In Focus Archive - 2011
Giving a voice to women: New radio station is force for change in empowering women
Twenty one days. That’s how long it took for a radio antenna to be transported the 360 km distance that separates the capital Kathmandu from the remote and mountainous district of Jumla in western Nepal. The two locations are divided by rolling valleys and hills, and bridges and roads that are often destroyed by monsoon rains and landslides. A group of women in Jumla waited patiently and celebrated heartily the day when the antenna finally arrived and Radio Nari Aawaaj, which means Voice of Women, could start its transmissions as the first women’s community radio station in Jumla.
UNESCO at 6th IGF meeting in Nairobi, 27-30 September
The 6th Annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Meeting is being held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 27 to 30 September 2011 under the theme “Internet as a catalyst for change: access, development, freedoms and innovation”. UNESCO is organizing three workshops and an open forum to contribute to the development of the Internet governance based on the principles of openness, privacy and diversity.
21 September, International Day of Peace
Peace is more than the absence of war. It is the foundation of legitimate states and the basis for stable international relations. This vision leads all of UNESCO’s activities. UNESCO has initiated the Power of Peace Network to increase mutual understanding around the world by supporting diverse social and cultural dialogue and self-expression through modern tools of information and communication.
UNESCO at Pan African Conference on Access to Information
UNESCO has contributed to the organization of the three-day Pan African Conference on Access to Information (17-19 September 2011, Cape Town, South Africa) and has supported three workshops in the framework of the Highway Africa Conference.
United Nations rallies to end impunity for attacks against journalists
A United Nations Inter-Agency meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 13 and 14 September 2011.
National Archives of Australia receives UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
The Director-General of UNESCO has designated National Archives of Australia (NAA) as the laureate of the 2011 UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize for its work, which includes publications, and innovative initiatives in the preservation of digital records.
Slavery in the Caribbean and Latin America
UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register includes archival collections relating to slavery in Spanish and British colonies in the Caribbean and Latin America that document the suffering and maltreatment of slaves, and the unraveling of Britain’s transatlantic slave trade.
Story-based inquiry: a manual for investigative journalists
UNESCO recently published the English version of Story-based inquiry: a manual for investigative journalists, a useful guide for journalists on how to best exercise investigative journalism. The manual was firstly launched in Arabic in 2009. Since then it has been used by many journalists’ training organizations and introduced into curricula of university journalism programmes in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.
UNESCO's knowledge goes "beyond the campus" with iTunes U
UNESCO and Apple Inc. launched a wealth of new educational material in the iTunes University “Beyond Campus” site on 22 June, providing free access to UNESCO’s rich multimedia content on an estimated half billion devices via iTunes. By joining iTunes U, UNESCO is reinforcing its efforts to reach out to young men and women around the world.
UNESCO launched model Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers
In a pioneering move to give impetus to media and information literacy (MIL) and civic participation, UNESCO has released a model Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers. This Curriculum is an important resource for Member States in their continuing work towards achieving the objectives of the Grünwald Declaration (1982), the Alexandria Declaration (2005) and the UNESCO Paris Agenda (2007) – all related to MIL.
High Speed Internet access for all ... now
Governments need to formulate and implement national multi-sectoral broadband plans rapidly – or risk being disadvantaged in today’s increasingly high-speed digital environment, according to a new report released by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development during its third meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Memory expanded
The Director-General of UNESCO endorsed recommendations by IAC to inscribe 45 new documentary collections from all over the world on the Memory of the World Register, which now numbers a total of 238 items.
Spotlight on Memory of the World heritage: Reading is food for the soul
UNESCO’s Memory of the World register includes the world’s oldest known book printed using movable metal type, the Gutenberg 42-line Bible and numerous collections relating to the work of noted writers such as Hans Christian Andersen, Astrid Lindgren, Christopher Okigbo and Derek Walcott among others.
Spotlight on Memory of the World heritage: Empowerment for women
8 March commemorates International Women's Day and UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register lists records relating to women's issues such as the historic 1893 decision by New Zealand to give women the right to vote.
Multilingualism on the Internet
Languages are the best vehicles of mutual understanding and tolerance. Respect for all languages is a key factor for ensuring peaceful coexistence, without exclusion, of societies and all of their members.
Spotlight on Memory of the World heritage: Languages lost and found
UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register mirrors the fate of the world's languages: one that was saved, one that was lost and the prototype of all modern alphabets.
Spotlight on Memory of the World heritage: The horrors of the Holocaust
UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register includes different testimonies of the Holocaust in which some six million Jews and millions of others died during the Nazi regime.