Dr. The Honourable Ralph E. Gonsalves Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Transcription

1 by Dr. The Honourable Ralph E. Gonsalves Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Address Delivered to the General Conference of UNESCO in Paris, France, on October 23, 2007 Office of the Prime Minister St. Vincent and the Grenadines October 23, 2007

2 by Dr. The Honourable Ralph E. Gonsalves Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Mr President of the General Conference, Mr President of the Executive Board, Mr Director General, Ministers, Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. I am profoundly grateful to you, Mr. President, and our esteemed Director-General, and the entire UNESCO family for welcoming so warmly my delegation from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Moreover, I am deeply honoured for my country, and personally, to have been asked to address this august body in General Conference. It is a privilege and gift granted to few. Thus, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and I feel truly blessed and thankful. This also gives me the opportunity, Mr President, to congratulate you on your well-deserved election to the Chair of the General Conference. You have already made your mark and we look forward to continuing to work with you. 2

3 The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has made, and is making, an immense contribution to the further ennoblement and many-sided upliftment of humanity. Human civilisation has traveled a breathtaking journey over six thousand years of hope and hopelessness, joy and pain, advances and setbacks, nobility and coarseness, barbarism and enlightenment. But always present, through the ages, is an enduring optimism and a redemptive grace for humanity. The sages who fashioned UNESCO knew with a certainty, born of settled wisdom, that even in humanity s darkest hours, this universal instrument of solidarity and understanding would be a beacon which shines a brightness that illuminates and not blinds. UNESCO soars in its ennobling vision yet it is daily grounded in the real world as manifested in its programmes geared towards the enhancement of education, culture, preservation of the past, the ensuring of sustainability in a quality tomorrow, and the reminding of everyone that of all time only the future is ours to desecrate. UNESCO has an especial meaning and significance to, and for, our Caribbean civilisation, in which my country St. Vincent and the Grenadines occupies a magnificent place. UNESCO s global spread across many lands and cultures in a way mirrors the global genesis of our Caribbean civilisation. Indeed, the Caribbean is a global creation and from the very beginning understood globalisation long before its modern variant marches in the illusory quest to homogenise the world in its own image and likeness. 3

4 Mr President, our peace-loving peoples have suffered many injustices over the centuries, arising from five hundred years of colonialism and neo-colonialism. Historic wrongs not righted remain scars on the soul of the oppressor and the oppressed alike which continue to haunt over the ages. In today s world these would have been called crimes against humanity. They should never be forgotten if they are not to be repeated by future generations. UNESCO has understood its responsibilities in this domaine and that responsibility is through education - to enable us all to learn from the past and to ensure that the long dark night of history gives way to a bright future. In that context I wish to mention UNESCO s support for the slave route project which is very important to our region. UNESCO s mission is to contribute to the building of peace through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. In implementing UNESCO s new strategy we will work with all concerned to establish South-South and North-South-South cooperation strengthening the capacities of developing countries, exchanging our experiences and good practices. Such cooperation is a shining example of intercultural dialogue, solidarity between nations and reconciliation. Mr President, I was talking of the past sufferings of the Caribbean peoples and in this regard I must mention Haiti which is suffering to this day. I call upon the international community, and in particular 4

5 France which has an historical responsibility, to act boldly and urgently on Haiti in communion with the Haitian people to end the country s unbroken agony, to use Randall Robinson s gripping phrase. The United Nations cannot stand aside from facilitating the call for meaningful recompense and further assistance to Haiti and the rest of the Caribbean. Honour, dignity, and decency are at stake. And like the ancient Prophet Amos, we ought to declare in apt solidarity: Let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as an everflowing stream. Mr President, UNESCO s values and objectives are very much in line with my own priorities. My Government is committed to eliminating poverty, improving living standards, helping our young men and women find employment, fighting drug trafficking and abuse. and we see quality education as central to this. Indeed, UNESCO s focus on education for sustainable development, not subsistence equilibrium, mirrors my government s mantra that education is for living and production. It develops the individual, ensures secure and sustainable livelihoods, and exalts the nation. Through UNESCO s projects such as YouthPATH, Youth Poverty Alleviation through Tourism and Heritage, Small Islands Voice and Sandwatch, we are encouraging young people to take responsibility for their environment and to benefit from their heritage and the stunning beauty of our islands. 5

6 In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, my government is currently embarked on an Education Revolution which touches every single area of pedagogy and training, covering every age group from preschoolers to adults, servicing every type of education including early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary, adult literacy, technical and vocational, professional, and special education. In 2001 when my government came to office only 39 per cent of the 12-year olds were at secondary schools. Four years later, universal access to secondary education was achieved to choruses of acclamation from initial doubting Thomases resident in certain international financial institutions. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is on target, too, to boast, on average, one university graduate per household by But we still do not have a university in St Vincent and the Grenadines our young people must leave their country to pursue higher education. One of my ambitions for our country is to ensure that tertiary education in a wide range of subject areas is accessed at home. Similarly, functional illiteracy which stood at 20 per cent of the population in 2001 is expected to be history by 2012, at the latest, as a consequence of the impressive Adult Literacy Crusade and Adult Education Programme. In this regard, I thank UNESCO and the Director General for their contributions toward the financing of our country s National Literacy Crusade. 6

7 Mr President, our education revolution is making good progress. But we still have too many young boys dropping out of school early, with the risk that they become unemployable and resort to drugs and violence. UNESCO has made gender equality a priority. I welcome this but we should not forget that in some regions it is boys and young men who need our help. In my country we twin education and poverty eradication; we link education with the campaign to reduce and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS; we tie education to the massive issue of climate change. In short, there is an unbreakable nexus between education and socioeconomic development, between education and the lifting of the human spirit between education and the creative imagination, between education and intuition. Indeed, education is that silent inner voice which resonates outwardly in deeds; it is the melody which is oft-times unheard but is yet sweeter than that which is heard. I welcome UNESCO s leading role in Education for All is approaching fast and the world s countries still have a long way to go in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. All have a responsibility to work towards these goals, to quicken the pace and redouble our efforts. The poor and the disadvantaged are waiting and hoping. This is an unprecedented opportunity and we must not fail. Mr President, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is very attached to its natural and cultural heritage, local arts and crafts. We became a 7

8 state party to the Convention on World Heritage in 2003 and have actively participated in the regional meetings which have taken place in the Caribbean. We anticipate that in the future more Caribbean sites will be inscribed on the World Heritage List. Our tiny nation has contributed hugely to our world s Intangible Cultural Heritage with the Garifuna language and culture, a masterpiece of intangible cultural heritage. We are very pleased that the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage has come into force and we are arranging to ratify it soon. We also welcome the adoption of the Convention on Cultural Diversity at the last General Conference and look forward to the follow-up on this. Mr President, I am very pleased to note that UNESCO is playing an active role in helping to tackle the problems of climate change and in helping to ensure a multidisciplinary and holistic approach. The sciences and education have particularly important roles to play. This most urgent matter of climate change has to be addressed in every forum. I did so recently at the UN General Assembly; and I led off the ministerial discussion on the subject at the just-concluded Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in Guyana. Climate change is of especially grave concern to small island developing states in the Caribbean, like St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The adverse consequences are real and immediate: more frequent and terrible hurricanes and tropical storms; rising sea levels; unusually unstable weather patterns; damage to marine and terrestrial life; 8

9 and awesome socio-economic dislocations. When I read that in the middle of this century nearly 200 million people may become permanently displaced owing to sea-level rise, increased flooding and severe drought I understand that the very existence of our country and its people is at stake. It is within us as a global family to mitigate and reverse the most deleterious aspects of climate change. Most people the world over know that we must act urgently. We must thus summon the political will, marshal the requisite resources, and act sensibly before it is too late for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. This is a great cause and great causes have never been won by doubtful men and women. Small islands are microcosms for the challenges which we all face on Planet Earth. If we disappear, the rest of the world will not be far behind. In UNESCO s proposed new medium-term strategy small island developing states are rightly a priority group. We call on UNESCO and other relevant agencies to continue implementing the Mauritius Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. Small islands are often referred to as vulnerable but I can assure you, Mr President, that we are also very resilient. There is much that our people lack but we have the strength and the will to overcome our difficulties and to work with others to achieve UNESCO s goals. 9

10 I am aware that there is so much to be done but there is so little time and insufficient resources for us to do all that it is necessary and desirable to be done. We must thus always strive to do our individual and collective best. Mr. President, Your Excellencies, every people, every nation, has a role to play in our UNESCO; every large and every small nation has a place at the table. In this I echo the words of the celebrated poet of Martinique, Aimé Césaire, in his Cahier d un retour: For it is not true that the work of mankind is done that we have nothing left to do on Earth that we can just live off the world like parasites that it is enough for us to adapt ourselves to the world s rhythm. Rather mankind s work has only just begun and man still must overcome all the preconceptions hidden in the recesses of his fervor and no race has the monopoly on beauty, intelligence, or strength. And there is room for everyone to take part in the conquest. We know now that the sun turns around our Earth lighting up the land that we ourselves have chosen and that every star falls from the heavens to Earth at our omnipotent command. Thank you! 10