Transcript

Global Governance for

the 21st Century: A
UNESCO Perspective
Irina Bokova
Director General, UNESCO

11 April 2011

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Transcript: Global Governance for the 21st Century: A UNESCO Perspective

Irina Bokova:
It is a pleasure to be here.

10 St James’s Square is more than an address in London. It embodies an

idea and a conviction. The idea that understanding international affairs
requires also expert debate. The conviction that scholarship can add to
foreign policy and help advance the interests of societies. There are many
think tanks around the world, and many good ones. But there is nothing quite
like the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

I remember a 1997 article by The Economist that spoke of contending visions

of international affairs held by two species of men - Chatham House Man and
Davos Man. As a woman, of course, I am neither. The point goes deeper.

The article was pointing to a shift away from the primacy of traditional power
politics. The timing was important: 1997 was a high point in the decade after
the end of the Cold War.

Times have changed. The impact of economics has been underlined in the
worst global crisis since the 1930s. The ways of politics are changing – at the
national and global levels. The power of ideas and individuals has sharpened.

Events in the Middle East show the revolutionary force of aspirations for
human rights and dignity. The tragic act of a single individual - Mohamed
Bouazizi - has affected the reality of millions.

Globalization has opened unprecedented scope for contact and exchange.

People are connected and countries interdependent in ways unimaginable
before.

But, with ideas, identities and values are moving to the front of national and
international politics.

Global governance is becoming more complex. The recent article in Foreign

Affairs on a ‘G-zero World’ goes too far, but it captures the fact that global
governance is unsettled.

These challenges are felt by women, men and children. Over one billion
people live in extreme poverty. Eight million children die every year before the
age of five.

The world is less certain than in 1997; it is more challenging.

Chatham House Man and Davos Man are alive, but they have been joined by
the Tunis Blogger – of undetermined sex.

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Transcript: Global Governance for the 21st Century: A UNESCO Perspective

Managing the complexity of globalization calls for new policy mixes, for new
ways of working. States cannot tackle these challenges alone.

UNESCO’s strength lies in its power to broker new ideas - for instance, the
concept of “sustainable development” - to set standards, to bring the right
actors together for common objectives. These are a good fit for global
governance today.

UNESCO’s genesis occurred here. Our constituent conference took place at

the Institute of Civil Engineers across St James’ Park on 1-16 November
1945, presided over by Ms Ellen Wilkinson, Minister of Education of Great
Britain. The idea of creating such an organisation was born in 1942, when the
United Kingdom called regular Conferences of Allied Ministers of Education.

Many of these ministers worked for governments-in-exile from countries

under occupation. The war was far from over. Nonetheless, despite
everything, the United Kingdom was promoting international cooperation in
education as a force for a lasting peace.

UNESCO was forged by this conviction - that, when peace was won, new
ways would be needed to protect it.

This idea inspired the drafting of our Constitution. It is the idea at the heart of
the United Nations system, in which UNESCO is a core actor. Our
Constitution states that meaningful peace must be founded “upon the
intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind.”

A peace based solely on political and economic arrangements is not enough.

The Constitution says that if wars start in the minds of women and men; it is
in the minds of women and men that the defences of peace must be built.

The phrase is from Prime Minister Clement Atlee.

The first Director-General of UNESCO was Julian Huxley, the leading

scientist, who lobbied successfully to add the “S” for scientific cooperation to
our mandate.

Based in Paris, UNESCO was born in London. The United Kingdom is today
depository of the UNESCO Constitution. The Organization bears the imprint
of this country’s values and vision.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Responding to the challenges of global governance must start with values.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights drew directly from the UNESCO

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Constitution. This is the starting point for all our action and the measure of its
success.

UNESCO’s role today lies in bridging the gaps that exist in global
governance. It lies in bolstering those public goods that slip through the
cracks of globalization and that are vital for our common future.

What does this mean in practice?

It means, first, promoting the free flow of information and freedom of

expression - for which UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a
clear mandate.

These are vital foundations for open and healthy societies. In 2009, at least
77 journalists and support staff were killed worldwide while doing their job.
UNESCO stands up for every journalist attacked or killed.

We are developing the legal frameworks necessary for free speech in

Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia and Sierra Leone, to cite but a few. We have been
out-spoken to condemn all violations of freedom of expression and
information during recent developments in North Africa and the Middle East.

We have started immediate work in Tunisia and Egypt to strengthen media

freedoms through reform, support to journalism education, and pre-electoral
assistance.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This way UNESCO leads core directions of the global development agenda.
The eight Millennium Development Goals embody an essentially humanist
ambition to surmount poverty and lay the foundations for sustainable
development. These are tied to the objective to achieve education for all
children, youth and adults by 2015. It was UNESCO that launched the global
campaign for Education for All and is leading its implementation.

A basic quality education is an essential human right. It is also a motor for

economic success. 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if students
in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills – this would be a
12 percent cut in world poverty. Education is a force for equity – especially for
gender equality.

A woman’s level of education impacts on her economic and social position,

and also on her children’s nutrition and education. Education is vital for
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Women with post-primary
education are five times more likely than illiterate women to know about
HIV/AIDS.

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Transcript: Global Governance for the 21st Century: A UNESCO Perspective

Fundamentally, education is about values. It is about fostering respect for

fundamental freedoms and human rights. The importance of education was
recognized at the Millennium Development Goals Summit last September and
the G20 Summit in Seoul. UNESCO worked hard to achieve these results.

Four years away from 2015, the stakes are still high. We have made
considerable progress, including in poor countries. But 67 million children
were out of school in 2008. In sub-Saharan Africa, 10 million children drop out
of primary school every year. 796 million adults lack basic literacy skills. Far
too many students still leave school with minimal skills.

The economic crisis is taking a toll on education budgets. Development

assistance to basic education has stagnated since 2008. Aid to sub-Saharan
Africa has fallen.

These problems are exacerbated in areas affected by conflict. This is the

headline message of UNESCO’s 2011 Education for All Global Monitoring
Report - our annual benchmark report - entitled this year, “The Hidden Crisis:
Armed Conflict and Education.”

Between 1998 and 2008, some 2 million children were killed in conflicts. 6
million were left disabled. Around 300,000 children are being exploited as
soldiers. The last decade has seen an increase in the level of attacks on
schools. In 2009, there were more than 600 attacks on schools in Afghanistan
alone. We call this at UNESCO an immediate human rights crisis. It is also a
long term development disaster.

Education cannot remain the poor cousin of international efforts to manage

conflicts. It must rise on the peace-building agenda of the United Nations and
the international community. We must support inclusive education systems
that reach out to all groups and teach human rights and civic values.

We must act where needs are most acute.

In Iraq, UNESCO is supporting teacher training and the rehabilitation of

higher education. We have set up Community Learning Centres outside
Baghdad to provide literacy to girls and women.

In Pakistan, we are assisting the recovery of secondary and non-formal

education in flood-afflicted areas, and we are targeting girls and women for
literacy skills.

In Afghanistan, we are working with 600,000 learners across 18 provinces --

with women and girls as our priority.

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Gender equality raises, indeed, vital stakes. Globally, girls are more likely to
never enter primary school than boys. Women represent two-thirds of the
world’s 796 million illiterate population. UNESCO will launch next month a
new initiative on girls’ education. Mobilizing major private sector companies,
this will focus on sector-wide policy support, on non-formal education and on
the education of adult women.

Our action, therefore, works from many angles.

We provide the data necessary globally for effective policy - including the
policies of the OECD, the European Commission, and the UK.

We supply the upstream support necessary to build strong educations

systems, to create the overall framework for stronger development.

We lead from the front on key issues of gender equality and literacy.

Our position is clear. Education brings sustainability to development. It is a

source of dignity and of innovation. These are the foundations for resilient
societies and healthy states.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Culture also raises strategic stakes for the 21st century. Many have written of
the “global village” emerging today. Perhaps – but there are dangers also.

With increasing contact, we see also the rise of new tensions between
peoples and cultures. In increasingly complex societies, in cities that are ever
more diverse, the dangers are real. The fabric of society is quickly torn and
long to mend.

UNESCO promotes culture as a dynamic force that renews humanity and that
enlarges opportunities. We do this through global standard-setting. The World
Heritage Convention is a flagship for safeguarding almost a thousand sites
across the world of “outstanding universal value.”

The British people know that some things in life do not have price tags. In
January, I signed an agreement with the Prime Minister of the Democratic
Republic of Congo to strengthen the preservation of this country’s exceptional
biodiversity – especially the Garamba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga
National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, all on the endangered list.

This breakthrough matters far beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Our common heritage is a resource for future generations. It is also a tool for
reconciliation today.

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Often the first victim of war, culture can restore ties that have been broken.
The return of the Aksum Obelisk by Italy to Ethiopia in 2005 and the
rebuilding of the Old Bridge of Mostar under UNESCO’s stewardship are
good examples. The same concerns guide our work today to safeguard
cultural heritage in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

The ultimate renewable energy, culture is also a source of innovation. In

2009, culture generated jobs and income to a value of US$1.3 trillion. Cultural
industries are growing - but they need support.

This is the purpose of UNESCO’s 2005 Convention for the Protection and
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This drives our work with
the European Union to support cultural industries across 63 developing
countries. This is why we worked so hard last September for the outcome
document of the Millennium Development Goals Summit to encourage
“international cooperation in the cultural field, aimed at achieving
development objectives.”

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution on “Culture and

Development” (20 December 2010) is another important step in this struggle,
which UNESCO worked to support.

Throughout all of this, we do not waver from core values. All cultures are
different, but humanity stands united around human rights and fundamental
freedoms. These are universal, even if they are not universally accepted. Our
responsibility is to nurture societies to move in this direction.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The last decade has seen the greatest number of natural disasters on record.

2011 has already witnessed the triple disaster in Japan (seismic, tsunami and
nuclear), floods in Australia and Thailand, and the earthquake in New
Zealand. There is increasing need for disaster risk reduction, early warning
and preparedness. UNESCO plays a – largely unknown - leading role here
also.

When the earthquake occurred off the coast of Japan on 11 March, a tsunami
alert was issued three minutes later -- thanks to the Pacific Tsunami Warning
System, set up by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission. UNESCO is leading the creation of similar systems for the
Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and the seas around Europe.

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Transcript: Global Governance for the 21st Century: A UNESCO Perspective

On 23 March, we organized the first ever simulated tsunami alert in the

Caribbean. The test involved 33 countries and highlighted shortfalls to be
addressed.

UNESCO’s angle is wider than risk reduction. It includes a leading

international role in oceans observation. It involves the transfer of technology
to developing countries for sea level monitoring. In Haiti, we are assisting the
development of a coastal hazards and warning system. In West and East
Africa, we are supporting coastal management.

Once again, education is the best way to develop new ways of thinking and
new behaviours.

These goals guide our work on climate change education during the United
Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014),
which UNESCO leads.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We work with the United Kingdom throughout all of this. The government has
made it clear that foreign policy must advance British values and interests -
effectively and efficiently.

I believe UNESCO ticks these boxes in key areas.

We help to preserve and showcase the UK’s unique cultural wealth. From
Blenheim Palace to Stonehenge, the World Heritage ‘label’ is a multiplier for
preservation and regeneration for 28 inscribed UK sites. Some 12 million
people visit annually the ‘Jurassic Coast’ – the Dorset and East Devon Coast
Site. The World Heritage status draws attention; it attracts money and people.
This is also why the Government has recently put forward 11 new sites for
possible future nomination to the World Heritage List.

Our cooperation takes in also our work with the British Museum to recover
looted objects from the Museum of Baghdad. It includes our cooperation with
the British Council on technical and vocational education in countries in need.
I refer here also to the 15 UNESCO Chairs at British universities and the 3
university networks that we support for international research. Just last week,
we had the honour of presenting our Engineering Report at the House of
Lords.

UNESCO works with the United Kingdom to enhance international stability. It

is cheaper to prevent conflicts than to stop them once they have started.
There is no better way to give children and adults a stake in societies than
through education.

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Transcript: Global Governance for the 21st Century: A UNESCO Perspective

As lead United Nations agency for Education, UNESCO puts education

forward in emergency responses and long-term recovery. The largest
education programme today in Afghanistan is led by UNESCO.

Education provides solutions to reduce poverty, increase maternal and child

health, and strengthen environmental sustainability.

This is the only Millennium Development Goal systematically monitored every

year – thanks to UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report. This
charts progress and allows for better policy.

Most fundamentally, the values of dignity, equality and respect that guide
UNESCO bear the imprint of British society.

Peace must be founded on these values to take root in hearts and minds.
Battlefields across the world show the truth of this statement.

These values lie at the heart of the rules-based international order that the
United Kingdom is championing. I believe UNESCO is one pillar of this order.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am convinced that a stronger multilateral order requires effective

international organizations. This is why my mandate as Director-General
began with reform.

This reform is ongoing, deep and far-reaching. It tackles our work in

headquarters and the field. It means doing much more with less.

The recent United Kingdom Multilateral Aid Review has raised questions
about our activities in a number of areas. I welcome this scrutiny, because I
am determined to create a sharper and more forward-looking Organization.

It may be worth recalling the thoughts of theologian and political thinker

Reinhold Niebuhr, who served as United States representative at the 4th
session of UNESCO’s General Conference.

He wrote an article in 1950 entitled “The Theory and Practice of UNESCO.”

Niebuhr countered the claim that UNESCO was little more than a “merchant
of daydreams” by pointing to what he called the “tremendous significance” of
the Organization in laying the ground for lasting peace amongst states.

But, he warned, the Organization had to be judged against the right criteria.

UNESCO does not deliver development financial aid, but crafts the conditions
for development.

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Transcript: Global Governance for the 21st Century: A UNESCO Perspective

UNESCO does not itself keep the peace, but works to make it last.

UNESCO provides vital software for peace and development today.

Economists often remind us that the global community is not very effective in
generating public goods or protecting our shared environment.

UNESCO’s value lies in its international leadership to foster collective action

on key public goods in education, culture, science and communication.

These are global goals, affecting rich and poor countries alike. To take them
forward, UK influence is as vital today as it was in the past. Bringing together
the Allied Ministers of Education together in London in 1942 was visionary.
Such vision remains as necessary today as it was then.

Thank you for listening.

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