Twitter highlights from a high-level event on education organized by UNESCO and the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations in support of the Global Education First Initiative (www.globaleducationfirst.org).
Join us for an International Jazz Day concert, live from Istanbul, Turkey today at 2:00PM EDT! Held every year on April 30th, International Jazz Day brings together communities all over the world to celebrate jazz, learn about its roots, and highlight its important role in advancing intercultural dialogue and understanding. Hosted by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and jazz legend Herbie Hancock, the Republic of Turkey, and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, join us for a star-studded event to celebrate jazz as a universal language of freedom!
The live concert at Istanbul’s famed Hagia Irene will feature performances by stellar musicians from around the world, including pianists John Beasley, George Duke, Robert Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Ramsey Lewis, Keiko Matsui and Eddie Palmieri; vocalists Al Jarreau, Milton Nascimento, Dianne Reeves, Esperanza Spalding, Rubén Blades, and Joss Stone; trumpeters Terence Blanchard, Hugh Masekela,and Imer Demirer; bassists James Genus, Marcus Miller, and Ben Williams; drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and Vinnie Colaiuta; guitarists Bilal Karaman, John McLaughlin, Lee Ritenour and Joe Louis Walker; saxophonists Dale Barlow, Igor Butman, Branford Marsalis, Wayne Shorter and Liu Yuan; clarinetists Anat Cohen and Hüsnü Şenlendirici; violinist Jean-Luc Ponty; tabla master Zakir Hussain; trombonist Alevtina Polyakova; Pedro Martinez on percussion, and other special guests. John Beasley will be the event’s musical director.
International experts and decision-makers meeting at a United Nations forum in Paris yesterday adopted an action plan to rehabilitate and safeguard Mali’s cultural heritage, which has been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists in recent months.
The action plan adopted at the meeting, organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the French Government, seeks to rehabilitate cultural heritage damaged during the conflict with the active participation of local communities, and to take measures to protect the ancient manuscripts kept in the region.
Estimated to cost some $11 million, the plan also aims to provide training activities so as to re-establish appropriate conditions for the conservation and management of cultural heritage, including manuscripts and intangible heritage. Read More
Infographic: Stronger Water Cooperation is vital to prepare for world population increase from 7billion today to 9billion in 2050 http://ow.ly/hDMRW
CELEBRATING WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY
68 American teachers and 19 international teachers will be honored on UNESCO’s World Teachers’ Day in Washington, D.C. on October 5. The U.S. teachers participated in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Teachers for Global Classrooms program, and the international teachers are currently participating in the Bureau’s Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program. The teachers are gathering for a two-day symposium to discuss how they will integrate global content and practice into their classrooms. Learn More
Happy World Teachers’ Day! “Take a stand for teachers!” is the slogan of World Teachers’ Day 2012 (5 October) which UNESCO is celebrating along with its partners, the International Labour Organization, UNDP, UNICEF and Education International (EI).
Celebrating World Teachers’ Day
68 American teachers and 19 international teachers will be honored on UNESCO’s World Teachers’ Day in Washington, D.C. on October 5. The U.S. teachers participated in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Teachers for Global Classrooms program, and the international teachers are currently participating in the Bureau’s Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program. The teachers are gathering for a two-day symposium to discuss how they will integrate global content and practice into their classrooms. Learn More
"The benefits of teaching women to read and write are well documented. Literate women and their children enjoy better health and experience less poverty. They are more likely to participate actively in civic and political processes and make informed decisions about family finances. Sending girls and women to school also drives economic growth, not only at the local and national levels but the global level…"
Destruction of Muslim Shrines in Timbuktu
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
The United States strongly condemns the destruction of Muslim shrines and other religious and historic sites in Timbuktu by Islamic militants, including Ansar al-Dine. We are outraged by the continued destruction of these World Heritage Sites and the ongoing intimidation of local populations. We join UNESCO in urging an immediate end to these destructive and irreversible acts and call for all parties to protect this invaluable cultural heritage for future generations. This is an assault not just on Mali but on the heritage of all Africans, and those responsible for these acts should be brought to justice.
We remain deeply concerned about the situation of the Malian people. Mali has been a strong partner of the United States in the areas of democracy and governance, economic development, and peace and security. We support the on-going efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to bring about a return to civilian rule in Mali and to mediate a solution to the rebellion in the north. In addition, we appeal to all parties to ensure impartial and unhindered humanitarian access to any and all populations in northern Mali.
We strongly insist that all actors in Mali respect human rights and international humanitarian law. The people of Mali deserve to live in a secure environment free from fear and oppression where their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms – including the freedoms of religion and of expression – are protected and respected.
"The United States is profoundly disappointed by the decision of the World Heritage Committee to take immediate emergency action as proposed by the Palestinians to inscribe the “Birthplace of Jesus: the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem” as a World Heritage site against the official recommendation of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the expert advisory body that evaluated the site.
The site is sacred to all Christians; it clearly has tremendous religious and historical significance. However, the emergency procedure used in this instance is reserved only for extreme cases, specifically when a site is under imminent threat of destruction. In the 40 years of the World Heritage Convention’s existence, the emergency procedure has been used only four times and only in the most extreme cases, and always consistent with the recommendation of the advisory bodies. This body should not be politicized.
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The U.S. Mission to UNESCO is sponsoring an exhibit of photos at UNESCO by American photographer (and former L.A. District Attorney) Gil Garcetti. The exhibit, entitled, Women, Water, and Wells, reveals the challenges, hopes, and successes experienced by people throughout West Africa—particularly women—who are faced with the daily task of providing safe water for their families and communities.
