| |
 |
 |
|
|
|
| Newsletter 06 |
| |
| The quarterly SHS Newsletter provides information on the work of UNESCO in the field of social and human sciences. |
|
| Advancing human rights in an era of globalization - July-September 2004 (English | Français | Русский) |
|
 Over the past few months, the Social and Human Sciences Sector has held meetings with representatives of 102 UNESCO Member States, exploring possible partnerships with those countries’ institutions.
Partnerships mean speaking out – advocating a point of view – together. They also mean practical cooperation, using each partner’s comparative advantages to meet a common goal. Many institutions share the ideals of international peace through justice, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. Many institutions – and individuals – could become partners to promote these goals.
The Social and Human Sciences Sector has unique strengths as an international centre for ethics, social sciences and humanities. As such, we focus on bringing together experts from different countries – balancing each other’s comparative advantages.
As an international centre in an intergovernmental organization, we have certain strengths to offer our partners. Much of our work is to foster research in a number of disciplines. And, in service of the ideals set out in UNESCO’s Constitution, we promote public policy decision-making based on the best of this research, including comparative research.
We tend to concentrate on regional work, by developing or reinvigorating regional networks, bringing together national partners across regions and cooperating with regional institutions. In complex issues of social change, we use comparative approaches and transnational outlooks, and therefore can touch upon some of the most pressing issues of our times – the risks and promises of societies in transformation.
Partnership has always been and still is how we meet our goals. UNESCO is its Member States, so it is normal to expect that there are many partners who share our aims: governmental and non-governmental actors, universities, associations, scientific and intellectual communities, individual experts and opinion leaders.
Partners on both sides gain from cooperation. For example, Argentina, SHS and others are now preparing a major social science conference in Buenos Aires in 2005 (see page 21). Argentina’s leading role is a sign of faith that the conference will benefit Argentine institutions and individuals in the form of international contacts and new learning.
Partners advise us, plan events with us, share personnel, translate from and into local languages, help our publications and our research. While SHS absorbs very little funding from outside partners compared to other highprofile UNESCO work, we have some projects that are ready to expand, and could well interest outside funders. (We will soon be releasing a detailed
briefing on the partnerships being sought to help deliver the priorities identified by UNESCO’s governing bodies.)
I hope partners will propose other, unforeseen ways to expand, as one of the most exciting aspects of partnership is innovation leading us more surely towards our shared goals. Perhaps an article in this Newsletter will inspire you to propose
some form of collaboration. I invite you to explore partnership possibilities with UNESCO SHS – to seek a better world, working together.
Pierre Sané
Assistant Director-General
for Social and Human Sciences
p. 3 Ethics / p. 5 Interview Joan Clos / p. 8 Human Rights Children in distress • Weekends for Brazilian youth • SHS Human Rights Programme in Brazil • Contribution to the eradication of poverty and to strengthening human security / p. 12 Dossier World Forum • Globalization and the struggle against all forms of discrimination and exclusion • Poverty as a violation of human rights • Human rights and terrorism / p. 18 Social Sciences Social dimension of globalization / p. 19 Democracy / p. 20 Social Transformations Studying social transformations • Academics and film-makers “Together with Migrants” / p. 23 Just published / p. 24 Calendar • News “Pathways of thought”: a symposium in Mexico • Philosophy in the park
|
|
|
 Email this page  Printable version
|
|
|
|
