EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

"Our nation is poised to rejoin UNESCO because — as President Bush pointed out — this organization is committed to advancing human rights, tolerance, and learning. It's a noble goal that we all share. We must devote ourselves to making education a universal reality now. Far too many have waited too long for this day to come."

Advancing education is fundamental to the development of nations. In every country, literacy means freedom, power and opportunity. Education must be more than an ideal; it must be a reality.

In helping to launch the UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012) at the New York Public Library in February 2003, Laura Bush observed: "With 860 million illiterate adults and more than 100 million children worldwide without access to school, the enormity of the challenge is clear. But ours is a small world, and our futures are inextricably linked. And one person who cannot read is one person too many." Literacy is a precondition to education. It brings the power to reshape communities and destinies and to improve nations socially and financially.

U.S. funding for international education, which totaled $333 million in 2003, supports primary, secondary and college students throughout the world. This classroom is in El Pedernalillo Lake, northern Mexico. (AP/WWP)

Education is the most important long-term investment that any country can make in its people and its future. It is an instrument for change. With UNESCO's support, nations can develop strong education programs. The United States has invested $333 million in international primary, secondary and college education in 2003.

UNESCO needs to help close the gender gap in education. Two-thirds of the one in five adults who cannot read are female. Education is vital for girls. UN studies show that illiterate girls may marry as early as age 11 and have up to seven children before the age of 18. Educated girls are more likely to marry later and to have smaller, healthier families. Educated women understand the importance of health care and nutrition. There is no tool more effective in promoting democracy and development than the education of girls and women.

The United States seeks to partner with UNESCO to create learning environments for more than 22 million refugees, giving their lives structure and independence. For societies affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS, education is the key to survival. School systems decimated by AIDS must be rebuilt. More than 10 million children under age 15 have been orphaned by AIDS. Education is critical for these children.

Other lives have been decimated by war and civil strife. Education brings trust and confidence to post-conflict environments. UNESCO's work on revising textbooks and curriculums shows promise in countering distortions and helping break the cycle of prejudice and hatred that helps perpetuate conflicts. The United States will work toward ensuring that UNESCO's education programs pay attention to civic education as a foundation of democratic governance and peace.

Education is essential for achieving the goals of the Millennium Declaration, which the United Nations adopted as a blueprint for building a better world. Literacy and education bring freedom, power and opportunity for people to transform themselves. The United States believes the world community cannot waste time if we are to meet UNESCO's goal of increasing global literacy by 50 percent by the year 2015.

DEMOCRACY AND THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Designing the front page of the Kabul Weekly on a computer in Afghanistan. With more than 100 newspapers and a new law decreeing freedom of the press, Afghanistan has come a long way since the Taliban's overthrow in 2001. (AP/WWP)

Newspapers have proliferated on the streets of Baghdad since the fall of Saddam Hussein, giving Iraqis access to information for the first time in many years. (AP/WWP)

The free flow of information is fundamental to democracy. Information can contribute to the development of a world where 80 percent of the people still lack access to basic telecommunications. Access to information is also one of the best guarantees of respect for human rights. The Internet, free of government control, is one way to keep information flowing. UNESCO has a unique mandate to promote the right to seek, receive and impart information and to foster media independence.

When the United States left UNESCO in 1984, the organization had moved away from these ideals. In recent years, however, UNESCO has successfully demonstrated that it has recovered the vision of a free press and freedom of expression that its founders held dear. Some of its measures include:

In post-conflict situations, freedom of the press, independence of the media, and development of community newspapers and radio stations are crucial to reestablish social bonds and build reconciliation. Increasingly, UNESCO is being asked to assist. The United States, with its extensive experience and expertise in these areas, intends to work with UNESCO to advance the free flow of information as a major prerequisite for tolerance and political participation.

SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

River gauging in Nepal, one of the projects sponsored by UNESCO's International Hydrological Program for the 2003 International Year of Fresh Water. (Gwyn Rees/HKH FRIEND; H.G. Rees, CEH Wallingford, UK)

The 21st century promises great scientific advances. Multilateral coordination through UNESCO will help maximize the effectiveness of scientific goals and projects. The United States looks forward to the opportunity to play a dynamic role with UNESCO partners to help ensure that science is used ethically to help solve the world's problems, and not to create new ones.

Preservation of the world's increasingly endangered fresh-water resources is a significant global challenge. This issue is intrinsically linked to the need for a clear understanding of how the oceans and atmosphere function. The United States helped found the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, which we continued to support even during the period when the U.S. was not a member of UNESCO. The Commission makes an important contribution to knowledge of the oceans and atmosphere, while facilitating intergovernmental cooperation and collaboration.

Much of UNESCO's work in the area of the environment and natural resources has recently focused on sustainable development, that is, long-term economic growth that respects and promotes a healthy environment. The United States has worked closely for years with other countries and UNESCO on joint research to foster progress on biodiversity, environmental policy development, site preservation and environmental monitoring in developing countries.

UNESCO serves as an interdisciplinary and multicultural forum to examine the ethics of scientific issues. The United States looks forward to active participation in these discussions as well as meetings of UNESCO's World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge (COMEST).

CULTURAL PRESERVATION AND EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

UNESCO's role in preserving cultural heritage worldwide is aimed at helping nations better understand their own roots and each other. A long-term goal of the United States is to preserve cultural artifacts in those developing countries where such treasures are otherwise unprotected.

Renovating Sanshan Guild Hall, a cultural attraction in Shanghai, China. The United States supported its renovation through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, a U.S. program that helps countries with their cultural patrimonies. (U.S. Embassy, Beijing)

The United States was instrumental in the 1972 drafting and ratification of the World Heritage Convention, which ensures that sites around the world are recognized for their cultural history or their contributions to the soul of all humanity. Throughout the period of American withdrawal from UNESCO, the United States continued to fund and participate in the work of the World Heritage Committee, the implementing body for the World Heritage Convention.

The U.S. government is also committed to preserving the world's diverse and fragile cultural heritage through the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Throughout its 18-year absence from UNESCO, the United States continued to implement this convention. Bilateral agreements addressed professional training, public education, conservation, and museum development, as well as scientific, cultural, and educational exchanges.

The United States is one of the most culturally diverse nations on Earth. Such diversity stems from openness to and acceptance of cultural influences from around the globe. In addition to preserving cultural heritage, UNESCO has an obligation to encourage the exchange of cultural influences and cultural works that are essential to achievement of real cultural diversity and inter-cultural understanding.

UNESCO REFORM