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What ‘s New - India’s recent engagements with UNESCO

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In his capacity as outgoing Chairman of the previous session of the International Conference on Education, the then Hon'ble Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Arjun Singh was invited to inaugurate the 48th session of the International Conference on Education (ICE) held from from 26th to 28th November 2008 at Geneva. A delegation led by Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ms. D. Purandeswari, participated in this Conference.

Chairman of the Executive Board, Mr Olabiyi Babalola Joseph YAÏ visited India during 2008. Inspired by this visit, he initiated the proposal to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in 2011 to highlight his contribution to humanity which has been accepted.
 

Another high profile event held at UNESCO was a Round Table on Auroville on 10th October 2008 to commemorate its 40th anniversary on the theme" Auroville: An Emerging World: Its Future Horizon" followed by a fusion music concert by the Auroville Nadaka Group. Both events were attended by more than a thousand persons. Auroville is a remarkable experience for fostering respect for cultural diversity & pluralism that India & UNESCO stands for.
 

180th and 181st sessions of the Executive Board

The 180th session of the Executive Board was held from 30th September-21st October 2008. It was addressed by the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Dr. Navin Chandra Ramgoolam who underscored in his keynote address the importance attached by Mauritius to the inscription of ‘Apravasi Ghat’ on the World Heritage List. He also thanked India for its support on this inscription. The Vote of Thanks was made by India on behalf of all Board Members.
 

At the initiative of the Chairman of the Executive Board, a decision was adopted by consensus to commemorate the contribution of Rabindranath Tagore, Pablo Neruda and Aime Cesaire for universal peace and reconciliation. In the context of Tagore's 150th Anniversary in 2011, this initiative assumes great importance. India also contributed through its keynote speaker Dr. Ganesh Devy in the Thematic Debate held in the context of the Year of Languages on the Protection of Endangered Languages and the Role of Languages in Promoting Education for All.
 

The 181st Session of the Executive Board was held from April 14-30, 2009. Besides, Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, India’s member on the Executive Board of UNESCO, Shri R.P. Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Higher Education and Ms. Bhaswati Mukherjee, Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO also participated in this session.
 

During this session, India’s proposal to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and the 100th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa in 2010-2011 was approved by acclamation. Also, Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, India’s member was honoured by the Chairman of the Board by delegating to her the responsibility of selecting from the ballot box the name of the country who will be seated in alphabetical order in the forthcoming General Conference of UNESCO.

Major Programme I: Education

India played an important role in different international Conferences on Education including CONFINTEA -VI (Preparatory Conference for the Asia Pacific Region) as well as the 48th session of the International Conference on Education (ICE) in Geneva from 26th to 28th November 2008. The then Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Arjun Singh was the outgoing President of the 47th ICE, so the leader of the Indian delegation, Hon’ble Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Smt. D. Purandeswari was given the honour to inaugurate the 48th ICE. Held in the shadow of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Conference adopted by consensus a message of Peace and Goodwill to the Government and people of India. Smt. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State, Ministry of Human Resource Development thanked the Conference for this message of solidarity noting that India stands committed to the international campaign against terrorism.

Sub Regional Conference of South, South West and Central Asia on Higher Education

The Sub Regional Preparatory Conference for South, South-West and Central Asia on Higher Education was organized in New Delhi by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India and National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi in collaboration with UNESCO on 25th and 26th February, 2009 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference brought together Ministers of Education, senior representatives of national governments, educationists, academics, NGOs, policy makers and stakeholders in higher education from 14 countries namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The Conference was inaugurated by President of India, H.E. Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil. The Inaugural Session was presided over by Shri Arjun Singh, the then Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development. Smt. D.Purandeswari, Minister of State (Higher Education) for HRD, H.E.Thakur Singh Powdyel Hon’ble Minister from Bhutan; H.E. Dr. Mustafa Luthfy, Hon’ble Minister from Maldives; H.E. Dr. Ahmed Ali Manik, Hon’ble State Minister, Maldives; H.E. Ms Renu Kumari Yadav, Hon’ble Minister from Nepal; H.E. Prof. Wiswa Warnapala, Hon’ble Minister from Sri Lanka and H.E. Dr. Mohmmad Mehdi Zahedi, Minister, Iran graced the occasion.

The conference ‘Facing Global and Local Challenges: the New Dynamics for Higher Education’ was a part of series of regional conferences organized as prelude to the World Conference on Higher Education being convened by UNESCO in Paris from 5-8 July 2009.

The conference was successful in highlighting a range of issues concerning Higher Education at the Global, Regional and National levels. These broadly include issues of access, equity, financing, governance, quality assurance and sustainable development pertaining to Higher Education. The Conference culminated in adoption of New Delhi Declaration wherein the participants affirmed the “fundamental linkage between higher education, nation-building and sustainable development...” and resolved to strive for expansion of higher education opportunities through increased public spending while emphasising the need to explore alternatives to augment available resources. It emphasises the need to evolve regional strategy to respond to the increasing social demand for higher education. It reiterates the need for ensuring quality standards and access while promoting greater autonomy alongwith accountability of institutions of higher education. It underlines that “higher education should become an instrument to promote development policies that are gender sensitive, economically sustainable, environmental-friendly and based on respect for human rights.”

Major Programme II: Natural Sciences

Convention against Doping in Sports

India has particular interest in the successful implementation of the Convention against Doping in Sports, especially since India would be hosting the next Commonwealth Games in 2010. As of now, there are 105 States Parties to the Convention. Given India's commitment to the international campaign to eliminate doping in Sports, India announced a contribution of USD 20,000/- to the International Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sports. India had earlier ratified the Convention on 7th November, 2007.

UNESCO Kalinga Prize for Popularization of Science

India has always strongly supported UNESCO's Programme in Science. The Kalinga award was instituted by the Government of India and the State Government of Orissa in 1951 and has been administered since then by UNESCO. Some of the Kalinga awardees are Nobel Laureates including Dr. Louis de Broglie, Dr. George Porter, Sir Peter Medawar and Dr. Nicolai G. Basov. Others such as Bertand Russel, Carlvon Frisch and Konrad Lorenz were awarded the Nobel Prize subsequently. It may be noted that this is the only award in the area of popularization of science. The next award would be presented at the 4th World Science Forum in Budapest in November, 2009.

Regional Centre for Biotechnology Training and Education

The Government approved on 20th November 2008 establishment of a Regional Centre for Biotechnology Training and Education in India (Category-2 Institute under auspices of UNESCO) with a revised budget of Rs. 99.55 crores. The Centre would be a regional hub for interdisciplinary education and training in biotechnology.

Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme

India has been playing a key role in the evolution of UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB) since its inception. Earlier, there were 4 Reserves included in this programme i.e. Sunderbans, Nanda Devi, Nilgiri Biosphere and Gulf of Mannar Reserves,. In May, 2009, three more Reserves viz. Nokrek Biosphere Reserve (Meghalaya), Similipal Biosphere Reserve (Orissa), Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) have also been included in this list, taking the total number to seven.

Major Programme III: Social and Human Sciences

Commemorative Activities for 60th Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

As an original signatory of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10th December 1948, India participated in the year long commemoration of its 60th anniversary. Some of these events included:

* Participation in the exhibition entitled "Sixty Years of Human Rights Education" held in UNESCO Headquarters, Paris from 8th to 10th December 2008 which was greatly appreciated. The exhibits were contributed by NCERT and National Human Rights Commission for this event and demonstrated India’s commitment to human rights education.
 

* Participation in the Round Table on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity organized by the Non - Aligned Movement at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris on 3 December 2008. India underlined that education was the best tool to raise understanding of cultural diversity and foster respect for it.
 

International Bioethics Committee (IBC) and the Inter-governmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC)

            India is represented on the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) by its expert, Professor H. Sharat Chandra. India is also a member of the Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC). A joint session of the two Committees was held in UNESCO Headquarters, Paris from 30-31 October 2008, to discuss the advancement of the work of IBC on Social Responsibility and Health and Cloning and Governance. India is also a member of the IBC Working Group on Social Responsibility and Health.

Major Programme IV: Culture

32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee.

As a State Party to the World Heritage Convention, India attended the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee held in Quebec, Canada from 2-10 July 2008 which approved our nomination of "Extension of the Mountain Railways of India: Kalka Shimla Railways".

India is also making efforts for inclusion of other sites such as Nalanda in the Tentative List for Heritage sites. These sites on the Tentative List would subsequently be considered by the World Heritage Committee for inscription on the World Heritage List.
 

3rd Extraordinary Session of Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at Istanbul, Turkey from 4th to 8th November 2008.

This meeting was intended to develop Operational Directives for the Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage which is of fundamental importance to India as a binding international instrument to safeguard this heritage, thus helping to enrich cultural diversity. As Vice President representing the Asia Pacific Region, India played an important role in the deliberations in the meeting.

An important development was the establishment of the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Kutiyattam (Sanskrit Theatre), the tradition of Vedic Chanting and Ramlila-the traditional performance of the Ramayana have been included from India in this list. Many Indian NGOs have been successful in receiving accreditation such as the Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandir, Sanskriti Prathistan and Vrinda Kathak Centre due to strong advocacy by India.
 

2nd session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The 2nd session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in UNESCO Headquarters, Paris from 16-19 June 2008. India was elected from the Asia and Pacific region to the Bureau.

India played a leading role in the negotiations between the Asia and the Pacific region and the Arab group for the sharing of the floating seat for the election of the 24 member Intergovernmental Committee. During this session, many States Parties commended India for hosting the Experts' Meeting on the Convention in Delhi (2-4 April, 2007). This meeting had fed into the substantive issues related to drafting of the Operational Directives.
 

1st Extraordinary Session of Committee on Cultural Diversity, Paris from 24th to 27th June 2008 and 2nd Ordinary Session of Committee, Paris from 8th to 12th December 2008.

India had participated actively in the drafting of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and was the 22nd country in the world and the first country from Asia Pacific region to ratify the Convention in December 2006.

Both meetings were intended to operationalize the Convention through the drafting of Operational Guidelines which would be adopted by a Conference of States Parties in June 2009. India represented the Asia Pacific Region on the Bureau for both meetings and contributed substantially to the discussions. India's role in operationalisation of Article 16 of the Convention relating to Preferential Treatment for Developing Countries is key to the success of the Convention. Article 16 provides an unique opportunity to promote and protect cultural diversity by enabling developed countries to contribute to maintaining cultural diversity by volunteering to give preferential treatment to developing countries in this field India is one of the voluntary contributors to the Cultural Diversity Fund. India has contributed a sum of Rs. 6,81,504/- to this fund.
 

Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Promoting of the Return of Cultural Property to its Country of Origin

An Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Promoting of the Return of Cultural Property to its Country of Origin was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea from 25-28 November• 2008. This meeting also commemorated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Committee. India has always taken a principled stand on the issue. Cultural objects whether displaced during war or colonial times, should be returned to the country of origin. India has participated in the drafting of "Declaration of Principles relating to Cultural Objects Displaced in' Connection with World War II" and has been playing a facilitating role in negotiations for the adoption of this draft declaration.

Major Programme V: Communication and Information

The International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) is an important UNESCO Programme where India's voluntary annual contribution of US $ 30,000 is much appreciated. India has been playing a proactive role in promoting use of multilingualism in cyberspace. The 3rd Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was held in Hyderabad from 3rd-6th December 2008. In the IGF, UNESCO organized workshops on "Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace: Internet Filtering and Censorship" and Access to Public Held Information with a Development Perspective". During the year, National Mission for Manuscripts of India in association with UNESCO, completed a research study entitled "Legal and Policy Framework for Promoting Equitable Access to Documentary Heritage" to assist in the development of legal and policy framework and protocols for promoting equitable access to documentary heritage, relevant to India and other South Asian countries.

Auroville Foundation

Auroville was founded by the ‘Mother’, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo, on the 28th day of February, 1968 as an international cultural township on the outskirts of Puducherry in Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu where currently about 2007 people from 43 countries including India live together as one community and engage themselves in cultural, educational, scientific and other pursuits aimed at Human Unity.

UNESCO by a resolution passed in 1968 had invited its Member States and international non-governmental organizations to participate in the development of  Auroville as an international cultural township designed to bring together the values of different cultures with integrated living  standards which correspond to man’s physical and spiritual needs, which is well explained as per the 4 point charter of Auroville.

The Township is under the administrative control of the Ministry since 1980 and is administered  as per the provisions of the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988.

As per Section 10(3) of the Auroville Foundation Act, the Foundation consists of (a) Governing  Board; (b) Residents Assembly; and (c) Auroville International Advisory Council. The Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation, comprising 9 members, was reconstituted in October 2008 for a period of 4 years.

According to the provisions of the Auroville Foundation Act, the Government of India provides grants to the Foundation for meeting the expenditure on the establishment, maintenance and  development of Auroville under Plan & Non-Plan grants. Under Plan, an amount of Rs.570.00  lakhs and under Non-Plan, an amount of Rs.127.00 lakhs have been released for the year 2008-09.

In addition to the construction activities on Sri Aurobindo International Institute for Educational Research (SAIIER) and Bharat Niwas, the Foundation has undertaken construction work on  ‘Swagtam’ Guest House, up-gradation of Sri Aurobindo Auditorium and Auroville Foundation  office, during this year. The Foundation celebrated 40th Anniversary of the establishment of Auroville on a grand scale in October 2008 at UNESCO, Paris.