Date of submission: 18th May 2015

The Role ofthe UNESCO in Africa

INTS 21414 The United Nations and its Specialized Agencies

SS/2012/0184

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“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced,where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is

made to feel that the society is in an organizedconspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither

persons nor property will be safe.”

-Frederick Douglas

(Speech on the twenty fourth anniversary of emancipation inWashington DC)

Table of Contents

Introduction to UNESCO ………………………………………………………….1

Establishment and functioning of UNESCO ……………………………………....1

Widening the scope of UNESCO ………………………………………………….3

UNESCO in Africa and Priority Africa ……………………………………………4

Implementation of Priority Africa and Other Related Programmes ……………….6

I. Education ……………………………………………………….…..6II. Natural Sciences ……………………………………………….…...8III. Social and Human Sciences ………………………………………..9IV. Culture …………………………………………………………….11V. Communication and Information …………………………………12

Priority Africa Medium Term Strategy (2014-2021) ……………………………..14

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………...15

Reference List ……………………………………………………………………...16

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ABSTRACT

Among the five continents, the African continent is perhaps the mostunderdeveloped given its continent-wide expansion in comparison to other continents. Over decades many initiatives have been undertakento elevate the position of Africa to a prosperous and peaceful region in the global arena. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Programme is among the vanguard parties thatshoulder this responsibility. Through its global priority programme “Priority Africa” it has made commendable achievements in Africa’s sustainable development roadmap. Especially the UNESCO has sought socio-economic and cultural solutions to the continent’s most alarming issues such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, human right abuses and environmental degradation and equally contributed to the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Even though UNESCO has achieved much in Africa despite the adverse eco-political issues such as economic crises and political instabilities it has left something to be desired, which is also admitted by its reports of evaluation. This report is a concise review on the role of UNESCO inAfrica.

Key words: MDGs, Priority Africa, Sustainable Development, UNESCO

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Map: The African Continent

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Figure 1. The African Continent. [source:http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/maps/MAPAFRICA054L.JPG ]

Introduction to UNESCO

The epicentre of interest, may it be domestic, regional or even international spheres has always been peace and security, and for this end actors in the system have devised numerous mechanisms. However a vast majority of these instruments have historically been military, which can be supported by citing uncountable wars that have broken out to date. But in the new world order the urge for military solutions will be less so. Given the increasing public protest for use of force and especially the advancement of human thinking capacity and international integration man has realized that the root cause of violence is more likely to be based on socio cultural issues and thus solutions for such violence should also be found on the same ground. The trend has now shifted from military solutions to rather more sustainable answers provided by socio-cultural dimensions. In that light the United Nations, has an even wider role to play.

One of its Specialized Agencies, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as its name blatantly spells out is dedicated internationally to comply with the aims of the United Nations and in doing so to foster educational, scientificand cultural spheres. Although the direct focus of the UNESCO is to underpin the triangular interests of education, sciences and culture, its road, in the long run leads to the ultimate goal of theUN which is international peace and security. The UNESCO however haschosen a rather different aspect in achieving this goal, by deviating from the traditional mechanisms that the UN employs. The UNESCO’s response to address the issues of peace and security may appear distant. But they assure on the contrary sustainable solutions. Thus, the UNESCO’s philosophy is based on the assumption that peace cannot only be achieved through political and economic arrangements which do not represent the unanimity of people in the world. Instead, it proposes that peace be achieved on an intellectual and moral basis. Its constitution cites,

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“Since the wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences ofpeace must be constructed (…) the peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon

the intellectual and moral solidarity of the mankind”.

In addition it also believes that the ignorance of “each other’s wayof life” have led to “suspicion and mistrust” between people which had eventually ended up in war. The UNESCO strives thus to bridge this gap of ignorance by educating masses, promoting scientific advancement and above all augment cultural awareness that eradicate hostilities and discrimination.

Establishment and Functioning of UNESCO

UNESCO was born as early as the UN when the constitution of the organization was adopted by the London conference on 16th November 1945. After being accepted by twenty founding nations it came into effect an year later in 1946. To date, the membership of UNESCO has spanned to include 195 Member States and 9 Associate Members with analmost universal membership. In the headquarters in Paris, France alone the UNESCO works with more than 2000 staff members from 170 countries and apart from those approximately 870 staff members in 65field offices around the world.

The organizational structure of the UNESCO consists of three principal pillars as the General Conference (GC), the Executive Board and the Secretariat. The GC which approximates the UN General Assembly comprises of the organization’s entire membership which convenes biennially. The GC which is the main decision making entityis responsible for drafting the biennial programme of the UNESCO andalso its budget. Once in four years a new Director General is appointed and the post is currently held by Irina Bokova from Bulgaria. The Executive Board comprises of 58 members who are appointed for a four year term and is responsible for the implementation of the programmes adopted by the GC. The Secretariat is headed by the Director General for a six year term along with its

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staff that makes proposals for the UNESCO activities and drafts the budget.

The basic requirement of securing the membership of the UNESCO is tobe a member of the UN and similarly if any member state is expelled from the UN it shall automatically lose its seat in the UNESCO. The member states of the UNESCO, as provided by its constitution, are also entitled to appoint a Permanent Delegate to the organization.

The UNESCO accounts for an annual budget of USD326 and for the biennial of 2010 and 2011 the figure stood US$653. However apart from the allocations from the central UN budget, the UNESCO also welcome external financing such as gifts, contributions from governments, public and private institutions and even individuals aslong as they do not breach the organization’s financial regulations.

The Article I of the Constitution of the UNESCO reads out the raison d’être of the organization as follows and also mentions thereafter three main avenues for its realization as; collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication, give fresh impulse to popular education and to the spread of culture and finally maintain,increase and diffuse knowledge.

“The purpose of the Organization is to contribute to peace and security by promotingcollaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to furtheruniversal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamentalfreedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex,

language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.”

The UNESCO, also recognized as the “intellectual agency” of the UN, addresses thus social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainable development and for that end includes within its mandatea wide range of activities that spans from education to cultural preservation. However its innumerable activities can be summarized and encompassed within five major headlines as given below. The rest

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of the report on UNESCO’s involvement in Africa will therefore be discussed under these main five pillars.

Education Natural Sciences Social and Human Sciences Culture Communication and Information

The UNESCO also maintains close ties with other organizations including International Governmental Organizations (IGO) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and even various foundations established worldwide. It works with more than 80 IGOs including theEuropean Union and multilateral development banks. It has official ties with more than 350 NGOs and 20 Foundations at national and international level and several hundred also work in ad hoc basis for specific projects. In addition UNESCO also shares expertise and resources with other private companies and philanthropic organizations. However the link between the UNESCO and these affiliated bodies are strengthened via National Commissions established by the member states in their countries. They not only form a vital network among the organization, its associates and the civil society who reap the eventual benefits but also provide valuable insight to the organization’s activities and help implementthem. At the same time the commissions assist in developing partnerships with the private sector that underpin the organization’s functioning both technically and financially.

Widening the scope of UNESCO

At a time an international debate is ongoing on reforming the UN to fit it to the new world order, as one of its major specialized agencies, UNESCO can hardly be left out. When the UN is looking forward to reforms there are few suggestions for UNESCO’s reformation as well.

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Going by the UN’s agenda for world peace UNESCO should attempt more rigorously for world peace. This can mainly be done by intensifying international cooperation, contacts between IGOs and individual states and promote all international achievements. Promotion of suchinternational dialogue would be an effective resisting force againstconflicts and divisions that are currently threatening the international peace.

Similarly as an agency dealing with rather delicate but decisive issues such as education and culture it can expand its agenda to work in collaboration with other subsidiary bodies such as the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organizations that cover the areas of food security and health respectively that do not come under the UNESCO’s direct mandate. However in a world with increasing socio economic problems UNESCO cannot crouch behind its traditional agenda to address only educational scientific and cultural issues. Since all of them are intricately connected it is time for UNESCO to widen its horizons in such a way human welfare isensured. At the same time new sciences such as microbiology and atomic fusion should be made aware to the public so that they are not used for lethal and disastrous ends such as warfare, but for welfare of human kind. As the organization that promotes education and scientific development UNESCO can achieve this goal the best.

UNESCO in Africa and Priority Africa

Apart from the above mentioned five main headings that cover the main areas of interests of UNESCO, it also has two large scale projects known as “Global Priorities” as “Priority Africa” and “Gender Equality”. While UNESCO conducts an array of activities for Africa’s development, “Priority Africa” introduced in 1989 is the largest, the most important and every other activity functions central to this global priority. In this regard the organization works in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Like every other

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programme, “Priority Africa” underpins the overall objectives set out by UNESCO such as Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs) including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In fact the fulfilment of the five basic avenues of UNESCO automatically contributes to the fulfilment of MDGs. For example by contributing to Africa’s education, it also contributes to universal primary education, HIV/AIDS combatting and through its natural sciences initiative it ensures environmental sustainability which are all MDGs. Although this paper is principally focused on ‘Priority Africa’ because it captures and encompasses an overall image of the role of UNESCO in Africa it has also made references to other UNESCOrelated programmes in Africa.

Significance of Africa and Challenges for its Development

The African continent is identified as the second largest and secondmost populous continent in the world which occupies one sixth of theEarth’s surface. On the land of Africa find 54 sovereign states all of which are members of UNESCO. The progress in the African region is positive but still Africa is lagging behind the achievement of Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Alsoit is the region with most of Least Developed Countries (LDC), countries in post conflict and post disaster (PCPD) situations whichfocus UNESCO’s attention to the region. UNESCO identifies under the Operational Strategy for the implementation of Priority Africa (2014-2021) four key challenges that keep the African continent fromdeveloping; demographic growth, sustainable development and economicgrowth, social transformation and democratic governance.

Currently the population of the African continent is around an overwhelming 1.1 billion and UN forecasts this figure to rise up to 2.4 billion by 2050. This immense demographic growth can have two immediate and adverse effects on the continent’s development. On theone hand it creates an exodus youth population with implications on their education and employment. To date more than 60 per cent of theAfrican population is below 35 years of age and any further addition

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to this amount will be difficult to manage given the under development of the region. If the new addition to the population is not given proper education or employment it will only add to Africa’s development burden. On the other hand a population that escalates at such an alarming rate challenges coexistence and peaceful management of the available resources. Malnutrition, pandemics such as Ebola and most importantly HIV/AIDS are few other issues related to this matter because they are directly and inevitably influenced by the increase of population and the inability to provide proper education and awareness. Therefore the challenges imposed by demographic growth should be addressed in sucha way that the increasing population should be educated, employed and integrated into the society so that they can fully contribute for the development instead of being a force which counters development. Similarly peaceful coexistence should be maintained to withstand competition for resources.

Although the African continent is rich in diverse natural resources the economic growth of the continent has remained dormant ever since. There is widespread poverty and economic dependence on the rest of the world. A main reason behind this is the relying on one or a limited number of products to generate income. Most African countries concentrate on a single or a limited range of commodities instead of diversified economic activities. At the same time, the continent heavily depends on foreign aid despite the willingness to promote regional integration of economies and markets. The incessantflow of aid into the continent has unfavourably discouraged the urgefor sustainable development. The low level of education and other technical, scientific and intellectual deficiencies further weaken the economic progress because economy cannot be developed without the cooperation of the above fields. Climate change, desertification, and such other environmental issues that are commonplace in the continent are environmental impediments to Africa’s economy. Similarly the continent is often seen to be under-

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promoting lucrative industries such as those related to culture thathave the potential to contribute to Africa’s development.

Social transformation is another detrimental challenge because it confines the population and their prospect for development behind barriers of convention. The prevalence of outdated socio-cultural practices discourages the new tendencies of human rights and freedoms especially regarding women and children. In order to satisfy the convention certain social groups such as women are excluded from the potential work force. Thus an upgrading of the education and attitudes to fit the modern world is a must for Africa. Most importantly given the cultural diversity of Africa it is a vital necessity to prevent ethnic tensions from developing to large scale conflicts which will unless further weaken the stabilityand economic growth. The history of the continent is already marred with such conflicts, most notable ones in Rwanda and Congo, which resulted in mass displacement of ethnicities and destruction of socio cultural assets. Such ethnic conflicts also have indirect effect on education, sciences, culture and even biodiversity while creating lasting and irreparable damages. Worst still, such tensionsin Africa have also lead to issues of organized crime, piracy, drug trafficking adding to Africa’s vulnerability.

Democratic governance is a field which Africa has quite failed to ensure. The guaranteeing of democracy and the civic participation for the eradication of common problems such as poverty is comparatively less. Furthermore the unstable political situation in most African nations fuels the socio-economic conflicts leaving no hope for the common masses and endangers security. However it shouldbe admitted that Africa has attained a noteworthy progress in terms of governance since 1990s including democratic elections, freedom ofexpression, human rights and women representation in decision makingthanks to widened public awareness.

The impediments to Africa’s sustainable development have never been alone. They function as components of a complex network of

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interconnected issues ranging from political instability, populationgrowth to environmental issues that collectively impede the continent’s development. For example population growth creates malnutrition, unequal access to resources that have negative consequences on education and even security. Thus the key to entangle this web is to find and curb what lies in the root of this impeding web. On that regard long term socio-cultural solutions willbe the most proficient. That is where the need of the UNESCO emerges; to enrich the poverty and conflict ridden continent of Africa with educational, scientific and cultural progress.

Implementation of Priority Africa and Other Related Programmes.

1.Education

Recognizing the fact that the key to Africa’s development is education, UNESCO pays an intensive attention to develop the education in the continent. UNESCO has already decided to allocate 20.3 per cent of its distribution of resources to Africa for the improvement of education for the years 2014-2017. The education standards of the continent remain at an eye opening rate with considerably low literacy rates which are way below the global average. In Africa over one third of adults cannot read or write andthe adult literacy rate in sub Saharan Africa (SSA) is 59 per cent according to UNESCO statistics (2013). The gap between male and female literacy rates are of no difference with male literacy rate being 68 per cent and of females the figure is as low as 51 per cent. To overcome this issue several programmes are being conducted with the guidance of UNESCO coordinated mainly by the Regional Bureau for Education in Dakar (BREDA) and 15 other field offices that represent UNESCO. They collectively ensure that education is held among priorities of African governments and other development endeavours including Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

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Dakar Framework of Education for All (EFA) and Capacity Building forEFA (CapEFA)

Dakar Framework of Education for All initiated to guide education sector activities, with UNESCO as its coordinator, operates mainly in SSA. However the framework did not reap much improvement as it did in other parts of the world when SSA displayed only 9 per cent of improvement from 53 per cent to 59 per cent of literacy by 2011. In 2003 CapEFA was introduced as an elongation to EFA which is a mechanism to enhance capacities for reaching EFA goals. Out of the 20 countries in CapEFA, a majority of 13 states are in Africa because they all meet the parameters of qualification for CapEFA; that is being least developed countries (LDC), states with low education development index or countries in post conflict or post disaster situations (PCPD). CapEFA address the issues of quality andequity in formal and non-formal education, adult education and teacher training. There are several significant CapEFA lead programmes functioning in Africa such as National Plan for Literacy Development and Non-Formal Education in Chad and the adoption of free education for the first three grades of primary schooling in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It also encourages south-south dialogue in sharing innovative education practices which wouldespecially benefit SSA.

EDUCAIDS

Launched in 2004, EDUCAIDS is a regional initiative regarding the HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention and also a concerted action with other UN agencies concerned. It operates in more than 30 countries in Africa providing technical assistance for improving HIV/AIDS education. Enhanced projects are conducted in worst affected countries including Angola, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland with the collaboration of the Bruni Foundation. While direct support programmes are held in countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Sao Tome

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Principe, indirect support is provided to Botswana, Cape Verde, Malawi and Zimbabwe. During the years of 2010-2011 a vast majority of the budget of EDUCAIDS, US$13 million was allocated to SSA.

Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET)

In response to Africa’s escalating youth population TVET was introduced to effectively integrate them into the workforce. In the Second Decade of Education in Africa (2006-2015), TVET is recognizedas a priority area by both the African Union and other Regional Economic Committees. The programme also focuses on providing non-formal and entrepreneurship education to vulnerable and disaster ridden groups. In relation to TVET a research study on society and labour market demand was held in Botswana and Zimbabwe and stakeholder consultations provided in Malawi, Botswana and Zimbabwe.In Nigeria, UNESCO is working hand in hand with national stakeholders to make TVET attractive to school leavers. In addition Niger also receives financial support from five European states including Luxembourg and Cyprus for poverty eradication through capacity building in women which has benefitted over 2500 women fromrural communities within the years 2006-2010. Among other areas under the scope of TVET are Human Right awareness, poverty eradication, women empowerment, literacy training and renovation of education infrastructure.

Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE)

Initiated as a part of the UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012), LIFE benefits 18 African states including Benin, Burkina Faso and Guinea.These states have consented to prioritize literacy and non-formal education and to include them in respective national policy documents. Specifically in Mali and Senegal, LIFE contributed for the creation of a separate Ministry for Literacy and Local Languages. LIFE also strengthens south-south partnerships such as the literacy training workshop offered by Brazil to some Portuguese speaking countries including Mozambique.

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Teacher Training Initiative for SSA (TTISSA) and UNESCO-China Funds-In-Trust Project (CFIT)

Both these programmes are primarily focusing on teacher training andbuilding capacities of teachers involved in all forms of education. They are dedicated to implement teacher training in terms of qualityand quantity in Africa while promoting the employment of Informationand Communication devices such as computers, internet and mobile devices in teaching. The projects operate in several countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Namibia, DRC, Tanzania and Uganda.

Some other remarkable projects are,

Brain Gain Initiative- A UNESCO-HP joint initiative, it was tested in four countries; Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe in 2006. It is aimed at countering the effects of brain drain on Africa’s development.

State Report on National Education System (RESEN)- Supported 15 African countries in PCPD status to compile a state report on education and on education policies.

Bamako Call to Action (2007)- Initiated by African Regional Conference in support of Global Literacy. In response several African countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali and Niger increased their respective education budget.

International Conferences (2008-2009)- Conferences such as International Conference on Education and World Conference on HigherEducation convened African decision makers and other partners to formulate educational strategies as a means of reducing inequality, poverty and instability in Africa.

2.Natural Sciences

As a continent with a rich bio diversity and natural resources in abundance, Africa has been equipped with a Science and Technology

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and Innovation (STI) policy to ensure that Africa’s natural potentials are contributive to its sustainable development. Special attention has already been given to reform national STI policies as a part of UNESCO’s economic reform agenda. In recognition of the UNESCO’s contribution to the field of natural science in Africa, it has also been made a Member of the African Ministerial Conference onScience and Technology (AMCOST).

Water Sciences

In collaboration with the Italian Ministry for the Environment and for the Protection of the Land and the Sea, the UNESCO launched Water Programme for Africa (WPA) in 2003 which is aimed to conserve the environment and manage water resources. The WPA is in accordancewith the terms adopted by the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) and with the MDGs. It conducts projects of sustainable water management in arid zones of Africa in two phases attempting to withstand any adverse effects of climate change.

Ecological Sciences

Under ecological sciences the major UNESCO collaborated programme isthe Regional Post-Graduate School on Integrated Tropical Forest Management (ERAIFT) which issues a system of diplomas with international standards. Diplomas are offered in three fields; integrated management of tropical forests and lands, environmental governance and climate change. They were awarded to graduates from Angola, Burundi, Guinea, Niger, DRC and Togo. Within 10 years the programme produced 83 African graduates in the fields including three who were awarded doctorates.

Basic Sciences

Under basic sciences, as requested by African countries, the field of neuroscience in Africa was uplifted by the International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP) and International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). Furthermore, the international Centre for

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Genetic Engineering and Technology (ICGEB) partnered with UNESCO to improve molecular biology and genomics in relation to the advancement of Africa’s agriculture. The European Centre for NuclearResearch (CERN) also assisted to upgrade a network of E-Libraries inAfrican universities to promote science education. Within the years 2004-2008 some forty African states were imparted knowledge on physics and optics through a series of seminars. Apart from those forty, some other African countries including Angola, Burkina Faso, Congo, Djibouti and Zambia were provided teacher training on enabling secondary students to conduct practical experiments in biology, chemistry and physics.

Renewable Energy

The African Chapter of the Global Renewable Energy Education and Training (GREET) on solar energy was implemented in Africa followingexpert meetings held in Guinea and Togo. In Nigeria the GREET initiative promoted National Renewable Energy Policy. The GREET targets other African countries apart from those mentioned above so that the number of African countries using renewable and sustainableenergy will increase gradually. A partnership was made between the UNESCO and Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) to provide internet facility powered by solar energy to rural schools in Benin. In addition UNESCO provided technical assistance to energy policies in Africa in collaboration with African Energy Commission while UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission conducts related projects such as Adaptation to Climate Change in the coastal zones of West Africa.

3. Social and Human Sciences

Apart from education, social and human sciences is perhaps the fieldthat is decisive to Africa’s development agenda the most. As a continent infested with inter and intrastate conflicts, under

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development, human right violation and gender disparity, Africa’s social foundation needs immediate action. UNESCO, through an array of programmes supports the governments in Africa to respond to such challenges, including research and policy options that promote peaceand development.

Youth

With the increasing population in Africa the youth are made increasingly vulnerable due to the lack of resources and especially education that would build their capacities. This situation is critical to Africa because youth unemployment can fuel youth unrest adding to Africa’s existing conflict situation. Recognizing this eminent danger UNESCO initiated the Youth Social and Human Science Strategy for 2009-2013. The programme is aimed towards an enabling policy environment for youth development in Africa. In order to makethe programme more worthwhile, its initial draft was made based on the recommendations of the youth delegates of Africa states during the first UNESCO Africa Youth Forum in 2007. For its successful implementation, UNESCO has partnered at institutional, technical andfinancial levels with African member states, International FinancialInstitutions (IFIs), IGOs, the AU and the private sector.

Poverty Eradication

Poverty eradication is among the top few priorities in the sphere ofsocial and human sciences because UNESCO considers that poverty impairs rights and dignities of people. Several capacity building programmes are conducted in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo specifically to expand the awareness of human rights and advance the poverty eradication strategies. In addition Portugal funds research teams that work on the issues pertaining to Benin, Senegal and Togo under the guidance of UNESCO. Apart from that the issue of poverty is alsoaddressed via the programmes launched by other related departments such as education.

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Gender Equality Action Plan

Under the Gender Equality Action Plan comes the Regional Research and Documentation Centre on Women, Gender and Peace Building particularly in the Great Lakes Region. It is a project envisaged for promoting gender equality and women’s rights in the region. The project was in response to the decision of the 32nd General Conference of UNESCO in 2003 to strengthen the action of UNESCO for women and children living in conflict and post-conflict ridden areas. It was in 2008 that the project was officially launched and it currently operates in over 11 countries including Angola, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia. The activities of theproject are policy oriented research, publications and formation of partnerships.

Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia

Given the vast diversity of tribes, ethnicities and other races thatexist on the continent of Africa the tendency for the rise of discrimination and xenophobia among such groups has been inevitable,a fact also proved by the continents history. The African Arab Coalition of Cities was thus formed to counteract racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. The concept for the coalition was the brainchild of the World Conference against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination, held in Durban in 2001. It aims at promoting ethnic harmony thereby encouraging greater urban social inclusion. Within less than a decade 55 municipalities belonging to African states joined the initiative which helped them in turn to build partnerships against discrimination in all its manifold forms.However the progress of the project is being slowed down due to financial and structural constraints.

Democracy and Human Rights

The Permanent Forum of Arab-African Dialogue on Democracy and Human Rights was launched in 2008 co-organized by the UNESCO and the

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Egyptian National Council for Human rights. It is aimed at creating dialogue space for civil society, parliamentarians, relevant state actors, regional organizations and other specialized UN agencies that are willing to promote democracy and human rights as amplifiersfor Africa’s development.

Programme for the Education of Children in Need (PECN)

Created by the UNESCO in 1992, PECN strives to offer opportunities to vulnerable children through education. The programme has been implemented in several regions in the continent to date including the recent projects of establishing primary schools in Burkina Faso,building orphanage resource centres in Kenya and vocational trainingcentres for former child soldiers in Liberia.

4.Culture

Identifying the rich cultural background of Africa UNESCO has launched a promising series of programmes that commit not only to preserve Africa’s cultural heritage but also to make it a driving force to Africa’s development. These programmes have been designed within the framework of the Charter of the Cultural Renaissance of Africa of 2006 and other policy measures identified by the UNESCO-African Union commission in 2009. UNESCO reports cite that it “promotes dialogue and social cohesion building on wealth and diversity of culture, protecting and promoting cultural, natural, tangible and intangible heritage to sustain cultural diversity”.

World Heritage List

As a measure to underpin African culture, African representation in the World Heritage List was strengthened in the recent years. Four major sites of cultural importance in Mauritius (Le Morne Landscape), Kenya (Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests), Burkina Faso (Ruins of Loropeni) and Cape Verde (Historic Centre of Ribeira

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Grande) were added to the list. Notably for Burkina Faso and Cape Verde it was their first inclusion to the list. Additionally 11 other sites in Africa were included to the cultural sites that are in danger and thus require careful monitoring mechanism of UNESCO. Such sites are found in DRC and in Mali. Other site preservation activities are undertaken in Ethiopia, Senegal, DRC and Tanzania.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

The mechanism adopted by the UNESCO for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage is mainly by widening the awareness of them or by imparting knowledge concerning such heritage. In this regard UNESCO uses both formal and informal transmission of knowledge because UNESCO believes that the preservation of culture and education are closely linked. Under this mechanism 25 African countries were encouraged to domestically implement the Convention for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Some of these countries are Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia and Senegal. Accordingly three countries have already received assistance for their cultural endeavours, namely Côte d’Ivoire (Gbofe of Afounkaha), Ethiopia (Ongota Language) and Kenya (traditional practices associated with Sacred Mijikenda forests). Similarly traditional music of Central African Republic, woodcrafting in Madagascar and traditional dances in Zimbabwe received financial support for their preservation.

Linguistic Diversity and Literature

To mark the UN International Year of Languages in 2008, UNESCO organized several activities in Africa. For example, a conference onlanguage development was held in Zambia by the Zambia National Commission for UNESCO along with the United Nations Development Fund(UNDP). Similar sub regional conferences were organized by the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) on the role of cross border and lesser used languages in Africa. In Bamako, Mali, an international forum was held on multilingualism. The UNESCO has also

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dedicated to develop national and regional capacities in SSA for safeguarding hundreds of African languages. This includes workshops in DRC in 2009 on the use of traditional languages and the promotionof languages like Swahili by distributing traditional tales printed in these languages to schools. Another important task was done by the UNESCO in 2009 by updating the UNESCO Atlas of Endangered Languages to include 400 African languages.

As for literature, the UNESCO built a partnership with the NGO, “Culture and Development” to raise the awareness in Mali of developing the book industry and the African literature. Similarly in Senegal, UNESCO organized a series of exhibitions, debates on copyright and literacy.

Cultural Industries and Crafts

The UNESCO has designed a Plan of Action for Cultural Industries in Africa which is meant to patron cultural festivals, fairs and shows such as the International Festival of African Fashion(IFAF). Other UNESCO led initiatives are the establishment of an office in Bamako in recognition of craftwork of West Africa and formation of musicians’ cooperatives in Burkina Faso to promote music. Africa is also fundamental in the UNESCO-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) inter agency project on the developmentof cultural industries which includes five pilot projects functioning in Mozambique, Senegal and Zambia. In 2008, the UNESCO also held an international conference on the theme “Tourism and crafts” in Ghana which stressed the important role played by traditional African craftwork in tourism industry and especially as a tool of capacity building, employment and poverty eradication.

5.Communication and Information

The deficiencies in effective communication is one of the main reasons behind conflicts because miscommunication often results in

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misunderstanding among groups and even aggravates existing conflicts. Inability understand and tolerate each other’s socio-cultural backgrounds, inaccessibility to accurate information are some other related issues. Since Africa is long identified to be conflict-ridden, communication is another important tool to achieve sustaining peace and eventually development to Africa. Taking that into account the UNESCO has launched several programmes to facilitate successful communication and accessibility to informationin Africa.

Journalism

In 2006 the UNESCO launched “Potential Media Training Centres of Excellence Initiative” engaging 12 schools of journalism in Africa. The project seeks to uplift these schools towards acquiring higher professional standards in journalism education. First a study was done to select 12 schools located in Cameroon, Kenya, Morocco and Uganda out of 100 such schools in Africa. These institutions have now adopted the UNESCO’s model journalism curriculum which was drafted specially for developing countries and emerging democracies.They are also engaging in partnerships with other universities particularly in the United States of America (USA).

Science Communication

In cooperation with the British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC Worldwide) and with financial support from the British government UNESCO has provided high quality television programmes on science and technology to 41 African countries. These programmes are based on basic and life sciences, ecology and earth science. In addition, the above mentioned Potential Media Training Centres of Excellence Initiative is also facilitating science journalism in their respective institutions. In 2009 during the Pan-African Film Festival some films related to HIV/AIDS awareness were screened followed by a debate involving TV producers, media professionals andpublic highlighting the role of media in combatting HIV/AIDS. Eleven

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of these films were coproduced by UNESCO. UNESCO has also pioneered in introducing a media resource toolkit and training manual on the role of media as partners in education for sustainable development. The toolkit was based on topics such as climate change, biodiversityand pollution which are major topics concerning Africa.

Gender Equality by empowering women through access to information

The UNESCO plans to promote gender equality by empowering women by enabling freedom of expression especially of women living in zones of tension and armed conflict. This is basically done by encouragingwomen participation in conflict resolution, peace building and reconstruction. Funded by Spain, functions another project to develop a Regional Conflict Sensitive Report Training Centre. This centre provides necessary tools for reporting in conflict or post-conflict areas. A noteworthy feature of the programme is that it prefers female reporters to cover the issues pertaining to women andchildren in conflict and post-conflict areas. The UNESCO also bridges the NGOs working on this regard by facilitating the sharing of information regarding African women and by strengthening capacitydevelopment in women to make them contribute to Africa’s development.

Priority Africa Medium Term Strategy (2014-2021)

The most recent face of the UNESCO’s Priority Africa initiative is its Medium Term Strategy implemented for the years spanning from 2014 to 2021. During this period two main issues are expected to be probed. They are; Building peace by building inclusive, peaceful andresilient societies, and Building institutional capacities for sustainable development and poverty eradication. During this period UNESCO expects to expand its African agenda to implement a “stronger

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and better targeted” strategy, cites UNESCO. This strengthening willgovern all the five basic avenues of the organization from Educationto Communication. For the effective implementation of the Strategy UNESCO has launched six flagship programmes along with ‘youth’ and ‘gender’ as cross-cutting areas. Given below is a concise grid of the six flagship programmes and some of the main actions conductive to them.

Flagship Programme Main Actions

1. Promoting a culture of peace and nonviolence.

Empowering the youth, men and women for community development and democracy.

Promoting scientific and cultural cooperation for the management of natural trans-boundary resources.

2. Strengthening education systems for sustainable development in Africa: improving equity, quality and relevance.

Support qualitative policies for teaching and learning environments.

Develop capacities of national teacher training institutions to deliver quality training using ICT.

3. Harnessing STI and knowledge for thesustainable socio-economic development of Africa.

Strengthen African higher education and research institutions.

Improve universal access to information and knowledge.

4. Fostering science for the sustainable management of Africa’s natural resources and disaster risk reduction.

Train a critical mass of natural resources and disaster risk managers.

Promote and support UNESCO-designatedsites to be used as platforms for sustainable development.

5. Harnessing the power of culture for sustainable development and peace ina context of regional integration.

Strengthen institutional, human capacity-building and cultural policy frameworks.

Develop and disseminate teaching tools and curricula.

6. Promoting an environment conducive to freedom of expression and

Training a critical mass of media personals in key fields of Africa’s development.

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media development. Creating policy and regulatory conditions conductive to press freedom.

Table 1.Flagship Programmes of Priority Africa. (Source:www.unesco.org)

Conclusion

An important observation made by a report on the evaluation of UNESCO’s Priority Africa, published in 2012 was the mixed understanding of the programme within the UNESCO itself. The report alarmingly highlighted that the key stakeholders, that is the organization’s different institutional entities and its staff had noclear understanding what Priority Africa was and should be. Based onthe findings of an organization-wide survey, the report cites that priority Africa is differently interpreted within UNESCO. Adding to that is the unawareness of its field officers and other staff of thepriority that is expected to be directed to Africa. A majority of the staff found priority Africa hardly having a specific effect on their work in the continent. Since they were already working on it they believed the so-called ‘priority’ as less relevant. This situation has created duplicated, uncoordinated and overlapping roles and responsibilities of the programme’s mandate which mars thecredibility of its success and productivity.

Other challenges to the programme include insufficient allocation ofresources to fulfil the projects, unclear definition of responsibilities provoking free ridership and lack of accountability, isolation from other global priorities, lack of commitment and insufficient partnerships to name a few. While this paper has hitherto cited the successfully functioning programmes ledby UNESCO to harness Africa’s development the challenges mentioned in the evaluation report do exist and decelerate the progress of

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Priority Africa. Given below are a few recommendations also proposedby the report.

Decentralization of more resources to Africa. Increasingly engage in joint initiatives with other UN

agencies on topics such as relating to health. Adopting a mechanism for identifying priority themes. Clarifying roles and responsibilities among key UNESCO

entities to improve efficiency and accountability. Develop more partnerships and fundraising mechanisms to

accelerate the achievement of projects.

According to Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations, the conflicts of the post-Cold War era are most likely to be backed by socio cultural reasons, an assumption which is increasingly being proved by conflicts flaming around the world today. This provides more insight as to why UNESCO should brazen itself as the principal organization concerned specifically with socio cultural issues. While it has already taken measures to address the development requirements of Africa, it is a prompt need to also ensure that the initiative is undertaken in its most efficient and effective manner for the betterment of Africa. It should also be vigilant so as not to reverse its development plans regarding Africa due to external factors such as conflicts, political instability, outbreak of pandemics such as Ebola and every other natural and man-made disasters. As UNESCO has better tools in preventing war, promoting peace and harnessing development, or the tools of education, scienceand culture, it has an increasingly wider role to play to save the continent of Africa from the verge of despair.Reference List

Department of Public Information, 1987. Basic Facts about the United Nations. New York:UN Publication

Steele, P., 1998. Pocket Atlas. Bristol: Dempsey Parr

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UNESCO, 2008. Listening to Africa; Regional Review of UNESCO Activities, [pdf]. Available at <http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001858/185838m.pdf > [Accessed 22 April 2015]

UNESCO Executive Board, 2010. Report by the Director-General on the Execution of the Programme Adopted by the General Conference; Global Priority Africa at UNESCO, [pdf] Available at <http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001896/189638e.pdf > [Accessed 19 April 2015]

UNESCO, 2010. UNESCO at a Glance, [pdf]. Available at <http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001887/188700e.pdf> [Accessed 8 April 2015]

UNESCO Internal Oversight Service Section, 2012. Evaluation of UNESCO Priority Africa, [pdf]. Available at <http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002177/217790e.pdf > [Accessed 19 April 2015]

UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2013. Adult and Youth Literacy; National,regional and global trends 1985-2015, [pdf]. Available at <http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/literacy-statistics-trends-1985-2015.pdf > [Accessed 19 April 2015]

UNESCO, 2013. Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, [pdf]. Available at <http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002269/226924e.pdf#page=6>[Accessed 22 April 2015]

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