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2 UNESCOtoday 2|2005
Editorial
Dear Reader,
This illustrated magazine from the
German Commission for UNESCO is
a gift offered to UNESCO on its 60th
birthday, and to all delegates from
the 191 member states around the
world attending UNESCO’s 33rd
General Conference.
It is the first edition of the magazine
to be published in English and French
since its first issue in 1955. “UNESCO
heute” means “UNESCO today”.
Therefore, most articles of this edition
deal with current events and
challenges, including the Convention
on the Protection and Promotion of
the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,
the Tsunami Early Warning System
for the Indian Ocean, and the Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development.
But today’s event – the 60th birthday
of UNESCO – also provides the opportunity
for a short look back into
the past. Germany was not among
the 37 founding states of the organization
in 1945. Only in 1951 – together
with Japan – it became a
member and could thus rejoin the
world’s intellectual community. As
you read through this edition you will
find a number of events from 1945
to 2005 which are the corner stones
of Germany’s membership in
UNESCO.
Today, Germany is UNESCO’s third
largest contributor, behind Japan and
the United States of America. Its
voice is recognized among the world
community as constructive and open
to the challenges of economic and
cultural globalization, as well as being
sensitive to endangered cultures
and to those who remain poor and
underprivileged on our planet.
German President Horst Köhler, in his
message to this edition, emphasises
UNESCO’s role by strengthening the
peaceful and supportive coexistence
of states and nations, as a vital link
between civil societies and state bod-
ies, and as an integral and important
part of the UN system. Germany will
continue to support UNESCO’s programmes,
its objectives and its important
impact in humanising globalisation.
Walter Hirche, President of the German
Commission for UNESCO, underlines
in his article the crucial role
that civil society and the National
Commissions play in UNESCO’s mission.
In an interview, Ambassador
Hans-Heinrich Wrede, Germany’s
Permanent Delegate to UNESCO,
gives an overview over the two
years he has spent as Chairman of
UNESCO’s Executive Board.
Roland Bernecker, Secretary-General
of the German Commission for
UNESCO, writes about the planned
Convention for the Protection and
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions, one of the most intriguing
challenges of our societies today:
the balance between economic development
and cultural, social and
educational goals in a world which is
at once divided and enriched by different
nations, languages and cultures.
A world which is experiencing
global imbalances and the renaissance
of local and regional “narcissisms”,
and at the same time the
fading importance of national politics
and borders.
Peter Sloterdijk, one of Germany’s
most famous and hotly debated
philosophers, contributes in his inimitable
way to this edition a handful of
commonplaces from the globalization
debate: “Cinq lieux communs du
débat sur la globalisation”. His article
is written in French, in homage to
UNESCO’s and Sloterdijk’s – at least
temporary – host country.
This publication cannot cover all the
activities of the German Commission
for UNESCO. Therefore, it contains
only a selection of articles about other
important issues: the UN Decade
for Education for Sustainable Development,
the 6th International Project
Day of UNESCO’s Associated
Schools and the first World Heritage
Day in Germany.
All 31 German World Heritage Sites
are profiled, as well as two new German
inscriptions in the Memory of
the World Register. At the end of
this magazine a statistical overview
of the reflection of UNESCO in Germany’s
press shows the organization’s
growing visibility in the last ten
years, as well as the continuing predominance
of the World Heritage in
shaping UNESCO’s image in Germany.
All these items show that it is ever
more difficult for one country alone
to resolve the problems that affect it,
and that the famous “global village”
is not a cheap slogan, but a reality
which is challenging, intimidating and
fascinating all at once.
I would be delighted if this issue of
“UNESCO heute” captures the attention
of the worldwide readership
now attending UNESCO’s General
Conference, this “parliament” of
cultures, traditions, ideas, opinions
and – last but not least – political interests
which as a whole build our
UNESCO family.
Yours,
Dieter Offenhäusser