UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

ANNEX
to the verbatim record of the third meeting
Statement by H.E. Margrethe Vestager, Danish Minister of Education,
head of the delegation of Denmark 1
In the written part of the Danish intervention at this General Conference, I wish to add a few comments
to the points raised in my oral statement.
UNESCO’s four major programmes:
Education
Denmark believes that all human beings in the world – women as well as men, girls as well as boys –
should have access to basic education. The acquisition of basic skills, through formal schooling, through adult
education or through out-of-school learning, is a prerequisite for the socio-economic development of each
country, as well as for the development of democracy and the respect for human rights.
In the process of developing, through education, the basis for democracy and human rights, we should
ask ourselves the following two questions.
How do the democratic institutions in a country influence the education system? How can the structure
and content of the education system instil and promote democratic behaviour in its participants?
Denmark has a long tradition of dialogue and participatory decision-making in the education system. We
believe that some of our experiences in this field could inspire some of UNESCO’s other Member States, and
perhaps mostly so the countries in transition. We have taken a few initiatives to promote the process of
participatory decision-making.
Firstly, as regards the International Academy for Education and Democracy, the Danish Government is
currently considering who to appoint as members of the Board of the Academy. The government will invite
UNESCO to be represented on the Board. The Academy plans to start its activities within the first six months of
2000.
Secondly, Denmark is still interested in the further development of civic education and learning to live
together.
Denmark is also preparing to join the Associated Schools Project (ASP). We find that ASP plays an
important role as a global meeting of cultures for young people who are still at school. Through the facilitation of
virtual meetings between young people from countries all over the world, ASP can pass on the mandate of
UNESCO to the next generation.
As a member of the Council of the International Bureau of Education (IBE), the Danish Ministry of
Education is participating in the preparations of the International Conference on Education which is to be held in
the year 2001. We do so with a view to making a contribution to the global discourse on learning issues.
Science
Denmark feels that it would be wise to take a look at the possibility of closer cooperation between, or
perhaps even merge, the councils of a number of UNESCO’s environmental programmes, as has been done in the
communication sector.
Denmark participates in these programmes and has over the years been a member of the councils of, for
instance, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the Council for the Hydrological Programme
(IHP), and the Council for Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.
1
See 30 C/VR.3, paragraph 23.
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