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

35.4 In Saint Kitts and Nevis our emphasis is on education and this emphasis is directed towards ensuring
that there are educational opportunities for all our people. Our government perceives that the path to
development lies in the education of our people. We have at the moment achieved the position of universal
access to primary and secondary education and our Federation enjoys a functional literacy rate, according to the
records, of over 97%. In addition, at the tertiary level our Clarence Fitzroy Brian college has recently introduced
Level 1 of the University of the West Indies undergraduate programmes. What this means is that our students can
remain at home and complete the first year of university. This serves to reduce the financial burden on
themselves, on their parents and on the government.
35.5 At the moment our emphasis is on technical and vocational education and on information technology.
These are critical areas that need diligent nurturing over the next few years. We are a small country and our
capacity to compete effectively in the global market-place is negatively affected by the international economic
and geopolitical environments. This is why we believe that education is so important and we believe that
UNESCO must support all of our programmes, for in doing so it will make substantial contributions to the
development of our region.
35.6 On the question of culture we are presently preparing to host CARIFESTA 2000. This is a major
regional cultural event which will bring together many participants from the region who will showcase our
countries’ diverse cultures and indeed it gives us a good opportunity to show our individual creativity to the
region. We wish to thank UNESCO for the assistance given so far and we look forward to the additional
assistance which was promised as we move to make CARIFESTA 2000 a major success for the region.
35.7 With respect to the programmes in the Caribbean we expect to see greater interest and attention being
given to the development of the region. We believe firmly that our special project styled “Focus on the
Caribbean” is important and we urge UNESCO to pay special attention to this project and to support the aims,
objectives and programmes of this special project. We are a small State, and small island States such as ours
experience severe pressures on their resources. Environmental protection, marine protection, economic viability
and social advancement are all important to the people of the Caribbean.
35.8 In conclusion, Madam President, let me urge all of us at the dawn of a new century to recommit
ourselves to the ideals of UNESCO and to continue to work together to achieve these ideals, bearing in mind the
global context within which we all must work, economic and social issues and, of course, the aspirations of our
peoples. May I take this opportunity to wish this 30th session of the General Conference every success. May God
bless you all and I thank you for your patience and attention.
36.1 The PRESIDENT:
I thank the Minister for Education of Saint Kitts and Nevis for his intervention. I also wish him great
success for the Caribbean festival of art, which will underline the richness of the multicoloured reality of his
country and region.
(The speaker continues in Spanish)
36.2 Hemos llegado al término de la lista de participantes en el debate de política general del día de hoy. Les
deseo a todos ustedes un feliz fin de semana, merecido descanso después de estas trabajosas sesiones de la
primera semana de esta reunión de la Conferencia. Muchas gracias. Se levanta la sesión.
(36.2) We have now come to the end of today’s list of speakers in the general policy debate. I wish you all a
pleasant weekend and a well-deserved rest after the hard-working meetings of this first week of the General
Conference. Thank you very much. The meeting is adjourned.
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La séance est levée à 12 h.50
The meeting rose at 12.50 p.m.
Se levanta la sesión a las 12.50
Заседание закрывается в 12.50