UNESCO in 70 years: Achievements and challenges

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) enters 70 years today. Its constitution was adopted and signed today, 16 November in 1945 in London. The constitution however, came into force on 4 November 1946 after ratification by twenty countries which include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.
ROLE AND RECOMMENDATION: UNESCO is an heir to the League of Nations' International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation. At present it has 193 Members and 6 Associate Members. The organization is headquartered in Paris, with over 50 field offices and many specialized institutes and centres throughout the world. Most of the field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more countries. There are also national and regional offices. The purpose of the Organization is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations and pursue its objectives through five major programmes: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training programmes; international science programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional and cultural history projects, the promotion of cultural diversity; international cooperation agreements to preserve the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to safeguard human rights; and attempts to bridge the world-wide digital divide.
UNESCO is held in high esteem by teachers and all concerned with education throughout the world, including those of Bangladesh, particularly because of the 1966 'Recommendations' of UNESCO alongwith ILO, concerning the status of teachers which include : firstly, "Since education is a service of fundamental importance it should be recognized as a responsibility of the state." secondly, "Since education is an essential factor in economic growth, educational planning should form an integral part of total economic and social planning undertaken to improve living conditions." And thirdly, "Teachers' salaries should : 1) reflect the importance to society of the teaching function and hence the importance of teachers as well as the responsibilities of all kinds which fall upon them from the time of their entry into the service; 2) compare favourably with salaries paid in other occupations requiring similar or equivalent qualifications; 3) provide teachers with the means to ensure a reasonable standard of living for themselves and their families as well as to invest in further education or in the pursuit of cultural activities and thus enhancing their professional qualifications."
WORLD CONFERENCE IN JAPAN: The World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development co-organized by UNESCO and the Government of Japan is being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from 10 November which will end today, on 16th instant. More than 1,000 participants have gathered under the banner "Learning Today for a Sustainable Future" to celebrate the achievements of the Decade. Among them are 75 Ministers and 28 vice-Ministers and representatives of UNESCO Member States, NGOs, academicians, private sector and UN agencies, as well as individual experts and youth participants. UNESCO has presented the Final Report for the Decade at the Opening Plenary session, entitled Shaping the Future We Want.  It assesses the impact of the Decade on all levels and areas of education and draws out the major lessons for future work. The report identifies 10 key findings. Issues highlighted in the report include the need to align education with sustainable development to ensure that education supports sustainable development objectives, and that sustainable development policymakers provide support for education. Widespread, overt and sustained political support will also be necessary to make the transition from creating an enabling environment to achieving actual changes in curriculum and educator practice at all levels of education. The report calls on governments and other stakeholders to scale up actions towards a more sustainable future.
DHAKA DECLARATION:  The Dhaka Declaration on 8th September 2014, has acknowledged that in nearly five decades, since UNESCO proclaimed 8th September as International Literacy Day, the global literacy rate has increased from around 60 per cent (1960) to 84 per cent (2012). However, the progress has been uneven across countries. It said : 'We are deeply concerned, till now 781 million adults, and two thirds of these are women, are excluded from fuller participation in the development activities of today's world because they are shackled in the circle of illiteracy. We further want to note that 121 million children do not complete the full cycle of basic education and nearly 130 million children attending schools are not learning even the basics of reading, writing and mathematics. We are more deeply concerned that women seem to continue to constitute a major proportion of the total illiterate population. It is simply distressing that this proportion has remained unchanged over more than two decades. They tend to be excluded from the development processes and with limited freedom to improve their lives'.
It may be mentioned here that this year in 2014, UNESCO has observed International Literacy Day in Dhaka marking the occasion a special event. It was attended by UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and ministers of several countries, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as Chief Guest in the opening session. The event concluded with the Dhaka Declaration, which ended with: "We have to believe we have no time to lose. Let us act together and make a difference where it matters most. Let us write the future by putting learning, literacy and education first".
CHALLENGES & WAY FORWARD: Ms Irina Bokova, the present Director General, is the first woman and the first representative of Eastern Europe in the top position of UNESCO. At her investiture on 23 October, 2009, she expressed pride at this, adding: "My accession to this high office gives confidence to all women wherever they may be". She also declared: "East, west, north, south: I will endeavour to build numerous bridges between these parts, all involved in the process of globalization. Globalization calls for watchfulness because - while it liberates and helps millions get out of poverty and destitution - it also risks reducing our world of rich diversity into uniformity." She spoke of the 'new humanism': "Cultural diversity and inter-cultural dialogue contribute to the emergence of a new humanism that reconciles the global and the local, and teaches us anew how to build the world. For me, humanism means aspiring to peace, democracy, justice and human rights. For me, humanism means aspiring to tolerance, knowledge and cultural diversity. It is rooted in ethics and in social and economic responsibility. It comes into its own by extending assistance to the most vulnerable. It is at the heart of the commitment to struggle to face our greatest common challenges....'.
UNESCO enters 70 years of its existence today amid present challenges and those lie ahead. All peace-loving and progressive people irrespective of color, caste and geographical location of all the continents of the world, earnestly believe that UNESCO will make its way forward in the face of manifold obstacles and limitations.

Prof. Quazi Faruque Ahmed is the Chairman, Initiative for Human Development (IHD), a member organization of Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE)
ihdbd@yahoo.com