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

learning of basic mathematical concepts for use in working life, in problem solving and for the necessities of
daily life; and initiation in science to the extent necessary to comprehend natural phenomena; acquisition of ideas
and development of practical skills that will facilitate remunerative activities; initiation into civic life in order to
foster participation of the population in social, economic and political activities. We also realize that there are
different learning styles to be taken into account and our teacher training programmes are being carefully
reviewed and the Standards and Quality Assurance Directorate is continually being strengthened. All these
priorities and ideas, as you will see, Madam President, are in consonance with the principal objectives of
UNESCO.
38.14 Furthermore, Madam President, although within the last four years we have developed a strong national
information network, we are worried that, despite the explosion of knowledge, the international news media,
documentation and information services remain inaccessible to many Third World countries. Considering the
forces of globalization that are creating more competitive relations, lack of adequate information about what is
happening in other parts of the global village will further marginalize the poorer nations.
38.15 Madam President, to conclude, we should be mindful of the fact that as we enter the new millennium
with the attendant tendencies of globalization, a vital way to avoid the further marginalization of the Third World
countries is to help them to eradicate illiteracy and poverty. We should all realize that the inability to access
information and to handle new technology is intricately linked to illiteracy. Working together in this Organization
will facilitate information-sharing and mutual assistance. Our prayer therefore is that the advocacy role of
UNESCO be further strengthened to ensure that multinational and bilateral corporations deal more fairly with
least developed nations to bridge the ever-widening gulf between the richer and poorer countries. This way the
impact of trade liberalization and globalization will have lesser consequences for the already impoverished
nations.
38.16 Madam President, although my time is up, I have two prayers by way of an aside. I would like, with your
permission, to put on the cap of a spokesperson for the African woman. The first prayer is to the incoming
Director-General. While African women wish him every success in the challenges ahead, I would call upon him
to reflect gender considerations in all appointments, as I said earlier on – at the level of the Secretariat, the
Executive Board, the committees and everything that the Organization is about and does. In particular, the
appointment of an African woman to the position of Deputy Director-General would be a good way to begin. I
want very briefly to inform this august gathering that I have been trying to keep statistics since the opening of the
conference. Today, in particular, out of the forty speakers only three were female, including myself. That is not
good enough. We talk about democracy, I have heard statements about good governance and about creating a
culture of peace – and this really is a role that UNESCO is playing. If the woman is left out, these would never be
a reality, particularly for the African woman. I believe it is about time we looked up and saw an African woman
sitting on the rostrum. I believe that if the African man is considered able to be up there on the rostrum, then the
African woman, too, could sit up there beside him. This is my first prayer.
38.17 The second prayer is this: given UNESCO’s resolve to improve the lot of humanity and to reach the
unreached, and in the light of the weak economic situation of least developed countries, I would want to make a
special appeal that, as we close this century, all Member States which have rescheduled the arrears that should
have been settled before this 30th session of the General Conference should have their debts waived, and then we
could all start afresh, with a new resolve to do better and probably also to review the contributions of Member
States, because if we must reach the unreached we must make it possible for that to happen. I thank you all for
your kind attention.
39. The PRESIDENT:
I should like to thank Her Excellency, the Secretary of State for Education of Gambia. Madam, you were
heard and you were understood. I now call on the last speaker for this afternoon, Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri,
Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
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