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| | UNESCO Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, paid his first official visit to Trinidad & Tobago
18-02-2005 - UNESCO Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, paid his first official visit to Trinidad & Tobago from 15 to 17 February 2005. |
Mr Matsuura met with the President, Mr George Maxell Richards and other senior members of Government, including Mr Lenny Saith, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Information; Senator Hazel Manning, Minister of Education and President of the National Commission for UNESCO; Mr Colm Peter Imbert, the Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education; and Ms Joan Yuille-Williams, Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs.
A wide range of issues were discussed to strengthen cooperation between UNESCO and Trinidad & Tobago and, in particular the safeguarding of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, quality education (including science education and education for sustainable development) and disaster preparedness.
The Director-General also participated in the joint UNESCO/Trinidad & Tobago Government ceremony to launch two education initiatives- a forum to catalyse development of a science and technology education policy for Trinidad & Tobago and the countries of the Caribbean, and a campaign to create an effective advocacy and communication strategy to widen and sustain the role of the education sector in all Caribbean countries in response to the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic, an element of the new UNESCO-led Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Education. The Minister of Education wholeheartedly welcomed both initiatives.
On 16 February, the Director-General participated in the signing of the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage by Mr Danny Montana, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of the Minister of Education, who has responsibility for UNESCO affairs, and the Minister of Culture. Trinidad & Tobago thereby became the 180th country to sign the ratification instruments.
During his visit to the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, the Director-General visited two “Memory of the World Collections”: Eric Williams and Derek Walcott. In addition, he launched Volume 5 of the General History of the Caribbean “The Caribbean in the 20th Century”.
Mr Matsuura also met for the first time with Mr Ruben Silie Valdez, the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States, whose Headquarters are in Port-of-Spain, and discussed possible areas for future collaboration including the safeguarding of cultural diversity (in particular intangible cultural heritage), early warning systems for tsunamis, and education on non-violence.
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Flash Info 026-2005
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