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

mutual respect of cultures, civil security and cultural security. Here we are paying tribute to Mr Mayor after his
12 years of service to this Organization, to a man who combines poetic and humanistic tastes with a scientific
outlook. I remember the famous book called The Two Cultures, by the British author C.P. Snow, which spoke of
the danger our society would face if it kept these two cultures separated. Here in UNESCO we have seen how
Mr Mayor is a scientist impressed by the written works of Heraclitus and at the same time a poet, a man with the
sensitivity of a poet and the objectivity of a scientist. You can see from his poetry how he has become more and
more radical from one book to the next, especially when he sees the misery of people around the world,
especially that of women and children, especially that of young girls. I think that all of us, and I am talking also
on behalf of the Asia-Pacific region, will recognize, indeed has already recognized, his open spirit, his warmth
and his readiness to listen. I know that he is leaving us as the Director-General of UNESCO but we are sure that
he will remain the permanent representative of UNESCO throughout the world.
14.2 During Mr Mayor’s reign many things have happened in our world, especially the great expansion of the
field of communication. Many countries gained their independence during his reign and he helped to bring them
into the international community as far as UNESCO’s fields of competence were concerned. New topics such as
bioethics were introduced. He warned the international community concerning the expansion of the Internet and
of science; and he stressed the need for scientific ethics, for bioethics, and warned us of the need for control over
scientific progress in this framework.
14.3 We know that the main goal of UNESCO as expressed in its Constitution is that “Since wars begin in the
minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”. His work for a culture of
peace, for an International Year for the Culture of Peace in 2000, epitomized what he wanted to do here and
constitutes a big step towards the realization of UNESCO’s ideals. In developed countries, it is possible that the
question of war and peace now belongs to history but in the developing world it is a matter of daily life and all of
us, especially in developing countries, realize the importance of his efforts to promote a culture of peace. The
designation of the year 2000 for this big goal and support for the idea of dialogue within UNESCO for the United
Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations in the year 2001, the conceptual relation between that dialogue
among civilizations and the culture of peace owes a lot to Mr Mayor’s role.
14.4 We know that this Organization was founded years ago in the wake of the war, but we know that after
the war many problems remained unsolved. We also know that many other wars have broken out around the
world for the same reasons as caused the Second World War. So UNESCO’s aims are indeed becoming
increasingly necessary and Mr Mayor has done a lot to make UNESCO visible in this very important task. His
personal charisma exuded a positive energy throughout his time at UNESCO. He is a man of vision who has laid
a solid foundation for UNESCO to enter the next century. As a result of your work, Mr Mayor, many declarations
on new topics such as bioethics, a very important declaration on the human genome and a great many documents
about education, culture and science have been created. The developing countries, Mr Mayor, consider you not
just as the Director-General of UNESCO but as a friend. You have shown the independence of UNESCO more
and more in regard to the needs felt by developing countries. It is not so easy to manage about 190 Members of
the Organization and 58 Members of its Executive Board. True, most strong leaders are bound to break moulds:
if we want to respect the spirit of UNESCO’s Constitution we cannot imprison ourselves in bureaucratic
approaches. I think Mr Mayor has always been mindful of UNESCO’s ideals as manifested in the Constitution.
UNESCO has acted as a thermometer that reveals the temperature around the world and gauges the closeness to
or deviation from its ideals, and has been ready to react as necessary with press releases and other activities.
14.5 Mr Mayor brought civil society to UNESCO. He gave a gift to governments because he helped
governments in what they wished to do through civil society, and we thank him for what he did. He attracted
financial resources as well as reconciling governments and civil society. Perhaps one of the most distinguishing
features of Dr Mayor’s personality is that through thick or thin he never seems to be discouraged by either people
or events. He appears unflappable. I envy him and have told him so on several occasions. I do not think he
believed me. He was wrong not to believe me. As a poet he had - and has - the art of presenting us with a new
puzzle and, where a puzzle usually causes confusion by creating further puzzles, he would find a way of calming
the situation. And this is an art, to give us space to find a solution. His mother, as he has told us on occasion,
taught him that you must never accept the unacceptable. That belief probably turned him into a rebel. His
rebellious nature finds expression whenever he is faced with illiteracy - not to be confused of course with
knowledge, as he often tells us - and also poverty, discrimination or the unfair burden laid on the shoulders of
women in so many countries. He has also helped to put often unpopular issues on the global map for ordinary
people: the need for freedom of expression in its many guises, the rights or place of women - 52% of the world
population - in all societies, the moral obligation that every child, woman and man, and especially young girls,
should learn how to read, the responsibility for supporting countries which are opening up to the world in so
many different ways, and many, many other issues which he has coaxed us into addressing. He sees the world
with fresh eyes and after all these years, Mr Mayor, you keep this freshness. And his imposing presence in
UNESCO has helped us to concentrate better and better on UNESCO issues. His extraordinary ability to adapt to
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