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

43.9 Ante las muchas necesidades que padece la sociedad humana, los responsables políticos no pueden dejar
de valorar la colaboración que ofrece la sociedad civil para la construcción nacional, sobre todo en la inmensa
tarea que representa el campo de la educación. A este respecto, me permito recordar aquí que, con la ratificación
de la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño, los Estados se comprometen a ofrecer a todos los niños acceso
gratuito a la enseñanza primaria (Artículo 28), y ello sin condiciones y, por supuesto, en el respeto de la libertad
de elección que garantiza a los padres de familia el Artículo 26.3 de la Declaración Universal de Derechos
Humanos.
43.10 Con gran satisfacción reconocemos que la manifiesta voluntad de la UNESCO de reforzar, renovar y
enriquecer la colaboración con los organismos no gubernamentales se ha convertido en realidad. Por ello la
OIEC admite sin reparos las exigencias que supone el actuar juntos y acepta, en la medida de sus posibilidades,
integrarse en las actividades previstas en los programas aprobados por las reuniones de la Conferencia General y
en los que se sufraguen con recursos extrapresupuestarios.
43.11 Concluyo: Ante la imperiosa necesidad de avanzar en la promoción de todos los seres humanos, de toda
mujer y todo hombre, hacemos votos por que los responsables políticos fomenten en todos los países de la Tierra
un pacto de acercamiento y colaboración con el conjunto de la sociedad civil. Sólo un nuevo estilo de relaciones,
diálogo y acción concertada ética entre los individuos y entre las naciones podrá hacer el milagro de construir
una sociedad más humana. Muchas gracias.
(43.1) Mr DELGADO HERNANDEZ (Catholic International Education Office) (Translation from the Spanish):
Madam President, Mr Representative of the Director-General, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
the organization that I represent is honoured to be given the opportunity to address this august session of the
General Conference.
(43.2) This happy circumstance makes it possible for me to inform you that our Office has drawn up its second
global plan along the lines of the strategy adopted by UNESCO for the year 2001. In so doing, the Catholic
International Education Office (OIEC), a federation of National Secretariats grouped together as five regional
secretariats representing nearly 250,000 educational establishments with over 40 million pupils, has restated its
resolve to join in UNESCO’s efforts based on the priorities established at Jomtien.
(43.3) At the fifteenth OIEC General Assembly, held in Jaipur, India, in April 1998 on the theme of challenges
facing Catholic schools in the twenty-first century, special emphasis was placed on basic education for all children
and exploring new educational opportunities for the excluded. The debate provided us with the key to the
definition of a large number of commitments, which, to list but a few, include taking the necessary steps to ensure
that our schools are accessible to the poor, with special attention to girls and young people; cater for adult literacy
and out-of-school youth; foster the democratization of education by eliminating different types of exclusion,
whether for economic, religious, ideological or partisan reasons; and make due provision for human rights
education based on ethical values, having regard to the intercultural dialogue of the future.
(43.4) Those commitments have given rise to three projects to provide education to different categories of
excluded persons. They are already being implemented in 40 countries.
(43.5) The Catholic schools established in all the continents accomplish their educational mission by using
teaching methods adapted to local cultures. That mission includes building capacities, knowledge and know-how,
and is specifically concerned with raising awareness. We therefore consider it imperative to continue our work on
behalf of young people who are still outside the school system, paying special attention to girls and all those to
whom the school system may seem irrelevant.
(43.6) Our teachers’ tireless efforts can be a source of dynamism for all. This is why we are so interested in
offering to cooperate actively with those UNESCO bodies that are concerned with education, teaching and the
search for “meaning”.
(43.7) We accordingly take part in the work done on the occasion of the major collective consultations of nongovernmental
organizations and in the joint programme commissions. We follow with particular attention
UNESCO’s reflection in the areas of ethical education, bioethics, literacy, education for human rights and
tolerance, secondary education, vocational and technical education and education for peace. OIEC carries with it
the experience of Catholic schoolteachers in all the continents and as such considers that it has a duty to contribute
its expertise as a non-governmental organization to work done in UNESCO’s fields.
(43.8) I should also like to underline the great importance that UNESCO’s transdisciplinary project “Towards a
culture of peace” has had in Catholic education. Convinced as it is that the school is an ideal medium for
conveying the culture of peace, OIEC adopted the title of that project as a slogan, and its content as a teleological
element of the function of education. In fact, if a school really teaches the pupil the rigour of reflection in the
pursuit of truth and observing the precept of trust in human beings, it will also teach the pupil to have sufficient
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