UNESCO. General Conference; 36th; 36 C/5: volume 1: Draft ...

▪ In order to reinforce our relationships with our key partners, I have established two new liaison
offices in Addis Ababa and Brussels to reinforce cooperation with the African Union and the
European Union respectively;
▪ The Education Sector has been restructured, for a better focus and improved programme delivery;
the restructuring of the other programme Sectors is at an advanced stage and will be announced
following consultations with the Executive Board;
▪ To enhance our visibility, I have decided to merge the Bureau of Public Information with External
Relations and Cooperation, in order to form a new External Relations and Public Information Sector.
That way we will improve our visibility, our cooperation with National Commissions and civil society
and be more effective and efficient with our publications;
▪ The Division for Gender Equality now reports directly to the Office of the Director-General in order
to reinforce Gender Equality as a global priority;
▪ The Forum of Administrative Officers has been reactivated to encourage a regular dialogue between
all members of staff and an optimal sharing of information;
▪ Finally, we are consolidating all IT strategy decisions under a new function of Chief Information
Officer responsible for knowledge and information management and ICT systems. This will allow
UNESCO to increase operational impact and optimize investment in information and communication
technology platforms.
The Human Resource Management (HRM) Strategy for 2011-2016 was developed in consultation with
the senior management, representatives of Member States and Staff Associations. Staff members were
consulted through a Global Staff Survey conducted in December 2010, in which 1,200 staff participated.
The strategy focuses on three priorities: talent management, staff capacity and an enabling environment.
The harmonization of human resources management practices among UN agencies, in order to support
and enable the new field structure and “Delivering as One” is a key aspect of UNESCO’s HRM strategy.
In the field of ethics, we have now a “whistle blower” protection system and a mechanism of antiretaliation
measures, to protect our staff members who decide to raise unethical behaviours to the
attention of management. Training courses for all UNESCO employees, regardless of the type of their
contract, are being conducted to inform them about the new policy. The Ethics Office is currently
finalizing a proposal for a financial disclosure programme to be fully implemented by the end of 2011.
This Draft 36 C/5 responds to many of the recommendations of the Independent External Evaluation
(IEE), which has put forward a number of valuable recommendations, structured around five strategic
directions. The Secretariat has already collaborated closely with the Ad Hoc Group of the Executive
Board on the IEE – and we have provided constructive input to its deliberations. Many issues of
organizational reform pertain to aspects of change management geared to make UNESCO more
nimble and better positioned. I have also called on a small group of highly regarded experts to become
part of a Senior Expert Group on Reform to advise me on change management and related issues. My
management team and I are fully prepared to take up the challenges inherent in and flowing from the
External Evaluation and to the extent possible these efforts are already reflected in the preparation of
the present document. I consider it as one of my central tasks to lead the effort to renew and revitalize
UNESCO – and to deliver more effectively on our core messages.
While the net effect of all these actions remains to be seen, I firmly believe they will lead us in the right
direction, and most of all: they are sending a clear message of renewal and change both within the
Organization and among our partners.
36 C/5 – Introduction viii