United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board

Transcription

1 ex United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board Hundred and fifty-fourth Session 154 EX/39 PARIS, 17 March 1998 Original: French Item 8.2 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE SITUATION OF THE CULTURAL AND ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE, ON EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND ON ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF WOMEN IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA SUMMARY This document is submitted to the Executive Board pursuant to 29 C/Resolution 57. Proposed decision: paragraph In accordance with 29 C/Resolution 57, the Organization is continuing its activities in support of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fields of education, culture, communication and assistance to women. Since the beginning of its activities, the Organization has received contributions amounting to approximately US $8,500,000 - in the form of cash, equipment and materials - which have been added to the provisions of the regular budget. Education 2. On the basis of the sectoral analysis undertaken by the Organization in the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina to evaluate priority needs for the reconstruction of the education system, and by way of follow-up to the report concerning the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina published in May 1966, UNESCO recently published a similar report for the Republika Srpska. 3. At the same time the Organization is continuing the implementation of the project Support for the improvement of management capacity in the Education Sector, funded by

2 154 EX/39 - page 2 UNDP and undertaken in co-operation with the Ministry of Education of the Federation and the Ministry of Education of the Travnik district, and its school reconstruction activities. Thus, work on the reconstruction and fitting out of the primary school at Zegar was completed in January At the third follow-up conference on the implementation of the Dayton Accords held in Bonn on 9 and 10 December 1997, to which, unlike the first two conferences, the Organization was not invited, the participants in their conclusions proposed to the national authorities assistance from UNESCO in co-operation with other international bodies for the revision of curricula. That proposal follows the directives issued in November 1997 by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, instituting two different curricula for primary and secondary schools in the Federation, the implementation of which would entail physical separation of Croat and Bosniac children in schools. That decision has sparked off protests from several agencies on the spot, including UNESCO. In this context, a mission from the Secretariat is scheduled to arrive during the next few weeks to discuss the revision of the curricula with the authorities. 5. Within the framework of the Legal Reform Programme for Higher Education and Research (LRP) undertaken by the Council of Europe and pursuant to the request of the Ministry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a working group in which the Organization participated was convened by the Council of Europe on 19 and 20 November 1997 in Strasbourg to identify and work out legislative and institutional principles for the establishment of an appropriate funding system in the field of higher education. 6. On the basis of the priorities expressed at the International Conference on Co-operation and Support for Higher Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized by UNESCO in April 1996 in Barcelona, the European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES) has prepared in conjunction with the Council of Europe a project for the design of a mechanism for coordination and co-operation in the field of higher education, which will be submitted to various donors for funding. Furthermore, CEPES is providing support to the University of Tuzla for the establishment of a UNESCO Chair in the teaching of foreign languages. 7. The HOPE-UNESCO project, financed from funds collected by Ms Ute-Henriette Ohoven, UNESCO s special ambassador for children in distress, in co-operation with the German Commission, which aims to provide, in an institutional framework, training opportunities and long-term support for the disabled and war-wounded, entered its fourth phase in September 1997 and the work relating to the reconstruction of the school for the blind in Sarajevo, the Pazaric clinic and the renovation and fitting out of the KTK nursery school, undertaken within that framework, is in its final stages. The fifth phase of the project is being prepared. 8. The UNESCO Associated Schools Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina has drawn new members and now groups together 34 Associated Schools, mainly in the Federation. At the first seminar entitled Developing the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which all these schools participated, from 21 to 23 November 1997, working groups submitted to UNESCO specific projects relating to the publication of an Associated Schools Newsletter, the promotion of human rights and tolerance, and problems related to the environment. Activities to build up the network in Republika Srpska are also planned.

3 154 EX/39 - page 3 9. The Sarajevo Office recently carried out a survey of special education needs in the ten districts of the Federation, and the findings will be discussed at a meeting in March Cultural heritage 10. The Commission to Preserve National Monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina is continuing its work in accordance with the terms of reference contained in Annex 8 of the Dayton Peace Accords. Six sessions have been held in Sarajevo, during which 50 items of property have already been placed on the list of national monuments, and an indicative list of another 300 monuments is under study. The Sarajevo Office is at present collecting documentation on listed monuments and sites. 11. The Plan for Safeguarding the Historic Centre of Mostar, prepared by UNESCO and funded by Italy, has been submitted to the local authorities for inclusion in the urban regulations of Mostar. A book and a CD-ROM on the project were published recently. 12. In co-operation with the World Bank, the Aga Khan Foundation and the local authorities, and on the basis of the Plan for Safeguarding the Historic Centre of Mostar, the Organization is undertaking the establishment of a project for the reconstruction of the Stari Most (Old Bridge) and the Old City of Mostar. 13. UNESCO has completed the reconstruction of the Cevan Cehaja Minaret in Mostar and a complete work plan has been prepared for the restoration of the Tabacica Mosque. 14. Missions of experts were sent to the National Museum of Sarajevo, whose walls and roof were repaired by UNESCO, in order to prepare a preliminary museographical programme, which has been distributed to potential donors. 15. The Organization is also continuing to support cultural events in aid of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the Sarajevo International Festival. In connection with its activities in support of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, and in co-operation with the World Bank, UNESCO has contributed to the production of a compact disc. Library and archives 16. Under its programme of assistance to the National and University Library of Sarajevo, UNESCO has refitted one of the main buildings of a former barracks in the centre of Sarajevo to house the library. The new library building is equipped with a complete network of computer and Internet connections and a 750m2 area will initially be set aside for storage, offices and the consultation room. The Organization is also pursuing its activities in partnership with other institutions in the region in order to expand and consolidate the library s institutional cataloguing, database and research functions. 17. Pursuant to 29 C/Resolution 32 concerning the Vijecnica, which originally housed the library, national and international discussions have been initiated on the future utilization of this building. Communication 18. Under the programme of assistance for the independent media, the Organization is continuing its TV-Programme Bank project in co-operation with the Open Society Fund. With more than 300 hours of high-quality European programmes, this bank currently supports

4 154 EX/39 - page 4 15 television channels of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thanks to arrangements recently set up in support of quality Bosniac audiovisual production, 30 television and radio programmes have been made promoting the ideas of peace and tolerance. 19. Using the new extended formula of the weekly UNESCO/WTN satellite news exchange programme, a Bosniac television channel, NTV 99, is now able to exchange news footage (which can also be accessed throughout Europe on Eutelsat II F1) and to receive information from independent media in all the territories of the former Yugoslavia. 20. UNESCO is continuing its support for TV Cicak-Sarajevo, the children s audiovisual production company, which has produced for children documentaries on the elections and publicity spots warning against antipersonnel mines. The Beta news agency in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, has also received equipment. 21. Financial contributions and human resources have been provided in support of this programme by Austria, Finland, the United Kingdom, the European Commission and the Soros Foundation. Activities on behalf of women 22. As part of its activities to assist women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNESCO is currently developing, with funds drawn from the contribution of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the period 1 July to 31 December 1997, a training project for displaced women, especially in rural areas, to enable them to meet their needs and those of their families. An initial project for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently being implemented and will subsequently be extended to the Republika Srpska. Training sessions will be held locally and basic education will be provided to these women to enable them to undertake income-generating activities and to benefit from micro-credit programmes set up by various international organizations. The activities, which are adapted to the needs of the target population, include training in languages, information technology, and manual and agricultural work. The first phase, which consisted in surveying needs and available resources, was carried out by the Sarajevo Office, which is currently evaluating activity proposals submitted by the various local NGOs. 23. At the same time, in connection with the project to establish a centre for the development of activities for women in Gorazde, UNESCO has contracted the services of a local NGO to develop and direct the centre s activities. On the basis of the work plan defined in co-operation with UNESCO, training sessions are being held for trainers and recipients in information technology and foreign languages, fields given priority by the inhabitants. Working groups on various aspects of these women s daily lives also meet on a weekly basis. Pending the rehabilitation of the building selected as a permanent home for the centre and to ensure early commencement of start-up activities, the local authorities have placed the premises of the Gorazde nursery at the centre s disposal. A workshop bringing together those concerned at local and national level will be held in the next few months, and its conclusions will provide the basis for the centre s future lines of activity. 24. The initial start-up amount provided by UNESCO has been supplemented by funds provided through the German Commission for UNESCO. 25. The report on rape as a tool of war, published in May 1995, has been translated into Serbo-Croat and was recently distributed to the various NGOs and institutions concerned.

5 154 EX/39 - page Under the project Knitting Together Nations - Fashion and Crafts from Women from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the purpose of which was to train women refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina in income-generating activities, UNESCO, in co-operation with the World Bank and UNHCR, held at Headquarters from 1 to 5 December 1997 a cultural event that included an exhibition and sale of craft products made by these women. A debate on Women, exchange and micro-credits in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was held on 3 December and was attended by the Director-General, representatives of the World Bank and UNHCR and by eminent Bosniac and international figures. The round table was followed by a fashion show and a cultural evening. This project, carried out locally by a consortium of non-governmental organizations, aims to help displaced women to find markets for craft products that they have produced and to participate in the world of work. Other areas of activity 27. The Organization has also assisted the Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IRC), which groups together the representatives of the four religious communities, in gathering information about acts of desecration of cemeteries. 28. In the context of its co-operation with the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Organization has provided assistance through evidence given by one of its staff members at one of the trials currently being held. 29. The Executive Board may wish to adopt the following decision: The Executive Board, 1. Having considered document 154 EX/39, 2. Encourages the Director-General to pursue the implementation of these activities in support of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fields of education, culture, communication and assistance to women; 3. Requests the Director-General to report to it at a subsequent session of the Executive Board.