The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 35th session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, attended by 193 Member States, approved last October 14 the establishment of the Southeast Asian Center for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development (SEA-CLLSD) in the Philippines.
This is an opportune time to uplift the spirit of the Filipino people and rise above adversities and the sad state of the nation today through education. Education is an aid to life. Through quality education, we can overcome poverty; become responsible citizens; give our children a better life and build a sustainable future.
UNESCO approved the Philippine Government’s initiative to establish the SEA-CLLSD as a category 2 centre under its auspices. The Organization recognized the Center’s potential contribution to international and regional cooperation and South-South cooperation in the fields of lifelong learning and education for sustainable development. This is the culmination of an organized effort as early as 2005 for the country to take the lead in injecting sustainable development in the educational system from preschool, grade school, high school, tertiary level and technical education.
The Philippine SEA-CLLSD has been working closely with and fully supported by the three education agencies, namely: Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
The Philippine delegation to the UNESCO General Conference was headed by Foreign Affairs Secretary and UNESCO NatCom Chair Alberto Romulo, while the Executive Board (EB) meeting was led by DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus as the UNESCO EB member; Amb. Preciosa S. Soliven as the Philippine NatCom Secretary General; and Philippine Ambassador to Paris Rora N. Tolentino as the Philippine Permanent Delegate (PermDel) to UNESCO.
Lapus said that “the Center will serve as the focal point to emphasize the need to learn everyday for the rest of our lives. We need the tools and the skills to survive, to improve our lives and to stay competitive.”
Through this Center, Amb. Soliven envisions a “new man” who will no longer be the victims of events, but is empowered by quality education towards a sustainable future.
The Center’s mission is to be an LLSD standard setter, and a research and resource management center in the Southeast Asian sub-region.
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