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

14.4 It was the present Director-General himself, in his vision and concern, who supported for the Caribbean
the holding of the one-day event entitled “Focus on the Caribbean” following on the success of “Focus on the
Pacific”. As we “Focus on the Caribbean” and its needs and priorities, we emphasize our deep and abiding
interest in education for a sustainable future. Education is the undeniable basis of all development and welleducated
citizens of both sexes are a prerequisite for sustainable development. The growing problem of male
students, under-performing and showing little interest in high academic achievement, must be addressed and
addressed quickly and effectively in our region. Indeed, in consonance with Major Programme II of the Draft
Programme and Budget, we are urgently working to eradicate illiteracy - in the case of Guyana, functional
illiteracy. We are conscious of the close and important relationship between basic education and the world of
work. The economic consequence of a widespread lack of basic education and functional literacy is poverty.
Poverty brings discontent and, more often than not, social unrest. The present emphasis on primary education is
both timely and relevant, if poverty is to be eradicated and a higher standard of living acquired. It is agreed that
achieving literacy is a process of acquiring also a certain cultural competence.
14.5 In addition to improving literacy performance, we need to educate for entrepreneurship in the interest of
economic development. To prepare young people to face the challenges of the new millennium, training in the
use of the new technologies is a priority. Competence in the use of information technologies will provide new
access to learning opportunities that can be of great benefit to our countries and will eliminate the problems of
distance.
14.6 The role of culture in development is gradually being recognized and both the promotion of cultural
industries and the protection of the natural and cultural heritage must be seen as economic resources. For these
resources to become a reality, however, there must be training in relevant production, training in management
and marketing, and for this training financial assistance is being sought. There is a wealth of creativity among our
indigenous peoples and their crafts, their traditions, their dances and music must be preserved. Also to be
preserved are the art, craft, music, traditions, and general creativity of the other races that comprise the rich
tapestry of our Caribbean region, the Africans, the Indians, the Chinese, the Portuguese, the Europeans. Of all
these rich cultures, we must create unity in diversity for the enrichment of all and do so, we hope, with the help of
UNESCO.
14.7 The domination of the national and regional culture and cultural values through the electronic media is a
real threat in our region and must be countered by a strong, consistent promotion of our own. The very media that
can threaten our culture can, through their free flow of information and dissemination of information, improve
knowledge and help to solve current problems. The media play an important role, for example, during natural
disasters, to which so many of our States are vulnerable, in promoting policies, in influencing values and in
disseminating information generally. Wide and in-depth training is the key to the empowerment of youth and
communication must not be underestimated.
14.8 The Caribbean region urgently seeks support for the special project “Human development for
sustainable living in the Caribbean”, an intersectoral project which is intended to address issues pertaining to
youth, to foster creativity, the participation of civil society, managing diversity, alleviating poverty and making
the Caribbean a zone of peace and democracy. The strengthening and expansion of the Associated Schools
Project and the Caribbean Sea Project provide an opportunity for the young to play a greater role in the
preservation of their environment, the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage and the promotion of
UNESCO’s ideals of peace and tolerance. UNESCO Clubs and Associations play an increasingly important role
today and must be empowered to bring the ideals of UNESCO to even greater numbers of young people.
14.9 Greater financial and human resources are needed for the efficient running of the UNESCO Offices of
the region - in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The very good work they are doing with such
limited resources would be greatly expanded and enhanced if adequate resources were provided. National
Commissions are described as key partners of UNESCO. They need to be strengthened in terms of training of
new staff and provision of equipment for electronic networking, as was proposed at our regional conference in
Argentina. The high status of the Secretary-General of the National Commission must be assured and equated to
that of Officers performing similar functions in other United Nations agencies. Madam President, of the greatest
significance within the National Commission is the Participation Programme, and it is hoped that a proposal put
forward both at the 11th Regional Meeting of National Commissions and at the 29th session of the General
Conference in Paris, if implemented, would enable the National Commission to assist a wider range of persons or
institutions.
14.10 In recent times only a few projects have been funded for each Member State by UNESCO. The proposal
is that when maximum funding is granted for an additional project it should not be allocated to a single project
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