European Commission
Press release
Brussels, 8 October 2012
EU signs new partnership with UNESCO on education, culture,
science and human rights
A new deal that will boost cooperation, dialogue and help
to share information and best practice between the European
Union (EU) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was signed between the
Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission,
Catherine Ashton, and the Development Commissioner, Andris
Piebalgs.
The Memorandum of Understanding sets out clear, strategic
priorities and encourages increased policy dialogue on
areas of mutual interest between the two organisations,
such as education, culture, science and technology,
maritime policy and freedom of expression.
"I see the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding
between UNESCO and the European Union today, first and
foremost, as a strong and renewed signal of EU's engagement
in UNESCO - not just for its programmatic focus but for the
values that UNESCO takes forward and which are shared by
the European Commission" said Irina Bokova.
The partnership will offer enlarged opportunities to
address local, regional and global challenges, also through
a reinforced dialogue between EU Delegations and UNESCO
Field Offices and UNESCO specialized Institutes.
Welcoming the initiative, Commissioner Piebalgs said:
"Today's new agreement builds on our shared values
and confirms our desire to strengthen collaboration with
UNESCO in order to make our work together even more
effective. The renewed commitment to focus on sectors like
human rights and education is in line with our own
priorities, and I hope that by working together with our
partners like this we will be able to make more of a
difference in these key areas than ever before."
Today's Memorandum of Understanding is based on
long-standing cooperation between the EU and UNESCO, which
include multistakeholder initiatives, such as the Global
Partnership for Education to promote aid effectiveness and
policy dialogue on education, supporting education in 48
partner countries; the International Task Force on Teachers
for Education for All to help countries, especially in
Africa, secure an adequate number of competent and
motivated teachers; and the Global Learning Cities Network
to promote adult and lifelong education. UNESCO has been
particularly active on access to knowledge including
through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in
education - in particular on its plans for an innovative,
online platform offering free and open learning resources,
as well as in science, technology and innovation.
Both UNESCO and the EU promote human rights and fundamental
freedoms as cornerstones of stability and development,
being equally committed to a more effective multilateral
cooperation and to inclusive development rooted on quality
education for all and the respect for cultural diversity.
Freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, and the
stabilization of democratic processes are other examples of
shared engagement, building also on education and culture
as key vectors for development, for advancing human rights
and for freedom of expression.
UNESCO and the EU cooperate also in the areas of civil
protection and disaster preparedness, which includes joint
work on prevention and reduction of the impacts of marine
hazards and on sustainable early warning systems.
Building on UNESCO's lead in the development of
international legal standards in the area of cultural
heritage preservation and promoting cultural industries,
partnership between the EU and UNESCO also supports efforts
for the governance of culture and national and local level
through the effective grass-root implementation of the
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity
of Cultural Expressions. The EU supports the implementation
of this Convention through an Expert Facility for the
Governance of Culture, from which 13 countries currently
benefit.
A range of other projects are also implemented in
partnership with the EU, including safeguarding world
heritage, intangible cultural heritage (such as Egyptian
traditional festivals and inventorying Mediterranean living
heritage), preserving World Heritage sites (such as old
Havana and Nablus old city), media development and
promoting sustainable marine and coastal archaeology.
Recommend:
