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Tag: UNESCO

  • UN wants equal opportunities for African slave descents

    UN wants equal opportunities for African slave descents

    The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has advocated for economic, social and political equality for African slave descendants all over the world.

    Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, in her message on the occasion of International Day for the 2017 Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, said the UN hoped to eradicate the legacy of social injustice of slaves trade and combat racism and racial discrimination.

    “By proclaiming the International Decade for People of African Descent , 2015 to 2024, the UN General Assembly hopes to eradicate the social injustice that is a legacy of that history and to combat racism and racial discrimination.

    “Freedom of rights, hard-won by force, must be translated into real freedom through public policies that guarantee to people of African descent the full exercise of economic, social and political equality, and full and equal participation in society.

    “The 1791 uprising, like so many others across the world, shows us the way, but the path ahead is still long,” Bokova said.

    The date Aug. 23 marks the anniversary of the 1791 insurrection of enslaved men and women in the western part of the island of Santo Domingo, which, on proclaiming its independence reverted to its original Amerindian name: Haiti.

    “The uprising conveys a universal demand for freedom that transcends all limits of time and space, and speaks to humanity as a whole, without distinction of origin or religion, and continues to resonate now with undiminished force.

    “By means of International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, UNESCO aims to recall the crucial importance of the transmission of history in order to shed light on the fight against all forms of oppression and racism today,” she said.

    The 1791 uprising triggered a shockwave that has set the course of peoples’ liberation struggles and of human and civil rights movements for over 200 years.

    The UNESCO chief said the uprising crystallised the issues, concepts and principles with which it is essential to be familiar in the present fight against modern slavery and human trafficking.

    “We are counting on the teaching of this history to place tomorrow’s citizens on the path to peace and dignity”, Bokova stressed.

    In this spirit, at its most recent session, the World Heritage Committee approved the inclusion in the World Heritage List of Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo (Angola) and the Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site (Brazil), thereby acknowledging their outstanding universal value.

    In 2015, the Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site was recognized as a site of memory associated with the UNESCO Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage.

    According to her, recognition of this heritage is decisive in raising the awareness of the general public, educating young people and in the processes of conciliation and social cohesion.

    This effort is the eternal effort for the comprehensive affirmation of human dignity, and UNESCO devotes to it the full force of its mandate, through education, culture, sharing of information and scientific research, she said.

    Bokova said the UNESCO efforts helped to construct the affirmation of human dignity in the minds of all ramparts against racism and prejudice adding, the teaching of the General History of Africa, and the Slave Route programme are examples of this.

    “Ignorance is our enemy: it is used as an alibi by the indifferent who state that ‘we cannot change anything’, and sanctions the lies of those who claim that ‘they did not know’.

    “Everyone must know the scale of the crime of the slave trade, the millions of lives broken and the impact on the fate of continents up to this very day.

    “Everyone must be fully informed of the struggle that led to its abolition, so that
    together we can build societies that are fairer, and thus freer,” the UNESCO chief stressed.

  • China earthquake death toll rises to 20, with 431 injured

    China earthquake death toll rises to 20, with 431 injured

    The death toll from the earthquake that struck China’s south-western Sichuan province rose to 20, with 431 injured, local authorities said on Thursday.

    Eighteen people suffered serious injuries, according to the local government website.

    Twelve bodies have been identified. They include two local residents and at least six tourists, who were visiting Jiuzhaigou national park, the epicentre of the quake some 285 kilometres north of Chengdu.

    The 720-square-kilometre mountainous park, a UNESCO world heritage site known for its karst scenery and waterfalls, was closed when the quake struck at 9:19 pm on Tuesday (1319 GMT), it said.

    Tremors from the earthquake were felt in Beijing, more than 1,200 kilometres away.

    The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude-6.5 quake, while state media cited a magnitude-7.0 quake.

    Chinese monitors have detected multiple landslides but no major building collapses, it said.

    The top-level national emergency response continued amid ongoing aftershocks on Thursday, involving at least four helicopters, 90 vehicles, hundreds of soldiers, medical personnel and more than 1,200 rescuers, state television China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

    More than 60,000 people, mostly tourists, had been evacuated with help from tourist buses and private vehicles,by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, it said.

    Some 10,500 people have been moved from damaged buildings to emergency shelters, CCTV said.

    Sichuan province dispatched over 1,300 armed police, 1,108 firefighters, 55 sets of heat sensors and 30 sniffer dogs.

    More than 800 workers were combing villages searching for anyone still trapped, according to the provincial quake relief headquarters.

  • Student Union shows worried over state of the nation

    The Student Union of the Obafemi Awolowo University on Friday expressed displeasure over the poor state of the country which has resulted to youth unemployment, financial misappropriation, slow political progress, lifeless economy, and incessant looting of treasures by the leaders

    In an open letter to the Federal Government obtained by the Nation, “The Oyekan- led administration poured out their mind. The Student administration compared and described the current situation of the country to be aptly likened to a clueless and terribly damaged one with no specific direction.

    “It is very disheartening that a country blessed with viable human resources as well as boundless natural resources cannot boldly boast of a reasonable level of youth employment, 21st Century education system, world-class security network, present-day social amenities among other indices of economic development.”

    The Union in its own part has lost faith in the Federal Government proffering solutions to the problems battling our educational system.

    The Buhari-led Administration has displayed a  high level of nonchalant attitude towards the educational system whereby tampling with the needs of Nigerian children and youth by allocating less than 7% of the total budgetary allocation presented to the National Assembly contrary to 26% budgetary benchmark recommended by UNESCO.

    With this ridiculous budget allocated to the education sector, it is apparent that students will continue to receive classes in a kirikiri like the environment of which will make them detard in learning; there will be further infrastructural decadence, unstable academic calendars (as paucity of fund will necessarily spur industrial actions from ASUU, ASUP and other stakeholders that are committed to righting the wrongs of the FG)”

    The Union tagged the Federal Government as being dormant in tackling the problem of insecurity: “Our nation is not only bedeviled by the impecunious amount of money allocated to the, arguably, most important sector of the economy.

    Another great cause for worry is the inactiveness and cluelessness of the Federal Government of Nigeria in tackling the menace of insecurity in the country which has inadvertently led to loss of countless lives, destruction of property and subsequent displacement of millions of Nigerians. The Fulani herdsmen’s killings and wanton destruction of farms of hardworking Nigerians (mostly Southerners) are on the increase without any effective measure being put in place by the Federal Government in curbing their excesses. We find this very disheartening and painful.This situation has further compounded the level of havoc wreaked on millions of Nigerians by the Boko Haram sect.” People go out just in the fear of been killed anytime especially in the northern part of the world.

    They also showed their grievances that there should be no age limit to the political post. That youth should be encouraged to hold any political post.

    The Student’s Union Government of the institution hereby tabled their demands sequel to these above problems

    “Finally, we are using this platform to demand the presidency to make public statement on the health condition of President Muhammadu Buhari following his rather protracted sojourn in the United Kingdom for a couple of months now. It is impossible for some individuals who do not sum up to 2% of the total population of the country to keep fooling us by perpetuating the masses in the dark as regards the facts surrounding the health of Mr. President. As promised by the APC that they would be open and accountable in all their dealings, we challenge them to tell Nigerians the truth about the actual health condition of Mr. President.”

    *OUR DEMANDS*:

    1. We demand that the 2017 budget be reconsidered for review in order to accommodate disbursement of additional fund to the Education Sector so as to cater for educational demands of Nigerians and then tackle issues of infrastructure deficit, understaffing, etc. Failure to attend to this national cry shall attract nationwide media campaign against the Federal Government of Nigeria for their insensitivity to the plight of Nigerian students across all levels

    2. We demand the Federal Government to be more proactive in combating insecurity in Nigeria

    3. We demand the federal Government of Nigeria to immediately look into the rehabilitation of Ibadan-Ife road which has been a death trap to travelers for more than a decade

    4. We demand the Federal Government of Nigeria to take a serious measure towards curbing the incessant attacks on farmers by Fulani herdsmen

    5. We demand the Presidency to make public the health condition of President Muhammadu Buhari

    6. We demand the Federal Government, as well as local and state governments owing workers to start paying up as nonpayment of workers’ salaries, has greatly exacerbated the living condition of Nigerian students across all campuses

    7. We demand the Minister of Education to facilitate and implement policies that will bring about exponential improvement in the sector.

  • Floods in India’s northeast kill 83 people

    Floods in India’s northeast kill 83 people

    Floods in India’s northeast have killed at least 83 people and led to the death of three rare one-horned rhinoceros at a national park that has the world’s largest concentration of the species.

    The floods caused by torrential rains across the hilly states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur over the past two weeks, have also triggered landslides.

    Authorities say in  all,  no fewer than two million people have been displaced.

    “Assam is the worst hit with 53 lives lost so far in floods and landslides with some two million people displaced,” Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told Reuters.

    “Relief and rescue operations are going on a war footing.”

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a team of federal government officials, led by junior home minister Kiren Rijiju, to assess the damage.

    The overflowing Brahmaputra River has also completely marooned the Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary in Assam, forcing animals to flee to safer areas.

    A one-horned rhinoceros drowned on Friday, taking the toll of the endangered animals in the flooding to three, Assam’s forest minister, Pramila Rani Brahma, told Reuters.

    The Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, is home to an estimated 2,500 rhinos out of a world population of some 3,000.

    She said nearly 60 other animals, mostly deer and wild boars, have been killed in the floods.

  • Kogi short of UNESCO’s education benchmark

    Despite the increase in the allocation to the education sector in the 2017 budget by the Kogi State government, from 7.7 percent in 2016 to 13.76 percent in 2017, stakeholders have flayed the government for the inability to move nearer the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s benchmark on education of 26 percent.

    Brainstorming at the “Citizens Dialogue on the 2017 Approved Kogi State Education, Agriculture and Health Sector Budgets”, yesterday in Lokoja, they bemoaned the inability of governments at both the state and federal levels to do the needful, because of the important role of education in the development of any nation.

    “The analysis of the approved budget has shown that there is an increase in the allocation to the education sector from 7.7 percent in 2016 to 13.76 percent in 2017. There was also an increase in allocation to agriculture from 2.7 percent in 2016 to 4.53 percent in 2017. Sadly, allocation to the health sector reduced from 7.65 percent in 2016 to 6.6 percent  in 2017.

    “Nigeria and Kogi State have also consistently failed to honour international commitments and benchmarks such as the Maputo Declaration on agriculture of a minimum of 10 percent,  Africa Union (AU) benchmark on health of 15 percent allocation and UNESCO bencmark on education of 26 percent allocation”, said Gift Owonipa, the Executive Director, Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID).

    “As citizens of Kogi State, we have also realized that we have a huge role to play in the implementation of the approved budget, especially now that Nigeria is witnessing dwindling oil prices and there is the urgent need to diversify our revenue source in the state.

    “Education is the bedrock of achievements of the developed societies. Improvement in education is necessary for the transformation of the Nigerian society. These improvements are needed in increased enrolment in the primary, secondary and tertiary level; improvements in learning outcomes and acquisition of skills and the conversion of the knowledge of science and technology that powers societal development.

    “There is therefore the need for continous improvements in the quantity and quality of resources available to the education sector if Nigeria is to meet its development vision and the 2030 agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, she added.

    The cross-section of participants called on government to take heed of the 26 percent UNESCO allocation benchmark for the education sector in the search for robust and sustainable development in Kogi State and Nigeria as a whole.

    A look at the Kogi State fiscal plan for the year shows that while the total budget stands at N174,851,544.523, with a recurrent expenditure proposal of N58,714,125.607 and capital expenditure of N166,137,418.916, total allocation to the ministry of education, science and technology is N5,632,773,767.

    A further analysis of allocation to the education sector in 2017 approved Kogi State budget showed a 68 percent increase in the allocation to the sector from N7,697,444, 205 in 2016 to N24,058,149,936 in 2017.

  • Climate change: UNESCO, NEMA to develop culturally acceptable early warning tools

    Climate change: UNESCO, NEMA to develop culturally acceptable early warning tools

    UNESCO is collaborating with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to develop culturally acceptable early warning tools that will improve indigenous adaptation and resilience to disaster risks posed climate change.

    This project is being fashioned against the background of the importance of combining indigenous and scientific knowledge in building resilience to climate change.

    Mr Ydo Yao, Director and Representative UNESCO Regional Office, and NEMA Director-General, Mr Mustapha Maihaja, made this known in a joint statement issued in Abuja.

    They noted that the interface between indigenous and scientific knowledge had become imperative due to the intensity of climate change impact.

    “With the intensity and changing pattern of climate change impact, the capacity of indigenous knowledge Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures has weakened; hence the need to interface modern science without substituting each other.’’

    The underscored the need to respect the two sets of knowledge and build on their respective strengths.

    In view of this, UNESCO and NEMA have organised a meeting of experts with the theme “Interfacing Modern and Indigenous Early Warning Systems to Build the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities to the Vagaries of Climate Change’’.

    The two-day meeting scheduled to hold in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday, will focus of the Lake Chad region.

    The objectives of the meeting are to raise awareness on climate change vulnerabilities and identify indigenous early warning systems that could be interfaced with modern systems, Yao and Maihaja said.

    The meeting is also expected to review studies, plans and strategies of combining both systems and recommending additional project that could be implemented in Nigeria.

    Furthermore, the experts are expected to propose a template for developing indigenous and scientific culturally acceptable early warning education and advocacy tools for DRR management in the Lake Chad communities.

    UNESCO and NEMA observed that natural disaster management in Africa is “deeply rooted’’ in local communities with the use of indigenous knowledge to master and monitor climate and other natural systems in order to boost resilience.

  • 14 million children of school age out of school in North – Shettima

    14 million children of school age out of school in North – Shettima

    The Northern state Governors Forum decried the rising number of out of school children in the north, saying about 14 million children of school age are currently out of school in the region.

    Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima who disclosed this at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Forum and Fundacion Profuturo, a Spanish Organisation for the enhancement of education in the north said the growing number of our or school children in the north was alarming and an irony.

    Shettima said while the north has about 41,913 public primary school compared to 19,978 in the southern part of the country, the north can only boast of 34 percent literacy rate compared to 67 percent literacy rate in the southern party of the country.

    According to him, while the north east alone has a total of 19,436 public primary schools which is almost equal the number in the three regions of the it is just one point shy of being the lowest in literacy across the entire country”

    He said the Northern Governors are particularly touched with the educational intervention because “we believe most of the problems in the north are products of low literacy and high poverty levels. Of course, the low literacy is sufficiently responsible for the high poverty. And, what we need is to make our educational institutions functional, qualitative and accessible.

    “Until April this year, I was living with a wrong notion that the number of public primary schools in the Southern part of Nigeria tripled the number of schools in the north. I thought the number was, in addition to other key factors, responsible for the wide literacy gap between the north and south.

    “I was lucky to have participated at an event organized by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Kaduna and listened to a thought provoking lecture eloquently delivered by Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    “He shared a finding of UNESCO and the National Bureau of Statistics which showed that whereas the entire southern Nigeria made up of the East, West and South have a total of 19,978 public primary schools the northeast alone has a total of 19,436 public primary schools.

    “The number of public primary schools in the northeast is almost equal the total in the entire south, Yet, the northeast is just one point shy of being the lowest in literacy across the entire country.

    “At regional levels, the three geo-political zones in the north have a total 41,913 public primary schools, more than twice the number of public primary schools in the south. Yet, the south has 67 percent literacy level while the North has a dismal 34 percent literacy level. The ratio in poverty is also in similar proportion between the north and south.

    “Now, what we have learned from Dr. Ndanusa’s lecture was that the major problems of education in northern Nigeria are the functionality of schools, the quality of what teachers pass to students, and the level of school enrollment.

    “An intervention like the Profuturo Program is certainly one step that can increase the functionality of public schools in Northern Nigeria. This means, helping to address the critical need to make public schools in Northern Nigeria more and more functional. The Northern Governors’ solemnly pledge total commitment to the implementation of this project to improve the quality of our public educational system.

    “I know that majority, if not all of my colleagues, the Northern Governors are doing very well in trying to change the conditions of public schools in their respective States. But as we know, the north is grappling with an ever increasing population. The number of school aged children out of school is still on the increase. At the last count, we had 14 million out of school children in the north. The whole thing is an irony.

    “The schools are there but not very functional and where the schools are functional, there is low enrollment. We must continually device means of addressing these problems through creative steps and flexible steps.

    “To us, the Northern Governors, the North is at stage in need of emergency surgery. We do not really care where the surgeons come from so long as we can agree on modus operandi. All we need is for the north to get well, and in getting well, the north must become by the grace of our God that ordained education for humanity.”

    He commended the Catholic Church for their contribution to the development of education in the region.

     

  • Bauchi, UNESCO sign MoU to train 50,000 girls, women

    Bauchi, UNESCO sign MoU to train 50,000 girls, women

    Bauchi state government and UNESCO on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to train 50, 000 girls and women in basic education through the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT).

    Mr. Macaulay Olushola, National Professional Officer, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO Abuja, said this in a statement.

    Olushola said that the MoU was signed during the courtesy visit of some UNESCO officials to Bauchi State Governor, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the empowerment programme would be the second phase of the project by UNESCO and product of Procter and Gamble, a Consumer Product company.

    The project in its first phase empowered 60,000 girls and women in the state.

    The statement quoted the governor as saying, “we must give the opportunity for those who lost the opportunity of education during their childhood.

    “This will enable the 50,000 girls and women have a second chance so that citizens of the state will enjoy basic education, which in turn will lead to better life for them.

    “Education opens all doors, health care delivery improves, when you have that, other social ills are attacked and settled,” the governor said.

    Also, Mr. Yao Ydo, the Director, Multi-Sectorial Regional office, Abuja, said the project would empower the girls and women in skills development through Information Communication Technology.

    According to Ydo, “School Meet the Learners Approach” would be deployed to implement the project that would last for two years.

    “The School Meet the Learners Approach project, is for the empowerment of girls and women in literacy and skills development through the use of ICT.

    “It is expected to improve the performance of the low performing Junior Secondary School Two (JSS 2) girls who have difficulties in some specific subjects in school.

    “It will also empower women on literacy and skills development through the use of ICT.

    “The signing of the MoU opens another window of opportunity in Bauchi State, prepares us to move together to empower 50,000 girls and women in the next two years of the project,” he said.

     

  • UNESCO to empower 50,000 girls, women on ICT

    UNESCO to empower 50,000 girls, women on ICT

    The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will launch the second phase of its project to empower illiterate girls and women in low performing junior secondary schools through Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Bauchi State on Tuesday.

    The project is targeted at 50,000 girls and women, the National Officer, Communication and Information, UNESCO, Mr. Olusola Macaulay, said in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

    The first phase of the project, “Revitalising Adult and Youth Literacy in Nigeria” supported by the Federal Government, addressed the challenges of illiteracy.

    “In the previous project, 60,000 illiterate women and girls in low performing junior secondary schools were trained in life skills and use of ICT in the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers in 2016,” Macaulay said.

    According to him, the second phase of the project is funded by Procter and Gamble, an American-based consumer product company and targets schools in Bauchi State.

    He said the strategy to be deployed in the current project would be “School Meets the Learner Approach.”

    “This is to empower additional 50,000 illiterate women and girls in low-performing junior secondary schools.

    “The objective of the second phase of the project is to bring schools to the doorsteps of the learners using technology, where learners have difficulties in accessing education in a formal setting.

    “The launch of the project, ‘School Meets the Learner Approach,’ marks the beginning of the UNESCO new initiative to education.

    “This is where ICT devices, such as television, tablets, and mobile phones are deployed to learners in their homes, workplaces to facilitate teaching and learning,” the UNESCO officer added.

    NAN

     

     

  • Consumer group wants Rome out of UNESCO World Heritage List

    Consumer group wants Rome out of UNESCO World Heritage List

    Rome’s monument-filled city centre does not deserve to stay in the World Heritage List because it is so severely run down, an Italian consumer group said on Thursday while inaugurating an appeal to UNESCO.

    The Italian capital is experiencing one of its recurring garbage crises, testing the governing credentials of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

    The city Mayor Virginia Raggi was elected in 2016 on the back of promises to clean up the city.

    Amid regular press reports of rat-filled streets and overflowing garbage bins, Codacons Association President Carlo Rienzi said a suspension was “indispensable” to prod local authorities into “restoring acceptable levels of civilisation.”

    The mayor, who is under pressure to act from Matteo Renzi had promised an end to the rubbish crisis “within a few days.”

    The leader of the national ruling Democratic Party (PD), urged his followers to take to the streets on Sunday to clean up the city to make up for Raggi’s supposed inability.

    Rome suffered similar crises in the past, and the city has a structural shortfall in waste management facilities, and currently pays an Austrian firm to process its excess rubbish.

    UNESCO could not immediately confirm receiving Codacons’ complaint.

    However, only two sites have ever been expelled from the World Heritage List.

    This includes an antelope wild park in Oman whose size was shrunk by 90 per cent, and the Germany city of Dresden after it built an ugly steel highway bridge.