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

international community must join in establishing guidelines to prevent the unethical exploitation of technology
while not restricting its development, for example in medicine.
15.10 Mr President, the time has come to bid farewell to Mr Federico Mayor, who will soon be relinquishing
the post of Director-General of our Organization. I would like to thank him for the pleasure of working with him
the roughly four years that I have served as Minister for Education, Science and Culture. I particularly enjoyed
his visit to Iceland. I wish him well and hope that his great energy and interest may continue to be of service to all
humanity. I also wish our incoming Director-General great success. It will not be easy for anyone to follow in
Mr Mayor’s footsteps. UNESCO needs a Director-General who can provide strong leadership and take the
Organization into new fields in the new millennium. We will not be successful unless we emphasize the factors
that lie at the root of all UNESCO’s work: education, culture and science. If these factors are allowed to play a
greater part in the lives of all mankind, the world will become a better place. Thank you.
:
(16) The PRESIDENT (Translation from the Arabic):
I thank the head of the delegation of Iceland. I now give the floor to Ms Margaret Austin, Chairperson of
the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO.
17.1 Ms AUSTIN (New Zealand):
ETEWHAREETUNEITENAKOE,
E NGA IWI, E NGA KARANGATANGA MAHA O NGA HAU E
WHA,
TENEI TE MIHI ATU KI A KAUTOU KATOA
I greet this house, all peoples, all voices, all the many nations from the four
winds, I greet you all.
17.2 Mr President, may I through you congratulate Madam President, a former Ambassador to New Zealand,
on her appointment and also say that it is a pleasure for me to address this Conference for the first time as the
Chair of the New Zealand National Commission.
17.3 New Zealand greets Mr Mayor in a special way at this General Conference. He has led UNESCO for
12 years and it is clear that during this time he has played a major role in restoring world confidence in the
Organization. We have reason to be grateful to him for steering the Organization with energy and enthusiasm and
for using his knowledge, particularly his scientific understanding, to good purpose. Perhaps in the future he will
revisit at leisure the wilderness areas of New Zealand which I understand impressed him when he visited the
South West World Heritage Site in New Zealand, Te Wahi Pounamu. We wish him well for the future in
whatever he undertakes.
17.4 Now it is a pleasure to welcome and congratulate Mr Matsuura, the first Director-General designate
from the Asia-Pacific region and to say that New Zealand is ready and willing to assist in whatever way we can as
we respond to the challenges of the future and the new millennium.
17.5 New Zealand has some comments and observations to make on the challenges which lie ahead for the
Organization.
17.6 First, we endorse the vision of the founders of UNESCO when they set out their intention to contribute
to lasting peace and security in the world by promoting cooperation among nations through education, science,
culture and communication. We fully support as the highest priority for UNESCO the promotion of basic
education and literacy and lifelong education for all. The challenge is to achieve these goals for all peoples in the
efforts to raise living standards, health and opportunity for citizens.
17.7 In acknowledging this we remind delegates of the special needs of the Asia-Pacific region where five of
the world’s most populous nations are found. We urge that greater attention be paid to meeting these needs.
17.8 New Zealand also supports emphasis on indigenous cultures. We are a multicultural nation with a
bicultural heritage dating from the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori in 1840. The oral traditions are
very important to Maori and, indeed, to all the cultures of the Pacific subregion. We believe the Pacific is at the
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