15 February Her Excellency Ms Yuko Mori, Senior Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology,

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1 Address by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO to the General Assembly of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO UNESCO s Priorities in a World of Change, Working with Japan for Lasting Peace and Sustainable Development 15 February 2012 Her Excellency Ms Yuko Mori, Senior Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Excellency Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Dear Friend, Honourable Members of the House of Representatives, Honourable Members of the House of Councillors, Excellencies Vice-Ministers, Professor Tetsuo TAMURA, Chairperson of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, Excellencies, I am deeply honoured to speak before the General Assembly of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO. It is a pleasure to be here. Thank you for this opportunity. This has been a deeply moving visit. I have just returned from Sendai, where I had the pleasure to speak at Tohoku University and to visit the Nakano Elementary School. I had the honour to present the certificate for the inscription of Hiraizumi as a World Heritage Site. DG/2012/022 Original: English

2 Throughout this visit, I have witnessed extraordinary strength in young children, in university students, in their teachers and professors, in local authorities. On behalf of UNESCO, I wish to take this opportunity to once again express my deepest condolences for all victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and to convey my heartfelt sympathy to all affected by its devastating impact. I would like to congratulate the Japanese people for their resilience and their commitment to move forward. Japan has lived through an event on an extraordinary scale. It has demonstrated a resilience that is equally extraordinary. This draws on the values of solidarity and civic responsibility that are deeply embedded in Japanese society. These values are embodied, I would say, by the National Commission of Japan for UNESCO. I considered it a special honour to visit Sendai. As you know, the world s first UNESCO Club was created there, on 19 July 1947, inspired by UNESCO s message that peace must be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind. In the turmoil of reconstruction, these words offered a new vision of peace. This paved the way for Japan to join UNESCO in July 1951, five years before its formal admission to the United Nations. We had the pleasure to celebrate last year the 60 th membership of UNESCO. anniversary of Japan s Japan has always been one of UNESCO s greatest champions. DG/2012/022 - Page 2

3 This was expressed most clearly in the vision that guided my esteemed predecessor, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, as Director-General, for whom I feel deep respect. He prepared the Organization to tackle the challenges of the 21 st century, and I am proud to follow in his footsteps. Even at a time when Japan is confronting grave domestic challenges, your country tirelessly supports those in need across the world. This pays tribute to Japan s deep sense of solidarity with societies the world over. I believe this pays tribute also to the relevance of UNESCO s message today. States cannot tackle alone global challenges such as the economic crisis, the consequences of climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the impact of natural disasters and conflicts. The Great East Japan Tsunami and Earthquake illustrated -- tragically -- the complexity of the problems we face. Challenges pay no heed to borders. They pay little respect to boundaries between disciplinary or policy areas. Lasting peace and sustainable development are today two sides of the same coin. Without peace, there can be no sustainable development. At the same time, endemic poverty, the impacts of climate change and natural disasters, violations of human rights all of these are obstacles to lasting peace. Cooperation must reach across borders. It must take in the poor and most marginalised of every society. DG/2012/022 - Page 3

4 Today, as in 1945, solidarity cannot come from treaties alone it must start in the minds of every woman and man. This is UNESCO s role to foster cooperation in education, culture, the sciences, and communication as the building blocks for human dignity and for resilient and sustainable development. UNESCO works hand in hand with Japan to advance this integrated vision of peace and sustainable development. This starts with education. Education is the foundation for more resilient societies, able to adapt to the pressures of change. This is the idea guiding UNESCO s leadership of the global movement for Education for All. Less than four years away from 2015, we have made considerable progress, including in poor countries but we are not on track to reach our goals. Far too many students leave school with minimal skills. 793 million adults lack basic literacy skills. Gender equality raises especially high stakes. Globally, girls are more likely to never enter primary school than boys. Women represent two-thirds of the world s illiterate population. This is why I launched last May a new Global Partnership on Girls and Women s Education, with the United Nations Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon and the U.S. Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Rodham Clinton. DG/2012/022 - Page 4

5 Mobilizing major private sector companies, this focuses on girls secondary education and women s literacy. Our position is clear -- education brings sustainability to development to the progress towards all other Millennium Development Goals. The same idea underpins the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which Japan sponsored and UNESCO leads. Responding to climate change must start with each of us, with the way we think and behave. Our aim is to equip individuals with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to allow them to make informed choices and responsible decisions -- now and in the future. With Japan s support, we are working to reorient educational programmes, to train teachers in education for sustainable development, and to raise awareness with young people and adults. We are actively preparing with Japan the 2014 Conference on Education for Sustainable Development that will close the United Nations Decade. This conference must take stock of the outcomes of the Decade and look forward to new joint actions. I am positive we can do more, and I believe we should look here to the wider post education and development agenda. I look forward to working with Japan as we approach the deadline for Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals. Lasting peace and development must also build on a new science for sustainability. DG/2012/022 - Page 5

6 The UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission is vital here, and I am grateful for Japan s support to our work to develop effective regional warning systems across the world. UNESCO has benefitted greatly from the presence at our Headquarters of worldclass expertise from the Japan Meteorological Agency. Later this week, as you know, we are holding with Japan and the United Nations University a Symposium on the Great East Japan Tsunami. This will be an important moment to capture lessons and to share them as widely as possible. We also work where needs are most acute. I am grateful for Japan s support to our programme in Pakistan to upgrade flood forecasting and early warning systems. This draws on the expertise of the Tsukuba-based International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management, created under UNESCO auspices. Japan supports also our action to combat drought and famine in the Horn of Africa - - where we are working to assess groundwater resources for drought preparedness. My visit to Hiraizumi deepened my belief in the importance of cultural heritage for social resilience. Japan knows, I would say intimately, the importance of culture as a source of identity and strength, as a force for solidarity. As you know, we celebrate this year the 40 th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. DG/2012/022 - Page 6

7 This Convention is a flagship today for safeguarding 936 sites across the world of outstanding universal value. Japan is a champion here also -- with sixteen sites, cultural and natural, inscribed on the World Heritage List. This engagement includes support to other countries for instance, to protect the Bamiyan Buddha niches in Afghanistan, the Bayon Temple in Angkor, Cambodia and many others. Japan s election to the World Heritage Committee reflects this leadership and commitment. I look forward to the Final Event to celebrate the 40 th anniversary that will be held in Kyoto on 6-8 November, This will be a key event to chart a new course for the Convention, to strengthen its effectiveness and credibility across the world, to anchor it within local communities and local development. The picture is similar for intangible cultural heritage. I wish to thank Japan for its support in the implementation of the Convention and to congratulate you for the inscription last year of the Mibu no Hana Taue, ritual of transplanting rice in Mibu, Hiroshima and Sada Shin Noh, the sacred dancing at Sada shrine, Shimane, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity this is just to mention the two most recent items inscribed. Again, let me say that Japan s engagement extends far beyond its borders to include strengthening the capacities of States in the Asia and Pacific as well as in the Caribbean and in Africa. Allow me to move on to another important event this year: 2012 is the year of Rio+20 the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. DG/2012/022 - Page 7

8 I see this as a unique opportunity to set the world on the path to stronger and more sustainable development. UNESCO will bring to Rio a roadmap that makes the most of the transformative power of education, the sciences, culture and media. Our message is clear -- we must build inclusive and equitable green societies along with green economies. Rio+20 must succeed. This requires political will and leadership. The picture I have painted shows the vision Japan brings to the global governance today. This includes, I would mention also, the groundbreaking work we lead with Japan s support to advance education and literacy in Afghanistan. UNESCO needs such leadership more than ever today -- at a time when the Organization faces a difficult financial situation following the admission of Palestine and the suspension by the United States of its contribution. This situation calls for the greatest solidarity from all Member States and all partners. I am encouraged by the support we are receiving from Member States, and from individuals, associations and private corporations from all parts of the world. This shows clear recognition of the importance of UNESCO s work. The 36th General Conference showed that demand for UNESCO has never been so high. The international community faces strategic cross-roads this year and ahead that require UNESCO s full contribution. DG/2012/022 - Page 8

9 These include the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille, the 3rd International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Shanghai, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio, and the run-up to the 2015 deadline for Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals. All of this demands a stronger UNESCO. Current difficulties must be an opportunity to build a sharper UNESCO, in tune with the ambitions of its mandate and the needs of the 21st century. I am convinced it is an opportunity to accelerate the reform press. I am convinced that reduced resources must not mean a reduced UNESCO. I know this will not be easy, but this is a matter of necessity not choice. In this context, I look forward to deepening our partnership with Japan. I am convinced this is one of the pillars of a more peaceful and sustainable 21st century. In a world changing so quickly, we must remain firm on our values and steady with our principles. This reminds me of the strength evoked by the poet, Miyazawa Kenji, in his famous Ame ni mo makezu: Be not defeated by the rain, nor let the wind prove your better. Succumb not to the snows of winter. Nor be bested by the heat of summer. This is an encouraging message of resilience and strength. Together, I am convinced, we can face all challenges and take forward our integrated vision of lasting peace and sustainable development. Thank you. DG/2012/022 - Page 9