural poor will be a growing concern. Uncontrolled urbanization in some developing countries means that, increasingly, there are few or no institutions and infrastructures to service the new urban populations (including in education, science, culture, communication). For similar reasons, rural areas run the risk of a similar acute neglect. There will be a need to address the specific needs of those populations, with an emphasis on urban management issues and rural deprivation. Fostering peace and dialogue 35. New approaches may be needed to contribute to peace in a growingly unpredictable, unstable and segmented world. In the current international environment, the emphasis has shifted away from the concern with disarmament in previous decades and has turned towards emphasing the value of dialogue and understanding in a world of diversity and new igorances. Given this growing international recognition of the critical contribution of dialogue to peace and reconciliation, UNESCO will need to position itself effectively to bring to bear the full potential of dialogue at all levels, especially through its educational, cultural and communication programmes. Through international cooperation, efforts will need to be intensified to portray and instil a positive meaning of tolerance as a bedrock for a culture of peace, in the fight against racism and discriminations of all sorts, and to help prevent the outbreak of conflicts in various fields, . UNESCO continues to be committed to the promotion of a culture of peace in various

ways and through all its major programmes. UNESCO will increasingly need to respond to crisis situations and their aftermath, including natural and human-made disasters due to environmental stress and intervening in weak/fragile states, especially those emerging from acute and violent conflict. The combat against terrorism has moved to the top of the international agenda. UNESCO has outlined an approach how it can contribute to this campaign (General Conference Resolution, 2001) and is following a long-term dissuasion approach through its domains. Relevant activities include the dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples aimed at re-defining the logic, purpose and modalities of such dialogue; the promotion of quality education, reform of curricula and revision of school textbooks and materials; programmes seeking to redress exclusion and an elucidation of the root causes of new forms of violence in its socio-psychological context; programmes promoting the role that media and information systems can play in furthering inter-cultural understanding; identification and tackling of new ignorances that cause new gaps and potential conflicts; and the need to promote and protect cultural diversity. In the context of the dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples broader adherence to religions and beliefs will introduce new dimensions, to which UNESCO will have to respond.

Focusing on cultural diversity and multilingualism 36. Given the importance of striving for a more open, creative and democratic world against discrimination, exclusion and fundamentalism, UNESCO will be expected to actively promote the principles of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001) and the implementation of its Action Plan worldwide. This will need to include fostering the exchange of knowledge in regard to cultural pluralism; advancing the understanding and clarifying the content of cultural rights; promoting through education an awareness of the positive value of cultural diversity; encouraging digital literacy and countering the digital divide; encouraging the production, safeguarding and dissemination of diversified contents in the media and global information networks; respecting and protecting traditional knowledge; fostering the mobility of creators, artists, researchers, scientists and intellectuals; ensuring protection of copyright and related rights; consolidating cultural industries in the developing countries, and developing related cultural policies in accordance with the international obligations incumbent upon each State. Once the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions has entered into force, its implementation will form an integral part within the system of international cultural instruments. Furthermore, linguistic diversity must be enhanced and preserved worldwide. To that end, the recognition of the importance of languages and the development and the promotion of policies in favour of multilingualism will need to permeate all spheres of UNESCO’s competence. The related strategy will have to be based on the acknowledgement of the vital interaction between linguistic, educational and cultural diversity, and the principle of equality of all cultures and languages. Of critical importance will be the mobilization of political decision-makers, civil society and private partners in Member States. Injecting ethical principles into globalization

37. The process of globalization and managing it is impossible without an ethical underpinning based on shared values. UNESCO has a unique role both in terms of conceptual approaches and of translating them into concrete frameworks, modalities and action. Human security transcends the traditional parameters of national security. The development at the regional level of ethical, normative and educational frameworks provides Member States with guidelines and best practice suggestions to tackle the manifold socio-economic problems which have already a compounded impact on the well-being of populations. In the process, UNESCO ‘s contribution to the evolution and codification of ethics of science and technology, in particular bioethics will be of signifcant impact. Other areas with ethical significance are the comprehensive approach in the domain of heritage by expanding the concept from tangible to intangible heritage; the promotion of quality education introducing ethical dimensions, such as tolerance, respect for others, dialogue or respect for diversity and world heritage ; the focus on the ethics of freshwater, which is most relevant especially in the WSSD follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 2005 UN World Summit; the ethics dimensions of the information society, highlighted at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) ; and the ethics of governance. Harnessing science for sustainable development and peace 38. Science and technology, especially from the perspective of sustainable development, will play an increasingly central role to safeguard and enhance human security (this may range from imparting and sharing knowledge about scientific and environmental processes to action through the scientific intergovernmental programmes and scientific networking) and to empower countries building their knowledge base. Water and the oceans have moved to the top of the international agenda and UNESCO is being recognized for its leadership role in these two fields. Pressures on the environment, natural resource base, biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods and ecosystems will increase and require more tangible contributions from UNESCO, in particular, through the provision of policy advice and capacity-building in science, technology and the environment. The resort to renewable sources of energy may grow due to environmental and price factors as well as the burgeoning global demand. The dramatic increase in the global demand for mineral and energy resources worldwide directs the spotlight also to the earth sciences. UNESCO being the only UN agency to pursue geology and geophysics research and training, is in a position to develop the research and capacity-building tools required in these areas. As endorsed by WSSD, the improvement of Earth Observation is a prerequisite for the planning of sustainable, environmentally sound socio-economic development. Over the next ten years, a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) will be developed by a group of UN agencies, with UNESCO being a key player. The activities are interdisciplinary and integrated and cover the fields of water-ocean-environmental earth sciences as well as natural hazards.

39. UNESCO’s natural sciences programme/s will likely be called to respond (and to be more reactive in their response) to natural disasters, threats to the biosphere and biological diversity and diseases as well as to the use of renewable energy. Emergencies and natural disasters will draw on one of UNESCO’s significant comparative advantages pertaining to prediction, early detection, building capacities and preparedness for coping with disasters and, where this is possible, prevention of emergencies, especially when dealing with threats that have transboundary or global dimensions requiring international solutions. Member States are increasingly recognizing that timely preventative action is often a great deal cheaper and less socially disruptive than allowing problems to build up to a scale that becomes life-threatening, requires enormously expensive interventions and induces massive economic losses. This recognition has to be translated into funding for preventative or preparedness measures on the necessary scale. Hence, integrated response plans need to focus not only on relief, recovery and reconstruction, but also on disaster preparedness and mitigation (e.g. post-tsunami response integrates plans for the establishment of an Indian Ocean Early Warning System and national capacity-building for its operationalization). It must furthermore be multi-hazard (landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, drought) and identify potential disaster risk areas. Contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases 40. Globalization is accompanied by the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases. HIV/AIDS, with its inter-generational and borderless nature, poses an exceptional challenge to development, progress and stability of societies worldwide and will require much more attention and action than in the past. While dimensions and dynamics of the pandemic were apparent already some six years ago, their full scope and impact have now crystallised in much sharper terms. Increasingly, the face of HIV/AIDS is a woman’s face, with women having greater vulnerability to infection due to social, cultural and physiological reasons. Young women are the most affected group in the world: According to UNFPA, they represent 67 per cent of all new cases of HIV among people aged 15 to 24 in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, young women represent 76 per cent of young people living with HIV. One of the most effective means against the spread of HIV/AIDSis preventive education at all levels - and here UNESCO has begun to make valuable contributions (EDUCAIDS) which may need to be expanded in line with the mushrooming crisis. This will necessitate innovative intersectoral approaches and a particular focus of the impact of the pandemic on women and girls. Likewise efforts to alleviate the impact of HIV/AIDS, to address the spiralling costs of HIV treatment and to intensify prevention efforts must be scaled up and refined. The resource needs are enormous: between US$18 and 20 billion are estimated to be required by 2008 from domestic and international sources to finance scaled up programmes of prevention, treatment and care. HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination must be tackled through awareness campaigns, policies and legislation. Additional measures must be taken to fight other infectious diseases, such as malaria or tuberculosis, through a strengthening of health systems and innovative delivery approaches. Promoting gender equality

41. Given the unequivocal international commitment to gender equality and empowerment of women, as expressed in the 2005 World Summit Outcome document, UNESCO must further reinforce its work in favour of gender equality everywhere and at all levels of its programme. In Africa, 1 in 2 eligible girls is not enrolled in primary schools, and 1 in 5 of eligible girls is not enrolled in secondary education. There is a need for a “mainstreaming +” approach to gender – including both activities targeting girls and women, and the mainstreaming of analysis, advocacy, policy development research and all levels of programme development. UNESCO will need to ensure that sectoral approaches, priorities and specific initiatives in all domains identify and address through concrete action the specific needs of women and girls. Building knowledge societies 42. In all domains, there will be a growing focus on global knowledge exchange, networking, policy and advocacy. Here UNESCO must capitalise on its comparative advantage – defined by its universality, its convening capacity, its mandate and advisory role in its areas of competence, its pluridisciplinarity and its ability to mobilize and interact with various constituencies – governmental, nongovernmental and the private sector. UNESCO, as a global clearinghouse and knowledge broker, collects, generates, processes, standardizes, synthesizes, disseminates, transfers and applies knowledge in a continuous cycle. The introduction of ICT innovations will open up opportunities for accelerating the flow of knowledge, making it more widely available and, often, enriching it in the process. UNESCO must follow a two-track approach : exploiting traditional technologies to the fullest and taking full advantage of new developments, maximizing the potential of ICT to contribute to the realisation of the MDGs. Moreover, UNESCO must more proactively integrate ICTs to shape the way in which the Organization conducts its business on a global basis. It must become more than a mere broker of knowledge, rather it must position itself to contribute to a clearer understanding of the priorities for scientific knowledge and knowledge management. Worldwide, knowledge societies will continue to develop and grow. As a result, there will likely be fierce competition for knowledge within a global labor market, bringing about brain drain and outsourcing. In this setting, UNESCO needs to take and adapt specific action related to its core competencies, such as issues related to the freedom of expression, access to information and knowledge, quality education, literacy and linguistic diversity. IV. The Reform of the UN System and its Implications for UNESCO 43 The UN reform process is likely to have a major impact on UNESCO’s action at the global, regional and country levels. In the 2005 World Summit Outcome document Heads of State and Government pledged to “enhance the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and credibility of the UN system” and called for reform in order to eliminate overlap and duplication in mandates and ensure stronger system-wide coherence and effectiveness. The risk for United Nations institutions is that they have too wide a spread of activities, leading to reduced impact of these activities and a

blurring of the image and profile of each institution. It is important for Member States to try to come to a common understanding of what is unique about the contribution each organisation can make. While in the past there have been incidents of mission creep by some Organisations, causing irritations or even discord among the organisations concerned, the present reform dynamics is of a different calibre : it aims at a true restructuring with potentially serious consequences for the mandate of some organisations. Hence, there will be a premium for organisations capable of articulating, demonstrating and securing their core competencies. 44. A primary objective of the UN reform is to ensure that all organisations, funds and programmes of the United Nations can make collective, strategic contributions in response to national and international development priorities, in particular internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs, the commitments of the 2005 World Summit Outcome document.and to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The central objective is to enable the United Nations to unleash its substantive, collective potential and to demonstrate its continuing relevance and effectiveness in delivering concrete results. UN organizations shall take account of changes in the approach adopted by major multilateral financing institutions and by bilateral donors, aimed at promoting full national ownership of development strategies and programmes, and national accountability for results. There will be a continued, if not relentless emphasis on effectiveness, efficiency, harmonisation and results-orientation. The pressure for formulating results-based targets, strategies and approaches and time-bound activities (including effective monitoring as well as mandatory sunset or review clauses) will be paramount. Although it may be easy to list criteria - for example relevance, efficiency and effectiveness - it is far more difficult to agree on the way they should be applied. 45. All international activity is now being designed with reference to time-bound and measurable targets and deadlines so as to allow monitoring and assessment. Statistics are the essence for this function. 46. UNESCO’s action will need to be clearly linked to the achievement of the common international agenda, through focused strategic approaches in its fields of competence, raising the level of awareness and commitment given to education, science, culture, communication and information in international fora, in cooperation with all partners, including civil society. Of all the institutions in the United Nations system, UNESCO has the broadest and most varied area of competence. That may be viewed as a weakness (in terms of dispersion of objectives and resources) or it may be seen as a major asset at a time when interdisciplinarity is universally acknowledged as an essential tool for effectively addressing the complexity of the modern world. But undoubtedly, under present constellations, the competition among UN agencies, funds and programmes will likely become more intense, relentless and less considerate of each other. 47. Specialised agencies are custodians and depositaries of knowledge in their respective fields of competence, based on a significant investment by Member States over many years in building up a wealth of information, experience, technical expertise

and analytical capacity, which makes them well-placed to provide evidence-based advice on policy and technology options, and to facilitate capacity-building and the transfer of knowledge. 48. UNESCO, in tandem with the other specialised agencies, will need to define in a proactive manner its roles, comparative advantages and scope of activities in its areas of competences. This is particularly important in areas, such as human rights, sustainable development, environment, or activities related to the digital divide, which are being addressed by several UN entities and which trigger calls for a review and realignment of mandates, structure, governance arrangements and programmes. Moreover, preserving the linkage and balance, complementarity and synergy between normative and technical/operational activities is pivotal to allow specialised agencies to fulfil their potential – at all levels and through upstream and downstream activities. 49. At the country level, all measures need to be taken to allow UNESCO to be a full contributor to the common UN effort and to attain expected results and deliverables. In its areas of competence, the Organisation will need to assume leadership roles both globally and at the country level in the framework of UN country teams and in broader joint assistance strategies of all external donors. There is likely to be a growing demand to build human and institutional capacities in UNESCO’s areas of competence in the next decade, together with an emphasis on sector-wide approaches and competence. There will also likely be continued requests for the analysis and monitoring of trends and related advocacy to serve for policy development at all levels. 50. Member States will likewise be called to adapt their practices, reform their participation and approaches to multilateral fora. They must adopt and pursue a consistent position vis-à-vis core issues, i.e. presenting and defending them consistently in all relevant international fora. V. The Future Role of UNESCO 51. In the light of emerging global trends and new challenges, adjustments and/or reinforcements will be inevitable for UNESCO’s future role, its orientations and action within the larger UN context. 52. Given the trends and challenges outlined above, it has been shown that UNESCO’s mandate as set out in its Constitution is indeed as relevant as ever. At the present juncture, UNESCO is called upon to contribute in very specific and concrete ways, discussed above, to the overarching objectives of international peace and the common welfare of humanity by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture as well as through communication and information. This then lends legitimacy to UNESCO’s indispensable role in world affairs. 53. Given the changing context, UNESCO needs to revisit and re-articulate its key functions for the international community – which are currently defined as a catalyst for international cooperation, laboratory of ideas, standard-setter, clearing-house, capacity-

builder in Member States. Special focus needs to be accorded to country level action, and to the productive linkage between normative and operational activities which is a major feature of UNESCO’s role as a specialized agency. The concrete conclusions for action by Programme Sectors will have to be captured and elaborated in the forthcoming 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 documents, as well as subsequent C/5 documents. 54. The question may not be so much “what future for UNESCO”, but “what UNESCO for the future”. Faced with a complex, rapidly changing world, and a fiercely competitive environment, UNESCO needs to develop its responsiveness, flexibility and adaptability, advocacy, ability to build multi-stakeholders coalitions, and ability to mobilize and implement extrabudgetary funding. 55. With respect to core competencies,, UNESCO has several clear advantages on which it can build its future strategic location and interventions :

• its role as undisputed global specialised agency for education, natural science, human sciences, culture and communication, providing an indispensable link between normative and technical/operational functions;

• its designation and recognition as lead agency for complex, multi-stakeholder and long-term tasks (e.g. related to EFA through its Global Action Plan and the World Water Assessment Programme, the various decades for which UNESCO has been designated by the UN General Assembly as lead agency, and the promotion of freedom of expression and media and information development);

• its ability to develop evidence-based policies drawing on the work of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and several flagship publications, such as the EFA Global Monitoring Report or the World Water Report ;

• its role as leader, manager and guardian of global lists of sites, inscribed upon request of Member States, such as for World Heritage, Biosphere Reserves or Intangible Cultural Heritage.

56. The definition of core competencies must be translated into activities in which UNESCO must attain, retain or reinforce capacity for excellence in focused and conceptually well-defined key areas, both in the immediate and longer-term, coupled with an identification of activities that could be terminated if others can do them better. This will require a determination of areas that are shared – de facto or de iure - with many other multilateral institutions, where UNESCO can only work in conjunction with other actors and where it must assert its own distinctive features, bringing its “added value” into play. 57. As the real world challenges are multi-dimensional, UNESCO must increasingly develop and deliver its Programme through intersectoral action. While interdisciplinarity has certainly progressed in recent years, much remains to be done to provide a critical mass and added value of genuinely interdisciplinary approach to many problems, that is, one that is more than a juxtaposition of sectoral efforts. UNESCO’s

mission is unique and the fields over which it distributes its actions can only be understood as parts of a holistic system. 58. UNESCO also needs to enhance its capacity to respond to immediate problems, including post-conflict and post-disaster situations while at the same time, the Organization must maintain its focus on the longer-term implications of issues. In so doing it must also respond to the wish of its Members that it adapt to their evolving requirements for services, and achieve even greater efficiency and impact in the use of its resources. 59. The country level will be a principal arena for demonstrating effectiveness of interventions and results, alignment with country priorities, harmonisation with UN system organisations and other donors. Pure up-stream policy advice may decrease in importance at the expense of concrete empowerment and capacity-development, which are considered essential for the attainment of international development goals. Hence, the consolidation and broadening of UNESCO’s decentralisation function and the adoption of country programming approaches and modular contributions to national development plans will become critical. This trend will require at least three approaches:

(a) Putting national development strategies and plans at the center of UNESCO’s country level action: this will include involvement in national programming processes (including CCA/UNDAFs, PRS/Ps, Joint Assistance Strategies) and involvement in country-level UN programme cycle that is fully synchronized with the national planning cycle.

(b) Strengthening national capacities in education, science, culture and communications – meaning by that the strengthening of UNESCO’s national counterpart capacities to manage and implement the national development process and to develop and adopt coherent and effective national policies. UNESCO institutes will need to play an important role in this process.

(c) Increasingly using and strengthening national systems (in particular in the area of sector reporting, monitoring and evaluation, annual performance reviews, progress reports) to reduce transaction costs.

60. Both developing countries and contributors will insist that decentralised action be well coordinated and integrated with that of other UN agencies, programmes and funds, benefitting from UNESCO’s involvement in global inter-agency activities and in UN country teams. Hence, action must increasingly be located at the level at which international cooperation can be carried out most effectively. It must demonstrate results and contribute to the achievement of the MDGs, manage effectively emergency/post-crisis situations, and strengthen relationships with UN organizations at all levels, enhance cooperation with regional and subregional bodies and cooperate with a broad range of other partners. 61. In terms of advocacy and global coordination functions, the benchmark for effective UN system organisations is increasingly linked to their ability to contribute to the global agenda and development goals. UNESCO will need to intensify and solidify its

efforts and timely performance with respect to several long-term initiatives – EFA (and in particular its Global Action Plan); quality education as a whole; education for sustainable development (ESD); literacy; water; dialogue among civilisations, cultures and peoples. 62. UNESCO’s Member States will increasingly look to the Organization for capacity-building assistance to enable them to participate effectively in the evolving and increasingly complex international environment. The thematic focus of capacity-building activities will vary over time and necessitate different mixes, but one of the principal tasks will be to assist Member States in the complex and long-term process of acquiring, adapting, strengthening, and maintaining capacities related to themes of major and emerging significance, including key capacities like policy-making, planning and monitoring. An increased use of ICTs will buttress these efforts. In strategic terms, capacity building will increasingly need to aim at the creation and operation of high-quality, self-sustaining institutions, which in turn are capable of integrating and offering training for individuals, and especially women, rather than supporting a large volume of individual and uncoordinated training. New modalities of cooperation and knowledge-sharing, most notably South-South cooperation, will become more important, as well as national ownership, alignment with national plans and the use and integration of national and local expertise. 63. UNESCO will need to broaden and deepen its links beyond its traditional partners in the public sector, including regional and sub-regional organisations, and to engage more effectively with NGOs, the private sector, parliamentarians, chambers of commerce, local government entities, professional associations, religious leaders and other stakeholders. In this regard, the National Commissions play a key role, providing the link between cooperation upstream with governments and cooperation downstream with civil society and the private sector. How can the Organization’s impact be amplified by developing and expanding alliances, partnerships and joint activities? How can such partnerships be used or extended to reach communities and individuals, in particular those who are still “excluded” from exisiting knowledge networks? 64. In sum, across all programmes, action will need to

• accentuate UNESCO’s role as a knowledge, learning and capacity-building organization, with an important function in identifying, disseminating and promoting best practices;

• strengthen UNESCO’s coordinating role in addressing major challenges, such as EFA, ESD, water, ethics of science and technology, culture of peace, freedom of expression and media development;

• amplify the Organization’s impact by expanding alliances, partnerships and joint programmes with organizations having similar goals;

• enhance responsiveness, transparency and communication with Members and all stakeholders and excel in media advocacy;

• focus on resource mobilization activities to increase the Organisation’s crucial contribution to development in operational and normative terms.

65. In practical terms, implementing these approaches will call for:

• consolidating decentraliziation to regional, subregional and country levels; • strengthening mechanisms for knowledge sharing and interdisciplinary

approaches, taking full advantage of the potential of ICTs; • providing flexible means of action ; • streamlining business processes, introducing greater delegation of authority and

clarified accountabilities, and focusing on staff training and motivation; • reinforcing monitoring, evaluation and oversight of all programmes.

4 66. Convinced that change is essential – in the sense of re-engineering the Organization’s programmes and its structure – the Director-General has since 2000 initiated a broad-based reform which aims to equip the Organization to play an increasingly effective role in assisting its Members in the areas of its mandate, and in contributing to the broader effort by the UN system to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs. Annex General Conference Resolution 64 (adopted at the thirty-third session of the General Conference on 20 October 2005) The General Conference, Inspired by the continuing relevance of UNESCO’s Constitution, 60 years after its adoption, and

the need to re-read the Constitution in this regard to address the challenges of the twenty-first century,

Guided by the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 and the 2005 World Summit Outcome document,

Desirous of maintaining the vitality and effectiveness of the Organization and of enhancing its capacity to contribute to international cooperation in its domains – education, science and culture, as well as communication and information – and to the national development of Member States,

Underlining the special role accorded to the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, especially as standard-setters, policy advisors, policy advocates and builders of human and institutional capacities in Member States,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Asia and the Pacific group for its timely and important initiative;

2. Considers it desirable for a thorough and broad-based reflection and review to be undertaken, in the context of UNESCO’s Constitution, with a view to: (a) ensuring a succinct articulation of the core competencies of UNESCO in each of its domains; (b) providing a clear programmatic definition of UNESCO’s place, orientations and functions in the United Nations system; (c) specifying the policy and programmatic lead roles that have already been entrusted to or should be asserted by UNESCO; (d) clarifying the position to be assumed and the contribution to be made by the Organization in the multilateral context, at the global and regional levels as well as at the country level;

(e) identifying innovative measures to involve civil society in UNESCO’s deliberations and programme implementation, especially through the work of the National Commissions; (f) specifying UNESCO’s role as a catalyst for harnessing the energy of the private sector; (g) designing innovative structures and decentralization modalities, benefiting from synergies with existing facilities and resources, which may enable the Organization to deliver top-notch services and ensure high-quality impact and results in a timely manner (e.g. through scientific programmes, category 2 institutes, UNITWIN networks, the ASP Network, and greater interaction and cooperation with the United Nations University);

3. Expresses its desire to achieve a clear concentration of the programme around thematic issues/clusters which is aimed at the realization of attainable results, and is furthermore reflected in resource allocation;

4. Underlines the critical importance of working to ensure tangible recognition of and high visibility for UNESCO’s mission and activities so as to secure understanding and support for its mission among policy-makers, experts in various fields and, especially, among the public at large;

5. Highlights the positive impact of well-defined flagship programmes and projects with a positive track record, both in programmatic terms and in terms of public information approaches;

6. Requests the Director-General, in consultation with the President of the General Conference and the Chair of the Executive Board, to lead a global consultation on the long-term future role of UNESCO – using the modalities, inter alia, of the forthcoming regional consultations on documents 34 C/4 and 34 C/5 – with the Permanent Delegations, the National Commissions, nongovernmental organizations in consultative status with UNESCO, youth constituencies, including delegates to previous youth fora, and other United Nations bodies, in particular the United Nations University;

7. Further requests the Director-General to prepare for this global consultation a succinct and engaging discussion paper identifying issues, trends and challenges of relevance for the future role of UNESCO, including themes identified at the 33rd session of the General Conference and taking into account the recommendations contained in the report of the Task Force on UNESCO in the Twenty-First Century (160 EX/48);

8. Requests the Director-General to draw on the results of this ongoing global consultation in the preparation of his vision and proposals for the Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013, and to present a brief report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Conference at its 34th session.

Explanatory note: The occasion of the 60th anniversary of the birth of UNESCO has motivated the Asia and the Pacific group to discuss the question of the future of UNESCO, both visionary and programmatic, in several of its plenaries, and this was further discussed in an Asia and the Pacific working group. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, re-reading the Constitution of UNESCO to discover its probable under-utilized capacities and to elaborate on the visionary insight that was in the minds of its founders could equip us to better face the new challenges of our age vis-à-vis UNESCO. Constructing the defences of peace in the minds of men and founding that peace upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind is a sacred task which deserves continuous oversight to mobilize even further various relevant resources. The prospect of the world in front of us indicates that this oversight is indeed what we need for a more visible and effective UNESCO in the future, to ensure its original function of intellectual watchtower and moral conscience of the United Nations family.