tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354527422024-03-05T12:40:21.983-05:00Americans for UNESCO highlightsThis blog has a number of posts on Americans who were supporters of UNESCOUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-51132598485899995752014-02-22T18:42:00.000-05:002014-02-22T19:27:16.697-05:00Howland H. Sargeant and Myrna Loy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Howland H. Sargeant is the only American ever to have served as <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/general-conference-36th/president/former-presidents/">President of the UNESCO General Conference</a>. <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183269e.pdf">He did so in 1951</a> at the GC meeting in Paris. At the time he was serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.<br />
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He was also on his honeymoon at the time, having recently married actress Mryna Loy, who he met through the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. It is fun to consider the impact the she would have had on the people attending the General Conference. Here is how Lauren Bacall described Loy:<br />
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How many women do we know who were continually kissed by Clark Gable, William Powell, Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy and Fredric March? Only one: Myrna Loy... And to meet whom did Franklin D. Roosevelt find himself tempted to call off the Yalta Conference? Myrna Loy. And to see what lady in what picture did John Dillinger risk coming out of hiding to meet his bullet-ridden death in an alley in Chicago? Myrna Loy, in <i>Manhattan Melodrama</i>.</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001485/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm">According to the International Movie Data Base</a>:<br />
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Some of her biggest fans included Jimmy Stewart, Winston Churchill, and the Roosevelts. FDR invited to the White House early on in his administration, and she became very friendly with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.</blockquote>
Sargeant, a Rhodes Scholar, was a career diplomat. In 1947, he had became Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs In this capacity, he was a member of the United States delegation to UNESCO and in 1950 was Vice-President of the UNESCO General Conference that met in Florence. In 1952 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, serving in that position for nearly a year.<br />
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The American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia founded Radio Liberty in 1954, and Sargeant became Radio Liberty's first president. He held this position until 1975. (Radio Liberty merged with Radio Free Europe in 1976.) He died in 1984.<br />
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Myrna Loy was herself very active in supporting UNESCO. She became the first Hollywood star to be appointed a member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO in 1948 and in the 1950s served as Chair of the Hollywood Committee for UNESCO. Between 1949 and 1954 she served as a film advisor for UNESCO. She also made radio broadcasts supporting UNESCO.<br />
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Loy is today best known for her role as Nora Charles in six "Thin Man" movies made between 1934 and 1947. (My childhood neighbor and friend, Dean Stockwell, played her son in the last of these, <i>Song of the Thin Man</i>.) Ultimately, she made 129 movies, and acted in television, radio and the stage as well.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrna_Loy">According to Wikipedia</a>:<br />
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With the outbreak of World War II, Loy all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and work closely with the Red Cross. She was so fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist. She helped run a Naval Auxiliary Canteen and toured frequently to raise funds.</blockquote>
Late in her life she received an honorary Academy Award and a Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award. She was named Queen of the Movies in a nation-wide poll of moviegoers in 1936<br />
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She and Howland Sargeant were divorced in 1960. She continued acting until well into her 70s, and died in 1993.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-58886310731891726622014-01-18T18:13:00.000-05:002014-01-19T10:43:47.654-05:00Phil Hemily: Long time member of the Americans for UNESCO Board of Directors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
PHILIP W. HEMILY died peacefully January 7, 2014 in Sarasota, Florida. He was a long term member of the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO. He received the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Science and Diplomacy in 1996.<br />
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Phil was the author of "Looking Back on Science and Engineering in UNESCO: 1946-2004" in <i><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqb2huZGFseXxneDo0MTc3ZWE2NWUxMWVhNjUz">Prospects and Retrospects</a></i>, Volume 1, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2004, pages 22 and 23. He was also an editor of:<br />
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<li><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Science-Future-Choice-Scientific-Achievement/dp/0198581629/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390087338&sr=8-1&keywords=Philip+Hemily">Science and Future Choice: Building on Scientific Achievement</a></i> (Vol. 1 with M.N. Ozdas, 1979), and</li>
<li><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Science-Future-Choice-Technological-Challenges/dp/B009FBT056/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1390087338&sr=8-2&keywords=Philip+Hemily">Science and Future Choice: Technological Challenges for Social Change</a></i> (Vol. 2 with M.N. Ozdas)</li>
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From 1984 through 1995 he served as a consultant, senior program officer, and Director of the Committee on International Organizations and Programs of the Office of International Affairs -- the international arm of the <a href="http://www.nationalacademies.org/nrc/">National Research Council</a>. In that position, he gave priority attention to U.S. scientific and engineering relations with UNESCO, and with the International Council of Scientific Unions. He was instrumental in the establishment of international engineering organizations, and the follow up to the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development.<br />
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During this same period he was also a consultant to the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology and Government; the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs of the Department of State; the Stanford Research Institute, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).<br />
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Philip W. Hemily retired from the Senior Foreign Service of the Department of State (1983) after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Scientific Affairs (1976-82) of NATO and Science Counselor to the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from 1965-1974.<br />
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He held senior staff positions at the National Science Foundation from 1957-1965 during which time he was instrumental in creating the international office of the Foundation. <br />
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He loved France, where he spent many years. He held a Doctorate from the Université de Paris (1953) and was Chargé de Recherche at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) from 1953 - 1956.<br />
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Early in his professional career, he was a research associate in physics and taught undergraduate mathematics at Auburn University, Alabama (1947-1949).<br />
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Born 1922 in Newaygo, Michigan, he received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan (1947) after serving three years (1943-1946) as an Ordnance Officer in the U.S. Army during WWII.<br />
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Philip is survived by his son, Philip Brendon Hemily of Toronto, Canada, daughters Valerie Hemily of Hilton Head Island and Laurenne Hemily-Figus of Rome, Italy and six grandchildren, Daphne, Julie, Oliviero, Orlando, Amadeo and Rocco.<br />
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A commemoration ceremony will be held. Please contact: Brendon.hemily@gmail.com.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-59807834273585705392014-01-18T17:01:00.002-05:002014-01-19T11:07:08.110-05:00Tomas Malone: A Friend of UNESCO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Thomas F. Malone, an influential voice in the expansion of meteorological research and education during the second half of the 20th Century, and insightful commentator on the human future, died of natural causes at his home in West Hartford, Connecticut, USA on July 6, 2013. Among his many honors, he was the second person to be awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Science and Diplomacy.<br />
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Dr. Malone was the Chairman of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO from 1965 to 1967. He was involved in a number of UNESCO activities in that and other roles.<br />
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He was a meteorologist of distinction, who served as president of both the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union. He led in the creation of an international scientific network focusing on weather and climate, and was one of the first scientists to raise public concern for climate change.<br />
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I knew him when he was Foreign Secretary of the National Academies of Science. In that role he was instrumental in the creation of the grants program of the NAS Board on Science and Technology for International Development (a grant which I managed for USAID, the government funding agency).<br />
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Dr. Malone <a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2013/03/thomas-malone-chairman-of-us-national.html">was profiled here as a friend of UNESCO early last year</a>.<br />
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Read also:<br />
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<li><a href="http://humanprospect-tfmautobio.blogspot.com/">Dr. Tom Malone's Autobiography - Abridged</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-development/news/in-memoriam-thomas-f-malone/">In Memoriam Thomas F. Malone</a></li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-69191969001566050522013-12-25T13:33:00.001-05:002013-12-25T15:00:04.320-05:00Frank Method: Education Policy Expert and Friend of UNESCO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There has been a global revolution in education in a single lifetime. The right to education has been recognized, and hundreds of millions of children got new access to schooling. Few people were more responsible for that revolution than Frank Method.</span></i></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Method (left) and Dick Arndt (right)<br />
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Francis Jerome (Frank) Method died of cancer on December 21, 2013 at the age of 72. He was an expert on education and education planning, who served for many years on the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO. He was employed by UNESCO from 1998 to 2001 as Director of its Washington Office and as an Education Advisor. He also taught a graduate seminar on UNESCO at George Washington University from 2008 to 2010.<br />
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Frank was dedicated to education and to international development. His career began when he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nigeria in 1964; he continued as a Peace Corps staff member in Nigeria until 1969. He went on to senior staff posts in the Ford Foundation, and the Research Triangle International. At USAID from 1981 to 1996, as a senior adviser he led policy development on basic education and skills training, participant training and development communications, He also served as a visiting professor at Stanford University. He later had a variety of consulting assignments with the World Bank, UNESCO, non-governmental organizations and private-sector firms.<br />
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His experience ranged from early childhood education through adult and community education, from strategies for improving access to quality basic schooling through the new challenges for higher education and continuing learning, and from the technical issues of education sector planning and pedagogy to the broader issues of how education choices relate to economic and political development, demographic trends, and technological change. During his international career he had field experience and significant sector work in more than 20 countries.<br />
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He represented the United States in international groups and policy fora including the International Working Group on Education, the Steering Committee for the World Conference on Education For All (EFA) and related education initiatives and participated actively in the Basic Education Coalition and related advocacy and exchange networks.<br />
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He was a resident of Washington DC for many years, and was concerned with its schools. He was active in District of Columbia public education working groups, including facilities planning, technology planning, and school restructuring. He was chairman of the board of Multicultural Community Service at the time of his death.<br />
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Frank was a personal friend and colleague for more than 30 years. He was a fine man, and a superb professional who taught me a great deal. I will miss him greatly.<br />
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Beloved husband of Bonnie Cain and loving father of Joseph Method, Frank is survived by his mother, Lucille Method and his siblings, The Rev. Fredrick Method, Michael Method, Suzanne Morris, Christie Kangas, Auralee Bussone and Kelly Shadowens.<br />
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<a href="http://amunescoboard.blogspot.com/2006/05/frank-method.html">Click here for more on his education and publications.</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-87663478322175949802013-03-28T11:38:00.002-04:002013-03-28T22:04:35.616-04:00Albert Baez, Science Educator and UNESCO Pioneer<a href="http://cafeconlecherepublicans.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Young-Albert-Baez-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cafeconlecherepublicans.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Young-Albert-Baez-150x150.jpg" /></a>Albert V. Baez was the first director of science education at UNESCO. Dr. Baez was the director of the science education program of UNESCO from 1961-67. During that period he organized and led a program to improve science education in secondary schools worldwide. The program included projects to improve physics education in Latin America, chemistry education in Asia, biology education in Africa, and mathematics education in the Arab states.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/BAEZ.PDF">Read his memoir including his time at UNESCO.</a></span></b></i><br />
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<i><b><a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2007/03/from-model-to-colleague-to-friend.html">Read an appreciation of Dr. Baez by Bob Maybury</a></b></i></div>
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The trail breaking program he developed at UNESCO introduced simple, inexpensive kits to allow science experiments in secondary schools, produced films, and utilized programmed education techniques (which were very innovative at the time) for the teachers of science. The work depended significantly on Dr. Baez' earlier participation in the Physics Science Studies Committee which helped to improve physics education in U.S. secondary schools.<br />
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Previously, in 1951, he had served UNESCO in Baghdad. The Government of Iraq had requested of the United Nations assistance in setting up physics, chemistry and biology departments at the University College of Baghdad which was the forerunner of what would become the University of Baghdad.<br />
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In the 1980s, he served as chairman of the Commission on Education for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.<br />
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Dr. Baez was a distinguished physicist, known professionally as the co-inventor (in 1948) of the X-ray reflection microscope. He also developed optics for the X-ray telescope. In 1991, the International Society for Optical Engineering awarded him and his coinventor the Dennis Gabor Award for pioneering contributions to the development of X-ray imaging microscopes and X-ray imaging telescopes.<br />
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During his long teaching career he served on the faculties of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley and other universities. A Quaker and a pacifist, he refused to use his considerable expertise to advance the nuclear arms race during the Cold War.<br />
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In retirement, he served as president of Vivamos Mejor (Let Us Live Better), an organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life through science-based education and community development projects in Latin America. He was active in the work of Bread and Roses, an organization founded by his daughter Mimi Baez Farina to bring free live music to people confined in institutions - jails, hospitals, juvenile facilities and rest homes. He endowed the Hispanic Engineer Albert Baez Award, which is given for Outstanding Technical Contribution to Humanity.<br />
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In 1956 (with W.C. Nixon) he published <i>Lectures on the X-ray Microscope</i>, and in 1967 he wrote <i>The New College Physics: A Spiral Approach</i>. <i>He co-authored The Environment and Science and Technology Education</i>, published in 1987, and with his wife, Joan Baez Senior, the memoir <i>A Year in Baghdad</i> in 1988.
To those in the international community interested in science education, he is known as a founding father of their work.<br />
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To the general public he is perhaps better known as the father who introduced his daughters, Joan Baez and Mimi Baez Farina to music, to the love of peace, and to social responsibility.
Dr. Baez was born on November 15, 1912, in Puebla, Mexico, and came to the United States with his family at two years of age. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Drew University, a master's degree in physics from Syracuse University, a master's degree in mathematics and a doctorate in physics from Stanford University.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aKQ-WzzQvyY" width="640"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-66021410060318308302013-03-28T10:32:00.000-04:002013-03-28T10:32:52.506-04:00Thomas Malone: A Chairman of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="color: blue;"><b>I believe we are at a historical choice point in determining the kind of world our children's children will inherit. If we make these choices based only on the models of our industrial-age past, we will almost certainly miss the true opportunities before us. </b></span></i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="color: blue;"><b>An environmentally sustainable, economically equitable, and socially stable and secure society in which all of the basic needs and an equitable share human "wants" can be met by successive generations while maintaining a healthy, physically attractive and biologically productive environment.</b></span></i><br />
Thomas F. Malone</blockquote>
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Thomas Malone was one of the prime movers in the revolution that catapulted weather and climate to a high position on the public agenda during the second half of the twentieth century. He chaired the U. S. National Commission for UNECO from 1965 to 1967.<br />
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Malone was born in 1917 in Sioux City, Iowa. Brought up at his parents homestead ranch in South Dakota, his schooling was interrupted in the 1930s by the need to help out on the ranch due to the drought and economic problems of the time.<br />
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He finally completed his high school studies in 1936 and attended college at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD.<br />
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Awarded a graduate scholarship at MIT in 1940, Malone was soon selected to train Naval and Air Force officers in a special program of weather forecasting for military operations. Ultimately, he served as a special consultant to the 19th Weather Squadron at Payne Field in Cairo, Egypt, where he was charged with developing weather forecasts for an alternate route (the Red Ball Express) to military operations in the Pacific Theater. At the end of World War II, he returned to MIT and completed his doctoral studies in 1946.<br />
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As an Assistant Professor at MIT, he took a leave between 1949 and 1951 to edit the 1300 page Compendium of Meteorology, a report that set the stage for meteorological research in the second half of the 20th century. That, in turn, led to his appointment to a National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Meteorology charged with framing national initiatives in meteorological research and education.<br />
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Invited by a group of universities to prepare plans for what turned out to be the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO, Malone convened a series of planning conferences that produced the famous “Blue Book” – an agenda for NCAR. He later joined NCAR’s Board of Trustees, subsequently serving as its chair.<br />
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He left a tenured faculty appointment at MIT in 1955 to join The Travelers Insurance Companies where he went on to become Senior Vice President and Director of Research. He returned to academia in 1970 as Professor of Physics and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Connecticut.<br />
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A member of the National Academy of Sciences, he was elected Foreign Secretary of the National Research Council in 1978. He also chaired the Academy’s Geophysics Research Board and its Board on Atmospheric Physics and Climate. His overlapping presidencies of the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union, and his position as chair of the NAS Committee on Atmospheric Sciences, gave him stature to influence President Kennedy in his UN Address to propose a global program to improve weather forecasting and study climate change.<br />
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Malone also had a prominent role in the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). He was elected founding Secretary General of the ICSU’s Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) in 1970. In that role, and as a Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Connecticut, he was the lead-off speaker in a conference on “Technological Changes and the Human Environment” in preparation for the UN Conference on the Human Environment to be held in Stockholm in 1972.<br />
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He was on the U.S. delegation to the 1979 UN Conference on Science and Technology for Economic Development in Vienna and was was instrumental in the initiation of a grants program in the NAS’s Board on Science and Technology in Development, a U.S. initiative for UNCSTD. It was in that latter role that I came to know Dr. Malone and to respect his contributions (as I was part of the team planning for the initiative and the designated government official to negotiate the BOSTID grant).<br />
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Read more in <a href="http://in%20that%20role%2C%20and%20as%20a%20dean%20of%20the%20graduate%20school%20of%20the%20university%20of%20connecticut%2C%20he%20was%20the%20lead-off%20speaker%20in%20a%20conference%20on%20%E2%80%9Ctechnological%20changes%20and%20the%20human%20environment%E2%80%9D%20at%20the%20california%20institute%20of%20technology%20in%20october%20of%20that%20year%20in%20preparation%20for%20the%20un%20conference%20on%20the%20human%20environment%20to%20be%20held%20in%20stockholm%20in%201972./">Thomas F. Malone's autobiography (abridged)</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2seIYP_gremKk8ZFg8im392-WkpL3rvZjmJfqvWTfMTVVgruW07980XRAvcjRlwEhRClgfN5rIhGZ-_-8PziJ5Do0OkcM9_xq8CEckO-FCMk8zItFgGvWt69XGdZPhZI7K2uTow/s1600/malone+presents+truman+with+tray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2seIYP_gremKk8ZFg8im392-WkpL3rvZjmJfqvWTfMTVVgruW07980XRAvcjRlwEhRClgfN5rIhGZ-_-8PziJ5Do0OkcM9_xq8CEckO-FCMk8zItFgGvWt69XGdZPhZI7K2uTow/s400/malone+presents+truman+with+tray.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The U.S. National Commission for UNESCO presents a silver tray to President Harry S. Truman in recognition of his work to found UNESCO. Left to right are Commission Chair Thomas Malone, President Truman, Jennell Moorhead of the National PTA, and Forrest McCluncy, Chair of the Commission's 10th Annual Meeting Committee (11/20/65 - Kansas City, MO)</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-35021005152149401802011-11-19T18:31:00.001-05:002013-06-20T14:03:00.897-04:00William Benton and the Early Days of UNESCO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_342820525"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.old-picture.com/american-legacy/000/pictures/William-Benton.jpg" width="256" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.old-picture.com/american-legacy/000/William-Benton.htm">William Benton</a></td></tr>
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William Benton was Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> from 31 August 1945 to 30 September 1947. During that period he was deeply involved in both the creation of UNESCO and of the United Nations. As</span> assistant secretary of state he was in charge of the overseas information programs of the United States. While in office he was also associated with the establishment of the Fulbright Scholarship Act (1946).<br />
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It is thought that it was in part due to his influence that "Communications" was added to the UNESCO mandate. A path breaker in the application of modern communications techniques to advertising and deeply cognizant of the Nazi use of propaganda, it seems quite reasonable that he would seek to have UNESCO fight for the freedom of the press and oppose the use of propaganda as part of its efforts to build the defenses of peace in the minds of men.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Benton served as </span>United States Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris from 1963 to 1968.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Benton, after graduating from Yale entered the advertising business, working for others until 1928 when he joined with Chester Bowles to found the Benton and Bowles advertising agency; </span>by 1935, Benton was wealthy and the Benton and Bowles agency was the sixth-largest advertising firm in the world. In 1936 Benton sold the agency to his partners and became vice president of the University of Chicago.<br />
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In 1941 Benton purchased the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and remained as Chairman of the Board and publisher until his death in 1973.<br />
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He served as United States senator from Connecticut from 1949 to 1953. He is perhaps best remembered in that post for his opposition to Senator Joe McCarthy and for his defeat in the election of 1950 of Prescott Sheldon Bush, father of U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush and grandfather of U.S. President George Walker Bush.<br />
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Thus as William Benton assumed the post of U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO, he was a world famous businessman, independently wealthy, having served his country as both Senator and Assistant Secretary of State. He was also an officer of one of America's greatest educational institutions and the publisher of the Encyclopedia Britannica. In addition to all that, he was familiar with UNESCO's purpose and its work from its earliest conception. Indeed a representative that the nation could be proud of, one who had earned the respect of other delegates to UNESCO's governing bodies.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-75791994685685291922011-08-30T07:06:00.000-04:002013-03-28T11:43:27.494-04:00The Americans for UNESCO Website Has Moved<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Americans for UNESCO website address (URL) has changed. <a href="http://amunesco-org.webs.com/">Click here to transfer to the new website</a>. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-62558219189273450832011-08-29T10:47:00.000-04:002013-03-28T11:54:25.470-04:00George N Shuster and the early years of UNESCO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA8Eq79mmkYi3FV2QrhDrZJkfojzazGOvgI5gBQNnnVnoly18MLoR9kiBk8nG4w1PcetPaax6E9zpVBgnIYQN4h0KEHCr-SRlQdlL9rgcc40lC3YpcDEoHLtjhInXglo3yWwEVw/s1600/george+shuster+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA8Eq79mmkYi3FV2QrhDrZJkfojzazGOvgI5gBQNnnVnoly18MLoR9kiBk8nG4w1PcetPaax6E9zpVBgnIYQN4h0KEHCr-SRlQdlL9rgcc40lC3YpcDEoHLtjhInXglo3yWwEVw/s1600/george+shuster+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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George N Shuster was a member of the delegations organizing UNESCO in London in 1945 and Paris in 1946, was an early member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO and served as its Chairman (1953-54). He represented the United States on the UNESCO Executive Board (1958-63). He was also the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/UNESCO-Assessment-Promise-Policy-Book/dp/B002TTEA2Y" style="font-style: italic;">UNESCO: Assessment and Promise, a Policy Book</a> published by the Council on Foreign Relations in 1963.<br />
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The National Commission is something of an anomaly in that no other UN specialized agency asks its members to establish such commissions. One of the precursors to UNESCO was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Committee_on_Intellectual_Cooperation">International Institute of Intellectual Co-operation</a> established under the League of Nations. That Institute established a structure of committees for intellectual cooperation in various countries, including in the United States. (Since the United States was not a member of the League of Nations, the U.S. Committee for Intellectual Cooperation was privately organized and funded, what would now be called a non-governmental organization.) Thus when UNESCO was established the model of national committees to promote intellectual cooperation was folded into its Constitution in the form of national commissions for UNESCO.<br />
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In its earliest days the General Conference of UNESCO was seen by some as a place in which intellectuals from member states would come together representing their countries to give direction to UNESCO's programs and guidance to its secretariat. For various reasons, representation on the General Conference quickly came to be dominated by government diplomats, but the Executive Board continued for some years to serve as a body of intellectuals giving advice to UNESCO; the first U.S. members of the Executive Board included a Librarian of Congress, three college presidents and the dean of a graduate school. George Shuster was one of the last of the breed and after his time the Executive Board too has came to be populated by professional diplomats.<br />
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George Shuster served in the Army in World War I. He received his BA from Notre Dame in 1915, a Certificat d’Aptitude in 1919 from the University of Poitiers in France, and a Ph.D. from Colombia University in 1940. He also did graduate work at the Hochschule fur Poiltik in Berlin in 1930-31.<br />
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He served as an associate editor of Commonweal (an American journal of opinion edited by lay Catholics) from 1925 to 1929, and as managing editor from 1929 to 1937. From 1937 to 1939, Shuster was a Fellow of the Social Research Council of Columbia University and received a Carnegie Corporation grant to study the Weimar Republic and the Center Party.<br />
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When Shuster returned from Germany in July 1939, he was named Dean of Hunter College and became Acting-President in September 1939. Dr. George Nauman Shuster was inaugurated as the fifth president of Hunter College of the City of New York on October 10, 1940 and served until August 31, 1960.<br />
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Following World War II he served as Chairman of the Historical Commission sent by the Army to Germany in 1945, and as a member of various Enemy Alien Boards established by the Department of Justice. From June 1950 to December 1951, Dr. Shuster was on leave of absence from Hunter College and accepted the assignment as Land Commissioner for Bavaria, Germany. Dr. Shuster served as representative of the high commissioner to the Bavarian government, and was responsible for the promotion of U.S. policies in the fields of politics, economics, education and jurisprudence. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Education.<br />
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Following his retirement from Hunter College in 1960, Dr. Shuster became an assistant to the president of the University of Notre Dame and professor emeritus of English at the South Bend campus. Dr. Shuster also assumed the directorship of the Center for the Study of Man in Contemporary Society<br />
until his retirement in 1971.<br />
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He was decorated by the governments of France, Austria and Germany and received many honorary doctorates and other awards. He was a prolific author, publishing books of German history and Catholic thought and history as well as on other topics.<br />
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Dr. George Nauman Shuster died on January 25, 1977.<br />
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Dr. Shuster was perhaps prototypical of the distinguished intellectuals who lent their efforts to the U.S. government during and after World War II, notably in the conceptualization and creation of UNESCO. He continued efforts at international cooperation through UNESCO for decades while busy as an educator, educational administrator and author.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-80259131028609060352009-05-03T13:57:00.007-04:002009-05-03T16:53:55.592-04:00Course: UNESCO: Agenda for the 21st Century<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nomuracenter.or.jp/image/activity/act_forum_9th/act_forum_9th_unesco.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://www.nomuracenter.or.jp/image/activity/act_forum_9th/act_forum_9th_unesco.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />A graduate seminar has been offered in the Spring semester at George Washington University for each of the past three years titled "UNESCO: Agenda for the 21st Century". Most students have been at the Masters level. The students meet for two hours, once per week for 14 weeks. The course is offered within the International Education Program of the university, but is open to students from other departments and even from other universities in the Washington region. The course is coordinated by officers of Americans for UNESCO, and many members of the Board of Directors have participated actively in its sessions and by advising students on class projects.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.americansforunesco.org/upload/documents/doc_160.doc">Click here for the syllabus.</a></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Prior to the class there was a posting that explains a key orientation for the effort:<br /><h3 style="text-align: center;" class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://stconsultant.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-understand-intergovernmental.html">How to Understand Intergovernmental Organizations</a></h3>During the las semester each of the sessions of the class was described briefly in a blog posting. Those postings are:<br /><ol><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/01/unesco-agenda-for-21st-century.html">UNESCO: Agenda for the 21st Century</a>: The first session is a description of the course led by the coordinators, Frank Method and John Daly.<br /></li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/02/dick-and-ray-show.html">The Dick and Ray Show</a>: A presentation on the early history of UNESCO by Richard Arndt and Raymond Wanner, two experts on the topic.</li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/02/education-for-all.html">Education for All</a>: The flagship effort of the UNESCO education program in the first of the student led classes. See also <a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/03/education-for-all-class-of-2015.html">Education for All: Class of 2015</a>, a video used in the class.<br /></li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/02/other-education-programs-of-unesco.html">The Other Education Programs of UNESCO</a>: This first review of a specific program of UNESCO is described in some detail; a student led class.</li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/02/after-efa-what-next.html">After EFA: What Next</a>: This was an exercise in which students played the roles of UNESCO's educational stakeholders, led by Frank Method.</li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/03/unescos-world-heritage-center.html">UNESCO's World Heritage Center</a>: The World Heritage program is UNESCO's best known and best loved effort; a student led class.</li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/03/comments-on-budget-of-unesco.html">Comments on the Budget of UNESCO</a>: This was a supplement to the classroom materials, explaining the 2008-2009 budget in broad terms.</li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/03/comments-on-unesco-culture-program.html">Comments on the Culture Program</a>: Describing the rest of the Culture program of UNESCO; a student led session.</li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/03/class-exercise-exbrd-working-group-on.html">Class Exercise: ExBrd Working Group on Old City of Jerusalem</a>: An exercise in which students played the roles of a Executive Board working group that met in 2007, led by John Daly.</li><li><a href="http://unescoscience.blogspot.com/2009/02/comment-on-natural-science-program-of.html">A Comment on the Natural Science Program of UNESCO</a>: A student led class.</li><li><a href="http://unescoscience.blogspot.com/2009/05/class-social-and-human-science-program.html">Class: The Social and Human Sciences Program of UNESCO</a>: A student led class.<br /></li><li><a href="http://unescoscience.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-is-unesco-way-it-is.html">Why is UNESCO the Way it is?</a> This posting summarized a means of understanding UNESCO developed in classes, and was supplementary to the class sessions.</li><li><a href="http://unescoscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/class-unesco-commuication-and.html">Class: The UNESCO Communication and Information Program</a>: A student led class.</li><li><a href="http://unescoscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/class-us-foreign-policy-and-unesco-view.html">Class: U.S. Foreign Policy and UNESCO</a>: A view from the top: Michael Southwick, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations presented this class.</li><li><a href="http://unescoscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/class-unesco-agenda-for-21st-century.html">Class: UNESCO: Agenda for the 21st Century</a>: A panel of Raymond Wanner, Frank Method and John Daly and a discussion of the future of UNESCO.</li><li><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2009/04/class-final-session.html">Class: The Final Session</a>: The students presented their class projects, but the posting also makes some final comments on the overall course.</li></ol><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TCZ_erS3kbR8pq6y9G6qKkoFrh-RvweoS3wb6WUZcjK1dBFruztbsDvj30ACKXEFlD9qU_FpE0wKr14B6ljNQ_itKHJ_t_ItRo3DwRk4o90E-bKMCxK3zNjiEQrfzeDEoUzXGQ/s320/frank+and+dick.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TCZ_erS3kbR8pq6y9G6qKkoFrh-RvweoS3wb6WUZcjK1dBFruztbsDvj30ACKXEFlD9qU_FpE0wKr14B6ljNQ_itKHJ_t_ItRo3DwRk4o90E-bKMCxK3zNjiEQrfzeDEoUzXGQ/s320/frank+and+dick.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-size: 85%;">Frank Method, co-coordinator of the course</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-size: 85%;">introduces Dick Arndt</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-54209208519458264132009-03-14T13:57:00.006-04:002013-03-28T11:55:06.670-04:00UNESCO and creation of CERN; CERN and the creation of the World Wide Web.<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1z8JespANefDubsdPT-9ZCYcE0t-8a3u4SICTDHQ00-h7wCIvcpVIzyD5avWupjqnm1KVnxt6Ygb9jO3VpirvNROOWZqQOWtejFCRGfHBOUQjFydagjxWv5yMWU9s3jHHhOBGA/s1600-h/CERN.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313529432293999810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1z8JespANefDubsdPT-9ZCYcE0t-8a3u4SICTDHQ00-h7wCIvcpVIzyD5avWupjqnm1KVnxt6Ygb9jO3VpirvNROOWZqQOWtejFCRGfHBOUQjFydagjxWv5yMWU9s3jHHhOBGA/s320/CERN.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 230px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 279px;" /></a><span style="color: #336666; font-size: 85%;"> Aerial view of the CERN site just outside Geneva.</span><span style="color: #336666;">Image © </span><a href="http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/Welcome.html" style="color: #336666;">CERN</a><span style="color: #336666;">.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Creation of CERN</span><br />
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At the end of the Second World War, European science was no longer the <em>crème de la crème</em>. Following the example of the now mushrooming international organizations, a handful of visionary scientists imagined creating a European atomic physics laboratory. Raoul Dautry, Pierre Auger and Lew Kowarski in France, Edoardo Amaldi in Italy and Niels Bohr in Denmark were among these pioneers. Such a laboratory would not only unite European scientists but also allow them to share the increasing costs of nuclear physics facilities. <br />
French physicist Louis de Broglie put the first official proposal for the creation of a European laboratory forward at the European Cultural Conference in Lausanne in December 1949. A further push came at the fifth UNESCO General Conference, held in Florence in June 1950, where the American Nobel laureate physicist, Isidor Rabi tabled a resolution authorizing UNESCO to "assist and encourage the formation of regional research laboratories in order to increase international scientific collaboration…" At an intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951, the first resolution concerning the establishment of a European Council for Nuclear Research was adopted. Two months later, 11 countries signed an agreement establishing the provisional Council – the acronym CERN was born. At the provisional Council's third session in October 1952, Geneva was chosen as the site of the future Laboratory. This choice was finally ratified in a referendum organized by the Canton of Geneva in June 1953.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/About/About-en.html">Read more about the history of CERN</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbNuZbZSkJ_-7f_KEXc4XC7UADqmanyFSf95klbV0I6W2_E7foNh3OcEgtkgrRXHVHrF5tG1jUY9jC_JvDduhN6yNy81ft073EuydUadR6Glzwd1JLM8byDDSpE-TgpNfNVKFhw/s1600-h/Tim+Berners+Lee.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313109827396368562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbNuZbZSkJ_-7f_KEXc4XC7UADqmanyFSf95klbV0I6W2_E7foNh3OcEgtkgrRXHVHrF5tG1jUY9jC_JvDduhN6yNy81ft073EuydUadR6Glzwd1JLM8byDDSpE-TgpNfNVKFhw/s400/Tim+Berners+Lee.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 93px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Creation of the World Wide Web</span><br />
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Twenty years ago this month, something happened at CERN that would change the world forever: Tim Berners-Lee handed a document to his supervisor Mike Sendall entitled "Information Management : a Proposal". "Vague, but exciting" is how Mike described it, and he gave Tim the nod to take his proposal forward. The following year, the World Wide Web was born.<br />
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Check out the following websites:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/About/Web-en.html">CERN: Where the Web Was Born</a></li>
<li><a href="http://info.cern.ch/">The World's First Ever Web Server</a></li>
<li><a href="http://info.cern.ch/www20/">World Wide Web@20</a></li>
</ul>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-2632220871709240412009-01-02T14:42:00.001-05:002013-03-28T11:55:45.423-04:00Agenda for Americans for UNESCO for 2009The Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO will meet on January 13th to consider the program of activities for 2009 for the organization. Dick Nobbe has provided this list of possible activities to be considered. Your comments are invited:<br />
<ol>
<li>GWU UNESCO Course - Offer for a third time a course on UNESCO for credit at George Washington University (N.B. AU has broken new ground in this area and there appears to be strong administrative and student interest in the topic. And AU has plenty of competence to handle it under the animated leadership of John Daly.).</li>
<li>GWU UNESCO Club - Assist further the students at GWU in founding a UNESCO Club. (N.B. As I understand it, this project is still in the developmental stage. We should regard this activity as resource building for American participation in UNESCO's youth programs which have gained in status and now become a permanent feature of UNESCO General Conference sessions .I personally have a valuable collection of books, magazines, reports etc which I would be glad to donate to its library. Perhaps others do too.).</li>
<li>U.S. National Commission for UNESCO - (N.B. We need to follow up on our transition paper calling for the restructuring of the US National Commission for UNESCO to its original legislative role of influencing policy direction at State and expanding knowledge about UNESCO's activities to the public.).</li>
<li>The Ray Wanner Manuscript- (N.B. Any organization worth its salt must publish something periodically (besides minutes of its meetings) if it is to remain visible and viable.We have in hand a unique , ready-to-go publication which needs to see the light of day. AU should take advantage of GWU's lay-out and composition department while we still have access to their services. Funding may be difficult, but we should calculate the cost, earmark a portion of AU's budget to it, and pass the hat .My experience is that original publications of this kind eventually obtain funding.)</li>
<li>UNESCO Reports of Meetings- (N.B. The principal end-product of UNESCO is the reports of its numerous technical meetings at considerable cost,yet they seldom see the light of day. AU should undertake a study of this problem with the view to cataloguing some of the more important ones for internet or website distribution to higher education institutions, NGOs, and other technical bodies in the US.)</li>
<li>New US`Ambassador to UNESCO - Arrange a substantive dinner meeting for the new Ambassador early in the game accompanied with selective written materials such as our transition paper, previous brochure, and UNESCO publication on national commissions. (N.B. We did this for the previous US Ambassador and it was a great success by all accounts).</li>
<li>Former US`Ambassador - Solicit her interest post haste in becoming an AU Board member in a Vice-President capacity. (N.B.In my opinion, she is very knowledgeable about UNESCO's programs and activities, is an excellent spokesperson and could be a real resource for us. Besides, she has undergone an epiphany, and we need converts and money for our cause. Nothing ventured, nothing gained !)</li>
<li>UNESCO ADG Briefings. Arrange for one or two seminars during CY 2009 on a UNESCO sector.(N.B. It will be recalled that AU did this in cooperation with the UN Foundation and the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York in 2008 involving the ADG for Communications, and it was a big success. .I would give priority to the Social Science Sector after the incumbent ADG leaves since knowledge about the entirety of this sector's program is practically non-existent in the US Government and private sector).</li>
<li>AU Social Science and Natural Sciences Committees (N.B.) These two committees need to be strengthened. For all practical purposes, they are leaderless or memberless.)</li>
<li>US MAB Committee- Play a lead role in assisting the State Department to encourage Congress to provide support for a robust role of the US MAB Committee in UNESCO's program (N.B. I realize this matter is on State's agenda, but AU could help if we brought on Tom Gilbert and Sam McKee as AU Board members since both have formerly and prominently been involved with this program).</li>
<li>Sid Passman's UNESCO News Bulletins. Explore with Sid ways of expanding his audience to include not just AU members, but all NatCom members, selective higher education institutions, NGOs (especially religious ones), and philanthropic foundations (N.B. I realize that not everyone is enthralled by what Sid selects but the fact remains Sid is the only source providing us with information about the totality of UNESCO activities., and he devotes considerable time to this effort. Frankly, without. his contributions, most of us would be in the dark about what UNESCO does).</li>
<li>Universal Access to Cyberspace - Continue to monitor UNESCO's program activities contributing to the creation of an international strategic partnership to reduce the digital divide and to the development of knowledge societies through the implementation of the WSIS Plan of Action. (N.B. AU should team up with other NGOs to further this goal and participate in important international conferences to keep abreast of developments in this field).</li>
</ol>
I would add to this list, continued production of this blog and management of the AU website, with the possible recruitment of added volunteers to provide content.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-43122887818582185792008-08-29T13:15:00.004-04:002013-03-28T11:56:33.583-04:00UNESCO and Governance of the New Invisible College<a href="http://www.carolinewagner.net/images/cover_extrasmall.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.carolinewagner.net/images/cover_extrasmall.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a>In her book, <a href="http://www.carolinewagner.net/about.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The New Invisible College: Science for Development</span></a>, Dr. Caroline Wagner describes the growth of global science and the even more rapid growth of international collaboration among scientists. Today science is truly a global enterprise, more so than might have been imagined when UNESCO was founded more than six decades ago. Indeed, the world's expenditure on science is greater than the national income of all but a handful of countries.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/c5/c5h.htm">According to the National Science Foundation</a>, the number of scientific journal articles increased by 2.3 percent per year between 1995 and 2005. From 1988 to 2008, the share of publications with authors from multiple institutions grew from 40 to 61 percent. In the same time, the portion of publications with authors from institutions in more than one nation increased from eight to 20 percent.<br />
<br />
In the final chapter of her book, Dr. Wagner considers the governance of this new invisible college of collaborating scientists building a grand edifice of knowledge. In this context governance is:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-style: italic;">The use of institutions, structures of authority and collaboration to allocate resources and coordinate or control activity in in the society of science to achieve desired ends.</span></blockquote>
Her discussion raises an important issue. How can a self-organizing international network of many millions of scientists be governed? Indeed, at issue is whether such a network -- of people who have been trained to think independently, who come from many cultures and who live in many nations -- can be governed at all. Yet clearly mankind will benefit from the appropriate allocation of scientific resources and coordination of scientific activity to advance knowledge and understanding of the world, including the applied science to help us live better.<br />
<div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">
<blockquote style="color: #000099; font-style: italic;">
The term "invisible college" was coined by the Robert Boyle, the 17th century savant, to describe the informal group of scientists who were exchanging information and views, and which included such other luminaries as Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren, a group that was later to form the nucleus of the Royal Society. The term was later used by Derek de Solla Price, the great historian of science, to describe the informal networks of scientists that have formed in the information age. The term is now widely used. In Dr. Caroline Wagner's hands the term refers to "an invisible college of researchers who collaborate not because they are told to but because they want to, who work together not because they share a laboratory or even a discipline but because they can offer each other complementary insight, knowledge, or skills."</blockquote>
</div>
I believe that not only is governance of the invisible college possible, but that the evolution of governance institutions is well under way. Various aspects of that governance are addressed in the following paragraphs, with emphasis on the role of UNESCO in each aspect of governance.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">UNESCO's Central Role in Global Science</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/thm_innov/uis.shtml">The UNESCO Institute for Statistics</a> plays a central role in the global system providing information on the scientific enterprise. It not only collects and publishes comparative information on the scientific resources and activities of the nations of the world, UNESCO also advises countries on how to collect such information in ways to assure comparability among nations. <a href="http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/publications/science_report2005.shtml"><span style="font-style: italic;">The UNESCO Science Report</span></a>, the flagship publication of the science programs of UNESCO, provides an overview of the world's science, complemented by other supporting publications.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.unesco.org/science/wcs/">The World Science Conference</a>, held in 1999, was one of a series of UNESCO<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/files/25760/11097531053ws-logo-web2.jpg/ws-logo-web2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://portal.unesco.org/en/files/25760/11097531053ws-logo-web2.jpg/ws-logo-web2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a> sponsored conferences, held within the framework of a more extensive conferences of the United Nations system, that served to catalyze global attention on science and build consensus among nations on the importance of science and on directions for the further development of science. In the more recent <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=1543&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">World Summit on the Information Society</a>, cosponsored by UNESCO and the International Telecommunications Union, UNESCO helped bring the participants to the realization that the development of science is central to the development of knowledge societies.<br />
<br />
While other decentralized agencies of the United Nations system have important scientific interests (e.g. WHO and biomedical sciences, FAO and agricultural sciences), it is UNESCO that leads in these efforts to provide information on the global invisible college and to convene leaders to discuss its state, future and priorities.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The U.S. Perspective</span><br />
<br />
Over the last half century, Americans have often lead in the institutionalization of mechanisms in UNESCO to promote collaboration and coordination of international scientific efforts, with important benefits to the American scientific as well as the world scientific enterprise, and indeed important social and economic benefits to the United States as well as other nations.<br />
<br />
The U.S. share of total world scientific article output fell between 1995 and 2005, from 34 to 29 percent. We see many nations, such as China, India, Russia and Brazil overcoming their historical poverty through rapid economic growth, and as their wealth increases they are rapidly building their scientific capacities. Those and similar trends will no doubt continue to increase the amount of scientific knowledge that will be developed abroad.<br />
<br />
That trend is to America's advantage as other nations assume more of the burden of contributing to the global stock of scientific knowledge, but only if Americans effectively tap into that stock effectively. United States science policy already deals seriously with the acquisition of scientific knowledge created abroad, and that emphasis must increase in the future. It also is in our national interest to take measures to help assure that the international creation of scientific knowledge and understanding continues and that the global scientific system deals with issues that are important to us.<br />
<br />
The issue of the governance of international scientific systems appears often to be misunderstood. Institutionalizing new cross-border systems for the governance of science need not imply a loss of national sovereignty over domestic science. For example, the first intergovernmental organizations, which were created in the 19th century, were the International Telecommunications Union and the International Postal Union; Those intergovernmental bodies simply recognized that if people wanted to send telegrams or letters between nations, there needed to be agreements among the nations involved as to how those communications were to be handled. Similarly, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, the nations of the Americas, with U.S. leadership created the Pan American Sanitary Bureau in 1902 to improve the cooperation and coordination among national public health programs; it was so successful that the United States later led in the creation of the World Health Organization. We are familiar with these systems, and find them no threat to our liberty and indeed supportive of our interests. Nor is UNESCO in its role encouraging the better coordination of international scientific activities.<br />
<blockquote style="color: #000099;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Structural complexities and the intrinsic dynamism of science and technology pose challenges to policy makers, but they seem almost manageable compared to the challenges posed by extrinsic forces. Among these are globalization and the impact of global economic development on the environment.</span></div>
<a href="http://www.ostp.gov/galleries/speeches/jhm%20remarks%20OECD%20high%20level%20meeting%20-%20adjusting%20policy%20to%20new%20dimensions%20in%20science,%20technology%20and%20innovation%20-%20March%204,%202008.pdf">John Marburger, President Bush's Science Advisor<br />OECD High Level Meeting of the Committee for Science and Technology Policy</a><br />
March 2008</blockquote>
The "governance of science" does not imply "government". Indeed, science has been called self-governing in that voluntary, non-governmental organizations in the scientific community invoke their own internal mechanisms to prevent scientific fraud and plagiarism. Again, American scientific societies play a crucial role in the global network of scientific unions.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">National Governmental Policies</span><br />
<br />
Quite reasonably Dr. Wagner in her book focuses considerable attention on governments and their role in governance of the global scientific system. Governments are major funders of fundamental science, and science to produce knowledge as a public good. They govern science within their borders, including the scientific activities of academia and the private sectors. More to the point, as mentioned above, national governments have nowhere delegated sovereignty over their domestic science to international or intergovernmental bodies.<br />
<br />
Dr. Wagner makes a very pertinent observation that all countries must now recognize that it is often not only more efficient but also more practical to obtain scientific information that they need from abroad than from domestic sources. That information can be obtained from the public domain or by collaborations between homeland and foreign scientists. She recognizes that nations must build their internal scientific capacity and support their scientists in their work, but that domestic concern must be matched by an international orientation as well.<br />
<br />
Thus all nations must build their science policies around the acquisition of scientific information from abroad and the facilitation of international collaboration by its scientists.<br />
<br />
U.S. international science policy must also be seen as closely linked to our soft diplomacy and our development assistance policy. We are still by far the world's scientifically strongest nation, and the use of our science capacity to train scientists from other countries and to help them build their scientific capacity is greatly appreciated by those other countries. Only with the leadership of the American scientific and technological community will the world make adequate progress in the fight against hunger and disease, and in the safeguarding of the environment and the sustainable exploitation of natural resources -- key efforts to both our soft diplomacy and our developoment assistance. Moreover, by helping others, we can help establish the linkages between U.S. and foreign scientists that will be so important in the future.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Private Sector</span><br />
<br />
The rise of multinational companies in an increasingly global economy raises significant issues of the role of corporations in international science. These corporations fund a great deal of science, and indeed carry out a great deal of research within their corporate structures. Increasingly the multinationals are moving their research activities from country to country, seeking lower research costs, higher research quality, or access to national markets. There seems little alternative than to allow the corporations to make their own science strategies under the discipline of the market, although national governments can and do regulate research activities of corporations doing business within their borders, and offer incentives and sanctions intended to assure appropriate corporate science is done within their borders and in support of their economic and other needs. Perhaps more importantly, governments survey the research portfolio of the private, for-profit sector to detect under funded areas which require public intervention. Interestingly, UNESCO is establishing partnerships with some of the leading research companies in the world, and thus is indirectly and subtlely guiding their scientific efforts.<br />
<br />
Civil society plays a smaller role in international science, but foundations have been quite important and it may well be that it is increasingly so. U.S. experience is that foundations and non-governmental organizations provide an important complement to government funding of non-commercial science. The government's role has been to establish rules that make donations to such organizations tax deductible, and regulate to ensure that civil society organizations use their resources to promote charitable causes. UNESCO is unique among intergovernmental organizations in that its constitution calls for National Commissions in each member state, and these national commissions involve civil society in the governance of UNESCO as well as directly link to UNESCO and each other in support of UNESCO's programs.<br />
<br />
Civil society includes the scientific professional societies, and UNESCO has always been closely linked to the <a href="http://www.icsu.org/index.php">International Council for Science</a>, the umbrella organization for the group of international scientific unions. These member supported organizations, as described above, not only play a key role in the governance of the invisible college, but also through their journals play the central role in the diffusion of new scientific knowledge; their archives are the first repository of the body of this knowledge.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.langtonhowarth.co.uk/images/header-clients.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.langtonhowarth.co.uk/images/header-clients.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Institutions to Promote Trust</span><br />
<br />
The institutionalization of systems of international collaboration require there to be trust among the collaborators. A small but significant effort that establishes that trust is the effort of organizations such as UNESCO and the European Union to establish standard setting conventions that assure that educational credentials are comparable among participating nations. It is really important to scientists choosing collaborators that the doctorate held by a potential collaborator is a valid certification of that person's ability to conduct research professionally.<br />
<br />
More importantly, science is somewhat self regulating. Professional journals and peer review provide systems to prevent scientific fraud and to warrant the quality of scientific work while disseminating scientific information in the public domain. Most important, the scientific process which promotes independent replication of scientific results provides a means for preventing errors from creeping onto the corpus of scientific knowledge. In the United States, and in other nations, being convicted of scientific misconduct results not only in public embarrassment and the loss of government grants, but also loss of academic status and facing a lifetime of suspicion in peer review processes.<br />
<br />
The UN decentralized agencies also play an important, albeit little recognized role, in building trust in the scientific community. For example, the World Health Organization establishes peer review mechanisms using the results of biomedical research to establish guidelines for medical practice which are widely accepted in developing nations.<br />
<br />
UNESCO has an important role in such trust building. For example, its <a href="http://ioc-unesco.org/">Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission</a> provides a mechanism which establishes trust among the states whose waters are traversed by research ships on their voyages; its <a href="http://typo38.unesco.org/index.php?id=240">International Hydrological Program</a> similarly provides a trusted agent for cross border hydrological studies. UNESCO's <a href="http://www.unesco.org/mab/wnbrs.shtml">World Network of Biosphere Reserves</a> provides a mechanism by which countries can commit to cooperation in the operation of this global network and the research to establish means for sustainable preservation of biodiversity.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=41557&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">The UNESCO Chairs and Program and its Twinning and Networking Program</a>" was conceived as a way to advance research, training and program development in higher education by building university networks and encouraging inter-university cooperation through transfer of knowledge across borders." The keystone universities in these programs are vetted through a careful selection program in both the National Commissions of UNESCO and the UNESCO Secretariat and governing bodies, thereby assuring that they are worthy of trust. Since the programs inception in 1992, more than 350 chairs and networks have been established in the sciences, and the program continues.<br />
<br />
In other cases bilateral or multilateral agreements are created, such as for the financing of megaprojects that are cooperatively financed by several nations, and which offer facilities to be used by multinational networks of collaborators. Two of the landmark examples of internationally funded scientific centers are direct outcomes of UNESCO's efforts: CERN (the <a href="http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/Welcome.html" title="more about the CERN name">European Organization for Nuclear </a><a href="http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/Welcome.html">Research</a>) and the ICTP (the <a href="http://www.ictp.trieste.it/">Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics</a>).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/files/12167/12156859593ethics_brochure.jpg/ethics_brochure.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/files/12167/12156859593ethics_brochure.jpg/ethics_brochure.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0016/001600/160021e.pdf"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Ethical Conduct of Science</span></a><br />
<br />
Not only are scientists supposed to be honest about the work that they do and the results that they produce, they must act ethically in their treatment of human subjects, in their treatment of animals that are involved in their research, and in the containment of risks that their research might cause the public or the environment. While many decentralized United Nations agencies work to assure ethical conduct of science within their spheres of influence, UNESCO has a central role through its <a href="http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/Welcome.html">Bioethics Program</a> and its <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6193&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology</a> (COMEST) and its Conference series: <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6201&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Ethics around the World</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Financing of </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Global </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Science as a Public Good</span><br />
<br />
The International Agricultural Research Centers are perhaps a prototypical network that meets a global need, and requires funding from a consortium of donors. The network, governed by the Consortium for International Agricultural Research with its scientific advisory bodies, is essentially a club of funding bodies -- governments and foundations. The IARCs serve a global purpose in the maintenance of seed banks protecting the biodiversity of mankind's major crop species, making it available as a public good. They also are the keystone in a network of national agricultural research and extension services, providing improved varieties to be adapted to local conditions by national bodies, and increasingly interacting with global private sector seed and agricultural chemistry industries. The system in part was created in response to the fact that poor, developing nations did not have the keystone agricultural research capacity that was needed to fight hunger, promote rural development, and prevent famines. The international agricultural research system has been regarded as the most fully articulated such system, but its recent lack of funding indicate the remaining inadequacy of that form of international scientific governance.<br />
<br />
While other initiatives involving multinational support for centers of research excellence have been introduced their success is mixed. CERN, a facility for nuclear research in Europe, financed by a club of rich nations, has been successful over decades, and counts such successes as the invention of the World Wide Web. So too, the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (IDDRB) has been in operation for decades and can point to many accomplishments, including Oral Rehydration Therapy. But the Central American system of regional research and development centers has had continued difficulties raising support among its member states.<br />
<br />
UNESCO has created a decentralized group of Centers and Institutes in education and the sciences. In some cases it provides core funding from its assessed budgets, matched by voluntary contributions for the funding of these organizations. In others, it simply provides an organizational umbrella and legitimization for a Center which is financed by member nations. Proposals to add an organization to this group are carefully evaluated, and are accepted only after recommendation by UNESCO's Executive Board and a vote by its General Conference. Thus UNESCO does not accept responsibility for the success of such an organization lightly. On the other hand, the on-the-record support for such an organization by the community of 193 member states of UNESCO provides it great credibility.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Application of Scientific Knowledge</span><br />
<br />
For most of us, knowledge without application is unsatisfactory. For all of us, the failure of so many governments to make policies and implement programs using fully the available knowledge leads to tragedy. If the governance of science involves the coordination and organization of scientific ends, then efforts to improve the utilization of scientific results by governments are important aspects of governance. UNESCO's flagship effort in its Social and Human Sciences Program is "<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3511&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">The Management of Social Transitions</a>". The MOST Program's primary purpose is to transfer relevant Social Sciences research findings and data to decision-makers and other stakeholders. MOST focuses on building efficient bridges between research, policy and practice. That program promotes a culture of evidence-based policy-making – nationally, regionally and internationally.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Donor Assistance for Building Scientific Capacity</span><br />
<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/files/5889/11919564021science_africa.jpg/science_africa.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/files/5889/11919564021science_africa.jpg/science_africa.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
The International Financial Institutions, the United Nations programs and decentralized agencies, and bilateral donors all have programs to support the creation of scientific capacity in developing nations, and of the capacity to govern science in those nations. UNESCO's <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/ev.php-URL_ID=1489&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Basic and Engineering Science Program</a> and its <a href="http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/">Science Policy and Sustainable Development Program</a> are especially important in this respect. UNESCO also has a number of regional offices for science, and a strong emphasis on <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001504/150449e.pdf">building scientific capacity in Africa</a> in support of the NEPAD program defined by African leaders themselves.<br />
<br />
The coordination of the portfolio of donor efforts are sometimes accomplished by donor coordinating bodies, and sometimes by interlocking directorates as the governments of the bilateral donors and the major recipients govern the intergovernmental organizations. All of these bodies, however, benefit from the statistics and information that UNESCO has helped to develop internationally.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Comment</span><br />
<br />
As the global Invisible College is growing and evolving, so too are the institutional infrastructure providing the resources the Invisible College needs to thrive, the trust among its participants needed to enable their collaboration, and the prioritization needed for the allocation of resources and attention, as well as the distribution of its results.<br />
<br />
World spending on R&D is more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars a year, and if one considers other scientific and technological activities that funding must be well over a trillion dollars a year. Millions of scientists working in nearly 200 nations are involved in the system. A century ago international science was not not nearly of this scale. The change is like that of a village growing into a metropolis. Not surprisingly one must count the time for the evolution of the international governance institutions supporting this expanded system in decades (centuries?) rather than in years. Expanding the metaphor, we do not yet understand how to build an adequate institutional infrastructure for the megacities that are appearing around the world, even though there have been large cities from which to learn for centuries. There is no model for the governance of a huge global network of collaborating scientists, and it should not be surprising that we are seeing institutional gaps and institutional failures. Still, as the discussion above has demonstrated, the system is working fairly well and much has been done, with UNESCO in a central role in the governance of the global invisible college! The United States will increasingly benefit by the importation of scientific knowledge from abroad, and thus UNESCO's science programs are now important to us and will be more so in the future. It well behooves us to support UNESCO in its international scientific activities, and to participate fully in the governance of UNESCO to assure it serves our interests as well as those of all mankind.<br />
<br />
John Daly<br />
(The opinions expressed here are the authors alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Americans for UNESCO.)<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-82605221137592596352007-12-05T20:24:00.000-05:002013-03-28T11:57:42.870-04:00Athelstan Spilhaus: First U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnhrRYKZkz4Sg_S0Tdn6QTOxz-TgRpjkkaS8eqKYa1YD-ueZmFLcM328FPLbwj7iZCY1tqRhhgfEGwsO-06DIWo4geYUQI4-EkAjKLwcXV9764x5LhjOG-Ex-EU-mL2BR22Z2lQ/s1600-h/Spilhaus.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140683377680388402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnhrRYKZkz4Sg_S0Tdn6QTOxz-TgRpjkkaS8eqKYa1YD-ueZmFLcM328FPLbwj7iZCY1tqRhhgfEGwsO-06DIWo4geYUQI4-EkAjKLwcXV9764x5LhjOG-Ex-EU-mL2BR22Z2lQ/s400/Spilhaus.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a>In 1954, President Eisenhower named Athelstan Spilhaus to be the first U.S. ambassador to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. He received 64 out of 65 votes, including 5 from Soviet delegates, to become his country's first Government representative on UNESCO's Executive Board. He represented the United States on the Executive Board from 1954 to 1958.<br />
<br />
Dr. Spilhaus was a most distinguished scientist and a man of great influence in the scientific community, and indeed with the public at large. He was prototypical of the leaders from America who participated in the development of UNESCO in its early years!<br />
<br />
Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus was listed in "American Men of Science" as a meteorologist and an oceanographer, and made contributions to cartography. He was the inventor of the bathythermograph, a divice to measure water temperatures in the deep ocean. That device contributed substantially to the success of sonar in WW II, and thus to America's victory in the war. He also developed balloons for meteorological and remote sensing applications.<br />
<br />
Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus was born on Nov. 25, 1911, in Cape Town, South Africa. He graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1931, and soon afterward settled permanently in the United States, where he received a master's degree in science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Years later, he returned to Cape Town for his doctorate, which he received in 1948. He became a citizen of the United States in 1946. He died at age 88 in 1998.<br />
<br />
In 1955 Spilhaus began writing scripts for “Our New Age,” a science-based newspaper comic strip which ran until the early 1970s. At its peak, an estimated 12,000,000 people each week read his educational strip, which was syndicated in 93 Sunday newspapers.<br />
<a href="http://www.sandsmuseum.com/misc/spillhaus/about/pict.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.sandsmuseum.com/misc/spillhaus/about/pict.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
He became a research assistant at M.I.T. in 1933 and then an assistant director at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, he was named an assistant professor at New York University in 1937. There he started the meteorology and oceanographic department. From 1941 through 1945 he served in the United States Army, teaching meteorology and traveling in Europe and China, where he supervised a network of weather stations and met Mao Zedong. Dr. Spilhaus became director of research at New York University in 1946, but two years later moved to the Minnesota to become dean of its Institute of Technology. After leaving his UNESCO[related duties in 1958, he returned to the University of Minnesota, where he resumed his deanship and stayed until 1966. He then served as president of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia until 1969. Later in his life he described himself, <span style="font-style: italic;">accurately</span>, as a "retired genius."<br />
<br />
During his last years Spilhaus and his third wife Kathleen became known as authorities on antique mechanical toys. At the last count his collection of toys numbered three thousand! His home in Virginia had been enlarged by the addition of several rooms to be able to display his collection properly. Just as with all his other activities, special conditions apply. None are battery-operated—all are spring-wound or obtain their energy from some mechanical source like gravity-operation or a flywheel.<br />
<br />
His most enduring contribution may well have been the Sea Grant program which he initially proposed and helped to create. It was started in the 1960's and continues today. Hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funds and matching institutional funds have gone into a system—involving several hundred institutions—that focuses on the better use of our ocean environment. He also was Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the U. S. Dept. of Interior that planned the National Aquarium in Washington, D. C. He was a member of more than 20 scientific and other organizations, and was elected President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sandsmuseum.com/misc/spillhaus/spil.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.sandsmuseum.com/misc/spillhaus/spil.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a>Spilhaus developed the idea of using covered skyways and tunnels to connect buildings, protecting people in severe weather. That concept was put into use in Minneapolis in the 1950s, when he was dean of the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology. He was also the inventor of the Spilhaus Space Clock which was manufactured by Edmund Scientific; today they are collectors items!<br />
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Dr. Spilhaus lead the creation of the U.S. science exhibit at the 1962 Seattle World Fair, which remains as the Pacific Science Center. President Johnson appointed him to the National Science Board for the term 1966–72. Spilhaus also served as chairman of the scientific advisory committee of the American Newspaper Publishers Association.<br />
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Among his many honors, which included twelve honorary degrees, is the Legion of Merit awarded in 1946. The latter was in recognition of his wartime research, in addition to the bathythermograph, which contributed to and introduced into the battle zone radar and radio upper wind finding, spherics, and meteorological instruments for measurements from aircraft in flight. He was later (1951) director of weapons effects for Nevada atomic tests. For this and other contributions he was awarded the Exceptional Civil Service Medal, by the United States Air Force in 1952.<br />
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Dr. Althelstan Spilhaus is but one of many distinguished Americans who participated in UNESCO during its formative years. All Americans owe him and his fellow pioneers a dept of gratitude for that service.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/press.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/press.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">July 29, 1955. Announcement of plans for the building and launching of the world's first man-made satellite. The then Presidential press secretary James Hagerty is shown with five scientists during the meeting at which announcement of President Eisenhower's approval of the plan was made. Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus is standing at the back on the right.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-14268825362543828192007-04-29T18:05:00.000-04:002007-05-01T09:52:13.468-04:00The U.S. National Commission for UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization is unique among the United Nations Organizations in that its charter specifically calls for the creation of a National Commission in each member state. The U.S. National Commission was originally created in 1946, and among its 100 members were such distinguished individuals as<br /><ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_MacLeish">Archibald MacLeish</a>, Pulitzer Prise winning poet and playwright and former Librarian of Congress,</li><li><a href="http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000399">William Benton</a>, an Assistant Secretary of State, who had previously founded the famous advertising agency Benton and Bowles, and who later served as U.S. Senator and left us the Benton Foundation.</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_S._Eisenhower">Milton Eisenhower</a>, the brother of President Eisenhower, himself the first chair of the National Commission, president of Kansas State College, and later president of Johns Hopkins University.</li></ul>The original membership included the presidents of eleven colleges and universities, senior officials of the National Education Association, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, industrial organizations, and many others. As Benton said at the first UNESCO General Conference, that original National Commission was:<blockquote>a body unique in American history. It unites in one assembly, spokesmen of the arts, sciences and learned professions; of the education system at all levels; of radio, motion pictures and the press; of the education interests of labor, agriculture and of religious bodies; and of many other American groups that are now working for the establishment of peace.</blockquote>We are fortunate enough to have a fine reference to the early years of the National Commission in Howard E. Wilson's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/United-States-National-Commission-lecture/dp/B0007E2IU4/ref=sr_1_1/104-4248969-6607963?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177879244&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">United States National Commission for UNESCO</span></a>. While long out of print, one can occasionally find a copy on the used book market. Wilson was the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for UNESCO, a member of the National Commission, and a member of the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO General Conference in Mexico City.<br /><br />The book makes it plane that the National Commission was deliberately designed so that the majority of the member were to be chosen by civil society organizations, not the Department of State. Moreover, the National Commission would itself determine those civil society organizations privileged to name members, once it had been established. While the Department was required by law to consult with the National Commission, the National Commission also had a direct and very close relationship with UNESCO. American members of UNESCO's Executive Board (who at the time served in their personal capacity, elected by the General Conference rather than as government officials) kept the members of the National Commission informed as to the work of the organization and of upcoming matters before the Board.<br /><br />That original National Commission was very active. It had a committee working on developing public opinion concerning UNESCO. It had been asked to review textbooks for content. Meetings were held not once per year, the minimum required by law, but several times per year. Secretary of State <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Marshall">George Marshall</a> spoke at its first meeting. Its first national conference, held in Philadelphia in 1947, was attended by representatives of more than 500 organizations.<br /><br />Today's National Commission, created anew with the return of the United States to membership in UNESCO, is a pale reflection of that early body. (<a href="http://www.fido.gov/facadatabase/committeeMenu.asp?cno=22803&FY=2007">Read the most recent annual report on the National Commission</a>.) According to the <a href="http://www.state.gov/p/io/unesco/charter/">Charter for the National Commission for UNESCO</a>, published by the Department of State:<blockquote>The purpose of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO shall be to serve the Department of State in an advisory capacity with respect to the consideration of issues related to education, science, communications culture, and the formulation and implementation of U.S. policy towards UNESCO.</blockquote>The authorizing legislation for the National Council for UNESCO (as it is termed in the law, Annex I) is much broader, stating:<blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">In fulfillment of article VII of the constitution of the Organization</span>, the Secretary of State shall cause to be organized a National Commission on Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Corporation (FOOTNOTE 1) of not to exceed one hundred members. (Emphasis added.)<br /></blockquote>The UNESCO article in question (Annex II) states:<blockquote>National Commissions or national co-operating bodies, where they exist, shall act in an advisory capacity to their respective delegations to the General Conference and to their Governments in matters relating to the Organization <span style="font-style: italic;">and shall function as agencies of liaison in all matters of interest to it</span>. (Emphasis added.)<br /></blockquote>Thus, by law and past custom, the National Commission is intended to have not only an advisory function, but also to provide liaison with UNESCO, to link educational, scientific and cultural organizations in the United States with UNESCO, and to build public support for UNESCO.<br /><br />The restricted scope appears to have been in part a result of a misreading of the <a href="http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8203&channelPage=/ep/channel/gsaOverview.jsp&channelId=-13170">Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)</a>. That act serves an important function, assuring that advice to the government is both objective and open to the public. FACA not only formalized a process for establishing, operating, overseeing, and terminating government advisory bodies, but also created the Committee Management Secretariat (MCC), to monitor and report executive branch compliance with the Act. FACA requires that advisory committees be rechartered periodically, and allows for the President to grant waivers from standard provisions of the Act for specific advisory committees when appropriate.<br /><br />It certainly appears appropriate in the case of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, which has functions defined by previous legislation, and by the constitution of UNESCO which the United States accepted on rejoining the organization. If an appropriate waiver the next time its charter is renewed, the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO could serve this nation as its counterparts in <a href="http://www.unesco.org.uk/">the United Kingdom</a> and <a href="http://www.unesco.ca/en/default.aspx">Canada</a> serve theirs.<br /><br />Let us hope in the future the National Commission will once again merit the description once provided by Milton Eisenhower as:<blockquote>a legal body made up of private citizens. It advises government officials and conference delegates who are governmentally appointed and governmentally responsible, but it retains the right to speak its mind publicly on all issues before it. It marshals the educational, scientific and cultural forces of this country for service in both governmental and private channels, and often does not bother to define which is which.</blockquote><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.state.gov/p/io/unesco/">Click here to go to the National Commission Website</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fido.gov/facadatabase/committeeMenu.asp?cno=22803&FY=2007">Click here to go to the FACA website for the NatCom<br />with its most recent annual report.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://unescoscience.blogspot.com/search?q=FACA">Click here to read the November 5, 2005 editorial:<br />Expand the Functions of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO</a></span></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.americansforunesco.org/index.php?intIdCat=1&blnIsCat=1&intIdLang=1">Click here</a> to return to the Americans for UNESCO homepage.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.americansforunesco.org/index.php?intIdCat=83&blnIsCat=1&intIdLang=1">Click here</a> to go to the archive of Americans for UNESCO website Highlights. <p class="post-footer"> <em><br /></em><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-794646001"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="post-edit.g?blogID=35452742&postID=116057558052708228" title="Edit Post"><span class="quick-edit-icon"></span></a></span> </p> <!-- End .post --><!-- Begin #comments --><!-- End #comments --> <!-- End #main --> <!-- Begin #sidebar --> <!-- End #sidebar --> <!-- End #content --> <!-- Begin #footer --> <hr /> <!--This is an optional footer. If you want text here, place it inside these tags, and remove this comment. --><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Annex I<br /><a href="http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+code02+35050+1++%2528%2527Un">Authorizing Legislation for the<br />National Council for UNESCO</a><br />22 USC Sec. 287o</div><br /><br />TITLE 22 - FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE<br />CHAPTER 7 - INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS, CONGRESSES, ETC.<br />SUBCHAPTER XVII - UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND<br />CULTURAL ORGANIZATION<br /><br />-HEAD-<br />Sec. 287o. National Commission on Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Cooperation; membership; meetings; expenses<br /><br />-STATUTE-<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In fulfillment of article VII of the constitution of the Organization, the Secretary of State shall cause to be organized a National Commission on Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Corporation (FOOTNOTE 1) of not to exceed one hundred members. Such Commission shall be appointed by the Secretary of State and shall consist of (a) not more than sixty representatives of principal national, voluntary organizations interested in educational, scientific, and cultural matters; and (b) not more than forty outstanding persons selected by the Secretary of State, including not more than ten persons holding office under or employed by the Government of the United States, not more than fifteen representatives of the educational, scientific, and cultural interests of State and local governments, and not more than fifteen persons chosen at large. The Secretary of State is authorized to name in the first instance fifty of the principal national voluntary organizations, each of which shall be invited to designate one representative for appointment to the National Commission. Thereafter, the National Commission shall periodically review and, if deemed advisable, revise the list of such organizations designating representatives in order to achieve a desirable rotation among organizations represented. To constitute the initial Commission, one-third of the members shall be appointed to serve for a term of one year, one-third for a term of two years, and one-third or the remainder thereof for a term of three years; from thence on following, all members shall be appointed for a term of three years each, but no member shall serve more than two consecutive terms. The National Commission shall meet at least once annually. The National Commission shall designate from among its members an executive committee, and may designate such other committees as may prove necessary, to consult with the Department of State and to perform such other functions as the National Commission shall delegate to them. No member of the National Commission shall be allowed any salary or other compensation for services: Provided, however, That he may be paid transportation and other expenses as authorized by section 5703 of title 5. The Department of State is authorized to provide the necessary secretariat for the Commission.</span><br />(FOOTNOTE 1) So in original. Probably should be<br />''Cooperation''.<br /><br />-SOURCE-<br />(July 30, 1946, ch. 700, Sec. 3, 60 Stat. 713; Pub. L. 87-139, Sec.<br />9, Aug. 14, 1961, 75 Stat. 341.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Annex II<br />Relevant Section of<br /><a href="http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+code02+35048+1++%2528%2527United%2520Nations%2520Educational,%2520Scientific%2520and%2520Cultural%2520Organization%2527%2529%2520%2520%2520%2520%2520%2520%2520%2520%2520%2520"> The Charter of UNESCO</a><br /></div><br /> <span style="font-style: italic;"> ARTICLE VII.<br /><br /><br /> NATIONAL CO-OPERATING BODIES</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> 1. Each Member State shall make such arrangements as suit its particular conditions for the purpose of associating its principal bodies interested in educational, scientific and cultural matters with the work of the Organisation, preferably by the formation of a National Commission broadly representative of the Government and such bodies.<br /><br />2. National Commissions or national co-operating bodies, where they exist, shall act in an advisory capacity to their respective delegations to the General Conference and to their Governments in matters relating to the Organisation and shall function as agencies<br />of liaison in all matters of interest to it.<br /><br />3. The Organisation may, on the request of a Member State delegate, either temporarily or permanently, a member of its Secretariat to serve on the National Commission of that State, in order to assist in the development of its work.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-46681276448423552802007-03-28T07:45:00.000-04:002013-03-28T11:58:32.084-04:00From model, to colleague, to friend: Honoring the memory of Albert V. Baez (1913 – 2007 )<a href="http://www.richardandmimi.com/albert.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.richardandmimi.com/albert.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
Albert Baez stood as a model of meaningful service at three critical times in my life. The first was in 1954 when, having completed my post doctorate at Harvard, I was determined to find a liberal arts college where I could both teach and have students join me in research. When a Research Corporation representative told me about an Albert Baez who was demonstrating this very practice as a physicist at the University of Redlands in California, I applied for and obtained a position there in the chemistry department. I have deeply satisfying memories of those years at Redlands where both Albert Baez and I combined teaching in our respective disciplines with working with undergraduates as research associates.<br />
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In 1963, Albert Baez once again proved to be an influential model to me, calling me, not from his laboratory in Redlands, but from Paris, France, and inviting me to come join him as a member of his team at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He had gone to UNESCO a year earlier to set up an international science education program. He envisioned taking improved content and methods of teaching science to beleaguered teachers in developing countries. Al’s vision resonated with me, for as with many other professionals of that era, I was influenced by John F. Kennedy’s statement: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” When my wife agreed to take five children with us and set up home in Paris, I accepted Al’s invitation and became the chemistry specialist on his team. My part was to plan and administer the UNESCO Pilot Project for Chemistry Teaching, which was implemented in 12 countries on Asia.<br />
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The third time I found Albert Baez a model occurred in 1987. After 20-years of service with UNESCO (12 in Paris and 8 in Nairobi, Kenya) and almost a decade as a consultant with the World Bank in Washington, I was open to various options for retirement. Al’s own retirement experience in heading up Vivamos Mejor, a nonprofit organization he founded to serve Mexican families in his native region of Mexico may well have influenced me to accept the invitation from Glenn Seaborg, the Noble Laureate, to serve as Executive Director of a nonprofit organization he had helped found, the International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD).<br />
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I recall with warm feeling the collegiality of my days with Al at the University of Redlands, both of us dedicated to working with students as research associates. Al and I frequently took part in faculty discussions defending undergraduate research. His mature articulation of the case for this hybrid role we were both pursuing proved helpful to me as a relatively junior member of the faculty. Through this association with Al, I came to understand the critical contribution this innovative teaching practice could have in the education of scientists and became a champion for this teaching practice in American colleges through membership in committees of the American Chemical Society.<br />
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During that Redlands period, Al and I were both involved in the national curriculum reform projects funded by the National Science Foundation, Al in the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC), and I in the Chemical Bond Approach (CBA). This brought us both into working contact with science teachers from secondary schools. I am almost certain that it was Al’s prominence as a creative developer of instructional films for the PSSC project that brought him to the attention of the leadership of UNESCO in Paris. Frequent visits to the Baez home enabled me to witness Al’s passion for using optical and electronic instruments as teaching aids. His house was filled with every variety and model of film projector, slide projector, overhead projector, camera, tape recorder, etc. Al brought great originality to applying his specialization in the physics of light (optics) to his lectures and talks to student groups.<br />
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Al and his wife Joan welcomed my wife and me as family. We stayed in their home many times through the years and shared family concerns with them. Al and Joan were members of the Society of Friends and we often accompanied them to the quiet services at the local Friends Meeting House. We will greatly miss Al. I particularly acknowledge that knowing Albert Baez enriched my understanding of science and gave me opportunity to live a life of service and meaning.<br />
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Robert H. Maybury<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com/2007/03/albert-v-baez-in-memoriam.html">Read more about Al Baez, the first director of science education at UNESCO.</a></span><br />
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Editors note: Bob Maybury served as a member of the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO for a number of years, and continues to have a close relationship to the organization. He is a distinguished chemist, the Executive Director of the <a href="http://www.iocd.org/">International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development</a>, and an expert in science education. JAD</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-2441359883244056782007-03-13T15:12:00.000-04:002013-03-28T11:57:05.062-04:00UNESCO History and Program ReferencesA set of links has been created on del.icio.us, a social bookmarking site, with links to UNESCO. For those interested in the history of UNESCO or how it operates, these references should prove invaluable.<br />
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To access the materials click on the link below:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://del.icio.us/unescobibliography"><span style="font-size: 130%;">UNESCO references and links</span></a></div>
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Most linked publications are online, but some books that can not be downloaded are linked to booksellers. Even out-of-print books are now often available in the online used book market. There are also websites that seemed likely to be of special interest to the students.<br />
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One advantage of the online system is that it can be searched. Each entry also tells you how many other people have linked to that resource in their social bookmarking sites. Those of you who use del.icio.us should be able to easily transfer links from the site to you personal collection.<br />
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There are also "tags". If you click on one of the tags to the right of the del.icio,us list, you will get a reduced list that contains all those tagged with that term. It is possible to combine tags so that, for example, you can obtain a list of resources on the history of UNESCO that are available online.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1167578923214562962006-12-31T09:07:00.000-05:002013-03-28T11:53:51.693-04:00UNESCO's International Conventions<a href="http://photobank.unesco.org/library/image/314/17486.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photobank.unesco.org/library/image/314/17486.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">UNESCO's Director General at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict</span><br />
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"International Conventions" are <a href="http://untreaty.un.org/English/guide.asp">considered by the United Nations</a> to be formal multilateral treaties. They are distinguished from other treaties in that they typically involve many parties. UNESCO has established and is responsible for 28 of these legal instruments. UNESCO's Conventions are subject to ratification, acceptance or accession by UNESCO Member States. The United States <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/la/conventions_by_country.asp?contr=US&language=E&typeconv=1">has ratified many of the UNESCO Conventions</a> mentioned in the following paragraphs. <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/la/conventions_by_country.asp?contr=US&language=E&typeconv=0">It has not ratified others</a> such as many of the regional Conventions for the recognition of studies, diplomas and degrees and those that currently remain under consideration.<br />
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Of course, many other multilateral organizations are responsible for international conventions; for example, the International Committee for the Red Cross is for the Geneva Conventions. UNESCO participates actively in some of the conventions run by other organizations. Thus, UNESCO's biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3500&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">have provided a focus for several different types of co-operative links between UNESCO and the Convention on Biological Diversity</a>, that was developed for the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. <br />
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Two new conventions have been recently ratified by the requisite numbers of States, and are to come into force early in the new year:<br />
<blockquote>
* <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31038&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions</a> will enter into force on 18 March 2007, and<br />
* <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31037&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">The International Convention against Doping in Sport</a> will enter into force on 1 February 2007.</blockquote>
International Conventions set regulatory standards among nations. The drafting and preparation of a UNESCO Convention are carefully regulated under the terms of the <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001255/125590e.pdf#constitution">UNESCO constitution</a> (Article IV, paragraph 4). A preliminary study of the technical and legal aspects of the question to be addressed is prepared and submitted for consideration to the Executive Board and subsequently for adoption by the General Conference. The Convention itself specifies how many nations must ratify before it comes into force. UNESCO is usually appointed as the depositary for such instruments.<br />
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<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12313&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Intellectual Property Rights</span></span></a><br />
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For many years, the UNESCO Conventions most important to American economic interests were those which protected intellectual property rights. The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15381&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Universal Copyright Convention</a> was approved in 1952 and revised in 1971. Under the Copyright Convention “each Contracting State undertakes to provide for the adequate and effective, protection of the rights of authors and other copyright proprietors in literary, scientific and artistic works, including writings, musical, dramatic and cinematographic works, and paintings, engravings and sculpture.” <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13645&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">The International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations</a> was added in 1961 and the Convention for the <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13646&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Protection of Producers of Phonograms against Unauthorized Duplication of their Phonograms</a> added in 1971. A further Convention relating to the <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13636&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Distribution of Program-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite</a> was added to the portfolio in 1974, as was the <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15218&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Multilateral Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Copyright Royalties</a> in 1979.<br />
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These conventions were preceded on the global scene by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works">Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works</a> (1886) and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Industrial_Property">Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property</a> (1883), both administered by the <a href="http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en">World Intellectual Property Organization</a>. However, the United States only acceded to the Berne Convention in 1988, obtaining a alternate source of protection for many but not all of the rights provided under the UNESCO instruments.<br />
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More recently, the <a href="http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/trips_e.htm">Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreements implemented by the World Trade Organization</a> have been added to the international scene. Still, UNESCO and UNESCO administered IPR Conventions remain quite important within this larger network of international treaties and organizations.<br />
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The United States movie, television, recording and publishing industries are all protected against piracy by these conventions. According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, which is <a href="http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=6383_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC">the repository of global statistics on cultural industries</a>. The global market value of cultural and creative industries is an estimated $1.3 trillion and is rapidly expanding. International trade in cultural goods was an estimated $60 billion in 2002, and U.S. exports of these goods was $7.2 billion. These are industries with substantial income from foreign sales, and substantial employment in the United States based on those foreign sales. American creative communities protected by these Conventions are important not only commercially, but central to our culture. They make us friends around the world.<br />
<a href="http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=44351&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Education</span></span></a><br />
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Educational Conventions go back to the earliest years of UNESCO's existence with the 1948 <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12064&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Agreement For Facilitating the International Circulation of Visual and Auditory Materials of an Educational, Scientific and Cultural Character</a>. More recently UNESCO has been entrusted with a number of Conventions that encourage the international exchanges of university students by ensuring comparability of educational credentials. These Conventions often have the effect of helping to strengthen educational systems in the signatory nations. These Conventions include:<br />
<blockquote>
* The (Lisbon) <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13522&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region</a> (1997)<br />
* The (Paris) <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13059&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention on Technical and Vocational Education</a> (1989)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13523&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific</a> (1983)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13518&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and other Academic Qualifications in Higher Education in the African States</a> (1981)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13516&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees concerning Higher Education in the States belonging to the Europe Region</a> (1979)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13517&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in the Arab States</a> (1978)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13514&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">International Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in the Arab and European States Bordering on the Mediterranean</a> (1976) and<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13512&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean</a> (1974)</blockquote>
Two further Conventions seek to prevent discrimination in education:<br />
<blockquote>
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12949&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention against Discrimination in Education</a> (1960), and<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15321&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Protocol Instituting a Conciliation and Good offices Commission to be Responsible for Seeking the settlement of any Disputes which may Arise between States Parties to the Convention against Discrimination in Education</a> (1962)</blockquote>
Globally, about two percent of all higher education students are studying abroad, <a href="http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=6019_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC">according to UNESCO statistics</a>. That percentage increases markedly in Africa (nearly six percent) and Central Asia (nearly four percent) where international training is an important element of efforts to strengthen the university systems. United States' tertiary education institutions in 2005-6 <a href="http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=89251">enrolled 564,766 international students</a>. The foreign students in American universities enrich the educational experience for all, and many remain in the United States and continue to contribute to our nation. More generally, this international exchange of students, enhanced through UNESCO's efforts, is helping to build understanding among peoples of the world, and to strengthen the societies and economies in poor nations.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://whc.unesco.org/">Cultural</a> and <a href="http://www.unesco.org/mab/index.shtml">Natural</a> Heritage</span></span><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.blogger.com/Convention%20concerning%20the%20Protection%20of%20the%20World%20Cultural%20and%20Natural%20Heritage">Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage</a> is very well known because it is the basis for <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/">UNESCO's World Heritage Program</a>. The Convention was created in 1972 as a result of a U.S. initiative, and there are currently 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed world heritage sites in the 138 nations that are Parties to the Convention.<br />
<br />
There are however, a number of important other UNESCO Conventions that regulate the care and international cooperation for the protection of our heritage, including:<br />
<blockquote>
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17716&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage</a> (2003)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13520&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage</a> (2001)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15398&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat</a> (1971)<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13039&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property</a> (1970) and<br />
* The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13637&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict</a> (1954)</blockquote>
These conventions have been especially important in recent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the aftermath of the Israeli occupation of part of Lebanon.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Final Comments</span><br />
<br />
International Conventions are but one form of the <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12024&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">standard setting instrument</a>s used by UNESCO. There are also <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12026&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=-471.html">Recommendations adopted by the General Conference</a> and <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12027&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=-471.html">Declarations adopted by the General Conference</a> of UNESCO. The implementation of these standard setting instruments is an important UNESCO function, providing it with significant tools to accomplish its objectives. The creation and management of such instruments, however, also imposes a significant administrative burden on the organization, and some have suggested that UNESCO step back from the creation of new instruments to focus its efforts on the better management and utilization of the existing set.<br />
<br />
Under the American democratic system, Congress plays a key role in the ratification of treaties brought to it by the Executive Branch of government. The State Department plays the lead role for the United States in the negotiation of international conventions and other standard setting instruments, and in helping to assure that the multilateral system works to enforce these agreements. Civil society organizations, especially those representing the educational, scientific, cultural and media sectors, play a key advisory role through the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO.<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Our diplomats especially deserve our thanks and support for their relatively unsung efforts on our behalf in this complex and important arena!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1166447302735333312006-12-18T07:47:00.000-05:002013-03-28T11:52:25.190-04:00UNESCO 1946-2006: SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5826/114/1600/872832/unesco%201946-2006%20selected%20achievements%20%282%29.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5826/114/200/612722/unesco%201946-2006%20selected%20achievements%20%282%29.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a>UNESCO was designed “to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science, and culture.” It has accomplished a great deal since it was founded in the aftermath of World War II. <br />
<br />
Americans for UNESCO (AU), on UNESCO’s sixtieth anniversary, set itself the task of providing an overview of what UNESCO has accomplished. Following up an initiative launched by its predecessor, Americans for the Universality of UNESCO, AU reached out to some 20 specialists in UNESCO’s fields of competence, seeking to highlight some of its achievements over the years. The UNESCO involvement of some of these experts dates as far back as the 1940s, and their collective experience amounts to over 350 years. The inquiry came to an end in the summer of 2006. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqb2huZGFseXxneDoxYTUxNzgzNDkwZjU3ODc0">This brief document</a> resulted from a screening of the reports of these wise people by members AU’s Board and Advisory Council. The reported accomplishments are representative, not exhaustive. The brochure identifies significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge and understanding among peoples which can be attributed to UNESCO since its founding.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqb2huZGFseXxneDoxYTUxNzgzNDkwZjU3ODc0">Click here to download the document (PDF format)</a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1160011017711578732006-10-29T02:30:00.000-05:002013-03-28T11:50:20.062-04:00Remembering Jack Fobes<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/Jack%20Fobes%20-%203.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/320/Jack%20Fobes%20-%203.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a><br />
On June 17th, 2005, <a href="http://www.americansforunesco.org/">Americans for UNESCO</a> and the Board on International Scientific Organizations of The National Academies held a celebration of the life of John E. Fobes. Special guests for the event were Federico Mayor Zaragoza (Former Director-General of UNESCO), Harriet M. Fulbright and Harlan Cleveland. The website of Americans for UNESCO was not working when Dr. Fobes died, but we are now taking this opportunity to commemorate his life and his contributions.<br />
<br />
John Edwin Fobes died at his home at the age of 86 on Jan. 20, 2005. A distinguished diplomat, he served as Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, the organization's chief operating officer, from 1971 to 1977, and as Chair of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO on his return from Paris. When the United States withdrew from UNESCO, Jack Fobes immediately founded Americans for the Universality of UNESCO (which subsequently became Americans for UNESCO). From 1985-2002, he headed AUU; through the organization's network and its Newsletter, he virtually single-handedly kept the idea of UNESCO alive in the American mind. In 2002, he assumed the Chair of the Advisory Council of Americans for UNESCO.<br />
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-style: italic;">He was widely known as a model of global engagement and solidarity. Whether as a United States diplomat or UNESCO official, he was unstintingly dedicated to the cause of peace, human dignity and international understanding. He played an important role in the establishment of the United Nations, and remained an energetic promoter and defender of the Organization’s Charter and global mission. I understand that even shortly before his death, he took the floor at a public meeting to make an impassioned statement in support of the UN’s ideals. Such deeply held commitment was clearly why so many younger people found in him a mentor and teacher, and why his legacy is sure to be felt by future generations.</span><br />
<div align="" right="">
Kofi Annan<br />Secretary General of the United Nations<br />in a letter of condolence to Hazel Fobes</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<center>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Excerpts from the Remarks of Federico Mayor</span></center>
<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-style: italic;">The equal dignity of all the human beings...<br /><br />They are our commitment, they are our permanent "raison d'être"</span>...<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-style: italic;">· 50,000 of our brothers and sisters die of hunger every day. We cannot forget it – we have a duty of memory.<br />· It is this feeling that allows us to dare. "Dare to care" was one of the expressions I took from Jack Fobes in 1988 – dare to share... and to care!</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Dear friends, Dear Hazel, family:<br />
<br />
I have an immense debt of gratitude to Jack Fobes. He was very helpful, inspiring...<br />
<br />
I share your profound grief at the loss of our beloved friend.<br />
<br />
------<br />
<br />
Jack is my friend. He is not physically present anymore, but he remains present in my everyday life as one who had an important part in forging our attitudes. temper, behavior... As I wrote in a poem to Melina Mercouri: '"The stars lead us long after they have gone dark". Jack was and will ever be a star leading me on my way...<br />
<br />
· Jack, a man of vision.<br />
<blockquote>
In the watch tower, because what matters is future... to ensure a brighter future to our children..</blockquote>
.<br />
The succeeding generations: they were the every-day essential thought of Jack Fobes. They deserve to freely write their own future, and we cannot in social, economic, environmental, cultural and ethical terms leave them a legacy of muscle, insolidarity, fear, disorder, confusion, injustice...<br />
<br />
He was a great American – he loved his country and its principles – but he was more: he was a world citizen and he had all human beings in his eyes when looking for better sharing, for better care... yes, above all, better sharing! Dare to share! Time, goods, funds, knowledge – sharing better, we can avoid frustration, radicalization, violence, aggression; sharing and listening, we can place the word, the dialog, conciliation where today we have confrontation, the sword, the force...<br />
<br />
------<br />
<br />
From a speech of Robert Kennedy, I quote: "This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."...<br />
<br />
Listen to the young people – to work for them is not enough, we must work with them!<br />
<br />
The future generations, always in the mind of Jack Fobes: "Education for all... It's time for action"...<br />
<br />
------<br />
<br />
Life is a mystery. Death is a mystery too. Every single human being is unique, is able to create, to invent.<br />
<br />
Jack Fobes: you left, you remain in our mind. You have now immense wings for the endless space. And infinite time. We are still here trying to act as you wanted, in a constant search, with faith and resolve. And freedom. And knowing that if there is no wind, we must row.<br />
<br />
"Never gloat" was his motto; he never sought nor accepted glory. I remember his reluctance when UNESCO awarded to him the Nehru Gold Medal. Now, I understand Jack's grace: now, only now, he is with a force so strong he must accept his glory. Jack, I truly believe, “has gone to Glory”.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/Jack%20Fobes%202.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/400/Jack%20Fobes%202.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
<center>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">John E. Fobes The Man<br />A presentation by Richard Nobbe</span><br />On The Occasion of The June 17, 2005 Memorial Service</center>
<br />
<br />
Much has been written and said about John E. Fobes the scholar, diplomat, international civil servant, visionary - and unabashedly pro-UN activist. But who was Jack Fobes the Man?<br />
<br />
I don't profess to have mastered the subject because the truth of the matter is Jack was a very private and complex person. But what I have done is to assemble a collage of images based on anecdotal remembrances which will provide you a glimpse into his character.<br />
<br />
His wife Hazel tells me he was raised by a protective mother and a prudish intellectual maiden aunt on his mother's side and by two aunts on his father's side (the wealthier side of the family) who inculcated in him a love of archaeology and geography.<br />
<br />
Jack was a train buff. As a youth, he used to slip away to visit the train yards to study and master the number wheels that gave a locomotive its name. He also had a valuable collection of "Lionel" trains with belching vapor, blinking lights, and piercing whistles. His first job upon graduating cum laude from college was as Director of Train Tours through the Canadian Rockies down the west coast into Mexico. In fact, it was on one of those trips that he met his wife Hazel. According to her, it was an instant whirlwind romance, love at first sight, ever constant, ever true. Today, as we commemorate Jack's life, the rear bumper tag on his car still reads, "I'd rather be riding a train." Toot! Toot!<br />
<br />
Jack was an ardent lover of classical music. He could identity compositions and composers by listening to the music. As a youth. he participated regularly in meetings of musical groups established throughout the country by the late Leonard Bernstein to foster appreciation on the subject. And he won several prizes.<br />
<br />
Jack professed not to be interested in sports. He was in fact a great athlete and excelled in track and swimming, having served as captain of the varsity swimming team at Northwestern University. His daughter informs me she is alive because of his prowess in swimming. During his assignment to India, the family went to the ocean one day and she got caught up m a riptide which carried her out to sea. Sensing danger, Jack raced to the water's edge, hurtled the waves, and rescued her.<br />
<br />
Jack never mentioned his military experience, but he was drafted by the air force and rose to the eminent position of Lieutenant Major. He was a spotter, his job being to identify key targets and installations behind enemy lines for destruction and elimination. Hazel tells me she did not see him for three years and that this experience completely changed his personality.<br />
<br />
Although not well known, Jack was an amateur biblical scholar. In his spare time, he would regularly read the Old and New testaments and could quote scripture by memory and at random.<br />
<br />
Rank and privilege were not the same for lack. Rank mean) the acceptance of responsibility and the execution of authority. As for privileges, he did not believe in them. For example, with few exceptions, he traveled air coach on all his foreign missions for UNESCO, although he was entitled to first class. As an extension of this philosophy, he practiced an open-door policy during his 14 years as the top administrator and subsequently Deputy-Director general for UNESCO during which the staff regardless of rank could visit him about personal and professional matters- He is still regarded today by those who remember him, especially by those whom he fondly called "the little staff people" (telephone operators, machinists, drivers, workers etc.) as the quintessential American of good heart, faith, and fairness.<br />
<br />
Jack was especially fond and laudatory of people who, like him, felt passionate about their advocacy. Such was the case of the late Barbara Good (a former National Commission staff member) who prepared in the mid-1970s a blockbuster resolution on the promotion of women which required three weeks of advance preparation. Upon adoption by acclamation, Jack left the podium to congratulate Barbara with a handshake and a hug. Shortly thereafter, overcome by joy, emotion, and a sense of fulfillment, she fainted and had to be wheeled off to the UNESCO nursery under Jack's watchful eye.<br />
<br />
Another of Jack's great passions was his belief that the wives of senior-ranking UNESCO officials should play a major role in promoting the well-being of the UNESCO family, especially members of delegations from third-world countries. Many of these women found themselves in a large hustling city for the first time. Some had never seen tall buildings or elevators before. And many knew nothing about French customs, practices, idiosyncrasies. And so was born the UNESCO Community Service, coordinated and strengthened by Hazel Fobes. Among its many accomplishments was the publication of a well received booklet by the French media entitled "Practically Yours, Paris and France" (unfortunately now out of print) which greatly contributed to the enrichment of the lives of members of foreign delegations and international civil servants as well. Had it not been for Jack's strong support, the protect might have failed for lack of funding.<br />
<br />
Unbeknownst to many, Jack was a prankster extraordinaire. Let me add one other to those mentioned by Dr. Arndt. On Earth Day, which was never officially recognized by UNESCO, Jack asked his personal assistant to go to the market and purchase hundreds of the biggest, juiciest, and reddest radishes she could find and place them on silver trays in the main lobby. His entire staff was then ushered in only to be met by Jack who gave them an up-beat sermonette about Earth Day. Needless to say, the environmental community was thrilled but what amused Jack was how rapidly the radishes disappeared. Anyone who has partaken of this treat will understand what I mean.<br />
<br />
In conclusion. what all this suggests to me, ladies and gentlemen, is that Jack, behind that intellectual facade, scholarly mien, and sometimes stern countenance, was at heart a fun-loving guy with bouts of fantasy and whimsicality, a good sense of humor, a sentimentalist who cared deeply about this family and the human race and who, on occasion, liked to let his hair down and engage in self-deprecation and introspection about the frailties of the human condition. Indeed, he was happiest and at peace with himself when dedicating his life to promoting the causes of humanity.<br />
<br />
And so, Jack, on behalf of those present, especially those of Americans for UNESCO, we wish you God speed. You were truly a great person and a source of inspiration to many of us. Thank you.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/Jack%20Fobes-1.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/400/Jack%20Fobes-1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
<center>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biographical Details</span></center>
<br />
Born and raised in Chicago, John Edwin Fobes graduated cum laude from Northwestern University in 1939, and received his M.S. from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942-1946, rising from private to major. After the war, he served in the Secretariat to the United Nations from 1945-1946, during its organizational stages. As a U.S. civil servant in the Bureau of the Budget from 1946-1951, he addressed issues arising from increased multilateral activity immediately following World War II.<br />
<br />
He moved to Paris with his family in 1952, where he served for three years as Attaché to the U.S. Delegation to NATO and OEEC, helping to administer the Marshall Plan. On return, he was named director of the State Department's Office of International Administration.<br />
<br />
In 1960. the family moved to New Delhi, India, where Dr. Fobes served as assistant director, then deputy director, of the U.S. Mission to India, the largest U.S. foreign-aid program at the time. His ambassador was John Kenneth Galbraith.<br />
<br />
In 1964, he returned to Pans, to join UNESCO, the Untied Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as Assistant Director-General for Administration. In 1971, he was appointed Deputy Director-General, the organization's chief operating officer, where until his retirement in 1977 he served under two directors: France's René Maheu and Senegal's Amadou Mahtar M'Bow.<br />
<br />
Renaming to the U.S., he was named m the US National Commission for UNESCO and elected chairman by the 100-member body. Meanwhile he was working with like-minded colleagues to found the Club of Rome, in which he retained membership from 1978 to 2000.<br />
<br />
When the Reagan Administration made its decision to withdraw from UNESCO, Fobes immediately resigned his chairmanship of the U.S. National Commission and retired to Asheville, NC. There he founded Americans for the Universality of UNESCO, an organization of UNESCO-experienced Americans intent upon persuading the U.S. to re-enter the multilateral organization; he kept it alive on family funds, and later with some help from the MacArthur Foundation, for the two decades of U.S. absence from UNESCO. From 1985-2002, he headed AUU; through the organization's network and its Newsletter, he virtually single-handedly kept the idea of UNESCO alive in the American mind. When the U.S. announced re-entry in the Fall of 2002, he passed the leadership of AUU to the next generation, retaining a role as Founder President Emeritus and Chair of its Advisory Council; AUU took a new post re-entry name, Americans for UNESCO (AU), and moved to Washington DC. He was also president of the Western North Carolina Chapter of the United Nations Association and participated vigorously in its programs until the eve of his death.<br />
<br />
His honors include: Doctor of humanities (honoris causa), Bucknell University, 1973; the UNESCO Silver Medal for Service, 1983; the UNESCO Nehru Gold Medal in 1992, in recognition of "profound commitment to the Organization and outstanding contribution to the achievement of its goals"; and election as Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992.<br />
<br />
John Edwin Fobes died at his home at the age of 86 on Jan. 20, 2005. His survivors include his citizen-activist wife of 64 years, Hazel Weaver Fobes; a daughter, Patricia Sanson, of Maryville, TN; a son Jeff Fobes, publisher of the Asheville Mountain Express; three granddaughters; and five great grandchildren.<br />
<br />
Read the <a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2006/10/tributes-to-john-fobes-by-kochiro.html">Tributes to John Fobes by Koïchiro Matsuura and Paul Schafer</a><br />
Read the <a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2006/10/jack-fobes-lien-link-memorial-articles.html">Jack Fobes: Lien-Link Memorial Articles</a> by Richard Arndt and Gérard Bolla.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1161870899954298642006-10-29T02:29:00.000-05:002013-03-28T11:49:15.564-04:00Jack Fobes: Lien-Link Memorial Articles<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/Jack%20Fobes%20-%203.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/320/Jack%20Fobes%20-%203.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.unesco.org/afus/LIENsom.html">Lien/Link</a>, the newsletter of the Association of Former Staff Members of UNESCO, devoted two articles to memorializing Jack Fobes in 2005 (Issue 92, April-June 2005). That issue is no longer online, so we publish here the articles by Dick Arndt (Chair of the Advisory Council and former President of Americans for UNESCO) and Gérard Bolla (Former Assistant Director General of UNESCO -- in French).<br />
<br />
<center>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Remembering Jack Fobes</span></center>
<br />
John Edwin Fobes, or Jack as we all knew him, died at his home in Asheville, North Carolina, on January 20, as with his beloved Hazel he practiced their regular morning hour of meditation.<br />
<br />
It is late for a traditional obituary. Reflecting on the rich and dedicated life of Jack Fobes, his American friends conclude that it is already time to move beyond tributes, testimonials and tears and to begin collecting the hundreds of tessera which must be assembled into the mosaic of this remarkable American life.<br />
<br />
Jack himself was seized with the urgency of this task. Those who knew him best agree that he would have wanted us, by now, to cease our mourning and “get on with it,” as he might have put it. As early as the summer of 2003, he was thinking about it: his colleagues in Americans for UNESCO (AU) had collected a gift to enable him and Hazel to witness the return of the U.S. to the Organization and to attend the General Conference meetings in Paris; unable to make the trip, Jack sent back to AU a larger check, asking that it be devoted to an archival project with a university in the U.S. to preserve U.S.-related UNESCO documents, like his papers, for the world’s scholars.<br />
<br />
The last chore he proudly completed before his death was to gather the complete run of the Newsletter he and his son Jeff designed and published from 19 years, the voice of Americans for the Universality of UNESCO (AUU); copies of this loose-leaf collection arrived in our office two weeks before his death. On a recent visit, I glanced quickly at the files in his Asheville office and store-room, perhaps forty full file-drawers, tightly packed with meticulously-labeled folders and already in the kind of preliminary order one would expect from this scrupulous administrator. In retrospect, various conversations during his last months make it clear that he was facing up to the task of preparing these papers for transfer to an archive.<br />
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His UNESCO friends do not always remember that UNESCO was only part of Jack’s life, even if it centered his thinking in the last four decades and lifted his global vision to new levels. When he came to Paris from the USAID mission in New Delhi in 1964, his arrival at Place de Fontenoy refocused his life. But there was already much of that life already in place.<br />
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With his academic background in public administration, it was natural that the U.S. Army Air Force should have detached this young captain, well before the end of World War II, for work with the Strategic Bombing Survey and the UN preparatory commission in London. In parallel and in the same building, the regular wartime meetings of the Allied Ministers of Education were taking place. And when the U.S. delegation headed by young Congressman J. William Fulbright came to London to attend those meetings in the Spring of 1944, he followed their work from his nearby vantage-point. Fulbright’s delegation to what would become UNESCO included Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish; Dean Mildred Thompson of Vassar College, surrogate for Eleanor Roosevelt; Nobel physicist Arthur Compton, President of Washington University in St. Louis; and President George Shuster of Hunter College in New York, among others. To honor the U.S. presence, the Allied Ministers elected Fulbright – a Rhodes Scholar and four-year veteran of Oxford – to chair their meetings. All this was happening while Fobes was laboring alongside men like Ralph Bunche to design the UN.<br />
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Returning to Washington, he helped design and administer the Marshall Plan for European recovery, from his base in the State Department, where he became a central architect of U.S. engagement with the UN and other multilateral bodies. Moving with his young family to New Delhi in the Kennedy years, he served Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith as Deputy Director of the USAID mission.<br />
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He began his life in, with and for UNESCO as ADG for Administration in 1964, then became DDG in 1971, a position he retained until retirement in 1977. Back in Washington, he was quickly named to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO and in 1979 was elected to its Chair. By December 1983, overriding the Commission’s strong objections and those of the involved U.S. agencies in Washington, as well as a considerable number of NGOs across the nation, the U.S. announced withdrawal from UNESCO at the end of the following year, pledging that its sole purpose was to stimulate the kind of internal reform that Jack Fobes had been quietly putting in place for a decade. When it became obvious that the U.S. pledge to recognize successful reforms over time would not be honored, scholars like Roger Coate concluded that the withdrawal was part of a larger ideological agenda and that the call for reform was no more than tactical.<br />
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Whether out of principle or under pressure from political forces in the new administration, Jack Fobes resigned from the U.S. National Commission and its Chair that same December. Despite continued objection from his successor Chairman and the Executive Committee, U.S. withdrawal took place a year later (31 December 1984), when the Commission was disbanded and commissioners relieved of their duties. Fobes’ immediate response, with no financial backing, was to found AUU, a citizen support group which tried to fill the vacuum left by the disappearance of the U.S. Commission. The purposes of AUU, as he expressed them, reveal his thinking at the time. From his base in North Carolina, he spent a great deal of his first year working with the UK but failed to persuade the British government not to follow the U.S. withdrawal one year later.<br />
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Early issues of the AUU Newsletter reveal the shaping of Fobes’ goals. He was as intent as ever on reforming UNESCO, but from within; he insisted at the same time that along with reform in Paris the U.S. had to look hard at its own house and its dreary record of engagement since 1946. He pressed the British to maintain their involvement. He knew that U.S. civil society would continue to cooperate with UNESCO and sought to facilitate such activity. He was looking for ways to re-educate the American public from the ground up, with particular focus on the utility of UNESCO’s agenda to broad U.S. goals. Soon he had begun to see that AUU, to carry out such an agenda, needed financial support – the pleas for contributions mount from issue to issue.<br />
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In February 1986, the fifth issue of the Newsletter told the sad tale of Fobes’ involvement in the death of the National Commission, during a Washington conference call in 12-13 December 1985. At dinner on 12 December, there were two speakers: Ivo Margan, Chair of UNESCO’s Executive Board, and Elliott Richardson, head of the American UN Association. The next day his successor Chairman James Holderman informed all commissioners of the Presidentially-approved decision to withdraw, cancel their appointments and disband the Commission.<br />
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During the half-day of meetings on 13 December, Fobes made a major statement, summarized in his own words in February. He was sad, he said, but not disheartened: sad about the handling of the UK withdrawal and “the bitterness it has engendered,” yet encouraged by the global outpouring of dismay over the two withdrawals.<br />
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He made four points. On reform, he believed it would inevitable reach far beyond internal adjustments once it took account of the new kinds of multilateral cooperation the world already needed; after forty years it was time to rethink the UNESCO Constitution; he called for “a synthesis of resolutions and declarations of the past 40 years,” what he called a “Meta Constitution,” as a roadmap to guide UNESCO through this period of transition.<br />
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On surviving the brutal budgetary consequences of the two withdrawals, he called for men and women “of strong faith and vision” inside UNESCO and urged that there be more “universality and renewal groups” around the world, akin to what he had in mind for AUU.<br />
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On international support, he noted the role of the Executive Board and Chairman Margan and the promise held out by a new DG in the Fall of 1987. He noted the importance of the “middle States” like Canada and the Nordic countries and called on them to enhance their cooperation with the key international NGOs. He anticipated help from “some” National Commissions.<br />
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On the broader context, he indicated his overarching belief that UNESCO’s crisis has its origins in a crisis of civilizations, felt with special acuity in “that part of the UN system which deals with the heart, mind, conscience and learning capacities of human society.”<br />
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Concluding, he turned to his own country: “It is unthinkable that this nation, rich in interests and ideas, can deal with its world relationships in a fragmented fashion, leaving NGOs, universities and business to work separately . . . from government agencies.”<br />
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The death of the U.S. Commission prompted his dream of “a proper citizens’ commission for UNESCO.” He went on to predict: America may re-invent a central citizens’ body similar to but more autonomous than the Commission…. The pattern of voluntary coalitions concerned with the advance of knowledge, learning, understanding and human dignity could be repeated at the level of communities all across the country…. In some cases, they will be groups for “the universality of UNESCO.” In others, UNA chapters, World Affairs Councils, World Federalist units and other bodies will expand their horizons. They should all have a voice….<br />
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Jack Fobes’ legacy to Americans for UNESCO went well beyond the crisis of 1984. The fall of this “mighty oak,” as one admirer called him, has left the burden to lesser trees, not only in the American forest but everywhere in the world. We are grateful to the editors of Liens/Links for this opportunity to share a fragment of Jack’s vision with the UNESCO family and to seek their help in assembling the mosaic of this rich, generous and noble life.<br />
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<div align="right">
Richard T. Arndt<br />
President Americans for UNESCO</div>
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Jack Fobes n’est plus.<br />
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Comment ceux qui ont eu la chance et le bonheur de travailler auprès de lui et qui l’ont aimé et admiré, peuvent-ils, en quelques mots, faire comprendre ce que Jack a représenté pour eux et pour l’Unesco?<br />
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Deux choses me viennent tout de suite à l’esprit : Jack était un grand administrateur qui aimait les programmes de l’Unesco et Jack était un administrateur qui avait du coeur !<br />
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Profondément attaché aux idéaux de l’Unesco, Jack l’a été jusqu’à ses derniers jours. Responsable de l’administration, il a toujours aimé et protégé ves activités dites de programme et les functionnaires qui en étaient chargés. Ceux-ci le savaient bien qui frappaient directement à sa porte et trouvaient avec lui des solutions à leurs problèmes. Aux yeux de Jack, les services administratifs, qu’il dirigeait si bien, avaient pour táche essentielle d’aider leurs colleagues à mettre en oeuvre ces activités de programme qui étaient – et restent – l’unique justification de l’existence même de l’organisation. Pour lui, ces activités de programme, surtout celles en faveur du développement ont toujours en priorité sur les routines et les obstacles administratifs.<br />
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C’est bien avant de prendre ses fonctions au troisième étage du bâtiment de la place Fontenoy que Jack avait fait connaissance, par la biais de son budget, avec les activités d’une organisation à laquelle il allait consacrer de nombreuses années de sa vie. Représentant des Etats Unis au Comité de coordination administrative des Nations Unies un orange composé d’ « administratifs » purs et durs – Jack avait étonné Maheu qui défendait sur le plan technique le budget de l’Organisation, par des questions qui démontraient un grand intérêt pour les objectifs et les activités de l’Unesco, surtout celles sur le terrain. Ce sont ces échanges courtois au sein d’un Comité où les débats sont plutôt arides, qui devaient plus tard faire dire à Maheu que « Fobes » [sic] est un homme gentil », c’est-à-dire, dans le sense original et historique de cette épithète « dèlicat, généreux et noble ».<br />
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Ce sont ces qualités d’administrateur s’intéressant avant tout aux opèrations concrètes qu’une organisation comme l’Unesco peut avoir dans le monde et surtout dans sa partie la plus défavorisée, qui ont déterminé le choix que fit le Directeur général d’alors. J’ai rencontré Jack pour la première fois à Orly où il débarquait seul pour prendre ses nouvelles fonctions. Il a apprécié la vue « culturelle » de son bureau donnant sur l’Ecole militaire et la Tour Eiffel, alors que les dossiers commençaient déjà à s’accumuler sur son bureau. Chacun sait que l’arrivée d’un nouvel administrateur suscite toujours d’abondantes requêtes.<br />
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Amoureux des programmes de l’Unesco, Jack avait – je crois pouvoir le dire – un certain faible pour les sciences sociales, qui correspondaient à sa formation universitaire, et parmi les projets relevants alors du secteur des sciences sociales, ceux relatifs à la défense des droits de l’homme retenaient le plus son attention. Une des rares occasions où les veus de Jack ont divergé des miennes concernaient la place des activités d’architecture dans l’organigramme du Secrétariat. Pour des raisons – que je reconnais avoir été purement pragmatiques – je voyais l’architecture associée aux programmes de technologie ou de culture. Jack les considérait comme appartenent aux sciences sociales. Je dois reconnaître aujourd’hui que Jack, avec sa profonde connaissance de tout ce qui touche à l’humain, avait probablement raison.<br />
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Jack, l’administrateur, avait du coeur: premier responsable d’une gestion qui se devait d’être juste et transparente, Jack a su, avec son calme et son sourire, appliquer strictement les statuts et règlements de l’organisation tout en trouvant des solutions humaines et raisonnables aux nombreux problèmes financiers et de personnel que posaient alors une croissance très rapide des activités de l’Unesco et leur évolution en direction du terrain. Tout ce qui touchait à l’homme et à sa famille primait lorsque Jack, le gestionnaire, devait prendre des décisions parfois difficiles concernant la vie et l’avenir des fonctionnaires. L’experience que Jack avait eue en Inde, avant de joindre l’Unesco, le prédisposait aussi à bien comprendre les difficultés que les « experts » pouvaient rencontrer dans leur travail et leur vie familiale.<br />
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Ce sens de l’humain et sa fidélité à ses amis et à l’Unesco seront sans doute les souvenirs les plus marquants que Jack laissera à tous ceux qui l’ont bien connu et qui le regrettent aujourd’hui.<br />
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<div align0="" right="">
Gérard Bolla<br />
Former Assistant Director General<br />
UNESCO</div>
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Read <a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2006/10/remembering-jack-fobes.html">Remembering Jack Fobes</a>: remarks by Kofi Annan, Federico Mayor and Richard Nobbe and a biographical sketch.<br />
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Read <a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2006/10/tributes-to-john-fobes-by-kochiro.html">Tributes to John Fobes by Koïchiro Matsuura and Paul Schafer</a><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1161873220443481152006-10-29T02:28:00.000-05:002013-03-28T11:47:44.603-04:00Tributes to John Fobes by Koïchiro Matsuura and Paul Schafer<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/Jack%20Fobes%20-%203.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/320/Jack%20Fobes%20-%203.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><br />
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On June 17th, 2005, <a href="http://www.americansforunesco.org/">Americans for UNESCO</a> and the Board on International Scientific Organizations of The National Academies held a celebration of the life of John E. Fobes. Special guests for the event were Federico Mayor Zaragoza (Former Director-General of UNESCO), Harriet M. Fulbright and Harlan Cleveland. The website of Americans for UNESCO was not working when Dr. Fobes died, but we are now taking this opportunity to commemorate his life and his contributions.<br />
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<center>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Message from Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura<br />Director-General of UNESCO,<br />on the occasion of the Memorial Service in honor of Jack Fobes<br />17 June 2005</span></center>
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I am pleased to offer words of praise and remembrance in honor of Jack Fobes, former Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, whose service to this institution left a lasting legacy.<br />
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Jack Fobes arrived at UNESCO in 1964, fresh from his New Delhi posting as Deputy Director of the USAID Mission to India. Jack Fobes’ service to the United Nations systems predates the UN itself, since he was detailed in 1942 to the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations in London. There, as Secretary to the Committee on Administration and Budgetary Matters, he worked to lay out the first UN budget and financial regulations, Member State contributions scale and staff policy. These were to find life as text of the UN Charter and other documents. In the 1950s, he advised the US Delegations to the UN General Assembly and was elected for 5 years by the General Assembly to serve on its Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.<br />
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UNESCO’s files still preserve the letters from Director-General René Maheu offering Jack Fobes his first position of Assistant Director-General for Administration. Jack Fobes went on to serve with great distinction at UNESCO until 1977, improving budgeting and administrative procedures including personnel policy and working methods. Along the way, he and his wife Hazel made lifelong friends. In December 1970, René Maheu, having duly consulted UNESCO’s Executive Board, showed the professional and personal regard in which he held his close adviser in a letter offering him the position of Deputy Director-General, which referred to the “very great esteem” he had for his competence and capacities, as well as for the “integrity and loyalty” of his character, “founded upon the experience of a long and close collaboration”. On another occasion, René Maheu was to say of Jack Fobes: “I greatly appreciate, in particular, the qualities of heart that you unite with an informed intelligence in your treatment of human affairs.”<br />
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Jack Fobes remained a loyal advocate of UNESCO in the productive decades that followed his retirement, during which, among other activities, he founded Americans for the Universality of UNESCO and worked with the UN Association of the United States of America and other civil society groups. With Jack Fobes’ death, a true friend of UNESCO departed. I am glad that, before he died, he had the satisfaction of seeing his great country’s re-entry into the Organization, after a period of separation which pained him.<br />
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<div align="right">
Koïchiro Matsuura<br />Director General<br />UNESCO</div>
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<center>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">A TRIBUTE TO<br />JOHN E. (JACK) FOBES</span></center>
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Jack Fobes was one of those rare individuals who touched people on many different levels. He did so through his commitment, compassion, administrative abilities, and dedication to UNESCO, the United Nations, and making the world a better place for all.<br />
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I first met Jack in 1975. It was at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. I was there to receive a briefing prior to undertaking an advisory mission to New Zealand for the organization. While I was in Paris, I had arranged to meet with Guy Métraux, editor of UNESCO’s Cultures, to discuss a paper of mine – Towards a New World Order: The Age of Culture – he had accepted for publication. As it turned out, Guy was a close friend of Jack’s – a friend who did as much to advance UNESCO’s scholarly interests as Jack did to advance its administrative and developmental interests.<br />
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You can imagine how thrilled I was when Guy informed me that the Deputy Director General of UNESCO – Jack Fobes – had asked to meet with me when I was in Paris. He went on to say that Jack had ordered a special printing of my paper for distribution to the delegates at the Round Table on Cultural and Intellectual Cooperation and the New International Economic Order planned for 1976. In retrospect, this confirmation by Jack of my writing on the subject of culture was a defining feature in my life. It convinced me to spend the rest of my life working to broaden and deepen understanding of culture and cultures in general and the role they are capable of playing in the world of the future in particular.<br />
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Following our meeting in Paris, Jack and I stayed in touch on a number of issues. However, I did not see Jack again until 1980, when we were asked to attend a series of meetings in Durango and Mexico City on The Future of the Past: Historical Identity and Permanence and Change organized by Jack’s friend, Magda Cordell McHale. Since the meetings extended over many days, I had the opportunity to get to know Jack and his charming wife Hazel on a more personal basis, as well as to become more acquainted with Jack’s formidable talents and accomplishments. I will always remember how impressed I was with Jack’s humanity, humility, and considerable administrative capabilities. As chair of many of the session, he demonstrated a remarkable capacity to guide and steer the discussion. He knew exactly how long and how hard to push the delegates, as well as when it was time to take a rest and “fluff the pillow” as he liked to call it.<br />
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Jack and I stayed in touch after our get together in Durango and Mexico City on a number of matters of mutual interest and concern. He was particularly helpful to me when I started the World Culture Project to commemorate the World Decade for Cultural Development in 1989, acting as an advisor to the Project. It was at this time that I became aware of the fact that Jack was not only well known in the cultural community, but also in the futures and political communities. In addition to his numerous other skills and abilities – skills and abilities that made it possible for him to accomplish an enormous amount without ruffling many if any feathers – Jack possessed an incredible capacity for far-sightedness and vision. He understood very well the need for new thinking and new ideas with respect to international affairs, multinational relations, the world of the future, and especially the role all the diverse cultures and peoples of the world and civil society could play in this.<br />
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When the United States pulled out of UNESCO, Jack was deeply hurt. While most people would throw up their hands and lament the fact that little or nothing could be done about it, Jack immediately started a powerful movement to push for the return of the United States to UNESCO. He did so by creating Americans for the Universality of UNESCO, now Americans for UNESCO. It is a cause that Jack worked on tirelessly for two decades. While it is largely conjecture on my part, I do not believe the United States would be a member of UNESCO today if it hadn’t been for Jack’s persistent efforts in this regard.<br />
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When I think about Jack’s contributions to people and countries in all parts of the world – from the local and regional to the national and international – I am reminded of Martin Luther King’s comment that “I seek nothing more than to leave behind me a life wholly devoted to a cause.” This was Jack. He was wholly dedicated to the cause of improving the quality of life for all members of the human family and humanity as a whole. In the process, he became “a world citizen” and “mighty oak” as one colleague called him who touched, moved and assisted people from many diverse walks of life and parts of the world. His countless friends, colleagues and admirers throughout the world will be eternally grateful to him for this.<br />
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<div align="right">
D. Paul Schafer<br />Director<br />The World Culture Project<br />Markham, Canada</div>
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<br />
Read <a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2006/10/remembering-jack-fobes.html">Remembering Jack Fobes</a> with comments by Kofi Annan, Federico Mayor, Richard Nobbe, and a biographical sketch.<br />
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Read <a href="http://auhighlights.blogspot.com/2006/10/jack-fobes-lien-link-memorial-articles.html">Jack Fobes: Lien-Link Memorial Articles</a> by Richard Arndt and Gérard Bolla.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1160575580527082282006-10-11T08:40:00.000-04:002013-03-28T11:47:11.011-04:00INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT<center>
By <a href="http://amunescoboard.blogspot.com/2006/05/annette-hartenstein.html">Annette Hartenstein</a></center>
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/children%20in%20a%20refugee%20camp.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/320/children%20in%20a%20refugee%20camp.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a>Children in a Congo Refugee Camp<br />
Image by F. Loock, © UNESCO<br />
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Traditionally considered too hot for a global institution to handle, the issue of international migration has recently been moving up the UN agenda. Pierre Sané, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences (SHS), discusses this issue in the <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=9933&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">September edition of the SHS Views</a> from the perspective of a complex cross-cutting issue that Social and Human Sciences can address. He emphasizes the contribution of policy-oriented research to human rights-focused understanding and management of social transformations. Without comprehensive intelligence and interventions by the many competent actors, fragmentation, duplication and inefficiency occurs in addressing this issue. The Social and Human Sciences Sector is responsible for implementing the program on international migration. Its aim is to promote respect for migrants’ rights and to contribute to the social integration of migrants. To carry this out, the Sector has five main lines of action:<br />
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• Increasing the protection of migrants through participation with the <a href="http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp">International Organization for Migration</a> (IOM), the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/">International Labour Organization</a> (ILO), the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/english/">Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights</a> (OHCHR), as well as several NGOs, in an international campaign to encourage States to adhere to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families;<br />
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• Improving national policies of the sending, transit and receiving countries, through promoting research and providing training for policy makers so that there is better management of the impact that migration has on societies;<br />
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• Promoting the value of and respect for cultural diversity in multicultural societies and improving the balance between policies that favor diversity and those that favor social integration, by developing initiatives that advocate consideration of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (1992), and the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity;<br />
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• Supporting capacity-building, permanence and effectiveness of migrants’ networks as a means of promoting intellectual contribution – as against the current brain drain – through the use of new information and communication technologies; and<br />
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• Contributing to the global fight against human trafficking and the exploitation of migrants.</blockquote>
In <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=9933&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">the September SHS Views issue</a>, articles also examine the issue of International Migration and provide examples of exemplary national efforts. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">UN Migration Report</span><br />
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In 2005, the International Labour Organization adopted a non-binding <a href="http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/migrant/download/tmmflm-en.pdf#search=%22Multilateral%20Framework%20on%20Labour%20Migration%22">Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration</a>. Last year, the independent <a href="http://www.gcim.org/en/">Global Commission on International Migration</a> presented a report and recommendations to the UN Secretary-General. Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed a standing forum which governments could use to explore and compare policy approaches. It would make new policy ideas more widely known, add value to existing regional consultations, and encourage an integrated approach to migration and development at both the national and international levels. <br />
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<a href="http://www.gcim.org/en/finalreport.html">This report</a> finds that migration has become a major feature of international life. People living outside their home countries numbered 191 million in 2005 -- 115 million in developed countries, 75 million in the developing world. One third of all current immigrants in the world have moved from one developing country to another, while about the same number have moved from the developing world to the developed. In other words, “South-South” migration is roughly as common as “South-North”. But migration to countries designated as “high-income” – a category which includes some developing countries, such as the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – has grown much faster than to the rest of the world.<br />
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Annan pointed out that “the advantages that migration brings are not as well understood as they should be.” Migrants not only take on necessary jobs seen as less desirable by the established residents of host countries, the report finds, but also stimulate demand and improve economic performance overall. They help to shore up pension systems in countries with aging populations.<br />
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Throughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of the individual’s will to overcome adversity and to live a better life. Today, globalization, together with advances in communication and transport, has greatly increased the number of people who have both the desire and the capacity to move.<br />
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For their part, developing countries benefit from an estimated $167 billion a year sent home by migrant workers. The exodus of talent from poor countries to more prosperous often poses a severe development loss. But in many countries this is at least partially compensated by migrants’ later return to, and/or investment in, their home countries, where profitable new businesses are established.<br />
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“<span style="font-style: italic;">It is time to take a more comprehensive look at the various dimensions of the migration issue, which now involves hundreds of millions of people and affects countries of origin, transit and destination. We need to understand better the causes of international flows of people and their complex interrelationship with development.</span>"<br />
Kofi Annan in his report on strengthening the Organization 9/11/2002 </blockquote>
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“It is for Governments to decide whether more or less migration is desirable,” the Secretary-General says in his introduction to the report. “Our focus in the international community should be on the quality and safety of the migration experience and on what can be done to maximize its development benefits.”<br />
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There are benefits at both ends of the voyage. The UN report reviews scores of promising policy developments -- multiple-entry visas that provide more fluid and better regulated access to needed immigrant workers, support for immigrant entrepreneurship and host-country training programs, international cooperation to increase training of skilled workers in migrant-sending countries to allay brain drain, and country-of-origin outreach to overseas diasporas.<br />
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Migration is not a zero-sum game, the report finds. It can benefit both sending and receiving countries at once. Significantly, many countries once known for emigration – Ireland, the Republic of Korea and Spain among them – now boast thriving economies and host large numbers of immigrants.<br />
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The UN report recognizes governments’ right to decide who is allowed to enter their territory, subject to international treaty obligations, as well as their capacity to work together to upgrade economic and social benefits at both ends of the migrant voyage, and to promote the well-being of the migrants themselves. “We find that while countries share people through migration, they often neglect to share knowledge about how to manage the movement of people,” Mr. Annan writes. “We need to learn more systematically from each other.”<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.un.org/esa/population/hldmigration/">HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE ON INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT</a></span><br />
<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/migration.0.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/320/migration.0.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0 0 10px 10px;" /></a><br />
In September 2006, the General Assembly explored international migration, including most promising aspects: its relationship to development. The potential for migrants to help transform their native countries is capturing the imaginations of national and local authorities, international institutions and the private sector. <br />
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In his introductory remarks, Anan pointed out that advancing immigration policy can help meet the UN’s development goals. The scale of migration’s potential for good is huge. To take just the most tangible example, the funds that migrants send back to developing countries—at least $167 billion in 2005 alone—now dwarf all forms of international aid combined.<br />
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We have gained many new insights into migration and, especially, into its impact on development. We now understand, better than ever before, that migration is not a zero-sum game. In the best cases, it benefits the receiving country, the country of origin, and migrants themselves. It should be no surprise that countries once associated exclusively with emigration—such as Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Spain, and many others—now boast thriving economies which themselves attract large numbers of migrants. Emigration has played a decisive role in reinvigorating their economies, as has the eventual return of many of their citizens.<br />
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International migration is changing as labor markets and society become more global. Those who emigrate no longer separate themselves as thoroughly as they once did from the families and communities they leave behind. No longer do the vast majority settle in just a small number of developed countries: about a third of the world’s nearly 200 million migrants have moved from one developing country to another, while an equal proportion have gone from the developing to the developed world. Nor are migrants engaged only in menial activities. Nearly half the increase in the number of international migrants aged 25 or over in OECD countries during the 1990s was made up of highly skilled people.<br />
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Meanwhile, research continues to undermine old assumptions—it shows, for example, that women are somewhat more likely than men to migrate to the developed world, that migrants can maintain transnational lives, and that remittances can dramatically help local economies. At the same time, innovations in policymaking are allowing us to manage international migration in new ways—China and the Republic of Korea attract expatriate researchers back home with state-of-the-art science parks; Governments collaborate with migrant associations abroad to improve livelihoods at home; and development programs help migrant entrepreneurs start small<br />
businesses in their countries of origin.<br />
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Owing to the communications and transport revolution, today’s international migrants are, more than ever before, a dynamic human link between cultures, economies and societies. And the wealth of migrants is not measured only in the remittances they send home. Through the skills and know-how they accumulate, they also help to transfer technology and institutional knowledge. They inspire new ways of thinking, both socially and politically. India’s software industry has emerged in large part from intensive networking among expatriates, returning migrants, and Indian entrepreneurs at home and abroad. After working in Greece, Albanians bring home new agricultural skills that enable them to increase production. By promoting the exchange of experience and helping build partnerships, the international community can do much to increase—and spread—these positive effects of migration on development.<br />
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Many promising policies are already in place making migration work better for everyone. Some countries are experimenting with more fluid types of migration that afford greater freedom of movement through multiple-entry visas. Others are promoting the entrepreneurial spirit of migrants by easing access to loans and providing management training. Governments are also seeking ways to attract their expatriates’ home: directly, through professional and financial incentives, and indirectly by creating legal and institutional frameworks conducive to return—including dual citizenship and portable pensions. Local authorities, too, are using innovative measures to attract expatriate talent to their cities or regions.<br />
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In a closing statement by the president of the 61st session of the General Assembly, H. E. Sheikha Haya Rashed al Khalifa, emphasized the opportunities and challenges that international migration poses for development in each of their countries. He noted that the participants examined the impact of international migration on economic and social development, the centrality of human rights to ensure the development benefits of migration, the importance of remittances, and the crucial role of international cooperation and partnerships to address the challenges posed by international migration. Above all, the forum proven that international migration and development can be debated constructively in the United Nations.<br />
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The High-Level Dialogue has affirmed a number of key messages. First, that international migration is a growing phenomenon and is a key component of development in both developing and developed countries. Second, that international migration can be a positive force for development in countries of origin and countries of destination, provided it is supported by the right set of policies. Third, that it is important to strengthen international cooperation on international migration, bilaterally, regionally and globally.<br />
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This dialogue has emphasized that respect for human rights is the necessary foundation for the beneficial effects of migration on development to accrue. Some vulnerable groups, such as migrant women and children, need special protection.<br />
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Migration is no substitute for development. Too often, migrants are forced to seek employment abroad due to poverty, conflict and the lack of human rights. There has been widespread support for incorporating international migration to the development agenda and for integrating migration issues into national development strategies, including possibly into poverty reduction strategies. There is a need to provide decent work and decent working conditions in countries of origin and countries of destination. This would alleviate the negative aspects of migration including the brain-drain.<br />
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Furthermore, remittances are considered one of the most tangible benefits of international migration for development. They improve the lives of millions of migrant families, but also have a positive effect on the economy at large. However, called for are the reduction in the costs of remittances transfers and for maximizing their development potential.<br />
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Check out these UNESCO websites:<br />
<blockquote>
* <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=1211&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">International Migration and Multicultural Policies</a><br />
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* <a href="http://databases.unesco.org/migration/MIGWEBintro.shtml">Migration Research Institutes Database</a><br />
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* <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=10000&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Recognition of Qualifications of Migrants</a></blockquote>
Subscribe to <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=7010&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO's Migration and Multicultural Policies Mailing List</a>.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1159903153219193282006-10-03T15:18:00.000-04:002013-03-28T11:46:35.725-04:00Debate on Challenges, Roles and Functions of UNESCOUNESCO's Executive Board is to hold a public debate on the challenges, roles and functions of UNESCO tomorrow, October 4, 2006. The debate will take place in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris from 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Paris time.<br />
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The debate is <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">to be available by streaming video</a> over the Internet.<br />
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The Chairman of the UNESCO Executive Board, Zhang Xinsheng, is to open the first session which is then to feature an introduction by its moderator, Baroness Valerie Amos, Leader of the House of Lords (U.K.). At 10.10 a.m., Chen Ning Yang, Nobel Laureate in Physics and Professor at Tsinghua University (China), is to speak of “science in the 20th and 21st centuries and its relevance to UNESCO.” He is to be followed by Richard C. Levin, President of Yale University, on “international cooperation in education and the role of UNESCO.” Alpha Omar Konaré, Chairperson of the African Union Commission and former President of the Republic of Mali, is to speak about “cultural diversity in the age of globalization and Africa’s perspectives of UNESCO’s role and potentials for partnership,” at 10.40 a.m. A two-hour open debate will follow.<br />
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Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, former President of Mexico, is to speak about “the impact, benefits and challenges of globalization as it relates to UNESCO,” in the session starting at 3 p.m., which he is also to moderate. The Tunisian Minister of Communication Technologies, Montasser Ouaïli, is scheduled to speak of “UNESCO implementing the recommendations of the World Summit on Information Societies: role of the media and communication” at 3.20 p.m. Evgeny Sidorov, Ambassador at Large and former Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation is to speak of “aspects of globalization and culture.” A two-hour debate is to follow, with remarks by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, at 5.50 p.m. At 6.15, an open-ended symposium is to be moderated by Dominique Wolton, Research Director at the CNRS, France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, who is to speak about “building the defences of peace in the minds of men through education, the sciences, culture and communication and information: future role of UNESCO.”<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Read <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=34905&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">the full press release</a> on the symposium.</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35452742.post-1159903036487911812006-09-20T15:07:00.000-04:002013-03-28T11:46:03.121-04:00The White House - UNESCO Global Literacy Conference<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/1600/pres%20%26%20first%20lady%20at%20lit%20conf.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5826/114/400/pres%20%26%20first%20lady%20at%20lit%20conf.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a><br />
President Bush, the U.S Secretaries of State and Education, and UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura attended the Global Literacy Conference in New York on September 18, 2006. In all, more than 200 first ladies and spouses, ministers of education, foundation representatives, library experts and nongovernmental organization representatives attended the half-day program. <br />
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First Lady Laura Bush gave the welcoming address, challenging governments to educate all people -- men, women and children, rich and poor -- and urged private-sector organizations to dedicate their resources to ending illiteracy. She said: <br />
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'Literacy instruction for women improves educational opportunities for their children -- women who can read are advocates for their children's education; literacy helps adults make informed decisions to protect their health and the health of their children; and literacy helps adults -- women and men -- learn the basic financial skills that generate income, that foster independence, and that boost local economies.' <br />
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Mrs. Bush then invited all governments to join with the United States in supporting LAMP. President Bush linked his push for democratic reform with the call for governments to embrace literacy programs: <br />
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'The simple act of teaching a child to read or an adult to read has the capacity to transform nations and yield the peace we all want. You can't realize the blessings of liberty if you can't read a ballot.' <br />
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The site of the conference -- the New York Public Library -- provided a moving testament to the power of reading. The conference was timed to coincide with the opening of 61st Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. It was held in seven languages and included a luncheon at which attendees shared reactions and ideas. <br />
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Mrs. Bush, who is the Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade, used the meeting to announce a $1 million contribution from the United States to support UNESCO's Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Program (LAMP). <br />
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Mrs. Bush first announced the Conference at an event in Paris in April that coincided with the annual celebration of UNESCO's Education for All (EFA) Week. <a href="http://http//portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=41984&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">Peter Smith, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education</a>, met with her twice in planning for the Conference.<br />
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Read the full Remarks of key speakers:<br />
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· <a href="http://www.globalliteracy.gov/press/sp_091806_2.html">The President and Mrs. Bush</a><br />
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· <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0609/S00334.htm">Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice</a><br />
· <a href="http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2006/09/09182006.html">Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings</a><br />
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· <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001472/147245E.pdf">UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura</a></blockquote>
Read the press release on the conference from:<br />
<blockquote>
· <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=34774&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO</a><br />
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· <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060918-9.html">The White House</a><br />
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· <a href="http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060918184316eaifas0.5702936">The State Department</a></blockquote>
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Visit <a href="http://www.globalliteracy.gov/press/index.html">the Conference website</a>.<br />
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John Daly, September 20, 2006.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0