Recent developments in genome editing technologies have been raising new hopes and concerns due to the significant impacts of these technologies on future generations and on biodiversity. It is UNESCO's duty to nurture dialogue among different stakeholders within societies and amongst the international community, in order to ensure that the application of such technologies shall not compromise human rights and human dignity.

By bringing together eminent experts in the fields of science, law, medicine, biotechnology, ethics and philosophy, this roundtable aims to foster multidisciplinary discussions and reflections on the latest developments and on the ethical implications of genome editing in order to raise awareness and sensitize policy-makers, researchers and the general public on these issues. 

SPEAKERS

The roundtable will be moderated by Prof. Hervé Chneiweiss (France), Director of Research Center Neuroscience Paris Seine-IBPS, Chairperson of Ethics Committee, National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), and Chairperson of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of UNESCO.

• Sonya Pemberton (Australia), TV producer specialized in science at Genepool Productions, 2012 Emmy award-winner and five-time winner of the Eureka Award for Science Journalism 
• Kevin Esvelt (United States), Director of the Sculpting Evolution Group and Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Science, MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
• Tesi Aschan (Sweden) Senior Legal Adviser, the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) and Member and former chair of the Committee on Bioethics, Council of Europe 

The round table will be held online and is open to public. It will be accessible live via Zoom. 

Engineering plays a key role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it utilizes the principles of science and mathematics to develop practical applications in food, water, energy, environment, sustainable cities, natural disaster resilience and other areas which are crucial to all mankind. It is also crucial to the development of new technologies enabling the 4th Industrial Revolution such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, robotics, or quantum computing, etc. Engineering is at the heart of our modern world and will shape the future, as has been the case for millennia. The World Engineering Day can be used for inclusive access to engineering for women and girls, and encourage young people, especially girls, to consider engineering as a career.

Engineering has also been recognised, as a key driver for sustainable transformation of Africa, through the African Union Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024). UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa in partnership with the African Federation of Engineering Organisations (FAEO) and other partners will be hosting a webinar as part of the day’s celebrations. The main objective of the webinar is to increase the awareness of engineering, its impact on modern life and that it is crucial to advance the Sustainable development goals as well as national and regional development and industrialisation agendas. This webinar will also provide a platform for presentation of the preliminary findings from the African component of the World Engineering Report. Another objective of the webinar is to encourage more young people especially girls and women to consider engineering as a career.

Opening session

• Welcome Remarks by Eric Falt, Director and UNESCO Representative
• Remarks by David Atchoarena, Director, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL)
• Remarks by Omar Diop, Programme Specialist for Education, UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office

Country presentations

Moderator: Programme Specialist for Education, UNESCO New Delhi Cluster  Office

• Brief introduction on global preparation of CONFINTEA VII
  Mr. Werner Mauch, Team Leader MAL, UIL
• Overview of objectives of the Regional and Sub-regional Consultation for CONTINTEA VII,2022
  Mr. Ichiro Miyazawa, Programme Specialist, UNESCO Bangkok Office

Sharing of Current status, Achievements and Challenges in ALE and Life Long Learning at Country level:

• Country Presentation – Afghanistan
• Country Presentation – Bangladesh
• CountryPresentation – Bhutan
• Country Presentation – India  
• Country Presentation – Maldives
• Country Presentation – Nepal  
• Country Presentation – Sri Lanka  

Technical Discussions

Moderator: Mr. Werner Mauch, UIL

• Issues in ALE and Lifelong Learning
• Innovations and Successful Cases in ALE
• Implementation of SDG Target 4.6 and alignment of policies, strategies and programmes at country level
• Sub-regional Recommendations for CONTINTEA VII Regional Consultation

Conclusion of Sub-regional consultation

Remarks by UIL and UNESCO New Delhi

1. The overhaul of UNESCO's website and the contribution of Member States to the editorial strategy and to impactful stories on UNESCO's results at the country level.
2. The finalization of UNESCO's visual standards and graphic charter.

This will be followed by questions and contributions from Member States to the proposals made by the Secretariat on January 18 last.

This consultation and working meeting will be chaired by the Deputy Director-General and moderated by the Director of the Division of Public Information.

• Link to the Consultation meeting (10:00am – 12:00pm)

The OER Dynamic Coalition was established further to the adoption of the UNESCO OER Recommendation by Member States at the 40th Session of the UNESCO General Conference in November 2019. The objective of the Dynamic Coalition is to support governments in implementing the OER Recommendation by promoting and reinforcing international and regional cooperation among all stakeholders in the first four areas of the UNESCO OER Recommendation. 

In this perspective, in order to join the celebration of the Open Education Week, UNESCO is organising a webinar on the works followed by the OER Dynamic Coalition. The objective of this event is to provide an overview of the work followed by the UNESCO OER Recommendation and highlight the importance of joint efforts in the development of OER and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Registration link for participants only (Panelists will receive their own link to join):

https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-U5l2HZmQ0qvLNektStW4g

In this perspective, the ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT) developed by UNESCO with the aim of integrating ICT into the practice of teachers remains important and acute. It ensures both equity and quality in learning and the transmission of digital skills necessary for life and employment to learners through teacher training.   

This project is in line with Articles 19 and 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with UNESCO's commitments on the free exchange of ideas and knowledge through ICTs. It should also promote inclusion and provide all learners with equal opportunities to achieve sustainable development goal (SDG) 4 of the Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030 "Ensure inclusive and quality education access to quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all ".  

The ICT-CFT is a guidance tool for pre- and in-service teacher education that includes a set of competencies that teachers need to integrate ICT into their practice and professional development to advance student learning. It is designed to be adapted to national and institutional goals and enables education systems to update the training and professional development of teachers in ICT. The ICT-CFT has been updated to incorporate the inclusive principles of non-discrimination, open and equitable information accessibility and gender equality in the delivery of education supported by technology. It addresses the impacts of recent technological advances on education and learning, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Mobile Technologies, the Internet of Things and Open Educational Resources (OER), to support the creation of inclusive Knowledge Societies.  

As part of its implementation, the UNESCO ICT CFT: harnessing OER Network was created in 2013 to support member states' efforts in ICT teacher training through contextualizing the ICT-CFT through three actions: aligning its components to national objectives related to ICT in education, developing teacher training materials based on OER, and implementing teacher training exercises based on these materials.   

This meeting is for sharing national experiences in the implementation of the ICT CFT framework in Nigeria.

But how can we ensure gender inclusion and diversity in the AI Sector and the technology itself?  Figure Eight report that many companies hiring experts for AI and data science jobs estimate that fewer than 1 per cent of the applications they receive come from women.  Today, women and girls are 25 per cent less likely than men to know how to leverage digital technology for basic purposes, 4 times less likely to know how to programme computers and 13 times less likely to file for technology patent.  They are also less likely to occupy leadership positions in tech companies, and remain largely underrepresented in online searches for specialists in the AI sector.

Why is this the case?  What can be done to address – and redress – this situation?  On the occasion of International Women’s Day, UNESCO in cooperation with the World Economic Forum and the Women4AI Daring Circle of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society are convening this panel to highlight the persistence and severity of the gender gap in digital skills and the AI Sector, reflect on how to help women and girls develop strong AI skills, and explore how to address the  "ICT gender equality paradox” and ensure women’s full participation in the design, development, and deployment of AI systems.

Building on UNESCO’s cutting edge research in this field and flagship publication “I’d Blush if I Could,” as well as policy areas for action concerning gender equality in the UNESCO Draft Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, this panel will explore risks and challenges related to AI development and algorithmic bias, and its impact on progress towards gender equality.  Specifically, this panel will address two main issues: 

1. Why including women in AI design, development, and deployment is necessary in order to mitigate the challenges of gender bias and other societal concerns, and what can be done to increase women’s participation in the AI Sector, and; 
    
2. Opportunities for AI as a technology to address barriers to women’s advancement in society globally, and what can be done to redress existing bias in AI systems.  

Panelists will share their view and best practices on how to 1) overcome the built-in gender biases found in AI devices, data sets and algorithms; 2) improve the global representation of women in technical roles and in boardrooms in the technology sector, and 3) create and implement robust and gender-inclusive AI principles, guidelines and codes of ethics. 

A particular focus of the panel will be on women’s leadership in the AI Sector at all levels, from big tech to the start-up economy in developing countries.  Panelists will be women leading change in the AI sector, not only in terms of C-suite professionals, but also women opening doors in the AI Sector and in AI technology itself, courageously exposing injustice and algorithmic biases that lead to the development of new tools and policies in the public and private sector in this field. 

The 2021 World Water Development Report on “Valuing Water” assesses the current status of and challenges to the valuation of water across differing sectors and perspectives and identifies ways in which valuation can be promoted as a tool help achieve sustainability.

UNESCO issued its Model Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Curriculum in 2011, the only international curriculum to date that harmonises information, media, and digital competencies under the umbrella term of “MIL”. The current edition is highly demanded, exists in twelve languages, and has informed the development of further MIL resources by various partners across the world. Notwithstanding, it is necessary to update this flagship resource ten years after its publication. This is increasingly needed in light of new developments in the digital domain including artificial intelligence, the emergence of new concepts such as digital citizenship education, and the exponential rise in disinformation and online hate speech.

The pioneering Second Edition of the UNESCO Model MIL Curriculum for Educators and Learners will be launched during this dedicated event in the Republic of Serbia. This Second Edition followed a series of global consultations on MIL in all regions of the world, which spanned over one year and began in the Republic of Serbia. This launch will kick start a rejuvenation and strengthening of MIL training in formal, informal and non-formal learning online and offline. This event will be held in the presence of high-level officials.

Stay tuned for more and follow our website for updates about the Online Multimedia MIL Teaching and Learning Resources Tool that will be based on the new MIL Curriculum.

The tenth Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week will be commemorated from 24 to 31 October 2021. Global MIL Week 2021 highlights will include the eleventh MILID Conference and sixth Youth Agenda Forum.

The Lecture Series is sponsored by UNESCO and supports the vision of UNESCO’s International Geoscience Programme for efficient, safe, sustainable and renewable natural resources exploration and extraction.

• UNESCO is the only United Nations organization with a mandate to support research and capacity building in the Earth Sciences.
• The UNESCO International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) serves as a knowledge hub of UNESCO to facilitate international scientific cooperation in the geosciences.
• The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) encourages international co-operation and participation in the Earth Sciences in relation to human welfare.
• iCRAG, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Applied Geosciences, is a team of researchers creating solutions for a sustainable society.

All sessions will be conducted in English with live captioning in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili, and Hindi.

All sessions will include a live public question and answer period with the presenters immediately following the lecture presentations.

Suppliers, consumers, and the global minerals supply chain - 2 March 2021

Start time: 02.00 (Vancouver) * 05.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 10.00 (London) * 11.00 (Paris, Lagos) * 12.00 (Johannesburg) * 13.00 (Nairobi) * 15.30 (Mumbai) * 16.00 (Dhaka) * 18.00 (Beijing) * 19.00 (Tokyo) * 21.00 (Sydney)

Speakers

• Dr Kathryn Moore, Senior Lecturer in Critical and Green Technology Metals, University of Exeter, UK.
• Dr Judy Muthuri, Associate Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility, Nottingham University Business School, UK, and Project Lead, Sustainable Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Project (Kenya).

Technical, environmental, business, and social aspects of different scales of mining operations; links between consumers and source

• How supply chains work from source to use
• Differentiating large-scale, high-tech small-scale, and artisanal mining sectors
• Processing, refining, manufacturing sectors
• Stakeholders, responsible sourcing programmes, and their impacts

The Lecture Series is sponsored by UNESCO and supports the vision of UNESCO’s International Geoscience Programme for efficient, safe, sustainable and renewable natural resources exploration and extraction.

• UNESCO is the only United Nations organization with a mandate to support research and capacity building in the Earth Sciences.
• The UNESCO International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) serves as a knowledge hub of UNESCO to facilitate international scientific cooperation in the geosciences.
• The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) encourages international co-operation and participation in the Earth Sciences in relation to human welfare.
• iCRAG, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Applied Geosciences, is a team of researchers creating solutions for a sustainable society.

All sessions will be conducted in English with live captioning in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili, and Hindi.

All sessions will include a live public question and answer period with the presenters immediately following the lecture presentations.

Earth materials and a sustainable future - 9 March 2021

Start time: 04.00 (Vancouver) * 07.00 (Toronto, Lima) * 12.00 (London) * 13.00 (Paris, Lagos) * 14.00 (Johannesburg) * 15.00 (Nairobi) * 17.30 (Mumbai) * 18.00 (Dhaka) * 20.00 (Beijing) * 21.00 (Tokyo) * 23.00 (Sydney)

Speakers

• Prof. Murray Hitzman, Director, iCRAG, Dublin, Ireland. Prof. Hitzman directs the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences.
• Ms Halleluya Naantu Ekandjo, PhD candidate at iCRAG, University College Dublin., where she is studying the Rosh Pinah zinc-lead deposit in Namibia.

A reliable, affordable, and just supply of earth materials can be the foundation for a sustainable future and young professionals are the key to that future.

• Earth materials and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Technical, workforce, and social challenges must be addressed at all scales in both developing and developed countries
• A vision for the future

The main thematic areas of the course are: 1) Youth today in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2) Human Rights, 3) Transformative and Responsible Global Citizenship, and 4) Activism in the 21st century.

Audiovisual presentations, podcasts, discussion forums, collaborative elaboration activities, dialogues between participants and tutors, evaluations and recommendations of links to sites of interest are some of the activities the MOOC will have.

The course aims to reach especially young people, NGOs, educators, activists, social and community leaders, and to raise awareness and contribute to the actions of policy makers and relevant national agencies.

Reflecting the evolving situation in heritage contexts and the competence-based approach, and with a view to professionalizing heritage occupations, in 2018 UNESCO, in consultation with several partners, initiated the development of the Competence Framework for Cultural Heritage Management.

The Framework was developed with invaluable inputs from the following organizations: the ASEAN Secretariat, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC), the SEAMEO Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SPAFA), the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Vocational Education and Training (VOCTECH) and the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP).

 The Competence Framework has three main purposes:

• To identify the various competences, notably skills and knowledge, that are necessary for cultural heritage work to be carried out effectively and sustainably. In this regard, it can be seen as a menu of options for heritage practitioners to select from, depending on their needs and the context of their heritage site and organizations.
• To facilitate the design of appropriate education and training for cultural heritage professionals.
• To enable professional qualifications systems to be established, and to eventually enable professional certification and licensing systems to be introduced.

The Sustainable Heritage Management Foundation Course Course is divided into five modules which will focus on the five Core Competences defined under UNESCO’s new Competence Framework. Each module is led by a leading university in the Asia-Pacific region in the area of cultural heritage management.

• University of Hong Kong 
• National University of Singapore 
• Southeast University 
• Deakin University 
• Ahmedabad University 

This course will introduce the learner to groundwater governance concepts and principles in general, with a focus on international and domestic water law and a special focus on transboundary aquifers. The course is comprised of 3 modules with a duration of 4 hours each, which include video lectures, discussions, case studies, and assignments. The course will be delivered by renowned experts in water governance and national and international water law. The modules focus on groundwater governance, international water law (with a specific focus on transboundary aquifers), and domestic water laws and their interaction with international water law. After successfully completing the course assessments, participants will be awarded with a certificate of completion.

The online learning course on Groundwater Governance is part of the Governance of Groundwater Resources in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) project Phase 3, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Learning Objectives

• To expose participants to the concepts and guiding principles and processes for effective groundwater governance as well as with their application to improve groundwater governance at national or aquifer levels.
• To provide the participants with knowledge of international water law and its principles in general, but also regarding transboundary aquifers in particular.
• To expose participants to the main features and trends in comparative domestic water law with special attention to groundwater, and to domestic water law’s supporting role of, and interaction with, international water law.

For more information, please visit UNESCO Open Learning Platform.

Downloads

e-Flyer of online course - Introduction to Groundwater Governance

The WHEC2021 aims at breaking away from the traditional models of higher learning and opening the door to new, innovative, creative and visionary conceptions that not only serve the current global agendas for sustainable development, but also pave the way for a future learning community that speaks to all, is inclusive of all lifelong learners.

                                                                    Visit the dedicated page of the World Higher Education Conference 2021

12:05-13:25 – Panel 1: Responses by national justice systems

• Jeanette Manning, Director, NATGRI Center for International Partnerships and Strategic Collaboration, representative of the International Association of Prosecutors
• Yetnayet Desalegn, Representative of the Judicial Training Institute of Ethiopia
• Ricardo Sánchez Pérez Del Pozo, Special Prosecutor’s Office for Attention to Crimes committed against Freedom of Expression, Mexico
• Roberta Solis, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Judicial Integrity Team Leader, UNODC
• Kate O’Regan (video message), Director, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at Oxford University; Former judge of the South African Constitutional Court

Moderated by: Guilherme Canela, Chief of Section, Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists, UNESCO

Q&A Session

13:25-14:40 – Panel 2: International and regional mechanisms and responses in combatting impunity

• Horace Adjolohoun, Principal Legal Officer, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
• Baroness Helena Kennedy, Director, International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
• Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression

Moderated by: Guy Berger, Director, Division for Communication and Information Strategy and Policy, UNESCO

Q&A Session

14:40-15:55 – Panel 3: Spotlight on the safety of women journalists and the challenges of investigating and prosecuting gender-based violence faced by journalists

• Caoilfhionn Gallagher, Human Rights and Media Law Barrister, leading the international legal teams representing Maria Ressa and the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia
• Pedro José Vaca Villarreal, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
• Pauli van Wyk, Investigative journalist, Daily Maverick
• Mithila Farzana, Current Affairs Editor, Ekattorr Media Limited

Moderated by: Julie Posetti, Global Director of Research, International Center for Journalists

Q&A Session

15:55-16:00 – Closing Remarks

Related UNESCO publications and websites

• Guidelines for prosecutors on cases of crimes against journalists
• Online violence against women journalists: a global snapshot of incidence and impacts
• 2020 UNESCO Director-General's Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity
• Training security forces and the judiciary on freedom of expression and safety of journalists
• Learn more about UNESCO's work on safety of journalists

The main objectives of the consultative meeting are to:

• Bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, including representatives of the national governments, Indigenous peoples, Indigenous organizations, scholars and experts in the field of Indigenous languages, and others for a constructive dialogue on Indigenous languages and related issues in the Eastern European States;
• Identify regional priorities according to the Template proposed by UNESCO including strategic objectives, outcomes, outputs and enabling factors, drivers of change and domains of change (thematic consideration), aligned to the main structural elements, such as strategic approach and guiding framework, of the future Global Action Plan in language transmission, documentation, safeguarding, policy development, education, research, and promotion and private sector (Annex II);    
• Identify future regional activities which would contribute to the implementation of the Global Action Plan such as regional flagship and pilot projects;
• Provide an opportunity to forge new partnerships and networks among various stakeholders for the establishment of a regional network of partners, national committees and focal points for the organization of the IDIL2022-2032 in the region.      
• Raise awareness on the importance of indigenous languages, linguistic diversity and multilingualism for sustainable development and provide guidance to the stakeholders in the implementation of international, regional and national commitments related to language development.

The consultative meeting will conclude with:

• Adoption of recommendations for the Global Action Plan for the integration of linguistic diversity and multilingualism into the regional, national and local level municipalities level on indigenous languages by all stakeholders involved.
• Completion of a Template for the development of plans proposed by UNESCO in the context of IDIL2022-2032.
• List of potential activities at regional level for the elaboration of flagship and pilot projects.
• List of key partners at national and regional level for the establishment of network.

The meeting will take into consideration the UNESCO General Conference Resolution, Los Pinos Declaration, recommendations and documents to develop vision and follow-up actions. 

For the participation please respond to the survey on IDIL 2022-2032 in Russian here.

The global event will discuss the following:

i)    the economic viability of news media;

ii)    the transparency of Internet companies;

iii)   advanced skills for individuals to consciously engage with today’s communications environment. 

Furthermore, the COVID-19 health crisis has once again shown the critical role of free and independent media worldwide. And in fact, the current pandemic presents challenges to the global celebration itself.  So, it has been decided to carryout hybrid format of the Global Conference, which will for the first time include up to 6 interlinked regional forums, thus resulting in one unique global event.

The series of regional and thematic consultations will serve as inputs to the Programme Subcommittee and the Conference Steering Committee and therefore, will ensure the normal participatory approach to programme. 

The Regional Consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean will take place on 19th March 2021 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. via Zoom and will be organized by the Regional Office for Sciences of UNESCO for Latin America and the Caribbean in Montevideo and UNDP in Uruguay.

The aim of the consultation is the following:

1. Contribute to shaping the Global Conference’s programme, including recommending key-partners and speakers;
2. Contribute to shaping the LAC Regional Forum’s programme, including recommending key-partners and speakers;
3. Build the momentum for the global conference, the regional forum, and the WPFD celebration;
4. Highlight key elements to be included in the Final Windhoek+30 Declaration.

The Regional Consultation will include the participation of experts and organisations from countries from the entire Latin America and the Caribbean.

The subjects that will be addressed in this consultation are as follows:

·       The viability of the media

·       Transparency of online platforms

·       Media and Information Literacy skills in times of disinformation and hate speech

Moderation :

Marie-Amaëlle Touré, Journalist, Le Temps

WELCOME REMARKS

Anna Maria Majlöf, UNESCO

Oscar Tosato, Municipal Councillor, City of Lausanne

Bashkim Iseni, Integration Delegate, City of Lausanne 

CONFERENCE

FROM PREJUDICE TO RACISM: CONCEPTS

Eva Green, Associate Professor of Social Psychology, University of Lausanne (UNIL)

ROUNDTABLE

Heidi Lushtaku, model
Massimo Furlan, director
Myriam Ballo, Lausanne citizen
Thanh-My Tran-Nhu, President of the Municipal Council of the City of Lausanne

WORKSHOP 1: CHANGING MENTALITIES

WORKSHOP 2: INTERSECTIONALITY: WHAT IS IT?

WORKSHOP 3: FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION IN THE PUBLIC SPACE

WORKSHOP 4: RACISM AND STEREOTYPES IN THE MEDIA: OBSERVATION AND ACTION

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Target group: Lausannois.es from 14 to 18 years old

Registration is compulsory until 01.03.21 using the online form available at www.lausanne.ch/masterclass.

Registrants will receive all details, links and access codes in due course.

CONTACT

Lausanne Bureau for Immigrants (BLI) bli@lausanne.ch, 021 315 72 45

• Presence of the Chairperson, the Rapporteur, the 18 Members of the Committee and the Secretariat;
• Virtual participation of States Parties to the 1970 Convention, which are not Members of the Subsidiary Committee, and alternates, advisers and experts designated by the Members of the Committee via the Zoom platform.

• Introduction and Welcome - Prashant Yadav, UNESCO New Delhi
• Experiences of online learning during and post COVID-19 - Learner, Tagore International School
• Role of schools in ensuring children’s safety online - Ms. Mallika Preman, Principal, Tagore International School
• Enhancing access to safe, inclusive and health promoting learning environments for all children - Sarita Jadav, National Programme Officer, UNESCO New Delhi
• Zoom’s efforts to ensure children’s safety online - Iravati Damle, Zoom
• MoE initiatives to support children learning through the pandemic - Representative from NCERT
• Law enforcement - MHA
• Digital Education and government’s initiatives in the pandemic and beyond - MEITY Rep
• Summary of discussion & vote of thanks - Abhinav Tyagi

During CONFINTEA VII, Member States will be encouraged to enact policies, incentives, regulatory frameworks, and institutional structures and mechanisms to contribute to a human rights culture, social justice, shared values and sustainability. In recognition of continuing advancements in artificial intelligence, special attention will be paid to using information and communications technologies to promote access to adult learning and education and inclusion.

Upon invitation only.

The Kingdom of Morocco is set to host CONFINTEA VII, which will welcome over 1,000 participants and examine effective adult learning and education policies within a lifelong learning perspective and within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participants will jointly work on a new framework for action that will replace the Belém Framework for Action (BFA), adopted at CONFINTEA VI in 2009.

During CONFINTEA VII, Member States will be encouraged to enact policies, incentives, regulatory frameworks, and institutional structures and mechanisms to contribute to a human rights culture, social justice, shared values and sustainability. In recognition of continuing advancements in artificial intelligence, special attention will be paid to using information and communications technologies to promote access to adult learning and education and inclusion.

Participants are nominated by the respective National Commissions for UNESCO.

The course will assert participants with essential skills for researchers dealing with spatial data, better control analysis using command line tools, automating procedures by writing batch scripts, and processing data and making models using Python and its useful libraries. It will be accessible from 2 March 2021 onwards.

The online learning course on Programming for Geospatial Hydrological Applications is part of the Climate Services for Water Management (CliMWaR) project, funded by the Flemish UNESCO Science Trust Fund (FUST) from the Government of Flanders in Belgium.

For more information, please see the e-flyer.

If you want to have a glimpse of the course, please watch this video.

W12+ is a partnership of organizations that catalyzes, connects, and incubates urban water solutions. W12+ focuses on the nexus of rapid urbanization and climate change. It looks at cities broadly in terms of their watersheds, bioregions, source water supply, and, in some cases, relevant rural water solutions. Through five distinct programs plus consulting functions, W12+ builds awareness of existing solutions to pervasive water issues and catalyzes partnerships to find new solutions. W12+’s key program is the W12+ Waterwise Solutions Database, otherwise known as the W12+ Blueprint.

This Training Webinar will showcase the functionality and purpose of the new database, solicit feedback from the target audiences, and encourage uptake of software by potential users. The webinar will be followed by approximately a one-month period of open feedback sessions from target audience users on a Google form and through directly solicited feedback outreach (interviews, emails, etc.). The feedback received during this webinar will directly inform the functional, design, and content updates of the W12+ Blueprint prior to its official launch on April 15, 2021.

For more information, see the e-flyer. 

Please contact k.verbist@unesco.org, OR ellie@w12plus.org with any questions.

UNESCO has been working with stakeholders from an increasing number of countries to implement national assessments of Internet development using the Indicators. Since then, the national assessments are progressing in 21 countries: 

• Bénin, Sénégal, Kenya, Ghana, Niger, Ethiopia in Africa,  
• Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, Uzbekistan in Asia,  
• Tunisia, Sudan Jordan, Palestine in the Arab region, 
• Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay in Latin America,  
• Germany, France and Serbia in Europe

At the national level, these indicators aim to assess achievement and gaps of Internet development and policies via an inclusive multi-stakeholder methodology. The national assessment process proves to be a holistic approach for individual countries to operationalize the ROAM principles and to achieve evidence-based policy reform and improvement and serves an evidence-based approach to facilitate digital collaboration at regional and global levels.

UNESCO seeks to engage with IAMCR and academic community worldwide to promote Internet Universality and the voluntary national assessments of ROAM-X indicators to more countries.

Topics for Discussion:

1. To showcase the major assessment results of a few countries across five continents, debate the policy recommendations and prioritize actions to shape the ROAM conducive digital transformation to redefine borders in the digital age.
    
2. To identify the relevance of the Internet Universality ROAM principles and Indicators in responding the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-COVID-19 recovery.
    
3. To discuss how IAMCR and academic community could make use of Internet Universality indicators framework to inform their research and how academic community could play a role to contribute to the further update of the indicators.
    
4. To present the IGF  Dynamic Coalition on Internet Universality ROAM-X indicators  and invite IAMCR and the academic community to participate and get engaged at global, regional and national level.

Registration: bit.ly/WED2021-AP

• Ms. Alice Wroe, Founder of Herstory UK and Augmented & Virtual Realities Lead at the Atlantic Institute
• Mr. Lester Vargas, Co-founder of FractalUp and Young Leader for the SDGs
• Ms. Svenia Busson, Founder of LearnSpace and Edtech Tours, Author of ‘Exploring the Future of Education’
• M. Olajide King, Training and Curriculum Development Expert

The webinar will be available in English, French and Spanish. It will also engage the audience throughout the 90-minutes discussion, through a series of polling questions, a 30-minutes Q&A session as well as a continuous invitation to share views in the chat.

• Register

The ToT that started in December 2020 provided the UCH specialists from eight Arab states with opportunities for learning the key principles of the UCH Convention and developing an action plan for UCH education and training in the Arab region. The Second Session, to be held in March 2021, will cover topics on UCH project design, application of digital technologies and maritime intangible cultural heritage. The participants will also discuss the implementation strategy for the action plan.

This course introduces the learner to regional groundwater modelling of the transnational Stampriet Aquifer System. The course is comprised of 3 sessions with a duration of 4 hours each that progressively build on the complexity of the groundwater model:

• Part 1: Groundwater modelling of the Stampriet Aquifer System
• Part 2: Towards integrated land surface and groundwater modelling
• Part 3: Further constraining the model with Remote Sensing

The courses includes readings, video lectures, tutorials, knowledge checks and assignments recorded using the UNESCO Open Learning Platform. After successfully completing the course assessments, participants will be awarded with a certificate of completion.

The online learning course on Groundwater Modelling is part of the Governance of Groundwater Resources in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) project Phase 3, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

For more information, please visit UNESCO Open Learning Platform.

Downloads

e-Flyer of online course - Introduction to Groundwater Modelling

Note: Limited places available for this course

The conference aims to provide an opportunity to present an updated overview of the world inventory of transboundary aquifers, and it is devoted to groundwater and transboundary aquifers work-related issues. It is under this approach that the Conference has established as main objectives to bring together experts to exchange ideas, knowledge, approaches, findings, etc. concerning transboundary aquifers management.

In addition, it envisages including the law principles and the legal and institutional advances/issues regarding contemporary practices, tools, researches or instruments related to the sustainable management of transboundary aquifers and the dependent ecosystems under the approach of different countries.  The event aims to be an opportunity to highlight diverse efforts made by UNESCO, the International and Donor community to streamline groundwater as an enabler for achieving the water-related SDGs and the monitoring of the 6.5.2 SDG.

With the attendance of around 200 groundwater experts, this Conference will feature: High Level Panels; High Level Roundtables; technical sessions and over 100 presenters; ISARM 2021 will gather leading international transboundary aquifer management experts to discuss novel concepts, approaches and technologies for dealing with transboundary aquifer challenges within various contexts in both developed and developing countries. Exchange of ideas will seek to provide indications for new directions in transboundary aquifer management, as well as draw recommendations for the formulation of new policies and implementation elements such as guidelines and educational tools.

Main Organizer

UNESCO, as the UN specialized agency with a specific mandate in water sciences through its Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) supports countries in their efforts to achieve water security. This work recognizes the need to protect vulnerable water systems, to safeguard access to water functions and services, and to manage water resources in an integrated and equitable approach. Therefore within the Programme the Theme 2 (groundwater in a changing environment), aims to cover five main focal areas: i) enhancing sustainable groundwater resources management; ii) addressing strategies for management of aquifers recharge; ii) adapting to the impacts of climate change on aquifer systems; iv) promoting groundwater quality protection; v) promoting management of transboundary aquifers.

JANUARY 19, 2021, 16:30 - 17:00

•        Dr. Miguel de Franca Doria, IHP Regional Hydrologist for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

•        Dorian Rommens, Program Specialist, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences Sector of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Mexico

•        Dra. Blanca Jiménez Cisneros, General Director of the National Water Commission President of the Mexican National Committee of the International Hydrological Program

•        Dr. Rafael Val Segura, Coordinator of the Education and Culture Working Group of the International Hydrological Program in Latin America and the Caribbean

MODULES

I. Valley of Mexico watershed

Topics:

• The Valley of Mexico Basin, January 19, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Ecosystems and Biodiversity, January 26, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Environmental Services, February 2, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

II. Drinking Water Infrastructure

Topics:

• Drinking Water Infrastructure, February 9, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Sanitation Infrastructure, February 16, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Human Right to Water and Sanitation, February 23, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Purification and Quality, March 02, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

III. Water Planning

Topics:

• Floods and Droughts, March 9, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Integrated Management of Water Resources, March 16, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Water Safety, March 30, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Water Resilience, April 6, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

IV. Water and Society

Topics:

• Valle de México Aquifer, April 13, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Conflicts for Water, April 20, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Water and Gender, April 27, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Culture of Water, May 4, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Citizen Participation with Education, May 11, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Discussion of the Water and City Relationship, their Needs and Projects, May 8, 2021, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Series of webinars will be organized with an expert survey among the departments of journalism in Central Asia to study university needs on the data journalism curriculum for every country with the involvement of an international expert and national trainers. Interviews with national coordinators of educational programs among university participants and localizing training manual on data journalism will be implemented.

19 journalism faculty members from 19 universities of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, most of whom are members of the Association of Central Asian Universities will contribute in achieving sustainable development goals in journalism and communication. This work will contribute to IPDC Priority Area on Improving Journalism Education, including by using resources produced by IPDC's Global Initiative for Excellence in Journalism Education.

In view of the evolving health crisis and in line with the current recommendations at UNESCO, please note that the meeting will take place in the following format:

· Presence of the Chairperson, the Rapporteur, and the Secretariat;

· Virtual participation of States Parties to the 1970 Convention via the Zoom platform.

The workshops in which a group of regional and international specialists participate, all are free of charge, and will run from February 16 until next March 12, from 15:00 hrs until 17:30 hrs.

The series of the training webinars are:

• Media coverage in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (16 & 18 February)
• Safety of journalists and mental health (22-23-25 February)
• Countering hate speech (2-3-5 March)
• The ability to distinguish between false news and true news (8-10-12 March)

The Forum will be one of the first major advocacy initiatives to contribute to the Global Call against Racism with the following objectives:

• present and consolidate the outcomes of the UNESCO anti-racism and anti-discrimination initiatives, with the view to intensifying the UNESCO-wide efforts among a larger network of partners, especially within the COVID-19 context;
• gather like-minded Member States, high-level academic and scientific experts, renowned thought-leaders and change-makers, as well as foundations and donor institutions, in order to build a global front of partners against racism and discriminations in different fields;
• enhance the knowledge and awareness of these networks to advance inclusive and gender transformative actions that foster intercultural dialogue, tackle racism and discriminations and systematically promote human rights;
• contribute to developing an anti-discrimination toolbox that could effectively enhance government policies and practices to recognize systemic discrimination, boost affirmative action and foster inclusive policies;
• identify the next steps in enhancing an anti-racism roadmap, with specific proposals, in consultation with these partner networks.

More detailed information will be coming soon.

The Advisory Committee provides scientific and technical advice to the Director-General of UNESCO and the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere programme (MAB ICC) regarding the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).

The Committee is currently composed of the 12 following representatives of Regions:

- Group I (Western Europe and North America): Ms Spierenburg (Netherlands) and Mr Le Page (France)

- Group II (Eastern Europe): Ms Fabriciusova (Slovakia) and Ms Rosenberg (Estonia)

- Group III (Latin America and the Caribeans): Ms Pien (Argentina) and Mr Lino (Brazil)

- Group IV (Asia and the Pacific): Mr Jashenko (Kazakhstan) and Mr Shim (Republic of Korea)

- Group Va (Africa): Ms Ashong (Ghana) and Mr Tiomoko (Benin)

- Group Vb (Arab States): Ms Mansour Abdel Hameed (Sudan) and Mr Fassi (Morocco) 

The IACBR will examine the dossiers of new proposed nominations, periodic review reports and follow-up documents received up to 15 December last and will make recommandations on each dossier to the MAB ICC, which is planned to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, in June 2021.

This year's celebration coincides with the launch of a new global report on Engineering entitled " Engineering for Sustainable Development: Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals". The Report’s five chapters analyse successively how engineering is essential to sustainability, why it should become more diverse and inclusive, which are the key innovations that will make a difference in delivering the SDGs, what engineering primary and life-long education is needed to achieve those objectives, and which are the defining engineering trends in the world’s regions.

The celebration of this year's event begins with a high-level Opening ceremony in which the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Audrey Azoulay, will jointly launch the Report with Dr. Li Xiaohong, President of Chinese Academy of Engineering (representing Tsinghua University and the International Centre of Engineering Education (ICEE), China). Thereafter there is an introduction to the Report by the co-Chair of the Steering Committee of Report and three of the authors from WFEO. We then have a round-table with young engineers from different engineering organisations, presenting their views on how engineering is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Finally we have the closing of the event by the ADG of the Natural Science Sector, Ms. Shamila Nair-Bedouelle.

To sign up for the event, the registration link is: http://on.unesco.org/Eng04-03.

"UNESCO works to address the causes and consequences of disinformation as part of its mandate to promote the rights of access to information and freedom of expression. And therefore, it is not only important for us to offer tools and resources that can empower journalists, communication workers, content creators and others who are at the forefront of countering the phenomenon of disinformation related to the pandemic, but also, to strengthen and highlight some of the excellent work carried out by fact-checking experts and organizations in the region”, said Sandra Sharman, Project Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, '#CoronavirusFacts - Addressing' disinformation about COVID-19'.

“We are also proud to be the first to offer a MOOC of this kind in Guaraní, one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages of the region, fostering inclusivity in this critical time" Sharman added.

In the four-week course, students will:

1. Look at the history of fact-checking and the IFCN and be introduced to example of fact-checking organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
2. Learn how to start a fact-checking unit, including creating a methodology and being transparent.
3. Be exposed to basic tools used by fact-checkers, with a specific look at the pandemic and election contexts.
4. Get an overview of regulation around the world used to stop or reduce the spread of mis/disinformation.

Throughout history, in the diversity of cultural responses to water, we can find ancestral practices based on adaptation and countless lost paths that can contribute to the current knowledge and use of these hydrotechnologies.

CALLING ORGANIZATIONS
Within this framework, the UNESCO Chair in Sustainability (UNESCOSOST) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Program, in the Montevideo Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (PHI-LAC) and its Working Group on Education and Cultures of Water in Latin America and the Caribbean (GT ECA-LAC), in collaboration with the RECNET (Red Reciclar Ciudad) and NATURA, combine their efforts to publicize, promote and revalue ancestral hydrotechnologies in order to identify opportunities that allow to rescue this cultural heritage and put it at the service of the processes that are being carried out in the region to cope with climate, health and food emergency scenarios.

(Wednesday 7 to Wednesday 21 April 2021) (11 working days/15 calendar days)

• Bureau (BUR) : Wednesday 7, Friday 9 and Monday 19 April
• Committee on Conventions and Recommendations (CR) : Wednesday 7 (afternoon) to Friday 9 April
• Special Committee (SP) If necessary : Thursday 8 April
• Committee on Non-Governmental Partners (NGP) If necessary :  Friday 9 April
• Plenary meetings (PLEN) : Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 April, then Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 April
• Commissions  : Wednesday 14 to Monday 19 April

N.B.: Easter: Monday 5 April is a public holiday in the host country. School holidays: from Saturday 17 April to Sunday 2 May 2021 (Zone C: Paris and suburbs)

See the Document 210 EX/38.INF

The conference’s central theme highlights European Humanities and Beyond. It considers the development and contribution of the Humanities to societal problems in Europe, assuming an understanding of Europe's responsibilities beyond its borders. In this field, the conference will highlight interactions with other academic traditions in the world and give priority to collaboration with Africa.

Six specific topics articulate the cross-sectional central theme that raises issues such as climate and environmental changes, the relationship between heritage and historical and identity dynamics, management of urban and low demographic density territories, and legal implications of cultural processes or health and social cohesion. An artistic and cultural programme will complete this cycle of conferences, in connection with the chosen themes:

1. Multidisciplinary Dynamics as Education and R&D strategies for meaningful problem solving

2. Heritage, mobility and identities

3. Influence and impact of the Humanities in society

4. The Humanities in the 21st Century

5. Beyond the Pandemic

6. Migration and Diversity

/!\ Information regarding online access to the Conference will be shared soon.