* - UNESCO and UNESCO-sponsored activities on small islands: A chronology of selected projects and events

[Note to readers. Hyperlinks to many of these activities/publications/projects are incorporated in subsequent entries in this web-site] 1965. Launch of International Tsunami Information Center in Honolulu by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). 1969. UNDP-UNESCO Curriculum Development project located at University of the South Pacific (Suva) from 1969-1975. 1973. Expert panel on ecology and rational use of island ecosystems, within the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. 1974-1976. Field work phase of pilot project on population/environment relations in eastern islands of Fiji, a joint initiative with UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). 1975. Start of study in the Samoan islands on the effects of migration on the health and well-being of migrants and the costs and benefits for recipient areas. Setting-up of Advisory Committee for the Study of Oceanic Cultures. 1976. World Bank/UNESCO seminar on social and cultural effects of tourism in developing countries, with several case studies of tourism in small islands, such as Bali, Bermuda, Cyprus, Malta, Seychelles. 1977. Support to establishment of Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development, to train broadcasters. 1978. Multidisciplinary studies of human habitat in small Mediterranean islands, with launching seminar in Skiathos, Greece. Meetings of researchers, planners and policy-makers in four eastern Caribbean islands, at start of second-stage UNESCO-UNFPA project on population/environment/development interactions. 1979. Barbados conference on environmental management and economic growth in the smaller Caribbean islands. Seminar on MAB island studies during the Pacific Science Congress at Khabarovsk. 1980. Memorandum of understanding with the Caribbean Community, for strengthening cooperation with Caribbean countries. Workshop in Cook Islands on the contribution of research to planning and development of tourism in the South Pacific. 1981. Synthesis of field projects in Fiji, Samoa and eastern islands of the Caribbean at symposium to mark the tenth anniversary of the MAB Programme. Setting-up of working group to study the preparation of a General History of the Caribbean. 1982. Opening of Regional Office in Kingston (Jamaica), with staff officers in education, communication and more recently culture. 1983. Report on community participation in tourism activities on the island of Bali. Launch of project on Sea Level Correlation and Applications (1983-1988) within the International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP). Workshop in Virgin Islands National Park on biosphere reserves and other protected areas for sustainable development of small Caribbean islands. Regional seminar in Jakarta on traditional management of coastal systems in Asia and the Pacific 1984. Opening of Office for Pacific States in Apia (Western Samoa). Appointment of Cultural Adviser for the Pacific region. Start of IHP (International Hydrological Programme)-III project 4.6 on Hydrology of Small Islands. Publication by UNESCO-Jakarta of Coral Reef Management Handbook. 1985. Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity programme launched at workshop in Jamaica. Start of IOC’s data buoy measurement programme. 1986. Cosponsorship of international workshop in Puerto Rico on sustainable development and environmental management of small islands. First workshop on the Hydrological Atlas of the Caribbean islands (Santo Domingo). With UNDP, launch of project on educational management in the Pacific. 1987. In the Mediterranean, exchange of small-island experience and collaborative research planning through workshops in Catania, Halki and Mali Losinj. 1988. Publication of 'Islands, Islanders and the World: The Colonial and Post-Colonial Experience of Eastern Fiji', a post-audit of the Fiji pilot project. Report on housing and development in the lesser Antilles, within series on Human Settlements and Socio-Cultural Environments. 1989. Enquiry on challenges in education and training in the marine sciences, with a focus on the year 2000. Setting-up of IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC). International Scientific Council for Island Development (INSULA) formally created at MAB island meeting in Brest. Mauritius seminar on islands’ culture and development. 1990. Identification of educational development priorities by Pacific Heads of Education, leading to Basic Education and Life Skills (BELS) project. Round table discussion on educational planning and management in small states as part of international congress in Mexico City. Issue of quarterly review Museum focused on museums in the Pacific. Publication of an anthology on traditional marine resource management in the Pacific basin and of a study guide on the shore ecology of the tropical Pacific. 1991. Publication of practical guide to the hydrology and water resources of small islands. Open file on small islands in UNESCO’s quarterly education journal Prospects. 1992. Launch of ‘Vaka Moana: The Ocean Roads’, a Pacific-based project as part of the World Decade of Cultural Development. Monograph on education planning in small countries. INSULA’s ‘Island 2000’ meeting in Sicily and inaugural issue of the International Journal of Island Affairs. Diffusion of illustrated non-technical report on water resources of small tropical islands, within IHP Humid Tropics Programme series. Sub-regional seminar on education for cultural development (Rarotonga, Cook Islands). Sources issue on ‘The Fragile World of Islands’. Ocean Energy course within Energy Engineering Learning Package. 1993. Launch with UNDP of BELS programme in the Pacific. Small island oceanography workshop in Martinique. International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) report on educational strategies for small island states. Regional workshops in Oeussant (France) and Menorca (Spain) for planning collaborative work on island biosphere reserves. 1994. Participation in Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (Barbados), and publication of 'Island Agenda: An Overview of UNESCO Work on Island Environments, Territories and Societies'. Launch of International Coral Reef Initiative, leading to interagency Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). Expert meetings on higher education in small island states (Cape Verde) and on strategies for developing Pacific water resources research and training (Solomon Islands). Launch of project for reinforcement of informational services of the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation. UNESCO Courier ‘Greenwatch’ feature on small islands. IOC report on sea level monitoring in small island developing states. Start of Associated Schools Caribbean Sea Project. High-level regional workshop in St Lucia on renewable energy technologies. Special small islands issue of International Marine Science (IMS) Newsletter. 1995. Asia-Pacific Migration Research Network set-up within the programme on Management of Social Transformations (MOST). In the Caribbean, distance learning programme on ‘Textbooks for all: a course for educational planners and policy makers’, a joint initiative of IIEP and the University of the West Indies. 1996. Setting-up of Coastal Regions and Small Islands (CSI) platform, as a focus for intersectoral cooperation. Eleventh Regional Conference of National Commissions for UNESCO in Asia and the Pacific (Maldives). IHP Pacific Working Group meeting in Suva, with review of field projects on catchments and communities, atoll groundwater recharge and groundwater pollution. Launch of project for establishing three pilot atoll media production centres in the Maldives. Refocusing of work in Caribbean on managing beach resources and planning for coastline change. Ethnomusicology workshop in Papua New Guinea. 1997. Launch of ‘Focus on the Pacific’ consultation process. Apia workshop on biotechnology for health, food and energy. Newsroom computerization in Pacific broadcasting corporations (Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu,...). Start of South Asia node of GCRMN, including coral reef monitoring in a network of sites in the Maldives. Feature on Papua New Guinea-Kalam ethnobotanist Saem Majnep in People and Plants Handbook on ‘Returning Results: Community and Environmental Education’. 1998. Launch of ‘Focus on the Caribbean’ consultation process, incorporating intersectoral project on ‘Caribbean People: Tapestry of the Past, Fabric for the Future’. In cooperation with New Zealand government, reinforcement of education projects in the Pacific (Associated Schools, basic education and life skills, science education). Asia-Pacific survey of high priority national projects in solar and renewable energy. Vanuatu workshop on community-based protection of endangered culturally important plants. Launch of IOC programme on Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) and of Associated Schools’ Transatlantic Slave Trade Education project. 1999. Convening of ‘Indian Ocean Forum 2000’ in Mauritius. Cooperation agreement with Indian Ocean Commission. Five joint workshops with the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) on media and environment, within Pacific Environmental Information Network (PEIN). Survey of distance education in the Pacific. Second World Heritage Global Strategy Meeting in the Pacific (Vanuatu). IHP technical publications on droughts and on groundwater recharge in low coral islands. Launch of Sandwatch project in 13 Caribbean countries. 2000. Cook Islands conference on culture of peace. Apia workshop on wise coastal practices for sustainable human development in small island developing states. Education for All assessment in the Caribbean. Fiji meeting of Education for All national coordinators. Setting-up of IOC-World Bank Working Group on Coral Bleaching and Local Ecological Responses. Publication of semi-popular book on 'El Nino – Fact and Fiction' and of environmental education materials 'Glimpses of the Blue Caribbean'. 2001. Nadi workshop on revitalization and preservation of indigenous languages in Melanesia and the Pacific. Launch of intersectoral project on traditional navigation in the Pacific. Vanuatu creativity workshop within Pacific Artists in Development project. Workshop in Apia on ‘People and Places: Pacific Island Approaches to Integrated Coastal Conservation and Sustainable Human Development’. Inter-regional workshop in Dominica on wise practices for conflict prevention and resolution in small islands. 2002. Survey on Internet infrastructure and e-governance in the Pacific. Report on evolution of village-based marine resource management in Vanuatu between 1993 and 2001. Launch of Small Islands Voice, with initial participation from the Caribbean (St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, San Andres Archipelago), Indian Ocean (Seychelles) and the Pacific (Cook Islands, Palau). Series of semi-popular booklets on wise practices for coping with beach erosion in specific Caribbean islands (e.g. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Nevis, St Kitts, St Vincent and the Grenadines). In the Pacific, university twinning networks (UNITWIN) towards wise coastal practices for sustainable human development (WiCoP), with UNESCO chairs at the University of Papua New Guinea and the National University of Samoa. 2003. At Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Caribbean and Pacific organizations among signatories of agreement to implement joint programme of work on the freshwater environment. New memorandum of understanding between UNESCO and the Caribbean Community. IIEP strategic seminar on education challenges and priorities in small states. Training workshop for UNESCO National Commissions in the Caribbean (Barbados). Ninth consultation of Pacific National Commissions for UNESCO (Nadi, Fiji). International conference on oceans, coasts and islands. 2004. 'Youth Visioning for Island Living' launched. 'Edutainment' (education while entertaining) performances of Ashe Caribbean Performing Arts Ensemble within international AIDS Conference in Bangkok. Assessment of village-based marine-resource management in Vanuatu.. Special small-islands dossiers in The New Courier magazine and A World of Science news bulletin. International Year for the Commemoration of the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition. Pacific region version of World Heritage in Young Hands. As part of work for promoting cultural enterprises, start of projects on music industry in Caribbean with support of Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity. IOC Executive Committee Resolution and Declaration for the Mauritius meeting. CD-ROM on traditional navigational knowledge in the Pacific.