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Tag: United Nations Educational

  • UNESCO declares reggae music an International treasure to be preserved

    United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared reggae music as an international treasure that must be safeguarded. The music, which is known for its advocacy for social justice, peace and love, was declared a treasure after Jamaica applied for its inclusion on the list in 2018. Singer Bob Marley was among the legendary musicians who developed and grew the music to where it is today.

    In the United Nations (UN) meeting that was held on the island of Mauritius, there were about 40 proposals under consideration. “Its contribution to international discourse on issues of injustice, resistance, love and humanity underscores the dynamics of the element as being at once cerebral, socio-political, sensual and spiritual,” UNESCO said in a statement. Reggae was competing for inclusion alongside Bahamian strawcraft, South Korean wrestling, Irish hurling and perfume making in the southern French city of Grasse.

    Born in the late 1960s in Kingston Jamaica, reggae was known for its unique style that was synonymous with the struggles of the low class people in society. Later in the years the music advanced with famous legends like Bob Marley with his hit song No Woman No Cry and Burning Spear with his Slavery Days of 1975. The music grew and spread across the world mostly resonating with the lower class members of society.

  • Obaseki vows to stamp out human trafficking, illegal migration

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has pledged to stamp out the menace of human trafficking and illegal migration from Edo State, as the government has set up necessary legal and institutional framework to combat the scourge.

    The governor also called for strengthening of transnational ties between state and non-state actors to end modern slavery and other ills, which benefit from human trafficking.

    Obaseki made the commitment in commemoration of the International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition, which is marked on August 23, every year, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), to remember the Transatlantic slave trade and its abolition.

    Obaseki said that though slavery may have been abolished centuries ago, it continues to rear its head in the guise of human trafficking and other forms of forced enslavement for social and economic gains.

    According to him, “On this day, it is important to recall the milestones recorded in the fight against human trafficking, a trend that almost deprived us of our youth population, which had foreshadowed a dim future for us. As we mark this, we are forced to signpost the modern version of this societal ill: human trafficking.

    Read Also: Esan APC leaders condemn attack on Obaseki

    “To stem this, we set up the Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking; enacted the Edo State Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law 2018 and set machinery in motion for top-of-the-range basic and technical education in the state.

    These are geared towards curbing the trend of human trafficking and ensuring that our young ones get the best of education in the state to make them competitive at home and abroad.”

    He said that the state government’s rehabilitation and reintegration programme is geared towards restoring the dignity of those that may have been caught in the web of human trafficking, as efforts are in top gear to ensure that they settle back properly into society.

    He called on the international community to continue to support the state government’s effort and urged for more support for governments working to curb all forms of slavery.

    The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition had its maiden celebration in Haiti on August 23, 1998.

  • ‘Igbo language will not die in one million years’

    The prediction by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) that the Igbo Language will go into extinction by 2050 is not based on any empirical evidence, a professor of Linguistics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Boniface Mbah, has said.

    The don faulted the prediction, saying that those behind it did not have the knowledge of the reasons a language dies.

    Prof Mbah spoke on the controversial prediction after he delivered the 129th inaugural lecture of the school, titled: Mental spaces, domain construction and the limitation of possibility.

    The lecturer presented the inaugural lecture in Igbo language, emphasising that the language was too strong among its speakers to be allowed to go into extinction.

    According to Prof Mbah, Ndigbo in the Diaspora do not relent in promoting their language and cultural heritage despite other cultural influences, colonialism and technology. He added that its speakers also exported Igbo culture and cuisine to the West to survive.

    He said: “Anybody who is saying that any Nigerian language – Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba – will go into extinction doesn’t know what he is saying. Any language that is dying will not have a rural population of native speakers. As long as there are people speaking the language daily, it can never die.

    “Those who claimed that the Igbo Language will die based on the analysis that Igbo children are being brought up with foreign languages are not aware of how many children are being born as native speakers of the language. There is no empirical evidence that Igbo Language is going into extinction; it will not die in the next one million years.”

    On why he delivered the lecture in Igbo, Mbah said it would be hypocritical for him as a promoter of Igbo Language to deliver his lecture in a foreign language. He stressed that the only way languages could survive was to encourage people to communicate in their native tongues.

    He said “If I had employed English Language to present my inaugural lecture, many people would have merely heard me but would not have understood what I said. I believe it is a wake-up call to the Igbo nation to preserve our language.”

    He noted that Igbo linguists had been working to ensure the preservation of the language, pointing out that over 20 doctoral theses were researched and written in Igbo at the UNN.

    Mbah urged the Igbo in the Diaspora to brace for the challenge of ensuring that their language was not overtaken by the language of their host countries. He said they must teach their children the language to maintain their identity.

  • Digital documentation helps preserve, restore culture – UNESCO

    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO ) on Wednesday said digitally documenting the heritage and culture of Africa would help the preservation and restoration for future use.

    Mr Benda Fackson, the Programme Specialist for the Memory of the World ( MoW ), UNESCO, said this at the preparatory meeting with stakeholders on the Documentary Heritage for Sustainable Development in Africa in Abuja.

    UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme is an initiative to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against amnesia neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions and deliberate destructions of valuable archival materials.

    The meeting was part of the activities toward an international conference to be hosted by Nigeria on ways to implement the UNESCO’s recommendations concerning the preservation and access to documentary heritage including in digital form.

    “Digital documentation helps for preservation of culture, so to afford universal access to them; it will help people enjoy them as widely as possible given the fact that with new technologies there is access.

    “Documents are histories, lives of ancestors and the lives of the people. By digitising them you are preserving them and in some cases restoring them.

    “We need to sensitise people on the importance of digitisation not only as a medium which can give rise to new digital documents but also as a medium that can be used to preserve analogue documents.”

    Fackson said that documenting Memories of the World should not be seen as a tourist venture, rather a development initiative and a way of knowing people and their cultures.

    He said that Nigeria was keen on the MoW programme, adding that the country was part of the international advisory committee on the world programme.

    “We believe that Nigeria has the capacity to host a conference of this type. It is entrenched in rich documentary heritage across institutions of the country both in public and private sector.

    “We have held conferences of this sort in Nigeria and they have been successful and UNESCO member states are focusing on implementing the report on the 2015 Cultural heritage.”

    He, however, commended the country for its political commitment toward MoW programmes and hosting the conference.

    He called on the Federal Government to support the conference as a way of increasing the documentation level of African heritage and revamping the region’s committee on MoW.

    The officer said that over 25 countries of sub-Saharan African countries are expected to be at the conference which would hold from June 25 to June 27.

    Prof. Folarin Shyllon, the Chairman, Nigeria Committee on Memories of the World, said that the National Archives of Nigeria was underfunded and these had contributed to its setbacks.

    “There is the need to pay attention to documenting the heritage of Africa through implementation of policies on cultural heritage.’’

    He said that stakeholders were committed to ensure the sensitisation of culture centres in Africa for documentary heritage.

    Some of the stakeholders at the meeting include Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation, National Council of Arts and Culture, National Library of Nigeria and they pledged their commitment toward the success of the conference.

    NAN

  • Population explosion, climate change causing water crisis – FG

    The Federal Government on Thursday blamed the poor water supply in the country on population explosion and climate change.

    The government noted that access to clean water and sanitation facilities had declined because of increased population growth.

    Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, who stated these at a symposium to commemorate the 2018 World Water Day in Abuja, noted that it was sad that despite abundant water resources, water supply coverage remained at 57 per cent.

    The figures, he noted, showed that the remaining 93 per cent of Nigerians get water from other sources.

    The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Musa Ibrahim, said millions of Nigerians especially those living in the rural areas were still without access to improved drinking water sources.

    He said: “The provision of water infrastructures is capital intensive, hence the need for a concerted effort by all stakeholders to overcome the challenges in the water sector.

    “Statistics have shown over the years that with the rapid increase in population growth, access to clean drinking water and sanitation steadily declines.

    “A lot of factors contribute to the water crises, such as climate change, poor management and a lot more, the most incriminating is the neglect of our ecosystem. This has resulted in environmental damages such as floods, droughts, water pollution among others.

    “A worrying challenge is the declining percentage of Nigerians that are getting that water supply through piped networks, from 31 percent in 1990 to less than 7 percent in 2017.

    The crisis, he said, had forced many to drilling of boreholes with resultant consequences on the environment in urban areas and fetching of unclean water from streams and river in rural areas.

    The minister noted that the federal government was committed towards formulating and implementing policies and programmes that would enable sustainable access to safe and sufficient water for all Nigerians.

    Earlier in his remarks, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Representative, Mr. Simone Grego, said question is drinking water resources was one of the major issues of the century globally.

    Me. Grego, who quoted a UN World Water Development Report, said globally, 3.6 billion people live in potentially water-scarce areas, saying this figure could rise to 5 billion by 2050, if nothing was done.

    He also noted that 80 per cent of waste water returns to the ecosystem without been treated, stressing that these developments were leading to degradation of the ecosystems causing ecological imbalances and water scarcity.

    He called for urgent solutions that would protect, manage and restore natural ecosystems that would respond to the human and ecological challenges currently faced.

    He said: “Planting new forests, reconnecting rivers to flood plains and restoring wetlands are Solutions that will address contemporary water management issues.”

    He pledged the commitment of UNESCO to support government’s transition to green economies and in programmes to implement better integrated water policies.

    WaterAid Country Director, Dr Chichi Okoye, said the SDG six commits the world to ensure that everyone had safe water by 2030, saying protecting the natural environment and reducing water pollution is imperative.

    She urged the Nigerian Government to prioritise water and sanitation by improving budget allocations to the sector.

    Okoye said: “The dire situation needs the highest level of government’s attention, especially in delivering water for the poorest and most marginalised people.

    “In addition to financing, we need an integrated approach to solving the water crises where water, sanitation and hygiene needs are integrated into health, education, nutrition and gender equality.

    “Without water, none of the UN Global Goals can be met.”

    Read Also: FG blames water shortage on population growth, climate change

  • UNESCO urges youths to restore Pan-Africa through ICT

    UNESCO urges youths to restore Pan-Africa through ICT

    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO ) has advised African youths to tap into the power of the Information and Communication Technology ( ICT ) for the development of  the continent.

    Mr Yao Ydo, the Regional Director of UNESCO, gave the advice in an interview on Friday in Lagos.

    He spoke on the sidelines of the maiden edition of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria ( ACSPN ), Eminent Persons Strategy lecture series.

    The event held at Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, was themed: “The 21st Century Youths and the Future of Communication in Africa”.

    Ydo said embracing Pan-Africanism was necessary because most African countries, except for Nigeria, were unable to make a head way because they “are too small and weak’’.

    He said while the older generation, through the UN might have failed the continent, the present youths must come together and build a united Africa.

    “Build a United Nations by thinking Pan-African and less like Nigerians; build a genuine integrated Africa that the adults failed to do.

    “Think of becoming friends with other Africans outside your jurisdiction, using the social media and ICT.

    “Build a United Africa nationality and citizenship because the future of African nations depends on your togetherness,’’ the UNESCO chief said.

    He expressed regret that the era when people travelled within African countries without travel visas had been phased out.

    According to him, the free movement hitherto enjoyed during that period was an avenue to strengthen Pan-African.

    “Notwithstanding with the emergence of ICT and social media now, we can reawaken the relationship online, even without travelling and we can build a united continent.’’

    He said Africans would overcome their challenges “if we embrace togetherness and revive Pan-African.’’

    NAN

  • Nigeria, UNESCO to hold Lake Chad conference in February

    Nigeria, UNESCO to hold Lake Chad conference in February

    The Federal Ministry of Water Resources says it will host a global forum on sustainable solutions to save the drought-ravaged Lake Chad between February 26 and 28 in Abuja.

    Dr Musa Ibrahim, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, said this in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

    He said that the theme of the conference was “Saving the Lake Chad to revitalise the Basin’s Ecosystem for Sustainable Livelihood, Security and Development’’.

    He said that the ministry would hold the conference, in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO ) and the Lake Chad Basin Commission ( LCBC ).

    According to him, the objective of the conference is to create global awareness on the socio-economic and environmental challenges arising from the shrinkage of the lake.

    He said that the forum would be an opportunity to deliberate on the effect of the lake’s desiccation on people’s livelihoods and security, with a view to developing a comprehensive programme and action plan to address it.

    Musa added that the conference would also inform stakeholders on the consensus of opinion on the different solutions to restore the lake.

    He said that the solutions included the Inter-Basin Water Transfer ( IBWT ) project, which was aimed at transferring water from Ubangi River in the Democratic Republic of Congo into the Chad basin.

    He said that there was a need to gather political and financial support for the overall restoration of the Chad basin.

    According to reports, Lake Chad is about eight per cent of the size of Africa and the lake is shared by Algeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Nigeria, Niger and Sudan.

    Read also: Lake Chad Basin: OCHA Chief to Visit Nigeria, Niger

    The eight countries have an estimated population of 373.6 million, with 12 per cent of the estimated population living around the Lake Chad in 2013.

    The people living in the basin depend on the lake for water supply as well as farming, fishing and livestock production.

    However, the LCBC website says that a review of the hydrology of the Lake Chad Basin shows that in the wet years (years before 1973), water inflow into the basin averaged between 30km3 and 40km3 per annum.

    The website says that in the dry years (years after 1974), water inflow averaged between 20km3 and 21km3 per annum, while the lowest inflow — 16km3 – was recorded in 1984.

    NAN

  • ‘Don’t let Igbo language die’

    ‘Don’t let Igbo language die’

    Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has expressed grave concern over what it called the gradual erosion of Igbo language, culture and values.

    The organisation therefore called on Igbo language experts, the governors of Southeast states and other concerned groups and individuals to establish a mechanism for translation of more English and scientific words into Igbo language and to establish generally acceptable Igbo vocabulary.

    The national vice chairman of Ohanaeze and former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, expressed the concern when an Igbo interest group,  Igboekulie, organised a public lecture and presentation of awards to students, teachers, schools and individuals for promotion of Igbo language and culture, at College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu recently.

    “Language is a living thing which must grow, otherwise it will die. There must be new words in Igbo language. I appeal for translation of more English and scientific words into Igbo language,” Ogbu, who was the chairman of the occasion said.

    The President of Igboekulie, Prince Ben C. Onuora stated that the group, a non-profit organisation formed in 2015, was poised to among other things advocate for the promotion and protection of the economic, social, political and cultural values of Ndigbo as well as the revival of the Igbo language.

    Onuora said the group was worried by the recent postulation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), that Igbo language faces prospect of extinction by 2025 if preservative actions were not taken.

    He called on the Houses of Assembly in the Igbo speaking states in Nigeria to devote a day in every week for the conduct of their legislative business in Igbo language.

    Chairman of the planning committee of the event,  Prof. Chibueze Jiburum, had earlier noted that Enugu was chosen as the host for the event being the headquarters of Eastern Nigeria and that the state government supports Igbo language and culture.

    The Guest Lecturer, Prof.  (Rev. Fr.) Philip Ogbonna, blamed the erosion of Igbo culture and values on the decline in speaking and writing of Igbo language.

    Ogbonna whose lecture is entitled “Language; An Indispensable Tool in Keeping a Culture Vibrant”, stated that language is an ethnic identity, and any cultural group that loses its language has invariably lost its identity.

    The event featured cultural dance and drama displays by students, as well as presentation of awards of excellence in Igbo language to students, schools and teachers as adjudged by West African Examination Council (WAEC).

     

  • Nigeria gets Open Courseware policy

    Nigeria gets Open Courseware policy

    With the endorsement of a Draft National Policy on Open Education Resources (OER) by managers of tertiary institutions, regulators and others, Nigerian academics and students should expect to enjoy greater access to learning resources for free.

    The concept of OER, which refers to education resources and other materials that are openly available for use by educators and students without the need to pay royalties or licence fees, was first coined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at a meeting on ‘The impact of open courseware for higher education in developing countries’ held in July, 2002.

    The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was the first to put all of its course materials online in 2001.

    The endorsement of the OER policy designed for the Nigerian education space was done by about 340 participants at a one-day Stakeholders’ Validation Symposium, held Tuesday last week at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja.

    The participants, made up of vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, librarians and directors of ICT of Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, representatives of national and international non-governmental organisations, embassies and tertiary education regulatory agencies in Nigeria [NUC, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE)], among others, reviewed, finalised and adopted the policy document  following a motion by a member and Advisor of the National Steering Committee on Open Educational Resources (NSC-OER), Prof Peter Okebukola.

    Once the policy document is approved by the National Council on Education (NCE) Nigeria would join the league of nations using OER.

    Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwukah, who declared the symposium open, underscored the importance of the exercise, saying the role of the participants would be remembered as part of national development.

    “Your contributions here will go down in history as the contributions that will help in charting a path for greatness for present and future Nigerians. I stand assured, that with this special core of very experienced men and women that have distinguished themselves in various positions, we will together chart a course for sustainable educational development using OER as an instrument,” said Anwukah, who was represented by the Director, Education Support Services, Mrs. Justina Ibe.

    In his welcome address, the Convener of NSC-OER and Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof Abubakar Rasheed, said the OER would address the problems of access and quality.

    He said Nigeria currently had about 585 tertiary institutions (universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education, federal colleges of agriculture, colleges of health technology and vocational educational institutions) to serve a population of over 180 million.

    He said: “It is crystal clear from the above that the problem of access to higher education in Nigeria continues to be a serious challenge and the need to redouble our efforts to address same cannot be over-emphasised. Inadequate access to tertiary education and enrolment of students in excess of the carrying capacity of the higher institutions has consequently remained a recurring decimal at the tertiary level.

    “The National Policy on Open Educational Resources for higher education in Nigeria is government’s effort at ensuring a planned and deliberate approach in the development and improvement of quality teaching and learning materials, curricula, programmes, and course design, as well as planning effective contact with students. With the development of this policy, Government hopes to address the issues of access to quality higher education and enrolment of students in excess of the carrying capacity by existing higher institutions in Nigeria.”

    Rasheed said the development of the policy was a product of the first World OER Congress convened by UNESCO in Paris in 2012 during which countries were urged to embrace open education.

    Following that meeting, the Education Minister, Malam Adamu Adamu, approved Rasheed’s suggestion for the constitution of a National Steering Committee to adapt the OER to the needs of the Nigerian education system.

    The 15-Man Committee comprises 11-members, three advisors and one lead consultant appointed by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL).

    They include: Prof Rasheed (Convener); Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education; Director, Tertiary, Federal Ministry of Education; Executive Secretary, NBTE; Executive Secretary, NCCE; Director, NTI; Vice-Chancellor, NOUN; Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors; Director, Research, Innovation & IT, NUC; Director, Open & Distance Education, NUC; Ambassador Mariam Y. Katagum, Nigeria’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO (Advisor); Prof Okebukola (Advisor); Professor (Emeritus) Olugbemiro Jegede; former Vice-Chancellor, NOUN (Advisor); Dr. Jane-Frances Agbu, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology (Member); Prof. Olu Obafemi, President, Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL);  Mr. C. J. Maiyaki, Director, Directorate, Executive Secretary’s Office, NUC  (Secretary).

  • World Literacy Day: Foundation harps on digital literacy

    THE Gani Adams Foundations (GAF) has joined the world to celebrate the World Literacy Day.

    Fifty-one years ago, United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)  proclaimed September 8 as International Literacy Day to mobilise the international community to promote literacy as an instrument for empowerment.

    The Osun Hall of the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja venue of the event, was filled with intellectuals, cultural enthusiasts, media practitioners, teachers and pupils who lent their voices to the importance of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the 20th century.

    GAF’s Chairman/Managing Director, Otunba Gani Adams, who was excited with this year’s theme: ‘Literacy in the digital world’, underscored the need for Africans to shift from ‘analogue operation’.

    In her lecture titled: ‘Literacy in a digital world’, Dr Kemi Ojemoghaat of the Department of Adult Education, University of Lagos (UNILAG), described digital literacy as a sine qua non to living, adding that technology dictates communication and interaction within mankind.

    She called on the government to make digital literacy affordable, and create a link between the teaching of ICT in schools and industries.

    She said: “A survey conducted by Research ICT Africa in 2011, disclosed that 70 per cent of non- internet users in Nigeria say affordability is the main reason for not using the internet. The majority of internet users in Nigeria access it exclusively using mobile devices. Smart phones and tablets have become very popular in Nigeria.

    “Nevertheless, a mobile broadband cost is high for most people in a country like Nigeria where low per capita incomes subsists.’’

    She continued: “The ICT curriculum does not provide the skills that industry value. Despite support from the government, many ICT teachers still do not have the qualifications or knowledge to teach the computing curriculum. Given the pace of technological advances, it will always be a challenge for schools to keep up with the latest innovations.”

    A retired professor of African Philosophy at UNILAG, Sophie Oluwole, lamented the loss of Yoruba oral tradition, which according to her, forms the bedrock of knowledge acquisition.

    Ifa, Oluwole explained, is a warehouse of knowledge, which cuts across all disciplines including ICT, if acquired.

    “If Ifa has over 256 odu and yet our fore fathers without the knowledge of reading and writing, were able to not only memorise, but also passed same to the next generation. Unfortunately, the influence of modern religions have made those practice look fetish or Satanic to an average Yoruba. But I can tell you that Ifa is the bedrock of intellectual knowledge which can be learned to derive new inspirations in engineering, science,and ICT, just name it.”

    Oluwole said it was not too late for Nigeria to ape Asian countries, such as Japan, China, and Malaysia, which have attained technological advancement through adoption of their mother tongue as official languages.

    Adams said he was praised the UN for the choice of the theme.

    “I love this year’s theme,” he said.

    “Truth is, the world is going digital and the United Nations through the theme, is challenging us to drastically reduce our analogue way of doing things.

    “Some developed societies no longer conduct their activities manually. Even some corporate bodies and institutions are going digital. Some conduct paperless meetings. This reduces work load or hauling of papers and files from one office to another.

    “For instance, the mobile phones we use have several applications beyond mere making and receiving calls; unfortunately, most of us only use it to make calls, and failing to utilise other apps for knowledge possession.”

    Adams said GAF had identified with the UN through propagating, organising interactive sessions and giving educational materials to schools.