Learning for Life, Work and the Future Initial ... - Unesco-Unevoc

Page 22 Welcome Address by UNESCO Learning for Life, Work and the Future
leading institutions in technical and vocational education
and training in 138 Member States of UNESCO.
The Department of Vocational Education and Training
in Botswana, as you can see, is a particularly active
one. In addition, for many years, Ms Nganunu has
served as Chairperson of the UNEVOC International
Advisory Committee. Incidentally, another most
active network partner, the UNEVOC Centre of
Canada, has asked me to announce a new initiative
“Learning to Learn”, which I will happily do later this
week.
UNESCO’s joint sponsorship of the initiative
“Learning for Life, Work and the Future” is a visible
expression of our commitment to promote subregional
co-operation in technical and vocational education and
training, with the ultimate objective of serving the
needs of citizens in the Southern African region.
Acknowledgements
My colleagues and myself at the International Centre
for Technical and Vocational Education and Training
in Bonn, which is the partner of the Government of
Botswana in this initiative, were particularly pleased to
collaborate closely with the Director the Department of
Vocational Education and Training. It has been highly
stimulating to work with her for the last few months,
and to benefit from her professional leadership. We
have had the privilege to work with Mr Kewagamang
at the UNESCO Centre in Bonn for several weeks, but
we also know that my colleague Ms Mitschke, who has
promoted this initiative so effectively, cannot be with
us this week. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to
all those who, through their dedicated work, have made
it possible to launch this initiative within a very short
period of time.
I wish to thank all of the participants who have responded
to the Call for Papers, and contributed to the
rich documentation that will enhance our work in the
course of the week. My thanks go likewise to Mr
Swartland for the excellent Main Working Document
that he has prepared.
We are grateful to the Ministry of Education of
Botswana as well as to the German Federal Ministry
for Economic Co-operation and Development, who
have contributed substantial resources to this workshop.
Last but not least, I wish to convey to you the warmest
regards of the Director of UNESCO’s Office in Dakar,
Mr Parsuramen, whose responsibility is the development
of Education in Africa. He has expressed his
keen interest in the results of this workshop, and he is
looking forward to supporting follow-up action that
will emerge from this workshop.
Final Remarks
I wish all of you a stimulating and productive workshop
that is expected to come up with new initiatives
for co-operation among your countries in technical and
vocational education and training, and that will hopefully
have a positive impact on human resource development
in all of your countries.
Ke itumetse bomma le borra. Pula!