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UNESCO maps national plans to vaccinate teachers One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, 85 education ministers highlighted measures to keep schools open, address learning losses and adapt their education systems at an event convened by UNESCO on 29 March 2021. Close to half the world’s students are still affected by partial or full school closures and over 100 million additional children will fall below the minimum proficiency level in reading as a result of the pandemic.  In the face of a prolonged crisis, we must redouble our mobilization and target the right priorities, those that will allow us to truly make education a common good, a fundamental right. The first of our principles is that schools are irreplaceable, as the pandemic has shown. The second is that more than ever we need resilient and innovative school systems to face present and future shocks. The third is that no screen can…

How valuable is water to people, the economy, the environment, and societies? Water is a finite and non-substitutable resource. As the foundation of life, societies and economies, it carries multiple values and benefits. But unlike most other natural resources, it has proven extremely difficult to determine its true ‘value’. The 2021 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report, Valuing Water, assesses the current status of and challenges to the valuation of water across different sectors and perspectives, and identifies ways in which valuation can be promoted as a tool to help improve its management and achieve global sustainable development. The current status of water resources highlights the need for improved water resources management. Recognizing, measuring and expressing water’s worth, and incorporating it into decision-making, are fundamental to achieving sustainable and equitable water resources management and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  The…

Paris, 14 December—Lack of funding is hampering the development and implementation of marine research and its valuable applications, according to the Second Global Ocean Science Report, published by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), ahead of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development 2021-2030. On average, States devote only 1.7% of their research budgets to sciences of the ocean (0.03% to 11.8%, depending on the country), much less than they spend on other major scientific fields. This is incomprehensible considering the fundamental role of the ocean in regulating the climate and its rich biodiversity. Moreover, discoveries in oceanography feed almost all sectors of the economy and society with applications in medicine, in the preservation of biodiversity, and in the development of new industrial processes. Applications for climate change mitigation and adaptation account for the majority of patented oceanographic technologies. Our knowledge of the oceans is a key element…

UNESCO is convening a High Level Futures Literacy Summit 8-12 December that will directly address the massive disruptions that 2020 has brought to humanity’s images of the future, and provide practical solutions for overcoming today’s challenges by becoming more “futures literate”.  If we had better anticipated the health crisis, would its consequences have been so disastrous? Why, if the risk had already been identified, was the world not better prepared? How can we plan for an uncertain tomorrow? By imagining it. By anticipating it, rather than enduring it. Faced with contemporary challenges, we need to be inventive – and that’s what futures literacy is all about. ——Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General On December 8, over 5000 participants from around the world will cross the virtual lobby of UNESCO’s Futures Literacy Summit in order to experience the power of the human imagination. The Summit offers anyone with a computer and internet connection…

UNESCO and the World Association of News Publishers WAN-IFRA are joining forces to address the impending global emergency facing independent journalism and the media organizations that produce it.  “As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, the decimation of journalism in many areas of the world constitutes a growing threat, bringing existing challenges to a tipping point,” the two organizations declared in a joint statement. In the statement, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay expressed deep concern about the pandemic’s impact on local economies threatening the viability of local news media. Professional, independent journalism is critical for providing populations with life-saving information during this crisis and plays an essential role in building and strengthening our democracies, justice and peace. We are committed to leading global efforts to overcome this challenge. ——Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General President of WAN-IFRA, Fernando de Yarza added, “through this initiative, UNESCO and WAN-IFRA are…

UNESCO and the World Association of News Publishers WAN-IFRA are joining forces to address the impending global emergency facing independent journalism and the media organizations that produce it.  “As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, the decimation of journalism in many areas of the world constitutes a growing threat, bringing existing challenges to a tipping point,” the two organizations declared in a joint statement. In the statement, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay expressed deep concern about the pandemic’s impact on local economies threatening the viability of local news media. Professional, independent journalism is critical for providing populations with life-saving information during this crisis and plays an essential role in building and strengthening our democracies, justice and peace. We are committed to leading global efforts to overcome this challenge. ——Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General President of WAN-IFRA, Fernando de Yarza added, “through this initiative, UNESCO and WAN-IFRA are…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enormous potential to be used for social good and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even as it is being used to help address many of humanity’s most critical social issues, its use is also raising concerns about infringement of human rights like the right to freedom of expression, right to privacy, data protection and non-discrimination. AI-based technologies offer major opportunities if they are developed in respect of universal norms, ethics and standards, and if they are anchored in values based on human rights and sustainable development. The use of AI in judicial systems is being explored by judiciaries, prosecution services and other domain specific judicial bodies around the world. For example, in the criminal justice field, the use of AI systems for providing investigative assistance and automating decision-making processes is already in place in many judicial systems in different continents. In response to the…

International News: On October 6, 2020, the international media organization (IMO) issued initiative, called on the media institutions, Jointing.Medias to provide the public with accurate and reliable information, in order to deal with the incalculable damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,then really let “information to promote the sustainable development”,and work together for health, peace, and beautiful earth. IMO written proposal Global media organizations,Jointing.Media: The world is facing its greatest challenge in recorded human history when COVID-19 pandemic devastated and killed people. In this time of crisis, sharing of reliable, proven information helps keep everyone safe, while misleading information can put lives at risk. If societies fail to disseminate accurate and reliable information, promote scientific and truly effective solutions, and break down barriers within and between nations to achieve solidarity among all human beings, the world is likely to fail to control the spread of disease. Only when everyone could get accurate and reliable information， it will be possible to control the spread of…

UNESCO has launched a joint survey with ILO for TVET providers, policy-makers and social partners on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the survey is to gather information on good practices and to allow knowledge sharing, with the aim of helping countries around the world mitigate the effects of the pandemic in the areas of education and training.  The survey targets: providers of initial and continuing technical and vocational education and training policy makers (such as Ministries of Labour and Education) social partners We would be grateful if you could share the survey with relevant ministries, institutions, entities and networks in  your country.  Link to the English version:  Link to the Chinese version: 

UNESCO seeks partners in promoting media freedom, to be supported under the Global Media Defence Fund, established thanks to the initiative of the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada, within the framework of their Global Campaign for Media Freedom. Under this first call for partnerships, half million USD will be distributed in small grants to relevant not-for-profit organizations. Until Sunday 10 May 2020, UNESCO will be accepting proposals for innovative projects that will enhance journalists’ legal protection and their access to legal assistance, as well support investigative journalism contributing to tackling impunity, at the local, regional and/or international level by advancing at least one of the following Global Media Defence Fund’s Outputs: Output 2: Reinforcing the operationalization of national protection mechanisms and peer support networks, including by supporting governments and other institutions to develop national frameworks, action plans and legislation relevant to the safety of journalists and the issue…