36 TH SESSION OF UNESCO BIENNIAL CONFERENCE, PARIS, FRANCE OCTOBER 28 TH, 2011 ADDRESS BY DR CIRINO HITENG OFUHO MINISTER OF CULTURE YOUTH AND SPORTS REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN Madame Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Madam President of the General Conference, Distinguished Heads of Delegations, Excellencies Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1
On behalf of the People, Government and President of the Republic of South Sudan and on my own behalf, I wish to seize this opportunity and privilege to address this auspicious gathering and to express our utmost sincere and profound gratitude to the entire UNESCO family for the warm welcome our new nation has received upon joining the community of the world nations. Allow me also to extend to you all warmest greetings from the people, government and His Excellency, President of the Republic of South Sudan, Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit, who would have wished to be here to address this august gathering. 2
The people of South Sudan regard the quick admission into the family of nations and to UNESCO and addressing this auspicious Conference as a significant moment in the history of our young nation. On July 9 th, 2011, the world witnessed the birth of a new nation, the Republic of South Sudan right in the heart of Africa. Your gracious attendance during that day is testimony that the sacrifices of our fallen heroes and heroines have not been in vain. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, As the world s newest nation, South Sudan will make its significant contribution in furthering the interest of humanity in many ways. God has endowed us with resources that we will utilize to enhance the wellbeing of humanity. With our 3
agricultural potential, South Sudan will become the bread basket of Africa and the world. Having experienced war for many years, South Sudan will build cordial relations with all its neighbours, Africa and the world. I would like to take this rare opportunity to salute many of you who stood with us during our long liberation struggle and who have now quickly expressed their readiness to assist us in the fields of education, culture and heritage preservation. Moreover, cultures and histories are important building blocks of the concept of nationhood. We are indebted to many friends in this Conference and we call upon UNESCO member states to continue to support our efforts so that our young nation may prepare its citizens to catch up with the rest of the 4
world in the fields of heritage management, education and scientific research. This is to further acknowledge our emergence as a new nation that is intent on and able to research, chronicle, display and celebrate its cultures for the benefit of the entire human family. During our long liberation struggle, and despite the destruction caused by war, the legacies of which we continue to suffer, we were still able to keep an eye on the preservation of our diverse cultures as well as our collective heritage. Our nation dedicates itself to the promotion of peace and sustainable development, the identification and protection of heritage sites, important cultural practices and endangered languages. We also pledge to memorialize our war experience for the benefit of 5
future generations, so that they can see the cost of war, in the hope that they may continue to choose peaceful solutions over war in their future relations among themselves and with other countries of the world. As an emergent nation that has been embroiled in conflict for a total of more than five decades, the Republic of South Sudan stands in dire need of all the help it can get to build. While we strongly believe that cultures are at the heart of national identity, unity, and coexistence between diverse groups, it is extremely difficult to prioritize promotion of cultures in a country where everything, from health to education to infrastructure, is a serious priority. But we cannot be tempted to think 6
that these other needs are more important than developing our culture. Our ability to emerge out of the abyss of warprovoked poverty and deprivation into the realm of progress and prosperity so that we can afford to preserve, teach and display our culture is going to be arduous and that is why we need you to partner with us on this difficult journey. This new nation cannot develop on its own; it will require your supportive efforts and fraternal commitment. Some of you have unwavering commitment and you have contributed immensely in the past by ending Africa s longest civil war. The IGAD countries and its partners, namely, the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands and Italy and of course, the 7
African Union and the European Union all played a major role in the pursuit for peace in our region. Madam President, Madam Director General, Distinguished Ladies and Gentleman, Our country lies within the Great Rift Valley, one of the world s oldest regions in terms of human evolution. It is endowed with abundant heritage and resources, notably in the Sudd the world s largest swamp on the River Nile, which contains massive unexplored species of fauna and flora, the plateaus of Eastern Equatoria with immense animal wealth and forms potential archaeological deposits that are yet to be explored. But we hardly have the capacity to do these by ourselves. Our strategy is to use 8
international expertise, including that of UNESCO and academic institutions to build our own capacity to conduct scientific research, to build the technological know-how necessary for the preservation of our heritage, water resource management, develop the means to teach it to our children, and establish cultural centers to display all of it so that we can share it with the rest of the world. The ambition of the people of South Sudan is to be able to transform their country into a tourist destination. This would promote cultural and educational exchanges between the Republic of South Sudan and the rest of the world with a view to promoting peace, stability and harmony not only internally but also between all our neighbors and ourselves. 9
On the educational front, the Republic of South Sudan has early adopted the goal of education for all included in its national curriculum, peace education, human rights and cultural values. We hope to build inter-government coordination to celebrate, promote our languages, heritage and innovations to the coming generation. This will be done with the aim of equitable representation of our cultural diversity to become an asset in forging our national unity as a new country. We will celebrate our diversity by developing the various languages and cultural practices of our peoples. Our unity is cemented by the blood of our martyrs and our national pride is derived from their memorable sacrifices. In terms of heritage management, in collaboration with UNESCO South Sudan office, we have moved 10
to conduct surveys and inventories of cultural practices so as to create a registry of what exists and to build upon that in our desire to protect these practices against the threat of the rapid change that the modern world is now experiencing. In conclusion, Madam President, in a world fraught with clash of cultures and with conflicts emanating from this clash, the new Republic of South Sudan vows to become an active member of UNESCO and the global family of nations; contributing to fostering understanding between world cultures so that we may all turn our focus to peace, sustainable development and prosperity for the benefit of all humankind. Thank you and God Bless You All! God Bless South Sudan! 11