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

Organization. The Pacific region has unique problems and a unique experience. It is particularly vulnerable for a
number of reasons, the most notable being the small size of the territories, great diversity and limited resources.
The island countries have therefore worked together on many issues, some of which are starting to show signs of
success though much still remains to be done to improve our environment and the lifestyles of our peoples. In
this connection we consider UNESCO’s commitment to the Focus on the Pacific programme to be consistent
with the Barbados Global Conference. We are, however, concerned that the commitments made at that
Conference have not yet been fully adhered to and consider that the international community should take steps to
honour them.
15.7 Papua New Guinea urges UNESCO to continue to be a partner and to commit itself to facilitating the
implementation of the recommendations made by the Pacific States during the recent Consultation in Vanuatu.
15.8 Madam President, where else in the world, other than in Papua New Guinea, where the population is
about 4 million people, is there a nation that has recognized by legislation some 847 languages as a medium of
instruction in schools? There is probably no country in the world whose education system has found the right way
of dealing with a large number of languages within a multi-cultural society. Every education system has difficulty
in enabling the speakers of minority language groups to get ahead and participate in society to the same extent as
the speakers of the majority language of the system. For example, even a system as developed as that of the State
of California in the United States of America has difficulty in catering for the more than half of its population
who do not speak English as their first language. Papua New Guinea started to implement the Jomtien
Declaration in the education reform programme adopted by its government in 1993. We have amended our
legislation on education to ensure that every language and culture is treated with equal respect, because we
believe that language is culture and the loss of a language is a loss of culture. Thus the very structure of our
national education reform demonstrates Papua New Guinea’s determination to provide a solid foundation of
learning through literacy and numeracy in the diverse languages. Given the very nature of our diverse society, the
policies and programmes we have adopted are intended to meet the specific needs and requirements of our
people.
15.9 Madam President, the more we lose our diverse cultures and languages the poorer we will become and
the less our children will be prepared to meet the complex challenges ahead. In the case of Papua New Guinea,
we need to know who we are and where we come from in order to make our own choices as to where we are
going and how we can get there. Papua New Guinea has begun to weave the basic ideals of the Delors report into
its education system. We believe the report beckons us to return to the basic tenets of the art of learning, starting
with the known and building on that familiar local culture in order to progress to the unknown. It is our custom
that a village raises a child, and by this obligation we want our villages to educate our children in the next
millennium. Madam President, education is the central essential compass for charting the course towards our
destiny in the next millennium. The sovereign States of Melanesia are embarking upon similar strategies with
their diverse cultures. As a region we are moving into somewhat uncharted waters in promoting education in our
vernacular languages.
15.10 My government recognizes and appreciates the various UNESCO programmes in the natural, social and
human sciences. In this context, Papua New Guinea is pleased to report on the steady progress of UNESCO’s
current pilot project concerning sustainable development under its programme for coastal regions and small
islands. We commend and salute UNESCO and hope that it will continue to assist Papua New Guinea and help it
to establish in partnership an interdisciplinary professorial Chair.
15.11 Papua New Guinea is pleased to note that under Major Programme III, UNESCO continues to promote
cultural programmes focusing on cultural development, the world heritage, the protection of sites and
monuments, the tangible and intangible heritage, and cultural property and copyright. We believe that the cultural
heritage with all its constituents is a priceless and irreplaceable asset. Technological advancement and natural
and man-made disasters all over the world are posing serious threats to the intrinsic cultural values of our
societies. We call for concerted global efforts to protect the rich and diverse cultures of our world. Papua New
Guinea has commenced preparations for the inclusion of two cultural sites in the World Heritage List. This has
been made possible through the generosity of the Government of Japan and the World Heritage Centre.
15.12 We thank UNESCO and the International Programme for the Development of Communication for the
assistance given to us, in particular for the computerization of our national broadcasting studios and the training
of staff to use the facilities. We are also happy to report that with UNESCO’s kind assistance we have been able
to develop strategies for the implementation of our national policy on information and communication at the
recent workshop. There Australia, with whom we share close proximity and historical ties, complained of the
tyranny of distance; our misfortune could be described as the tyranny of terrain. We thank the Director-General
for releasing US $50,000 for a feasibility study on a flexible mode of delivery for distance education. This is an
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