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

ecommendations by the various commissions and committees. My delegation is aware of the difficulties
experienced by the Board in arriving at an agreed formula for a realistic budget. Nonetheless the question of
budget ceiling should in no way ignore economic forces of price increases which affect all Member States and
affect the poor countries most. Nor should the consideration of this question be insensitive to the obvious
increase of the total contributions of Member States whenever new members join or when old members rejoin the
Organization.
16.4 Madam President, I am pleased to note that in considering programmes for the coming biennium,
aspects of the Culture of Maintenance and Solar Energy for Sustainable Development have been given
prominence. I am also grateful that my country has been chosen to play a leading role in hosting the Centre of
Maintenance for our region. In this connection, I would like to assure you, Madam President, of the unfailing
commitment of my Government to the task of coordinating this important project. My Government is looking to
the donors meeting which the UNESCO Office in Dar-es-Salaam has been assigned to assist organizing in
December 1999. We hope that the donors will be supportive of this initiative for effective realization of the work
of the Centre and its MaintNet system, which, initially, will involve Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania,
Uganda and Zimbabwe. My Government is equally grateful to UNESCO's contribution in realizing a pilot solar
electrification project at Umbuji village in Zanzibar. We are looking forward to having a similar UNESCO Solar
Village at Mangaka in mainland Tanzania. More support is also sought for realizing similar projects in other
needy areas.
16.5 Madam President, as we move into the twenty-first century, the challenges facing UNESCO are still
enormous. For example, a large part of the world's population cannot read or write. Both the traditional form of
illiteracy and functional illiteracy are on the increase. Most illiterate people live in developing countries,
particularly in the least developed countries. Poverty is equally on the increase. The question of social exclusion
and turmoil in different regions of the globe remain unresolved. In this seemingly turbulent world, Africa has
been affected most. There is the imbalance in socio-economic development among nations and people of the
world as a consequence of globalization. A new form of domination has therefore emerged, the globalizers and
the globalized. There is a growing gap in the mastery and use of science and technology. This gap and the
imbalance it has caused are widespread, especially in generic technologies, that is to say, information
technologies, biotechnology and the technology of new materials. There is the whole question of ethics in the use
and application of new and emerging technologies. Humankind has yet to learn what these technologies have in
stock for us. While we should all strive to benefit from the good side of these technologies, we should also be
cautious of their bad side effects. The human impact and implications of new and emerging technologies should
be thoroughly studied and solutions for them should be found.
16.6 Madam President, while the new developments offer opportunities to some countries, they remain a
threat to most others, particularly to those countries that are all ill-prepared in terms of human resources
development, institutional capacity-building and financial autonomy. How then can there be peace in the minds
of men and women when there is rampant ignorance among them? How can there be social harmony and justice
among citizens of the world if their development is polarized? How can there be equitable development among
nations and people if there is inadequate or no investment made to promote their development? These are some
of the questions that we should be asking. While we may not have the answers for them now, it is incumbent
upon us, through our collective responsibility, to seek solutions for them on a continuous basis. UNESCO, as the
intellectual arm of the United Nations system, is the most appropriate place and provides the right forum for
reflection on these and other problems facing humankind. UNESCO needs our dedication, support and
commitment. UNESCO is all of us. Thank you for your attention.
(Mr Wichiencharoen, Thailand, takes the Chair)
17. The PRESIDENT:
I should like to thank His Excellency Mr Ng'Wandu, Minister for Science, Technology and Higher
Education of the United Republic of Tanzania. I invite the next speaker, His Excellency Mr Jacquit Simon,
Minister for Secondary Education and Basic Education of Madagascar, to take the floor.
18.1 M. SIMON (Madagascar) :
Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Président du Conseil exécutif, Monsieur le Directeur général,
Mesdames, Messieurs les ministres, Mesdames, Messieurs les délégués, permettez-moi tout d'abord, au nom de la
délégation de la République de Madagascar, d'adresser toutes mes félicitations à Mme Moserová pour son
élection à la présidence. Elle veillera, j'en suis convaincu, avec sagesse, finesse et sensibilité au bon déroulement
de nos travaux. Je souhaite aussi aux nouveaux Etats membres la bienvenue à l'UNESCO.
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