The mandate of the International Commission on the Futures of Education is to collectively reflect on how education might need to be re-thought in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and precarity. The commission will present analysis and recommendations in the form of a report which will serve as an agenda for policy dialogue and action at multiple levels. Looking at the year 2050 and beyond, the report will suggest visions and strategies for both education policy and education practice to adopt. The Commission is to take into consideration recent geopolitical shifts, accelerated environmental degradation and climate change, changing patterns of human mobility, and the exponential pace of scientific and technological innovation. At the same time, the report should envisage and analyse the multiple possible futures of technological, social, economic, and environmental disruption and how education might both affect and be affected by these futures. The Commission will include in its report a consideration of the longstanding UNESCO commitment to an integrated and humanistic approach to education and knowledge as public goods. The Commission is invited to challenge and re-evaluate the foundational principles laid out in previous UNESCO global reports about education. In sum, the Commission will focus on rethinking the role of education, learning and knowledge in light of the tremendous challenges and opportunities of predicted, possible, and preferred futures. Detailed agenda to be confirmed.

The event will present different aspects of the history of tapestry in Azerbaijan, and will focus mainly on the historical and cultural heritage of the carpets belonging to the group of carpets produced by the Sheki School in Azerbaijan. During the opening, a documentary video will tell the story of the exhibition project and of the city of Sheki.This carpet exhibition will also reflect the motifs of the famous Chaki Khans Palace, built in the 18th century, which represents the masterpiece of Qajar-style architecture. The traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving in the Republic of Azerbaijan was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan Palace was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Baku. The Exhibition will be open to the general public until 4 February 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., upon presentation of an ID card.

The UNESCO Dakar Office, in partnership with the WCO, INTERPOL and Niger, is organizing a training workshop from February 11th to 13th 2020 in Niamey to build the capacities of museum/heritage professionals as well as law enforcement and security forces including customs and police in six countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger and Senegal. This training is part of a programme to strengthen mechanisms to combat illicit trafficking of cultural property in Africa, which has been under way since 2015.Over the past 15 years, there has been a resurgence of illicit trafficking of cultural property, particularly in areas affected by armed conflict, which has become a matter of major concern to the international community. In a Sahelian context increasingly weakened by the threat of armed groups and the looting of heritage and in order to respond to the current challenges of peace and security in the region, UNESCO is positioning itself as a focal point through a programme to strengthen the mechanisms for fighting illicit trafficking of cultural property by bringing together a group of diverse actors (art experts, national and international museums; heritage professionals, customs, police, legal experts, etc.). The review of the actions implemented by the UNESCO Dakar regional office to date highlights the need to consolidate the cooperation mechanisms between the various key actors involved in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property while maintaining an inclusive and non-sectoral approach. For this reason, the Dakar office, in partnership with the WCO, INTERPOL and Niger, is organizing an in-depth training workshop that will bring together customs, police and museum professionals in order to harmonize the levels of knowledge between actors and to stabilize an effective and operational co-ordination network between the different services at the national and regional level. This three-day training, which is part of a wide-ranging capacity-building programme, will offer both separate and joint sessions in order to consolidate and improve the effectiveness of the coordination network for the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property in Africa, ensure the fluidity of information exchanges, identify and better assign roles and responsibilities between law enforcement and security forces and museum professionals in order to speed up the processing of cases of illicit trafficking.At the end of the three-day workshop, with the active support of the associated experts, the participants will have acquired a better knowledge of the prevention of illicit trafficking of cultural property, stabilized a coordination system in the event of a customs seizure or police investigation and submitted proposals for a protocol for intervention in the event of restitution. One of the added-values of this workshop will be the identification of appropriate legal measures for the protection of cultural property in the countries concerned and the validation of communication and awareness-raising tools for the launch of a sub-regional campaign to be carried out during the year 2020 among communities and transit points (airports, ports, etc.).

Proclaimed in 2011 by the Member States of UNESCO, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day, February 13 became World Radio Day (WRD). On World Radio Day 2020 (WRD 2020), UNESCO calls on radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsroom and on the airwaves. Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity and constitutes a platform for democratic discourse. At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. This unique ability to reach out the widest audience means radio can shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard. Radio stations should serve diverse communities, offering a wide variety of programs, viewpoints and content, and reflect the diversity of audiences in their organizations and operations. This edition of WRD is divided into three main sub-themes: Advocating for pluralism in radio, including a mix of public, private and community broadcasters; Encouraging representation in the newsroom, with teams comprised of diverse society groups; Promoting a diversity of editorial content and programme types reflecting the variety of the audiences. Diversity in the radio landscape Diversity of voices and opinions in radio relies first on the degree of media concentration and the coexistence of different types of stations with a mix of public, private and community broadcasters. The development of policy environments conducive to transparency and diversity of media ownership is the keystone to a pluralistic, inclusive and democratic radio sector. Technological advances are also participating to diversify the radio sector - for example with Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB): a technology used by radio stations to broadcast digitally. Through DAB radio, the choice of stations available to listeners is dramatically increased with more stations being able to broadcast in the same areas on less frequency space than necessary for FM and AM radio. DAB radio also offer additional information and features, such as the display of programme and song played, or the ability to pause and even record live broadcast, further enriching the radio experience. Diversity in the newsroom Editorial teams are usually comprised by staff from majority groups. Through equal opportunity and fair treatment policies, which prevent discrimination based on factors such as gender, origin, sexual orientation, religion, age, social and socio-economic backgrounds and/or political party, radio stations could gain multi-cultural teams that bring along different perspectives on issues, opinions and stories, thus enhancing their credibility vis-à-vis listeners. A diverse and representative radio workforce is not only important for countering discrimination and ensuring gender representation, it is crucial for creativity and relevance of content. It thus safeguards editorial independence. Diversity on the airwaves Through diverse channels of transmission, types of editorial content , programming and topics, radio reaches the widest audience globally and opens up a multitude of spaces for democratic debate on an infinity of subjects. Radio stations can offer a wide array of shows and programmes – from reportages and documentaries to talk shows and podcasts, there is something for each of us. Within the programme, diversity in the choice of angles, languages, music, invited guests and sources can further portray, engage and reflect the diversity of humanity, thus fostering tolerance, inclusion and solidarity. It is essential for media pluralism, and broadens journalists’ and programme makers’ creativity. LINKS:  Official website

National commemoration of World Radio Day in the United Republic of Tanzania.Proclaimed in 2011 by the Member States of UNESCO, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day, February 13 became World Radio Day (WRD). On World Radio Day 2020 (WRD 2020), UNESCO calls on radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsroom and on the airwaves.

As partners in the ‘Responsible Research and Innovation Networking Globally’ (RRING) project, UNESCO co-organizes in coalition a 13 February 2020 RRING workshop on site at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington (USA). The expert meeting will bring together various stakeholders of science technology and innovation systems by invitation, for learning on responsibility in research and innovation. It is one of a series of responsible research and innovation networking workshops under the (EU-funded) RRING project. The overall aim of project is to stimulate and inform mutual learning and collaboration in this area of responsible research and innovation. An important part of the project is a bottom-up approach to share and engage in learning about responsibility, aligned to the states’ commitments to implement the Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers (2017). Responsible research and innovation in practice will require that individual researchers, and all institutions that employ, govern, fund, publish and facilitate, and all other stakeholders in the STI system, including e.g. STEM educators and citizen scientists, routinely anticipate and assess potential implications and societal expectations with regard to research and innovation, with the aim to foster the design of inclusive and sustainable research and innovation systems. In practice, responsible research and innovation implies that societal actors (researchers, citizens, policy makers, business, third sector organizations, etc.) work together during the whole of research and innovation processes, in order to better align both the system and its outcomes with the values, needs and expectations of society, so that they encompass multi-actor and public engagement in research and innovation, enabling easier access to scientific results, the take up of gender and ethics in the research and innovation content and process, and formal and informal science education. This corresponds to a vision of science technology and innovation (STI) systems in compliance with the commitments some 195 States have adopted as common global norms and standards in the new Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers (2017). The AAAS annual meeting in Seattle, Washington (USA) is an event expected to attract some 8,000 scientists and other stakeholders. On 13 February, it is expected that the RRING workshop will gather 30 to 40 experts.