Born at the close of World War II, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, is one of
the 15 bodies of the United Nations Today, 188 states are members of UNESCO. The main objective of UNESCO is to
contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture
and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and
fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion,
by the Charter of the United Nations.
UNESCO's mandate is above all ethical - to achieve international peace and the common welfare of humankind. UNESCO
works to preserve and promote human knowledge, to cultivate humanistic values, lay foundations for peace and ensure
respect for human rights.
To fulfill its mandate, UNESCO performs five principal functions:
Prospective Studies: determining what forms of education, science, culture and communication will be needed in tomorrow's world;
The advancement, transfer and sharing of knowledge: aiding research, training and teaching activities;
Standard-setting action: preparing and adopting international instruments and statutory recommendations;
Expertise: providing assistance to Member States for their development policies and projects in the form of "technical co-operation";
Exchange of specialized information: acting as a clearing-house for the collection and worldwide distribution of information.
This work is aimed first of all at the most vulnerable and disadvantaged - the least developed countries, women and youth.
UNESCO's Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (PROAP) is based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Four regional advisors - experts in education, culture, social and human sciences, and communication - direct and oversee
UNESCO activities in 45 countries in this region.
As the only UN agency specifically mandated with the responsibility for promoting creativity and safeguarding the world's
rich and diverse cultural heritage, UNESCO has a unique role to play in the rapidly-changing countries of Asia and the Pacific.
The Office of the Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific (RACAP) oversees the development of regional
strategies and implementation of the unit's regional culture programme. UNESCO's Asia-Pacific culture programme focuses
on empowering people and communities to control their own destiny. In a time of unprecedented economic and social
change, UNESCO operates under the premise that by ensuring the preservation of its diverse histories, cultures and habitats,
the region's timeless traditions will be tapped and filled with renewed relevance.
Priorities of UNESCO's culture sector programmes in the Asia-Pacific region include:
Safeguarding cultural heritage, both tangible monuments and artifacts and intangible performing arts, cultural traditions and
endangered languages;
Fostering cultural identity, protection of the artist and intellectual creation, inter-cultural dialogue and cultural industries;
Promoting the essential role of culture in development, in recognition that cultural traditions and practices provide the most stable basis for sustainable social and economic development;
Encouraging community development and heritage preservation, particularly in urban areas, through local effort and public-private partnerships;
Developing cultural tourism as a tool for the preservation and enhancement of both the physical and intangible heritage;
Combating the illicit traffic in antiquities and other cultural property;
Training for the reinforcement of local-level endogenous capacity in heritage preservation and management.
In addition to its work to safeguard the cultural landscape of the Champasak plain, RACAP programmes and projects currently being implemented include:
* LEAP - "Integrated Community Development and Cultural Heritage Site Preservation Through Local Effort in Asia/Pacific", an innovative regional project to encourage local community participation in cultural heritage preservation;
* "Cultural Survival In Luang Prabang" - a project to revitalize the skills and crafts necessary to maintain, restore and conserve traditional temple and building arts;
* "The Role of Local Communities in the Management of World Natural Heritage Sites" - focusing on the Chao Lay People - or 'sea gypsies' of the Andaman Sea, this project aims at empowering indigenous people with the knowledge, skills and tools to take shared responsibility in site management.
* "The Role of Local Communities in Culturally and Ecologically Sustainable Tourism" - a joint project between the Ministry of Trade and Tourism, Lao PDR and UNESCO which aims to develop sustainable cultural and ecotourism projects in Luang Namtha Province, Lao PDR;
* "Cultural Heritage Management and Tourism" - a project to open avenues of communication between the tourism industry and heritage managers in the preservation of world heritage sites in Asia;
* IMPACT - a series of publications examining the effects of tourism on culture and the environment in Asia and the Pacific;
* Mi son - Investigation, Zoning and Management of My son Monuments and Archaeological Site.
* Geographic Information System - computerized management of ancient sites.
* "Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards" - a programme to recognize outstanding efforts by individuals and organizations in the restoration conservation and adaptive reuse of structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.
* UNESCO-APHADA Seal of Excellence for Handicraft Products in Southeast Asia.
|
