The Philippine Ambassador to France and Philippine Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador Cristina G. Ortega, presented her letters of credence to UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova on 13 September 2011.

Ambassador Ortega and Director General Bokova discussed key aspects of Philippines-UNESCO relations and had an insightful exchange of views on UNESCO's core competencies that include education; natural sciences; social and human sciences; culture; and communication and information.

Ambassador Ortega expressed appreciation for UNESCO's continuing support to the Philippines through the various Philippine projects approved under the Country Participation Programme and implemented by the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines. She also discussed key initiatives and activities of the Philippines in UNESCO, which includes the commemoration this year of the 400th Anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), an event that UNESCO has associated itself with. In this regard, the internationally renowned UST Singers will perform at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 21 September 2011. UST is the oldest university in Asia and is the biggest Catholic university in the world in terms of student population within one campus. In  2008 UNESCO likewise associated itself with the University of the Philippines'  Centennial celebration.

Director General Bokova recalled her warm memories of her recent official visit to Manila in March 2011 during which she had the occasion to meet with President  Benigno Aquino III and other key  government officials including Vice President  Jejomar Binay, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario and Secretary of  Education Armin Luistro, She also met with the academic sector, the NGOs and representatives of the UN agencies in the Philippines.

A Call for Southeast Asian Wisdom Stories for Sustainable Development

The UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, with funding support from the UNESCO Participation Programme and in coordination with the Asia Pacific Philosophy Education Network for Democracy (APPEND), will convene a conference on Southeast Asian Wisdom Stories for Sustainable Development at the Social Development Complex, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines from 18 to 19 November 2011.

We are currently accepting Southeast Asian wisdom stories that may be presented at the conference. Deadline for submission of stories will be on 15 September 2011.The stories will be evaluated by a panel of philosophers and basic education teachers for their complexity, cultural sensitivity, and relevance to the problem of sustainable development.  Folk tales and original works are welcome. The text is limited to one page on short sized bond paper, 1x1 margins, single spaced, 12 font size, times new roman font style. There must be a title for the story.

The conference is structured to allow for the narration of the story, a philosophical commentary and a presentation of a facilitator’s guide for teaching the story to children.  Only one story per ASEAN country can be presented during the conference but other stories will be collected for possible publication and distribution. ASEAN Member-States include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.  Non-ASEAN citizens are certainly most welcome to comment and present teaching guides on the ASEAN stories that will be presented during the conference. The organizers will sponsor the international travel (round trip economy), accommodations, local transportation, and meals of the writers of the selected stories for presentation at the conference.

Stories must be submitted to the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines Secretariat, either through email: sea_wisdomstories@yahoo.com or rai_ibana@yahoo.com or fax: +632 831 8873, with the enclosed sender’s information form on or before 15 September 2011. Senders of the stories that are accepted for presentation at the conference will be notified by 30 September 2011. Should you need further information, please do not hesitate to call our office, tel: +632 834 3447 or 834 4843.

UNESCO NATCOM Launches Digital Library of UNESCO Publications

“Books are the most powerful forms of dialogue between individuals, within communities, between generations and with other societies.”

April 23 was designated by UNESCO as the World Book and Copyright Day to commemorate the contribution to world literature of prominent authors whose birth or death fell on this date. Forefathers of literature, namely Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, died on this day in the year 1616. The World Book and Copyright Day aims to pay a worldwide tribute to these authors, as well as other writers who contributed greatly to the realm of the written word. It likewise encourages the youth to discover the “pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.”

However, cultivation of appreciation for the written word or facilitating the dialogue between individuals, communities, and cultures through traditional and digital publications rests on the accessibility of research and literature. It is in this light that the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, launches its Digital Library of UNESCO Publications on the occasion of the World Book and Copyright Day. The Commission, over the years, has published several pioneering and pedagogical discourse, as well as critical review and perspectives, in the competencies of Education, Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Culture, and Communication and Information. Recognizing the evolution of publishing towards digital media and its potential as a driver of cost-effective mass-dissemination of information, the Commission has compiled the digital copies of its publications, as well as those of UNESCO and its field offices, in order to make them available to the general public easily and free-of-charge. However, bearing the same importance as that of celebrating appreciation for books, it must be stressed that book development cannot persist if copyright and respect for intellectual property is undermined. Regrettably, with the age of digitization, copyright infringement has actively grown.

While the Commission is embarking on making its publications easily available, it likewise stresses that readers and researchers take the necessary pre-cautions in ensuring that they are responsibly using the information borne of the intellectual property of its authors.

The Digital Library may be accessed here. The Library contains a short description of the publication. The title of each publication is linked to the download point of its PDF copy.

The Goleniow House of Culture, under the auspices of the Polish National Commission for UNESCO, has launched the XXI International Festival of Children’s Artistic Creation with the theme “Inspired by Czeslaw Milosz Poerty”.

2011 has been marked as a special year in Poland to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary Czeslaw Milosz, a laureate of the Nobel Prize for literature. The centennial anniversary of the poet is one of the UNESCO-Associated Anniversaries for 2010-2011.

In honor of the poet, children and youth ages 4-20 years are invited to submit artistic interpretations related to the poet through visual and graphic arts. There are no specific guidelines on the interpretation of the topic or the painting techniques. However, the organizers limit the size of the works to be submitted, as indicated in the Competition Guidelines. Prize winners and their legal guardians (for participants of minority age) will be invited to the exhibit on 26-30 May 2011 at Goleniow, Poland. The cost of accommodation, daily living expenses will be covered by the organizers. However, international travel costs will be borne by the participants.

Entries should be submitted in “solid containers” to the Goleniowski Dom Kultury, 72-100 Goleniow ul. Slowackiego 1, Polska, Poland on or before 09 April 2011.