Sharing Web Resources

I have chosen to study and share this week about UNESCO’S Organization. I have even decided to become a donor to this organization as I am interested in the work that they are doing worldwide in all aspects of life but especially education.

The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) was founded on 16 November 1945 and “Education is one of UNESCO’s principal fields of activities. Since its formation, the organization continues to work to improve education worldwide because they “believe that it is the key to social and economic development.”

UNESCO is very much involved in Early Childhood Education and at this point I wish to share from their website their Mission for Early Childhood.

Mission

 

©UNESCO/Katy Anis

 

The foundations of human development are laid during the child's early years and thus early childhood requires an integrated approach to the child's care, development and learning.

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than a preparatory stage assisting the child’s transition to formal schooling. Today, early childhood policies are placed within a broader context of social development, gender equity and poverty reduction.

UNESCO leads the international policy drive for an integrated early childhood care and education system that encompasses both the well-being and holistic development of the child. Our mission is to support early childhood policy development with the aim to build a solid foundation for a child’s lifelong learning.

UNESCO actively works with Member States in their efforts to develop and strengthen their national capacity to meet the first goal of the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action, which aims to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education for all.

As we are focusing this week on changing demographics and diversity, I wish to post also the great work in which UNESCO is involved in at Mali to help them rebuild their Cultural Heritage. Please read and enjoy.

Monday for Mali, Monday for hope

 

©UNESCO/T. Joffroy/CRATerre-EAG-
Restoration of the coating on the Sankaré Mosque in 2003

 

Monday, 18 February, is an exceptional day of solidarity, dedicated to Mali. Decision-makers and experts from Mali, France and UNESCO will join forces at UNESCO Headquarters to set out an action plan, aimed at rebuilding Mali’s cultural heritage and safeguarding its historic manuscripts.

Along with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, Bruno Maïga and Aurélie Filippetti, the Culture Ministers of Mali & France respectively, will open the event. Experts and managers of Mali’s heritage sites, museums and libraries will offer an overview of the damage that cultural heritage suffered during the conflict. They will also examine how the crisis affects the future preservation of cultural objects, such as the project of creating a digital library for Timbuktu’s famous manuscripts. UNESCO and its partners’ strategic response to the crisis will then be discussed. By 5:30 pm, an action plan is expected to be ready, and will be presented at a press conference. The day will conclude with a star-studded concert featuring Mali’s most distinguished musicians, including Rokia Traoré, Bafing Kul & the Appolo Band, Mali Den, Cheick Tidiane Seck, Pedro Kouyaté, and Inna Modja. 

© Présidence de la République
UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, made a visit to Mali on Saturday 2 February 2013 with French President François Hollande and the interim President of Mali Dioncounda Traoré

“Rebuilding cultural heritage will give the Malian people the strength and confidence to rebuild national unity and look to the future,” said Irina Bokova. Indeed, protecting heritage means protecting people. It is about protecting their way of life, values, and identities. It provides them with essential resources to rebuild when war ends. Destroying culture hurts societies for the long term. It deprives them of collective memory banks as well as precious social and economic assets.

The day-long event follows the Director-General’s visit to Mali on 2 February, together with French president François Hollande, and repeated appeals by UNESCO to protect the country’s heritage. Since the conflict first erupted, UNESCO has worked closely with Malian authorities to implement relevant and appropriate emergency measures.

Heritage maps with geographical coordinates were developed to help Malian forces identify, and avoid damaging, cultural heritage sites during turmoil. A “Heritage Passport” was created to raise awareness and protect cultural heritage in the north of Mali.