150 EX/INF.8 PARIS, 22 October 1996 Original: French UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE BOARD Hundred and fiftieth Session Item 5.1 of the agenda PRESENTATION BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE PRELIMINARY PROPOSALS FOR THE DRAFT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR 1998-1999 (29 C/5)
150 EX/INF.8 Mr Chairperson, Members of the Executive Board, 1. With your permission, I should like first of all to remind you that on the basis of your guidelines laid down at the 149th session of the Board last May, a consultation document was drawn up and circulated on 14 June. This means that the Secretariat had just over a month to prepare the document and the Member States a little over two months to prepare their replies, inasmuch as they had, in reality, until 30 August to dispatch them to the Secretariat. By that date, 47 Member States, 11 intergovernmental organizations and 15 non-governmental organizations had sent in their replies, a summary of which will be found in document 150 EX/5 Part I. Since 30 August, the Secretariat has received a further 20 replies: 16 from Member States and four from intergovernmental organizations, and these are contained in an addendum to document 150 EX/5. Hence, 63 Member States in all have replied to this consultation - more than had replied to the consultation on document 28 C/5, and roughly the same number as replied to the consultation on document 27 C/5. The fact remains, however, that a scant one third of Member States have responded to this consultation; hence the desirability, as some Members of the Board suggested at the time, of regional consultations of the type employed for the C/4 document. 2. The intention is that for document 30 C/5, the Secretariat will once more use this mode of written consultation, but, as requested in 28 C/Resolution 13.1, regional consultations will also be held with a view to boosting exchanges between the Secretariat and the Member States on the definition of the programme and the implementation of the successive stages of the Medium-Term Strategy. We must succeed in overcoming the complexities and intricacies of the programming process in order to provide Member States with proposals that accord as closely as possible with the wishes of the governments and find the approach most in keeping with reality. 3. This year, for the first time, the process for establishing the next programme and budget was set in motion some six months into the present biennium, the idea being to allow the Secretariat some time in which to initiate execution of the programme approved by the General Conference and, in so doing, gain a better grasp of the Member States problems and priorities. The Secretariat must keep its finger constantly on the pulse of Member States, and it must do so in conditions conducive to genuine dialogue, within the Organization, on the major challenges of the present, conditions that facilitate the expression of the political will of the States representatives and make for prompt responses to the problems facing the world today. In this regard, I place great hopes in the proposals to be made by the working group chaired by the President of the General Conference. I should add that besides keeping our finger on the pulse of the real world, which we must do if we are to address current problems, we must engage in long-term reflection. Hence the importance of a forward-looking approach, which I have had occasion to advocate. Not only must the next programme be characterized by greater concentration of activities around the main objectives set by the General Conference: it must also both translate the results of long-term thinking and strive to respond to the pressing problems of Member States.
150 EX/INF.8 - page 2 4. I should like to draw attention here to a key concept, which should be at the very centre of all our thinking: the capacity for mobilization. The Organization must be able not only to mobilize decision-makers, but above all to reach out to young people, as you have emphasized on many occasions. That means calling on the potential for mobilization of all those - intellectuals, scholars and artists - who, at the national or international levels, can be our allies in advancing the cause of education, justice, non-violence and peace. In fact, Member States know better than we do which major figures can take on this role in the national context. Accordingly, the Organization s efforts on behalf of mobilization must be directed not only towards the higher levels - heads of State, parliaments and governments - but also towards the lower levels, towards young people in particular, so that through education they may attain what must be the ultimate objective: that autonomy which alone can lead to a mastery of oneself and one s own destiny. The consultation on document 29 C/5 5. The consultation document sent to Member States consisted of three parts. The first part, devoted to the principles for formulating the programme, took the form of an annotated questionnaire. It was this part which gave rise to the greatest number of comments and the most detailed observations. The second part concerned the major lines of emphasis of the proposed programme, that is to say, the objectives and main lines of action. While maintaining the arrangement in four major programmes and two transdisciplinary projects approved for document 28 C/5, the emphasis was placed on the main changes that might bring the programme more closely into line with the Medium-Term Strategy. Finally, in the third part, the Secretariat requested - and that was a major innovation - Member States opinions on the overall amount of the budget and the desirability, from their point of view, of zero growth in real terms, and, above all, on the percentage of the budget which they considered should be allocated to each programme and each transdisciplinary project. 6. The chief concern in formulating these proposals was to reflect as faithfully as possible the major lines of emphasis of the Medium-Term Strategy, taking into account the comments made by the heads of delegation in their statements at the twenty-eighth session of the General Conference. These comments, together with the points stressed by the various heads of delegation, had been put together in a document distributed to the various sectors so that they might be taken into consideration during the preparation of these proposals. Hence the focus on a number of key issues: transdisciplinarity, the forms of action and partnerships, concentration - whether the abandonment of some groups or areas of activity or the modification of present budget priorities - and, above all, the Organization s ethical and intellectual responsibilities. 7. Generally speaking, the proposals contained in the consultation document were well received and the comments sent to the Secretariat implied no major change in the general arrangement. The replies, while still supporting transdisciplinarity, which should extend to all the Organizations activities, continued, for the most part, to favour a sectoral approach in the organization and implementation of the programmes. 8. With regard to concentration, Member States clearly still have difficulty in coming up with specific proposals. It is a difficulty that I can understand, for it is indeed no easy matter to make choices and decide to cut out some activities in favour of others. The desire to achieve concentration is nevertheless clearly affirmed. I conclude that we must carry on along the path I have already indicated, continuing to co-ordinate activities in accordance with the major objectives of the Organization, in a global perspective, and ensuring that the specific needs of the various Member States are addressed by the Participation Programme.
150 EX/INF.8 - page 3 9. A very clear trend emerges, however, in favour of Lifelong education for all, which must be the Organization s major priority in implementing the Medium-Term Strategy. The consultation also highlighted the importance attached to the new information and communication technologies. Hence the importance of the debate planned on this subject at the present session. I nevertheless wish to re-emphasize the distinction needed between instrument and end purpose of education. And under no circumstances should the emphasis laid on the information and communication technologies sideline the role of the teacher, which remains a fundamental one. 10. As regards the budget, the consultation showed up a majority in favour of zero growth in real terms, in other words the maintenance of purchasing power through making allowance, in recosting the budget, for inflation and statutory increases. The revised preliminary proposals 11. The revised preliminary proposals, which are covered in Parts II and III of document 150 EX/5, are prompted by two major concerns. I sought, on the one hand, to enhance UNESCO s intellectual and ethical function, bearing in mind the idea often voiced by Member States that, since the end of the Cold War, our world is stepping up its quest for new ethical bearings. I have also endeavoured to apply a transdisciplinary approach in all the Organization s programmes since this type of approach cannot be confined to what we term transdisciplinary projects. 12. Among the major initiatives stemming from the intellectual and ethical function of the Organization, I shall cite as an example the convening, in 1998, of the World Conference on Higher Education, the projected World Science Conference scheduled for 1999 - on which I would refer you to document 150 EX/INF.7, issued yesterday, which details the views on this subject of the International Council of Scientific Unions - and the setting up of a World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology, which would be an extension, as it were, of the International Bioethics Committee. 13. On the question of transdisciplinarity I have a twofold comment to make. While the Medium-Term Strategy has been particularly well received owing to its transdisciplinary inspiration, transdisciplinarity does, one has to concede, go against the grain of conventional thinking, reflexes and conduct within the Secretariat, but also on the part of a good many Member States. It has to be acknowledged that it is difficult to work on a transdisciplinary basis. The evaluation at present being undertaken of the project Environment and Population Education and Information for Development (EPD) thus reveals that, in its mode of operation, this project is more akin to a mini-sector than to a transdisciplinary project. It is therefore important to learn lessons from it for the future. But to achieve genuine transdisciplinarity, both in transdisciplinary projects and in sectoral structures, it is essential to overcome the obstacle of entrenched habits. The important thing is to change people s thinking. For it is wrong to believe that a mere change of structures will usher in new habits. 14. With regard to education, the principle of lifelong education for all obliges us to take a radically new look at the manner in which we provide education in society. This is a major change. Education was for many years the exclusive province of the school system. However, while its role remains essential, the traditional school system no longer holds a monopoly: all social actors are henceforth called upon to participate in the educational process. It is, furthermore, the narrow vision of the overriding importance of building the formal educational infrastructure which for a long time has guided certain funding agencies in their educational policy decisions. I should like to remind you that, during a visit to UNESCO,
150 EX/INF.8 - page 4 President Nyerere compared education to a wheel that cannot turn unless every point on its circumference touches the ground. For education, the points of the circumference are, first of all, the family context; next, pre-school education, and then primary education, secondary education, technical education, vocational training, and higher education. President Nyerere warned that we must not be tempted to limit the aspirations of the developing countries to building schools and providing basic education, thereby condoning a multi-tier system of education according to country. 15. Education, and I wish to stress this point, must not contribute to exclusion but must, on the contrary, be available, permanently, to all citizens. We must entirely prethink the traditional distinction between the different life stages - first learning, then productive life - and strive instead for a constant interweaving of education and active life. This will in turn require profound changes in how we view the educational process and how we define the social responsibilities of educational institutions: universities, for example, should from now on provide training and refresher courses on an ongoing basis for all citizens and, of course, for teachers above all. I welcome the Delors Commission s call for radical reform, because it is more than ever crucial to ensure that our actions reflect the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides, in article 26 on education, that higher education must be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. 16. The basic right to education was reaffirmed once again in December 1993 at the Education-for-All Summit in New Delhi. The changes to which the Declaration adopted by the Summit should naturally give rise will require that States demonstrate a willingness to reorder their priorities and reallocate funds, so that investment in education becomes an important priority. We cannot guarantee the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without fundamentally changing our own approach. Education must from now on be regarded as a lifelong process, starting with the family and the serious difficulties that may already arise in that context. It is with these problems that UNESCO must concern itself and with the new thinking on teaching methods and curriculum content to which the Delors Commission has drawn our attention. I await with interest the suggestions of the Board in that regard. 17. In science, UNESCO s principal task is to find ways of using the parallel contributions of the various branches - the exact sciences, ecology, hydrology, the earth and marine sciences, the social and human sciences - to solve the problems both of society and of the natural environment. Various initiatives have been taken in document 28 C/5, including the project on Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands and the project on Cities: management of social transformations and the environment. What should our next step be? You will undoubtedly recall that the chairpersons of UNESCO s major science programmes issued a joint declaration concerning their interest in working together. How can such co-operation be encouraged and strengthened? I should like to hear your views on that matter. 18. The major problem where culture is concerned is that of reconciling culture and development, which have long been viewed as fields difficult to link together or even conflicting. The value of the report Our Creative Diversity lies in its having shown not only that culture is a dimension of development, but that development itself is only a dimension, or even an emanation, of culture. What therefore needs to be determined now is what specific consequences can flow from such a conclusion, both for the heritage and for living cultures. 19. The Medium-Term Strategy has mapped out new paths, the aim of which is a more successful integration of conservation policies with development policies, implying shifts of
150 EX/INF.8 - page 5 emphasis towards the revitalization of urban centres, greater awareness on the part of local people and the promotion of cultural tourism and arts and crafts. It also calls for priority to be given to raising the status of popular cultural expressions, for support to be given to living artists and creative workers so that new works can be preserved and added to those of the past, and for creativity to be encouraged as a source of self-fulfilment. 20. Communication, with the accelerated growth of the new technologies, was one of the main planks in the consultation. I shall not dwell on this subject as an in-depth debate is to take place on it under item 3.5.1. I should just like to say that UNESCO s role in this field seems to me once again as being principally that of an intellectual forum where information about innovative experiments is exchanged and people attempt by joint discussion to arrive at a better understanding of the effects on society of the changes now taking place, especially the effects that these changes are going to have, inter alia, on the cognitive process and learning methods, the role of teachers and the organization of the educational process, everyday behaviour and the family, cultural practices and the maintenance of cultural and linguistic diversity. 21. The transdisciplinary projects are certainly the major innovation in document 28 C/5. They are aimed at weaving the contributions from the Organization s different fields of competence into the very fabric of integrated work plans. They have also been designed so that long-term activities concerning, for example, the promotion of human rights or education for democracy, and experimental activities in the field, continuously supplement and reinforce each other so as to provide practical and rapid solutions to present-day problems. I, for my part, believe that these two projects should be maintained, in particular the project Towards a culture of peace, which some Member States would like to see divided between the different major programmes. 22. In my opinion, a return to a sectoral approach would set the seal on the prevalence of structures over functions, when what the Organization as a whole requires is transdisciplinarity. To abandon the project Towards a culture of peace would be a retreat in relation to the Medium-Term Strategy, approved not very long ago. There is every reason to ask whether there is not a contradiction between claiming to construct the defences of peace in the minds of men while dissociating education from peace, or science from peace. I should like to recall how Archibald MacLeish, who helped to draft our Constitution, saw UNESCO. For him, it was much more than a technical organization intended to develop education, science and culture; it was an institution whose foremost task was to construct peace in the minds of men. This means that one cannot go too far in subordinating all the Organization s fields of competence to this purpose, and this is the precise objective of the transdisciplinary approach proposed in document 28 C/4. 23. Despite the very great variety of wishes expressed by Member States, a basic trend has emerged in favour of education. This, then, is the field on which the effort to achieve concentration will focus particularly and I envisage a substantial expansion, in all the major programmes and interdisciplinary projects, of the activities that help promote the objective of education for all throughout life, and especially those concerned with improving the content of education, the exchange and sharing of knowledge, and the training of teacher educators, and activities for people living in remote areas who, up to now, have remained outside the education systems. This being so, the Organization and its Member States will have to mobilize all the means at their disposal and enlist the assistance of all those who can pass its message on, i.e. National Commissions, teachers associations, the media, ministries of education and others.
150 EX/INF.8 - page 6 24. Proposals relating to the budget offer a response to two concerns. Firstly, we have sought to make things clearer by proposing to provide, in a technical annex to document 29 C/5, precise and detailed information on increases or decreases in the funds envisaged, decentralization or the units responsible for the execution of the activities, and by changing re-evaluation techniques so as to facilitate the comparison, in real terms, of successive budgets. Secondly, it is proposed to increase the portion of the resources earmarked for programme execution by endeavouring to find the sum of $5 million for Part II, which could be achieved by making savings in the resources allocated to programme support and administration. 25. A radically new layout for the Programme and Budget document is essential. The C/5 document should no longer be a simple compilation of activities, but a proper plan of action that tallies strictly with the Medium-Term Strategy. This plan of action would set out precise objectives, measures to achieve them and the resources needed for that purpose, so that everyone interested - intellectuals, teachers and others - can know exactly where the Organization is going. In addition, detailed information, but more technical in nature, on the way in which it is planned to implement these proposals would be provided in documents annexed to this plan of action which, during the biennium under consideration, would give direction exactly like the helm of a ship.