16th Meeting of Senior Fellowships Officers of the ... - Development

Operational Issues 29
develop and reinforce the fellowships programmes and to seek cooperation with other
fellowships-awarding organizations. Since then, all subsequent General Conferences of
the Organization had invited the Director-General to increase fellowships through cosponsored
arrangements with interested donors and extra-budgetary funding sources,
and to explore possibilities for strengthening the fellowships programme through partnerships
with civil society and non-governmental organizations. Mindful of the high
priority member states attached to human resources development and capacity-building,
the Organization was able to develop the Fellowships Bank Scheme during the first
half of the 1990s and establish several co-sponsored programmes. The 32nd Session of
the General Conference in 2003 set up an Intersectoral Screening Committee composed
of representatives of all programme sectors, chaired by the Assistant Director-General
for External Relations and Cooperation, to ensure transparency, equitable geographical
distribution and conformity with the strategic objectives and programme priorities as
defined by the Organization’s Medium-Term Strategy.
101. Elaborating on UNESCOs strategy, Mr. Zaid reaffirmed that UNESCO’s premise
continued to be: People were the world’s greatest resource. Human resource development
was crucial in attaining development objectives. Capacity-building in all fields of
UNESCO’s mandate remained a top priority of the member states. In that context, the
Organization considered that training and fellowships services were important means
to enhance people-centered development. Fellowships were an effective modality for
UNESCO to promote human resources and capacity-building, particularly benefiting
developing countries and countries in transition. UNESCO’s fellowships strategy
followed two approaches: a) Building capacities in member states through the award
of short-term fellowships in areas closely aligned with the strategic objectives of the
Organization’s Medium-Term Strategy and the priorities of the Programme and Budget
and b) Increasing fellowships opportunities for developing countries, especially the
least developed countries, as well as countries in transition, financed by extra-budgetary
sources.
102. By awarding fellowships and study grants, UNESCO had succeeded in attaining its
objectives in several areas: a) Facilitating the transfer of knowledge and sharing of information;
b) Enhancing national capacity-building in areas of UNESCO programme
priority; c) Empowering fellowship beneficiaries through the sharing of knowledge and
upgrading of skills at graduate and postgraduate levels; d) Expanding fellowship opportunities
through new partnerships with member states, civil society and non-governmental
organizations and e) Harmonizing the administration of fellowships through
cooperation with the United Nations system agencies and fostering friendship, international
understanding and peace.
103. In order to be eligible for the UNESCO fellowships programmes, candidates must
pursue post-graduate studies. The criteria stated that the duration of studies could
not exceed six months and that each member state submitted two applications on the
understanding that a maximum of one award per biennium might be entertained. The