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Arts Education Week 20 - 24 May 2013 |
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Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) and the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO join forces this May to present Connecting in Action, a week-long festival of events celebrating the power of music to bring people together.
Connecting in Action, which takes place from 20 to 24 May, represents New Zealand’s contribution to UNESCO International Arts Education Week.
“UNESCO’s commitment to education and lifelong learning is unparalleled, while the APO is known internationally for its education, community and outreach initiatives,” says Barbara Glaser, Chief Executive of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. “We’re honoured to present Connecting in Action with the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, and we’re delighted to be able to showcase a selection of the activities we offer for the people of Auckland and beyond.”
The centrepiece of Connecting in Action is Organ Spectacular, a concert featuring six new compositions by six leading New Zealand composers and starring the cream of local organists. The works, which were commissioned by the APO and the Auckland Town Hall Organ Trust, are performed on the beautiful Auckland Town Hall Organ, accompanied by full orchestra, on Thursday 23 May. Conductor for the evening is Hamish McKeich.
Wellington-based McKeich, one of our most esteemed conductors and long a favourite with APO audiences, is also involved in other Connecting in Action activities. On 22 May he leads the orchestra for Discovery, a concert aimed at high school students, while on 20 May McKeich faces questions from music students in one of the APO’s popular lunchtime Ask the Conductor sessions. One of the students will be invited to shadow McKeich for the week as he prepares for Organ Spectacular and Discovery.
Further Connecting in Action activities include a free APO Young Achievers recital at Auckland Central Library (23 May); Tunes 4 Toddlers, where preschoolers are introduced to instruments of the orchestra (20 May); and Meet the Composer, in which APO Composer-in-Residence Jack Body gives feedback on young composers’ works-in-progress during an exclusive half-hour tutorial (21 May).
Connecting in Action ends with a Friday performance by the children of Sistema Aotearoa.
ENDS
“Arts education is a key to training generations capable of reinventing the world that they have inherited. It supports the vitality of cultural identities by emphasizing their links with other cultures, thus contributing to the construction of a shared heritage. It helps to form tolerant and dynamic citizens for our globalizing world” - Irena Bokova, Director General, UNESCO
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UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2013 |
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inaugural freedom of expression lecture held aut, friday 3 May
Dr Mark Pearson, professor of journalism and social media at Griffith University in Australia and the Australian correspondent for Reporters Without Borders, spoke at the inaugural UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2013 lecture, organised and hosted by AUT’s Pacific Media Centre and School of Communication Studies.
Dr Mark Pearson, Susan Isaacs (UNESCO), Elizabeth Rose (UNESCO), Prof David Robie (Pacific Media Centre) |
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L'Oreal-UNESCO Fellowships for Young Women in the Life Sciences |
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Nominations open
UNESCO is currently calling for applications for the 2014 L’OREAL- UNESCO Fellowships for Young Women in Life Sciences.
The l’OREAL-UNESCO fellowships, each worth $US 40,000 (not to exceed a two-year period) are awarded each year to fifteen young women scientists from all over the world, three from each of the UNESCO geo-cultural regions. New Zealand scientists are eligible for the Asia and Pacific awards.
In 2011 New Zealander Zoe Hilton of the Cawthron Institute was awarded a UNESCO Fellowship for her research in the area of brooding cycles of flat oysters.
In 2014 these awards will again be awarded in the area of the life sciences including biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy and physiology.
Applications must be submitted on the UNESCO on-line platform at the following link www.fwis.fr by 30 May 2013.
The National Commission will subsequently be required to evaluate the applications on line and endorse up to four nominations for further consideration by an international jury at UNESCO Headquarters.
For further information please contact Elizabeth Rose, Secretary General of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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The New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO Annual Review is now available and can be downloaded as a pdf. (526kb)
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Indigenous Fishing in Tokelau |
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Wednesday, 13 March 2013 09:42 |
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book on Indigenous fishing techniques, tokelau
ECHOES AT FISHERMEN’S ROCK
BY
ELDERS FROM ATAFU
Edited and translated by Antony Hooper and Iuta Tinielu
The unique value of this book is that it was originally written wholly in Tokelauan by migrant elders from Atafu atoll as part of what they saw as their duty to pass on their knowledge to younger generations. They worked on it for 12 years or so, holding regular meetings in their community hall in Porirua. Some of them died or returned to Tokelau over those years. Others took their places. One of their number recorded the discussions in longhand, passing on the work to a computer-literate relative.
By 2008 the work was virtually complete. and a small grant from Creative NZ allowed the book to be published by Steele Roberts Wellington as Hikuleo i te Papa o Tautai. Most of the edition sold out, with the proceeds being used for improvements to the Community Hall.
The elders’ work was done entirely at their own initiative and without payment of any kind. There is no other Pacific community which has taken the initiative to record their traditional knowledge of fishing and has had the persistence to carry their work through to publication. It is a unique enterprise.
Other important features: (1) Throughout the Pacific, traditional fishing knowledge is usually kept strictly secret, being passed on only from fathers to favoured sons.. The Atafu elders abandoned this convention and the present translation makes the information more accessible to younger migrants whose knowledge of Tokelauan may be inadequate. (2) The information is also of interest to general readership because it records details unknown to fisheries scientists and those concerned with climate changes.
Availability
UNESCO is not marketing the book directly. Instead it has made copies available to each National Commission and major research libraries round the world. On page iv there are instructions about contacting the email address in Paris to ask for either a pdf or for a free copy (copies?) of the book to be mailed to you.
Antony Hooper is an Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Auckland with wide experience of Tokelau. He lives in Wellington. Iuta Tinielu was born in Atafu and is one of the group of elders who wrote the book. He is a graduate of the Fiji School of Medicine and has had extensive postgraduate education in New Zealand.
The three tiny atolls of Tokelau are about 500 kms north of Samoa, and form part of what is known as the “realm” of New Zealand. The people have been NZ citizens since 1949. Many have migrated here, leaving a population of about 1400 in the home atolls. There are now estimated to be about 800 people of Tokelau descent in this country, with the great majority of them settled in the Wellington area, in Porirua and the Hutt Valley.
Much has changed in Tokelau life – in the atolls through developments brought about by New Zealand aid and for the migrants through the need to adapt to a wholly wage economy. Nevertheless Tokelauans in general maintain the overriding authority of elders, cooperative efforts and egalitarian distribution. What has also persisted, in both the atolls and NZ, is the way that men remain absorbed in the details of traditional fishing. |
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An International Perspective on Rock Art |
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Tuesday, 19 February 2013 14:56 |
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Renowned French archaeologist and cave art authority Professor Jean Clottes and Deputy Chair, NZ National Commission for UNESCO, Dr Andrew Matthews.
Professor Clottes gave public talks in Timaru, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland focusing on the Chauvet Cave in France.
The talks have been followed by a 2D-screening of Werner Herzog's film 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' in which Professor Clottes features. This film was part of the 2010 New Zealand International Film Festival. It explores the Chauvet Cave, which was discovered in 1994 in the Ardèche region in southern France.
It is one of the most important painted caves ever found.
The NZ National Commission for UNESCO contributed towards the costs of Professor Clottes’ visit to New Zealand, together with the Embassy of France, the New Zealand France Friendship Fund, Alliance Francaise, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Trust, Canterbury Museum and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
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International Mother Language Day 2013 |
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Monday, 18 February 2013 08:51 |
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International Mother Language day 21 february 2013
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Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, 21 February 2013
International Mother Language Day is an ideal opportunity to highlight the importance of languages to group and individual identity, as the foundation for all social, economic and cultural life.
Multilingualism is a source of strength and opportunity for humanity. It embodies our cultural diversity and encourages the exchange of views, the renewal of ideas and the broadening of our capacity to imagine. Genuine dialogue implies respect for languages, and this is why UNESCO works to harness their power to foster mutual understanding. We encourage teaching in the mother tongue, which facilitates the fight against illiteracy and contributes to the quality of education. The protection of languages ensures also that rare and indigenous knowledge is safeguarded and handed down. By giving each of us the means to make ourselves heard and be respected, this is also a force for social inclusion.
This year, UNESCO has decided to explore the links between languages and books. Books are a force for peace and development that must be placed in the hands of all. They are also crucial tools for expression that help to enrich languages, while recording their changes over time. In this age of new technologies, books remain precious instruments, easy to handle, sturdy and practical for sharing knowledge, mutual understanding and opening the world to all. Books are the pillars of knowledge societies and essential for promoting freedom of expression and education for all.
The vitality of languages depends as much on oral exchange as on the large-scale production of teaching material and printed texts. In some countries, the dearth of books and textbooks in local languages hampers development and social inclusion and represents a violation of the right to freedom of expression. Digital tools can help to fill this gap, but they are not enough. We must do more to distribute materials and books as widely and fairly as possible, so that all people – children above all – can read in the language of their choice, including in their mother tongue. This can also boost progress towards the Education for All goals by 2015. Translation is an important part of this great project, by creating bridges to new readers.
On this 14th International Mother Language Day, I call on all UNESCO’s partners, authors and teachers all over the world, in universities, the UNESCO Chairs and Associated Schools to work together to promote the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity and of education in the mother tongue. |
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World Radio Day - 13 February 2013 |
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Tuesday, 12 February 2013 09:06 |
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World Radio Day - 13 february 2013
UNESCO to celebrate World Radio Day
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Youth reporter Yolanda from Cape Town, South Africa – © C. Petit-Perrot / Children’s Radio Foundation
On 13 February, UNESCO celebrates radio as a medium vital to its mission of creating a more peaceful, more sustainable and more inclusive future for all. World Radio Day is an opportunity to celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to promote diversified content, access to information and freedom of expression over the airwaves.
Since the 19th century, radio has remained widely accessible, relatively cheap and very simple to use. It is a medium that surpasses all other communication technologies and reaches 95% of the world’s population
Radio has shaped the way we communicate with one another and will continue to help span distances across cultural, political, social and economic divides. Internet and new technologies have further extended their reach. Radio promotes development, lifelong learning and cultural diversity. It helps preserve local cultures and languages while contributing to global understanding.
Youth Radio
Children and youth represent more than one-third of the world’s population and will represent even more in the years to come. In less developed countries, young people account for nearly 70 per cent of the total population.
Around the world, young people turn to radio as a mentor, a companion, an educator and as a virtual community where they can express views and opinions freely and constructively. But there is still much work to be done to give young people a voice over the airwaves. UNESCO encourages broadcasters to include youth in the daily programming schedule. >> More
Short Wave Radio
Far from being a radio of the past, shortwave radio continues to reache both local and international audiences. It can provide service where other platforms cannot due to high cost, lack of infrastructure, geographical location or hazards.
In situations of conflict and natural disaster, shortwave radio provides a lifeline of information that can save lives. Shortwave radio can also be used for distance education. It reaches children, women and men in areas where traditional education systems cannot due to lack of financial means, education infrastructure or accessibility. >> More
Safety of Journalists
Free speech on radio advances democracy and human rights, allowing journalists to do their work, and citizens to hold authorities accountable. Journalists take great personal risk when reporting facts and exposing injustice.
Last year was the deadliest on record for journalists, with over 120 killings observed by the end of 2012. The majority were local reporters covering issues such as corruption or drug trafficking. In light of the worsening situation, UNESCO is spearheading the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. >> More
Future of Radio
Radio has shaped our history and remains a powerful force for creating a more peaceful, more sustainable and more inclusive future for all.
Radio has embraced the digital revolution and employs new platforms to reach international audiences. The cost of broadcasting is decreasing and the number of traditional and non-traditional radio stations is increasing. Citizen journalists and community stations are using online radio to give voices to the underrepresented. Radio continues to be a force for social change, by sharing knowledge and providing new platforms for freedom of expression and inclusive debate.
Help celebrate World Radio Day
13 February is a day to celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation; and to promote access to information and freedom of expression over the airwaves. UNESCO encourages all countries to celebrate World Radio Day by planning activities in partnership with regional, national and international broadcasters, non-governmental organizations, the media and the public.
Throughout the World Radio Day web pages, you will find a wealth of resources that you can use free of charge and without copyright restriction to help plan your World Radio Day event. Let’s celebrate!
Why World Radio Day?
On 18 December, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the 2011 resolution adopted by the UNESCO General Conference, proclaiming 13 February as World Radio Day, the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946. The objectives of the Day will be to raise greater awareness among the public and the media of the importance of radio; to encourage decision makers to establish and provide access to information through radio; as well as to enhance networking and international cooperation among broadcasters. >> More about the history behind World Radio Day.
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UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2013 |
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Wednesday, 30 January 2013 09:18 |
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New Zealand Prime Minister, Rt Hon John Key, launched a New Zealand-produced artistic educational project, ‘Shadows of Shoah’ at the official Auckland commemoration of United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Friday 25 January. Dr Edna Tait, speaking for the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, reminded the participants of the importance of forward-looking education to learn from the Holocaust.
Dr Tait quoted UNESCO’s Director General, Mme Irina Bokova: “The history of the genocide perpetrated during the Second World War does not belong to the past only. It is a ‘living history’ that concerns us all, regardless of our background, culture, or religion. Other genocides have occurred after the Holocaust, on several continents. How can we draw better lessons from the past?
The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand organized and part-sponsored a group of 22 New Zealand teachers (from all around the country) to attend a Holocaust education seminar at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, in January 2013.
The Director of the Centre, Inge Woolf, told the gathering that:
"Spreading deeper understanding of what the Holocaust means for New Zealand society is a major part of our purpose, and this needs to be at community level as well as in schools."
A ceremony was also held in Wellington on Sunday 27 January, the actual anniversary of the day in 1945 that the Auschwitz Birkenau Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp was liberated. Deputy Chair of the NZ National Commission for UNESCO, Dr Andrew Matthews, informed the gathering of local dignitaries and members of the Diplomatic Corps that the Auschwitz death camps are listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a reminder to the international community of the acts of barbarism perpetuated in that dark period of history.
Dr Andrew Matthews at the Holocaust Memorial, Makara Cemetry, Wellington.
To read more:
Holocaust Centre of New Zealand - www.holocaustcentre.org.nz
UNESCO International Holocaust Day of Remembrance 2013 - http://bit.ly/IHRD2013
Full texts of speeches given by Dr Tait and Dr Matthews:
United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day Friday 25 January 2013 at Raye Freedman Arts Centre, Epsom, Auckland
Address by Dr Edna Tait, Education Chair, New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
Roma and Sinti, the disabled, Soviet and other prisoners of war, including New Zealand airmen, homosexuals, freemasons, intellectuals, political dissidents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy, doctors and nurses … this is the roll call of millions killed in the Nazi-led Holocaust. At the top of the list is the murder of six and a half million Jewish men, women and children.
In village massacres, in overcrowded trains, on forced marches, in concentration and death camps, the victims of the Holocaust suffered unimaginable and unforgivable persecution. Today we honour those who died and those who survived. Today we ensure that their voices are not forgotten.
The United Nations established an International Holocaust Remembrance Day as an “historic warning” for all nations. UNESCO, the UN’s lead agency for peace, accepted the mandate to teach the lessons needed to prevent future genocides. The NZ National Commission for UNESCO participates in the work of remembrance and education and is pleased to share this special occasion with our partners. The Chair of the National Commission, Mr Neil Walter, greatly regrets he is unable to be present this morning.
Three facts provide important and universal lessons. First, the Holocaust was unlike all others because the persecution and killing of the victims, and Jews especially, was systematically planned, resourced, recorded and executed with the full bureaucratic power of the state. No other mass killing was so thoroughly and technologically organised. It was truly a unique evil.
Second, the people who collected, guarded, tortured and killed the victims were not illiterates nor did they have to obey. We know this not only because so many described their terrible compliance in letters and diaries but also because some exemplars of humanity and courage sheltered and saved those being hunted.
Third, the causes of the Holocaust were many: prejudice, fear, greed, envy, ignorance, mistrust, bigotry, hatred; it’s a Pandora’s Box of social cancers. The horror is that today no nation, including New Zealand, is symptom-free.
What do these facts teach us? First, silence, indifference, compliance, when there is injustice and suffering, is moral failure and not the way of civilised people. It is always possible to resist. The second lesson, and this year’s message from UNESCO, is that we must confront any abuse, regulated or not, that demeans, denies or disenfranchises people and human rights. We must have the courage to care. Third, the only cure for social ills is improved knowledge, attitudes and skills so that in all parts of our lives we reject violence, protect the vulnerable and live by the values of tolerance, respect for human rights, human dignity and equitable life choices. This is the most important lesson of the Holocaust.
We may struggle up the 186 stairs of death from the quarry at Mauthausen, walk under the Arbeit Macht Frei arch at Auschwitz, stand in the courtyard at Dachau, read stories written by Czech children waiting in Theresienstadt for their death train but we cannot experience what the victims of the Holocaust suffered. Therefore, we must work for the time when Holocaust Remembrance Days are not about lessons to be taught but lessons learned. We shall truly honour the voices of the Holocaust when all peoples are living safe and fulfilled lives.
United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day Sunday 27 January 2013 at Holocaust Memorial, Makara Cemetery, Wellington
Address by Dr Andrew Matthews, Deputy Chair New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
Excellences, Distinguished guests, Holocaust survivors and their families, ladies and gentlemen, students, boys and girls: the UN General Assembly resolved in November 2005 to call on the World to designate 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and as an “historic warning” for all nations. UNESCO, the UN’s lead agency for peace and education, accepted the mandate to teach the lessons needed to prevent future genocides. The NZ National Commission for UNESCO participates in the work of remembrance and education and is pleased to be associated with this event.
The date is of course significant as it was on this day in 1945 that the Auschwitz Birkenau Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp was liberated. The Auschwitz death camps are listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List with the following citation and I quote:
“Auschwitz – Birkenau: monument to the deliberate genocide of the Jews by the Nazi regime (Germany 1933-1945) and to the deaths of countless others, bears irrefutable evidence to one of the greatest crimes ever perpetrated against humanity. It is also a monument to the strength of the human spirit which, in appalling conditions of adversity, resisted the efforts of the German Nazi regime to suppress freedom and free thought and to wipe out whole races. The site is a key place of memory for the whole of humankind, for the holocaust, racist policies and barbarism; it is a place of our collective memory of this dark chapter in the history of humanity, of transmission to younger generations, and a sign of warning of the many threats and tragic consequences of extreme ideologies and denial of human dignity.”
Holocaust education should recognize no boundaries in terms of curricular subject, location or the age of the learners group. It should inspire our young people to challenge anti-Semitism, racism, and extremism rather than to remain silent.
UNESCO’s Director General, Mme Irina Bokova, in her press release for today states: “The 2013 Day of Commemoration focuses on the theme of rescue. Let us recall that many of those who survived managed to do so because they were helped. They were hidden, warned of a raid, protected by a helping hand or by the silence of those who did not denounce them. They were supported by organized groups of both Jews and non-Jews as well as by individuals. Wherever evil struck, the righteous stood up, even at the risk of their own lives, against the violence of killers and the indifference of many others.
These men and women carry a vital message – it is always possible to act against racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance. We must convey this message of resistance and this lesson in humanity, in all its strength and complexity, against the temptation to forget or to take misleading shortcuts due to the passage of time.”
Thus, it is our firm belief that the only way to combat the social ills of racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance is improved knowledge, attitudes and skills, so that in all parts of our lives we reject violence, protect the vulnerable and live by the values of tolerance, respect for human rights, human dignity and equitable life choices.
This is the important lesson of the Holocaust.”
Thank you for the opportunity to take part in this Day of Commemoration of Victims of the Holocaust, and to share with you all, the hope to build a culture of peace through understanding.
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2013 UNESCO Asia Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation Awards |
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2013 uNESCO ASIA-PACIFIC AWARDS FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION
2013 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation
Call for Entries, Deadline: 31.03.2013 ©UNESCO Bangkok
UNESCO Bangkok is currently accepting entries for 2013 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation
The awards programme recognizes the achievement of individuals and organizations within the private sector, and public-private initiatives, in successfully restoring structures of heritage value in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition to the established awards, a new awards category was launched in 2005. The Jury Prize for Innovation will recognize newly-built structures which demonstrate outstanding standards for contemporary architectural design which are well integrated into historic contexts.
Entries for the 2013 awards programme must be submitted with an official entry form, drawings, photographs and project description to the UNESCO Office of the Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok. Deadline for entries: 31 March 2013.
Complete programme information, including an entry form, is available on the web at http://www.unescobkk.org/culture/wh/asia-pacific-heritage-awards/2013ha/
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UNESCO Sustainable Future Award -The Outlook for Someday |
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Wednesday, 12 December 2012 09:01 |
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 The National Commission is delighted to congratulate students from Kauri Park Primary School on winning the UNESCO Sustainable Future Award in The Outlook for Someday film challenge.
10 and 11 year olds, Beau Wing, Jourdan Tout, Tyler Reid, Te Hau Robinson, Luke Sale, Nathaniel Sutton, Max Wilson (pictured above with National Commission Chair Neil Walter), won the award with their short film entitled, "Someday Everyone Will Scooter".
Judge for the National Commission Vicki Soanes says this year’s winner stood out for its simple yet .jpg) clear articulation of key UNESCO themes, including the achievement of peace through the promotion of human rights and the hope that all people, including children, have what they need to be active members of society.
"Their vision of a world free of poverty, bullying and teasing, and where all people respect each other, is the very basis of a sustainable society."
The National Commission is proud to be a partner for the fourth time in the annual Outlook for Someday film challenge - New Zealand’s annual sustainability film project for young people.
The Outlook for Someday challenge is to make a short sustainability-related film and anyone up to the age of 24 can enter, either individually or in a team. Each year, the National Commission sponsors a special prize called the ‘UNESCO Sustainable Future Award’, for a film which promotes dialogue on sustainability through a new perspective and/or critical thinking.
Watch the young film-makers award winning short film "One Day everyone will Scooter", here or read more about the Outlook for Someday annual Film challenge at their website, http://theoutlookforsomeday.net/. |
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PowerShift Pacific: Looking Beyond Disaster Youth Forum |
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Wednesday, 21 November 2012 11:06 |
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 The NZ National Commission for UNESCO are thrilled to be part of “PowerShift Pacific: Looking Beyond Disaster Youth Forum”. Over a hundred young Pacific and tangata whenua representatives will come together in Auckland from the 4th-6th December, to enhance their leadership skills and build their capacity in the areas of disaster risk reduction, management and response, and decrease vulnerabilities of island communities. Time will also be spent preparing for a local action campaign that will be implemented across the Pacific Islands.
 The Youth Forum will be immediately followed on the 7th-9th December by Power Shift NZ-Pacific. 1000 young professionals and emerging leaders from across the Pacific region will converge in Auckland for the first ever Power Shift NZ-Pacific forum on climate change. Over a three day period, youth will engage with climate solutions, hear from inspirational speakers, take part in workshops and learn new skills. Read more about PowerShift on their website: http://powershift.org.nz/
PowerShift Pacific: Looking Beyond Disaster Youth Forum is the result of an action plan developed by Pacific participants at the first UNESCO Asia Pacific Youth Looking Beyond Disasters Forum held in Christchurch in 2011. The vision was to host a forum that would provide an avenue for Pacific Island and Maori youth to share their experiences in order to build community resilience to disasters and climate change through youth leadership and action.
 The format of the first Christchurch forum was so successful that a second Looking Beyond Disaster Youth Forum was held in Sendai, Japan (check out the participants' blog here), earlier this year where participants shared more stories of natural disasters and also reported on the progress they had each made on their initial action plans in their own communities.
PowerShift Pacific: Looking Beyond Disaster Youth Forum is the third time that youth will come together using this format, to share their experiences of natural and man-made disasters and develop action plans that meet the needs and aspirations of young Pasifika and Maori youth.
The tag-line of the forum, sums up the spirit and intention of organisers and participants: "One Ocean, One People, One Voice"..jpg)
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Migrating Kitchens Recipe for Success |
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Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:55 |
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The National Commission supported Migrating Kitchens in their early days and we've enjoyed seeing them go from strength to strength. We were recently invited to take part in the Wellington grocery store Moore Wilson's hosting of Afghan, Burmese, French & Iranian communities cooking, making music and entertaining throughout October. The Iranian dancers (pictured), together with live Iranian music featured with cooking classical Iranian dishes in a wonderful celebration of cultures in the kitchen.
Read more about their great work at their website, or check out their Facebook page.
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UNESCO Celebrates 'Dr Pap' 50 years on. |
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Wednesday, 05 September 2012 08:59 |
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This year UNESCO recognises the pioneering role of the Greek physician, biologist, and researcher, George Papanicolaou (1883 –1962) who said, “I only live to serve life”.
A statement that characterized the man himself and his research which, 50 years after his death, still continues to serve life today.
George Papanicolaou (sometimes referred to as "Dr Pap"), is the inventor of the Pap-test, an affordable medical examination with no complications, which is still used worldwide for the detection and prevention of cervical cancer and has saved the lives of millions of women worldwide. Up until his invention of the pap test (in the 1940’s) the cervical cancer of the uterus was the leading cause of death among women worldwide.
Today the pap test is a routine medical examination for women that can detect not only the cervical cancer of the uterus but also vaginal infections, abnormalities, some sexually transmitted diseases and lesions related to the Human Papilloma Virus or commonly known as HPV.
Further information including videos about the life and work of George Papanicolaou (courtesy of the Archives and Museum of the ERT, the Greek Public Broadcasting Corporation) can be found on the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO’s webpage. This month in New Zealand, it's Cervical Screening Awareness Month - find out more information on the National Screening Unit and why regular cervical smears are so important to women's health, here. |
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Wednesday, 15 August 2012 13:30 |
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Our August newsletter from the National Commission is hot off the press. There's a lot to report on and we'd love to receive your feedback.
Read the newsletter here (.pdf 3MB) |
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L'OREAL UNESCO WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARD 2013 |
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call for nominations for l'oreal-unesco women in science awards
The National Commission is currently calling for applications for the 2013 L’OREAL- UNESCO Awards for Women in Science which this year is dedicated to the physical sciences.
The L’OREAL-UNESCO awards, each worth $US 100,000, are awarded each year to distinguished eminent women scientists at the height of their career, one from each of UNESCO’s five regions. New Zealand scientists are eligible for the Asia and Pacific award.
Further information on the initiative may be found here.
To be considered by the National Commission for forwarding to UNESCO Headquarters, applications on the official nomination forms must be received at the National Commission’s office by Friday 18 May 2012.
For further information and application forms please contact the Secretary General, New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, c/- Ministry of Education, P O Box 1666, Wellington (
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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UNESCO to celebrate World Press Freedom Day in Lao PDR and Myanmar
Bangkok, 30 April 2012: On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2012, UNESCO Bangkok emphasizes the freedom of expression and the right to information in Asia and the Pacific.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental right stated by UNESCO and a right which all people in the world should treasure,” said Susanne Ornager, Adviser for Communication and Information Programme in Asia, UNESCO Bangkok.
“When you have freedom of expression, you have a dialogue with all members of society. Without freedom of expression you exclude some part of society from voicing their concerns. And if you are not allowed to express your views, then you starve intellectually,” she said.
Every year on 3 May, World Press Freedom Day serves as an occasion to remind people to respect the fundamental principles of freedom of expression; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. Media freedom faces significant pressures across the world. Last year, UNESCO condemned the killing of 62 journalists who died in performing or in direct relation to their work. The World Press Freedom Day was jointly established in 1991 by UNESCO and the United Nations Department of Public Information.
“Journalists can be involved in decision making by making the decisions visible to civil society. And it’s extremely important that journalists report what is happening in society. Also the right to free speech and press freedom are deeply interconnected with the right to access information, so it is a priority to bridge the digital divide both between and within countries,” said Ms Ornager.
This year, UNESCO Bangkok is jointly organizing World Press Freedom Day events in Lao PDR and in Myanmar on 3 May 2012, focusing on ‘New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies’.
The event in Lao PDR, held in Vientiane, will consist of a panel discussion under the title of “The Media Landscape in Lao PDR”, where participants will discuss topics, such as media law, current media practice, access to information for media and the public, and opportunities related to media development. It is organized jointly by the United Nations Communications Group and UNESCO Bangkok in close collaboration with the Lao Journalist Association.
In Yangon, the Ministry of Information of Myanmar and UNESCO Bangkok are organizing a ceremony of ‘World Press Freedom Day 2012: Challenges to Media in a New Environment’ with opening remarks by Union Minister for Information and for Culture H.E. U Kyaw Hsan.
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UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2012
To mark UNESCO World Press Freedom Day, Pacific Media Centre will hold a seminar on Media freedom in the Pacific: the rhetoric and the reality on Thursday, 3 May 2012 from 7-8.30pm at WT1004, AUT Tower, AUT University.
Visit the Pacific Media Centre website for more information. |
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World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April 2012 |
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invitation to rally around books
Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April 2012
Our relationship with books determines, to a large extent, our relationship with culture. On 23 April, for World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO invites everyone to rally around books and support those who make their living from them and those who make them live.
From scrolls to codices, manuscripts to printed matter and tablet computers, books have changed in appearance many times over the centuries. In all formats, books embody ideas and values considered by men and women to be worth passing on. They are valuable tools for knowledge-sharing, mutual understanding and openness to others and to the world.
UNESCO wishes to provide everyone with the means to access this tremendous potential. The effort begins at school, through a determined fight against illiteracy among children and adults, and continues in the strengthening of cultural policies. Without quality education, the pages of a book are silent. Books rarely work alone: they prompt us to read other books, which reveal other treasures. Without equitable access to the content and resources of physical or virtual libraries, the power of books wanes and their diversity diminishes. The book chain is based on fragile balances and requires active vigilance and instruments to support it. The implementation of UNESCO conventions such as the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is one example. Copyright protection is a cardinal principle of this action and a compass in the ever-changing cultural landscape.
In 2012, World Book and Copyright Day is concerned with the theme of translation. We are celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Index Translationum, the world bibliography of translations, managed by UNESCO. This unique instrument is a formidable tool for the dissemination and monitoring of global cultural flows. Faced with increasing numbers of publications, Member States must join forces to build a more comprehensive, efficient and open instrument. Translation is the first step towards the rapprochement of peoples, and is also a decentralizing experience, teaching diversity and dialogue. Translation is one of the driving principles of our creative diversity, which enriches each language through contact with all the others.
Our world needs to understand the diversity of cultures and to develop much stronger intercultural skills in the minds of every man and woman. We need these skills in order to live together in heterogeneous societies. We need them in order to address our common challenges together. On 23 April, UNESCO launches the celebrations of World Book and Copyright Day in Yerevan, in Armenia, World Book Capital for 2012. On this day I call upon all of UNESCO’s partners, in universities, Chairs and Associated Schools to remember that books are a force and an opportunity to be placed in the hands of all. |
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Rio + 20 Youth Consultations |
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Wednesday, 04 April 2012 15:36 |
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New zealand rio + 20 Youth consultations
The NZ National Commission for UNESCO is pleased to partner with UNICEF NZ and youth-led NGOs such as 350, Generation Zero, Global Poverty Project, NZYD, P3 and UN Youth to organise a series of youth consultations on the Rio + 20 Conference on Sustainable Development.
There are consultations planned in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with more to be added soon.
If you are interested in participating, you can register here.
For more information, contact Vicki Soanes at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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