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

18.1 Mr NTSHANGASE (Swaziland):
Mr President, Mr Chairperson of the Executive Board, Mr Director-General, Excellencies, ladies and
gentlemen, following other delegates who have spoken before me, may I first of all take this opportunity to
extend my congratulations to Ms Moserová on her election to the presidency of the current session of the General
Conference. I have no doubt that with her able guidance the General Conference will achieve its expected results.
18.2 From the outset, we wish to register Swaziland’s appreciation for the continued support it receives from
UNESCO in its fields of competence. Most commendable is the supply of solar power to one of our rural primary
schools, a commodity which will help uplift the lives of people in that community.
18.3 We acknowledge Director-General Federico Mayor’s role as leader of the Organization for the past
twelve years and in giving Africa priority in all its programmes. Our only regret is his having missed visiting our
tiny kingdom.
18.4 Mr President, the 30th session of the General Conference is taking place at a historic period, not only in
the life of the Organization, but in our lives as well. This is the last General Conference session in this century
and, when we meet next, we shall have begun the twenty-first century. As we take stock of our achievements and
misfortunes, I can only hope that we will be critical and constructive, so that we minimize occurrences of
misfortunes in the next century. The twenty-first century has been characterized as the era of knowledge and it
has been preceded by a revolutionary change in science and technology. We recognize the importance of the
interdisciplinary nature of UNESCO’s programmes in dealing with ethical, social, cultural, environmental,
economic and health issues, particularly in the natural and social sciences.
18.5 In the scientific field, great discoveries continue to be made as a result of research. Some of these
discoveries are good and will contribute to the general welfare of humankind. Some, unfortunately, are not only
ethically questionable, but can in fact threaten the natural survival of certain societal values. Swaziland fully
supports the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge made by the World Conference on
Science in Budapest this past July.
18.6 Developments in technology, particularly related to information and communication, have been and will
continue to be so swift that most of us, particularly in the developing world, can hardly keep pace. Such
developments are possible because of the pressure of prolific scientific and technological knowledge. It is in that
respect that we acknowledge the assistance that UNESCO has rendered to Swaziland in the area of information
technology development and the continued support for information and media development in the social,
economic and political spheres.
18.7 Swaziland has taken special note of the recommendations adopted in the past two years following the
world conferences on adult education, higher education, technical and vocational education and science and
technology. The need to diversify our curriculum, and especially to recognize vocational education, has received
government support at the highest level. However, we will continue to seek support in our efforts to ensure that
our educational system adequately prepares our youth, the future of tomorrow, for the demands of the twenty-first
century.
18.8 Knowledge is now the best and probably the most expensive asset in any economy. It is therefore most
unfortunate that, as some of us in the developing world continue to commit an increasing proportion of our gross
domestic product to fostering education, we continue to lose our best brains to greener pastures because of
limited opportunities for research and development. For most of us, the concept of lifelong learning is a dream
we aspire to. The realities of our present situations are, however, such that we continue to struggle with providing
adequate access to schools, providing quality education to most of our citizenry, adequate health care, shelter,
clean water, adequate food… the list is endless. Nevertheless, we shall continue to forge ahead with programmes
to develop our knowledge base and will do so making full use of programmes that UNESCO offers in this
respect.
18.9 Mr President, there is no doubt in our minds in Swaziland that UNESCO is better placed to assist
humankind in these issues, particularly with regard to the intangible products of the mind, that is to say ideas,
education, culture, art, information, communication, science and technology. It is our considered view that, as the
custodian of such wealth within the United Nations family, UNESCO should be given as much support as
possible to carry out its programmes of assistance to us in realizing our full potential. As the General Conference
deliberates on reviewing past achievements and determining strategies for the future, let us think of this positive
role and accord the support that UNESCO needs.
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