Executive Board Hundred and eighty-first session 181 EX/INF.17 PARIS, 8 April 2009 English & French only Item 4 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE EXECUTION OF THE PROGRAMME ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE UNESCO S COOPERATION WITH THE AFRICAN UNION AND AFRICAN REGIONAL AND SUBREGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUMMARY In the present document, the Director-General informs the Executive Board of the recent major activities carried out in the context of UNESCO s cooperation with the Commission of the African Union (AUC) and the African regional economic communities (RECs), namely: 1. The Third Meeting of the Forum of African Regional and Subregional Organizations to Support Cooperation between UNESCO and NEPAD (FOSRASUN), which was held in Tripoli on 24 February 2009 the Director-General informs the Executive Board of the Forum s recommendations. 2. The second meeting of the Joint UNESCO-AUC Commission which was held at UNESCO Headquarters on 11 March 2009. 1. The Director-General has kept the Executive Board regularly informed of UNESCO s cooperation with African regional organizations. He thus presented in 2006 document 175 EX/39 UNESCO s cooperation with African subregional and regional organizations, endorsed by 175 EX/Decision 41. 2. In the framework of this strengthened cooperation, the Director-General set up in 2003 the Forum of African Regional and Subregional Organizations to Support Cooperation between UNESCO and NEPAD (FOSRASUN). The third meeting of FOSRASUN was held on 24 February 2009 in Tripoli (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), chaired effectively by the current President of the African Union, Muammar Ghaddafi, Leader of the Great Al Fatah Revolution and in the presence of Mr Yayi Boni, President of the Republic of Benin and current President of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). This third meeting of the Forum debated the theme of the education/culture Interface at the heart of regional integration (see Final Communiqué in Annex I).
page 2 3. In addition, the holding of meetings of joint commissions is provided for in the framework of the implementation of the cooperation agreements signed between UNESCO and African regional organizations. Accordingly, the Director-General and Mr Jean Ping, Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union co-chaired the second meeting of the Joint UNESCO-AUC Commission on 11 March 2009 (see Joint Communiqué in Annex II).
Annex I ANNEX I Final Communiqué of the Third Meeting of the Forum of African Regional and Subregional Organizations to Support Cooperation between UNESCO and NEPAD (FOSRASUN) Tripoli, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 24 February 2009 1. At the invitation of the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, and in cooperation with the Secretary General of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), Mr Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Azhari, the Forum of African Regional and Subregional Organizations to Support Cooperation between UNESCO and NEPAD (FOSRASUN), composed of regional and subregional integration organizations (RIOs), regional economic communities (RECs), the the African Union Commission (AUC) and UNESCO, convened on 24 February 2009 in Tripoli, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. This third meeting was preceded by a meeting of experts (21-23 February 2009). 2. The African Union and the Secretariat of its programme, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN), the International Centre for Girls' and Women's Education in Africa (CIEFFA), the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) participated in the meeting. The Chairperson of the Africa Group of UNESCO, the members of the UNESCO Committee for NEPAD, representatives of the Libyan National Commission for UNESCO, representatives of the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity- Building in Africa (IICBA), the Programme of Education for Emergencies and Reconstruction (PEER) and UNESCO s cluster and national offices in Abuja, Addis Ababa, Accra, Bamako, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Libreville, Maputo, Rabat and Yaoundé, and representatives of UNESCO programme sectors at Headquarters and of the Bureau of Strategic Planning (BSP) also participated in the meeting. 3. FOSRASUN is an instrument for enhancing cooperation between the RECs/RIOs, UNESCO and the AU in order to encourage dialogue, exchanges of experience and the establishment of active partnership at the subregional and regional levels. The opening meeting, chaired most effectively by the current Chairperson of the African Union, Muammar Gaddafi, Leader of the Great Al Fatah revolution, was marked by successive statements made by the CEN-SAD Secretary General, Mr Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Azhari, the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, Ms Bience Gawanas, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, and the President of the Republic of Benin, Dr Yayi Boni, incumbent Chairman of CEN-SAD. 4. The speakers all expressed their satisfaction at the holding of the third session of FOSRASUN, jointly organized by UNESCO and CEN-SAD, which afforded an excellent opportunity to further strengthen cooperation between UNESCO, AU and the RECs in UNESCO s fields of competence. 5. In his opening address, the Secretary General of CEN-SAD, Mr Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Azhari, expressed his satisfaction that the Forum was being held at a time when the Leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was beginning his mandate as the Chairperson of the African Union. Moreover, he expressed the hope that FOSRASUN would be long-lived and that partnership relations between all African regional organizations would be strengthened so that the objective of education for all could be reached as soon as possible.
Annex I page 2 6. The third session of FOSRASUN attested to the mobilization of States and African organizations in favour of education, culture and science, and emphasized that actions implemented in those fields contribute to peace and fraternity among States and people. For its part, CEN-SAD would do everything possible to meet the challenges of education and the popularization of science and technology. 7. The Secretary-General also expressed his satisfaction at the establishment, in parallel with the third session of FOSRASUN, of the International Scientific Committee for the General History of Africa. 8. The AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Ms B. Gawanas, taking the floor on behalf of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, welcomed the theme chosen for the third session, Education/Culture Interface, as it marked the effective follow-up to the decisions adopted at the sixth AU Summit, held in Khartoum and dedicated to education and culture. 9. Ms Gawanas welcomed the cooperation between AU and the United Nations system, notably through the regional coordination mechanism (RCM) which helped to strengthen and harmonize the support of the United Nations system to African subregional and regional organizations. She expressed satisfaction with the setting-up of thematic groups on education and culture within the mechanism. 10. The Commissioner also marked her appreciation for the ongoing efforts made for the pedagogical adaptation of the General History of Africa, which was a concrete illustration of the implementation of the Khartoum decisions on the interface between education and culture. 11. The Commissioner finally called on all African Member States to ratify the Khartoum Summit plans of action as well as UNESCO conventions in the fields of education and culture. 12. In his introductory statement, the UNESCO Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, recalled that FOSRASUN, by helping the Organization to strategically align its activities with the priorities determined by Africa, was one of the tools for reflection which should help the continent to cope with the present financial and economic crisis and prevent it from destroying the results of all the efforts made by the continent in the fields of education, health and poverty alleviation. It should, with the support of partners and in a spirit of solidarity, transform the crisis into an opportunity for the development of Africa. 13. Addressing the theme of FOSRASUN s third session, the education/culture interface at the heart of regional integration, he reaffirmed that that linkage, which had been the subject of the decision of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Khartoum in 2006, should lead to the teaching of cultural diversity, pluralism and intercultural dialogue in the States Members of all the RECs. 14. In that perspective he stated that the ceremony to inaugurate the scientific committee for the project to make educational use of the General History of Africa and the support given to African languages, multilingualism and the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) as vehicles for and promoters of cultural and linguistic diversity were guarantees of UNESCO s determination to support the projects linked to the theme in question. 15. He urged the African Union, the RECs and the RIOs to support all the activities to be initiated as regarded the management of multiculturalism, safeguarding of common heritage, shared values, education system reform and subregional harmonization of education policies. To reach those objectives, UNESCO was prepared, through subregional and regional consultations, to encourage the emergence of new concerted strategies and common positions. 16. His Excellency Mr Boni Yayi, President of the Republic of Benin and incumbent Chairman of CEN-SAD, welcomed the initiative, which marked the solidarity of the United Nations in favour of
Annex I page 3 strengthening dialogue, exchanging experiences and efforts made to alleviate poverty. He recalled that integration paved the way to the cultural renaissance of Africa. 17. Referring to the preamble of the Constitution of UNESCO, he emphasized that regional integration in Africa came inevitably through the integration of minds, especially in the fields of education, culture, science and communication. In order to be effective, that integration required the implementation of concrete programmes. The integration of the NEPAD programme to AU structures was a response to that need. 18. The President stressed that, in order to introduce genuine education policies, the interface between education and culture should transcend the national framework, and he called on RECs to harmonize education programmes at the regional level. 19. Within the framework of the harmonization of education programmes, the President encouraged the integration of learning in local languages, in parallel with openness to the world through access to foreign languages. 20. The Leader of the Libyan Revolution, Muammar Gaddafi, incumbent Chairperson of the African Union, welcomed the representatives of the AU and RECs and thanked them for their attendance, and recalled the history of the establishment of the subregional and regional organizations. 21. The Leader welcomed the initiative of the Forum, an excellent example of cooperation between the international community and Africa, based on the search for peace through education and culture. 22. In that regard, he thanked the Director-General for his continuously renewed efforts on behalf of the continent, notably the prioritization of Africa in UNESCO s programmes, and paid tribute, in particular, to the remarkable action for the continent constituted by the General History of Africa. He confirmed that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya would continue to support the continuation of the project. 23. Finally, recalling UNESCO s role in promoting linguistic diversity, the Leader undertook to support the Organization s action in the field of languages, especially the teaching of African languages. 24. The opening meeting was followed by a round table on the education/culture interface at the heart of regional integration, in which the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs and all the Secretaries-General and Executive Secretaries of the RECs and RIOs participated. The round table confirmed that UNESCO s fields of competence, namely education, science, culture and communication, had a very important social role to play in the process of the African regional integration. The cultural and social values imparted by schools, and the establishment of harmonized curricula in the RECs and RIOs would strengthen the emergence of a modern pan- African spirit and a harmonized vision of the future of the continent. 25. The round table concluded by recommending to FOSRASUN, which adopted the recommendation, that within each REC and RIO, the Conferences of Ministers of Education should launch a feasibility study on the harmonization of curricula, the inclusion of teacher training in a pan-african dimension, taking into account the linkage between education and culture. It was also recommended that education, culture, science and communication should not be considered to be merely subsidiary matters in the regional integration process. 26. During the discussions, the participants congratulated UNESCO and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on the implementation of the project on the educational use of the General History of Africa and recommended the inclusion of representatives of RECs and RIOs in the group of experts which would make proposals for submission to the project s scientific committee.
Annex I page 4 27. FOSRASUN took note of the report and subregional annexes of the meeting of experts, held from 21 to 23 February, adopted them and endorsed the following recommendations. 28. The Forum expressed satisfaction at the holding of the Joint AU-UNESCO Commission on 9, 10 and 11 March 2009, and recommended that, in conformity with cooperation agreements binding the RECs and RIOs to UNESCO, joint subregional commissions should be also organized to activate the links and implement joint projects. 29. The Forum noted positively the training of UNESCO focal points in the RECs and RIOs; the training, carried out by UNESCO, had not fully attained its objectives because those involved had been assigned to other duties. The Forum therefore recommended that training of UNESCO focal points in the RECs and RIOs be continued. 30. In regard to the promotion of culture, the Forum recommended that activities to raise young people s awareness of the importance of the African cultural heritage should be intensified, with UNESCO's support, at the level of the African Union Commission and RECs, and that cultural events such as the rehabilitation of Africa Hall and the organization of exhibitions during AU and RECs summits be envisaged. 31. The Forum recommended that the Director-General of UNESCO take into account EX.CL/Dec.472(XIV), which calls upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), other relevant United Nations (UN) agencies and Africa s development partners to support the implementation of the recommendations of CAMC II, including the Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries. 32. The Forum recommended that the number of countries having ratified and/or implemented AU Charters and Plans of Action and international conventions adopted by UNESCO in the fields of education and culture should be considered to be an important performance indicator for RECs and RIOs. 33. The Forum welcomed the implementation of the second phase of the project for the educational use of the General History of Africa, and recommended to the African Union that, in view of the importance of the project, an item should be included in the agenda of the next AU Summit, to be held in July 2009 in Madagascar, in order to discuss it and underline its importance in the process of harmonization of curricula in the RECs and in the regional integration process. 34. The Forum further encouraged the pursuit of efforts to develop the programme entitled African Liberation Programme. 35. The Forum noted with satisfaction UNESCO s efforts to include science and technology in the RECs and RIOs development strategies and the strengthening of the knowledge base and capacities needed for water management at the subregional and regional levels, and recommended that, in addition to its three flagship projects regarding capacity-building in science policy, the teaching of science, technology and engineering and the creation of a virtual African campus, the links between universities and industry be encouraged and strengthened through pilot projects. 36. The Forum recommended that the UNESCO Director-General consider ways and means of placing at the disposal of RECs and RIOs that so request, consultants/experts to enable them to carry out studies to help them to implement the Second Decade of Education for Africa, Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action and the Nairobi Plan of Action for Cultural Industries in Africa. 37. In regard to post-conflict situations, the Forum recommended that: (a) the RECs and RIOs include in their activities falling within the fields of competence of UNESCO, the management of post-conflict situations;
Annex I page 5 (b) (c) the RECs and RIOs, UNESCO National Commissions and UNESCO field offices appoint focal points who would be trained in peace education and the management of post-conflict situations within the framework of the training cycle scheduled by the Programme of Education for Emergencies and Reconstruction (PEER); the RECs and RIOs help to mobilize extrabudgetary funds from their partners to support activities for the management of post-conflict situations. 38. The Forum, taking into account the quantitative and qualitative needs of African teachers required to attain the education for all (EFA) goals, recommended that the AU and the RECs support UNESCO s efforts so that particular emphasis might be placed on the development of the teaching profession in their education policies under a holistic approach that took into account not only vocational training but also career development, social status and working conditions. 39. The Forum recommended that the Director-General of UNESCO provide the necessary technical support for the drafting and monitoring of the implementation of a regional development policy for the teaching profession in the States Members of the RECs and RIOs. 40. The Forum, also taking into account the numerous challenges still existing on the African continent in the field of girls and women s education, recommended the continuation and the intensification of the efforts already initiated by States and RECs, with the involvement of the African Union s International Centre for Girls' and Women's Education in Africa (CIEFFA). 41. The Forum recommended that the regional coordination mechanism bringing together United Nations agencies, the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and the RECs, be decentralized rapidly so that a subregional coordination mechanism might be set up at the individual REC level; and that the specialized institutions of the AU, such as ACALAN, CIEFFA and the Pan-African Institute of Education for Development (IPED), might be involved in that mechanism. 42. The Forum, considering the integration of NEPAD into the African Union s procedures and structures, recommended that the AU and the RECs submit to the United Nations General Assembly a draft resolution establishing a new legal framework for cooperation between the United Nations system and the African Union to replace the framework established through resolution A/RES/57/7 of 20 November 2002, paragraph 4, which established NEPAD as the framework within which the international community, including the United Nations system, should concentrate its efforts for Africa s development. 43. FOSRASUN noted with satisfaction the excellent state of the UNESCO and AU partnership with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the World Islamic Call Society (WICS), the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) and the European Union, and recommended that such cooperation be strengthened with a view to mobilizing extrabudgetary funds for the educational, cultural and social activities of RECs and RIOs. 44. The Forum recommended that the RECs and AUC expedite the harmonization and complementarity of their activity programmes in the context of their coordination meetings in order to promote the principle of subsidiarity more effectively. 45. The Forum recommended that the inter-recs coordination mechanism be reactivated and that UNESCO be invited to participate in its meetings on the Organization s fields of competence. 46. The Forum welcomed the joint cooperation exercise between UNESCO and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an example of good practice that the other subregions should emulate. The Forum also recommended that other RECs take as an example the regional cooperation offered by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) for the
Annex I page 6 drafting of manuals on HIV/AIDS prevention, with a view to developing appropriate examples for their respective subregions. 47. The Forum recommended that the Director-General provide appropriate human and material resources for the Organization s offices in Africa to enable them to perform their function of representatives to the RECs and RIOs more effectively. 48. The Forum recommended that the Director-General take due account of the above recommendations and draw them to the attention of the Executive Board of UNESCO at its forthcoming session. 49. The Forum congratulated the Director-General of UNESCO and his staff on the good organization of the third session of FOSRASUN, and requested him to transmit its thanks to the Government of Japan for its support for the third session of FOSRASUN. 50. The Forum also expressed its gratitude to CEN-SAD and the World Islamic Call Society for their varied contributions to the success of the meeting. 51. The Forum approved a motion of thanks to the incumbent Chairperson of the African Union, to the Libyan Government and people and to the incumbent Chairman of CEN-SAD, for having dignified with their presence and enriched with their ideas the fruitful debates of the third session of FOSRASUN. 52. The Forum welcomed with satisfaction the proposal by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) to host the next FOSRASUN meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in 2010. Adopted in Tripoli, on 24 February 2009
Annex II ANNEX II JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE JOINT COMMISSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO) AND THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION (AUC) UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, 11 March 2009 1. At the invitation of Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mr Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), made an official visit to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 11 March 2009 as the head of the high-level delegation attending the second session of the UNESCO-AUC Joint Commission. 2. During his first visit as Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr Ping met the Director-General for a bilateral meeting, and then both took part in the executive segment of the UNESCO-AUC Joint Commission. 3. The Director-General once more congratulated Mr Ping on the remarkable work he had carried out since his election in January 2008 and his effective entry into office in April 2008. The Director-General assured him of UNESCO s unfailing support in accompanying AUC in the phase that the Chairperson had described as one of action for the Renaissance of Africa. 4. Chairperson Ping congratulated Mr Matsuura on the remarkable reform work that he had been carrying out in his capacity as executive head of the UNESCO Secretariat since his election in 1999. 5. The two executive heads declared their satisfaction with the excellent cooperation between AUC and UNESCO, and promised to do all they could to develop and strengthen it. Chairperson Ping thanked the Director-General for UNESCO s full cooperation in the implementation of the African Union s programmes within UNESCO s fields of competence. 6. The Director-General underlined the fact that the second session of the Joint Commission was being held at a decisive time, as the Executive Board of UNESCO was going to examine his preliminary proposals for the forthcoming biennial programme and budget of the Organization. He reiterated his firm willingness to pay attention to the concerns of Africa in UNESCO s fields of competence. 7. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission welcomed the spirit of the Joint Commission, which offered both parties the opportunity to apply any new strategic orientations to cooperation between AUC and UNESCO. He underlined the striking convergence between UNESCO s commitment to Africa s development and the Strategic Plan of the African Union Commission 2009-2012 based on four pillars and aiming to achieve an integrated Africa through tangible activities that responded to the aspirations of communities themselves. He reiterated his confidence in that cooperation, which was conducive to building a fairer and more balanced world with one of Africa s most faithful allies: UNESCO. 8. During their discussions, they specifically examined matters of common interest relating to the implementation of plans of action in UNESCO s fields of competence: Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action and the Plan of Action for the Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015); plans and other instruments arising from the African Union Summit held in Khartoum in 2006, on culture in particular: the decision on the link between culture and education, Revised Charter for the Cultural Renaissance of Africa, Plan of Action for Cultural
Annex II page 2 Industries in Africa, support for the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN), the Language Plan of Action for Africa, the African World Heritage Fund, the African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (PARAES-ARAPKE), and support for the project on the extension of Africa s continental shelf and the revival of higher education in Africa. They took note of the summary report from the meeting of experts held on 9 and 10 March, and adopted the sectoral recommendations on subjects that included the following: 9. Both Organizations must make an effort to harmonize ministerial meetings in the fields of competence of UNESCO. 10. Both Organizations should adopt a common strategy vis-à-vis their partners for the mobilization of extrabudgetary funds allocated to finance regional and subregional programmes that come within UNESCO s fields of competence. 11. The special relations that have always existed between the AU and UNESCO must be strengthened by involving the regional economic communities (RECs) more closely in the framework of the African Union s Strategic Plan and the Groups of African Ambassadors in Paris, Addis Ababa and New York. 12. Between sessions of the Joint Commission, sectoral meetings should be held between UNESCO sectors and the relevant departments of AUC to review and monitor the implementation of activities. 13. They reaffirmed the importance of the Regional Consultation Mechanism set up by the United Nations system and welcomed the leadership role played by UNESCO in the framework of the "science and technology" thematic cluster and the sub-clusters on human resources and culture and sport. 14. They expressed a wish for the mechanism to be strengthened at the subregional level in close liaison with the UNESCO Office in Addis Ababa, the UNESCO Office in Dakar and Regional Bureau for Education in Africa (BREDA) and the UNESCO Office in Nairobi and Regional Bureau for Science in Africa (ROSTA), and evoked the possibility of an AU representative being accredited to UNESCO. 15. They stated that, as far as bilateral cooperation was concerned, the focal point for UNESCO was the Africa Department, and for AUC it was the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology. 16. They stressed that the concerns shared with AUC, particularly at the Joint Commission, should refer to continental and regional matters, and therefore called for a harmonization of sectoral reports in this regard. 17. They expressed the hope that AUC would participate actively in sessions of the Executive Board and General Conference of UNESCO. 18. The Joint Commission endorsed the recommendations of the third Forum of African Regional and Subregional Organizations to Support Cooperation between UNESCO and AU/NEPAD (FOSRASUN), which was held on 24 February 2009 in Tripoli (Libya), and attended by both institutions. They undertook to continue strengthening the capacities of AUC in UNESCO s fields of competence. The Joint Commission adopted sectoral recommendations that included the following: 19. In education, supporting the implementation of the Plan of Action for the Second Decade of Education for Africa; technical assistance from UNESCO for the AU to set up an observatory for
Annex II page 3 education, for the network of pan-african universities and for the fund for higher education; joint organization of the meeting of the High-Level Group on Education for All (EFA). 20. In science and technology, the continued implementation of flagship projects of Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action; setting up in Equatorial Guinea an African observatory for science, technology and innovation; the AU science prizes; programme for the popularization of science and technology; AUC assistance to define an African position on climate change in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009. 21. In the area of the social and human sciences, they called for the continued promotion of democracy and governance, and research targeting social development policies based on human rights at the regional level, especially in the framework of the subregional forums of ministers of social development and through the establishment of a West Africa institute for international research on regional integration and social transformations; underlined the need to pay particular attention to economic, social and cultural rights, and highlighted the promotion of sport as a vehicle for peace and social development. Both organizations expressed the need to explore the possibility of considering joint activities in the light of the upcoming football World Cup to be held in Africa (South Africa) for the first time, and undertook to consider initiatives before the conference of ministers of sport due to be held in September 2009. 22. They called for a reinforcement of cooperation in the framework of the African Youth Charter and its implementation, in particular capacity-building for young people and improving their participation in the continent s social and economic development process. 23. In the area of culture, they stressed the need to prioritize the following three areas: (i) the joint popularization of charters and conventions; (ii) the harmonization of cultural policies, by drawing up a list of African cultural institutes; and (iii) the protection of African cultural property. 24. The Commission applauded UNESCO s support for regional cultural events, vehicles of regional integration such as the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), the Pan-African Music Festival (FESPAM), the World Festival of Black Arts (FESMAN), the Ouagadougou International Arts and Crafts Fair (SIAO) and the International Festival of African Fashion (FIMA). AUC invited UNESCO to assist it in coordinating and rationalizing the organization of those events by subregion. 25. They welcomed the fact that the current President of the African Union had agreed to include an item on the project on the teaching of the General History of Africa in the agenda of the 13th ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, to be held in Madagascar in July 2009. 26. In the area of communication and information and related technologies, AUC invited UNESCO to become involved in preparations for the 14th Summit of Heads of State and Government on the subject of information and communication technologies: challenges and prospects. Emphasis was placed on capacity-building for journalists and for AUC in this area. 27. In the area of post-conflict situations, AUC welcomed UNESCO s efforts, particularly the intersectoral approach through a dedicated intersectoral platform, and hoped to use this as inspiration in its own working methods. AUC welcomed the emphasis placed on prevention, which was in keeping with the increased demand from AU Member States for interventions to prevent conflicts. The fundamental role of sport as a vehicle for peace and social cohesion was underlined. They encouraged and called for a strengthening of the activities of the Programme of Education for Emergencies and Reconstruction (PEER), as part of the training of civil society actors in education for peace and the management of post-conflict situations.
Annex II page 4 28. As for the issue of gender, they recalled the importance of continuing to promote gender equality as a priority for development in Africa, and to identify and implement joint actions, particularly in the framework of the African Union s 2010-2020 Gender Action Plan and the 2008-2015 UNESCO Action Plan for gender parity; they agreed to develop activities in favour of the empowerment of women and to encourage, at the regional and continental levels, political commitment to gender equality. 29. Both Organizations emphasized the importance of ratifying their standard-setting texts and conventions. AUC undertook to consult UNESCO when drafting standard-setting documents relating to UNESCO s fields of competence. 30. The discussions and exchanges between the two Executive Heads showed their full agreement on all issues discussed. 31. They agreed that the next meeting of the Joint Commission would take place in 2011 at the Headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). 32. At the end of his visit to UNESCO, Mr Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, expressed his gratitude to the Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, for the warm welcome and kind hospitality extended to him and his delegation throughout their stay in Paris. Paris, 11 March 2009 For UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) For AUC (African Union Commission) Mr Koïchiro Matsuura Mr Jean Ping Printed on recycled paper