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

12.3 The second part of the agenda is that UNESCO should avoid political resolutions outside its mandate.
UNESCO’s mandate is suprapolitical and the development of the knowledge function should not be hindered by
short-term political interests. In recent years, targets have been set more clearly and we would like to see this
tendency continued in the years to come.
12.4 The third part of the new agenda, I think, is therefore that the Executive Board should adapt its decisionmaking
mechanisms to its rather large membership of 58. The Board should aim at improving the quality and
transparency of decision-making and always keep in mind the ultimate policy effectiveness of UNESCO’s
activities. Perhaps I should also add that the Organization gives the impression of being rather top-heavy and the
Netherlands wonders whether that is a good thing.
12.5 Fourth, the Organization might do some soul-searching on reducing overheads and improving its
staff/programme ratio. The current 60 to 40% staff/programme ratio may be adequate or even realistic but is
nevertheless extremely difficult to understand for an ordinary person in a Member State. Many people believe
that UNESCO should and can be leaner and meaner. Maybe we should invert the ratio to 40 to 60% within the
next six years.
12.6 The fifth part of the agenda should, as I just mentioned, be the importance of the knowledge function.
UNESCO is showing reassuring signs of going in that direction. Examples are the new UNESCO Institute for
Statistics, the development of early childhood education, the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme and the
World Culture Report.
12.7 Sixth, UNESCO might improve its own flexibility in response to changing demands. Whereas the
Organization is used to heavy structures, sometimes kick-starting short-term activities may generate more
adequate and applicable results. We think that consistent application of sunset clauses prevents activities from
lingering on endlessly.
12.8 Seventh and last, essential to all these priorities is UNESCO’s heightened awareness of information and
communication technology - ICT - as the medium of the future. Information and communication technology is
the only medium capable of helping to achieve a global knowledge structure, when we think of the digitization of
archives, material from universities, libraries, museums, etc. The Memory of the World programme foreshadows,
therefore, the power of future ICT developments but is just the mere beginning of a new era. The important thing
is to get all this information from the many different countries into the public domain. UNESCO should play a
coordinating role in all of that and link all the information regarding education, culture and science in all those
countries together. In that context, it is obviously important to work to a common standard.
12.9 Now, we believe that consistently keeping in mind the seven priorities of this agenda would result in an
effective and more transparent new UNESCO. A new UNESCO would therefore primarily be a knowledge
system. Of course, within this system, the ideals laid down in UNESCO’s Constitution would and should be
reflected. There can be no UNESCO programme in which promoting peace would not constitute a starting point
as well as the ultimate goal. At the same time, a new UNESCO should avoid developing far-flung concepts that
would defy practical implementation, even in the long run. Knowledge is a hard commodity with which to help
enrich tomorrow’s world and, may I add, all parts of this globe, whereas visions, while offering a compass to
knowledge development, are in a unique category: we must applaud them, and yet at the same time remain
practical. As a knowledge organization, a new UNESCO must concentrate on select priorities for the new
century. These priorities will aim at realizing a multicultural concept of social cohesion by stimulating the
debates currently developing within UNESCO’s different fields.
12.10 In the field of education, UNESCO must help determine ways to encourage the development of talent
and provide views on the accessibility of both formal and informal education. Of course, the eradication of
illiteracy must remain a central priority of UNESCO.
12.11 In the field of culture, UNESCO must continue to strengthen the development potential of culture and
contribute to the positive dynamics of multiculturalism. Through the creative powers of cultural diversity and on
the basis of the people’s heritage, a “human universe” of true tolerance may transcend controversies still rife
today. A new UNESCO will be aware of the paradox that the preservation of local culture requires global action,
I say it again, the preservation of local culture requires global action.
12.12 In the field of science, the new UNESCO must express itself on the ethical dimensions of scientific
developments. The World Conference on Science developed views on the worldwide accessibility and
dissemination of knowledge. An ethical answer to the question: who owns knowledge? remains vital if we are to
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