Jun 27, 2018 - Missions. Mika Odido. 51st session of the Executive Council of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic.
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Photo: Director of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Ms. Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta, shakes hands with pastoralist community leader Adam, during the Expert meeting on Indigenous knowledge and climate change in Africa, 27 June 2018 Nairobi, Kenya (c)UNESCO East Africa
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Message of the Director Dear
Colleagues
and
Partners,
This week, several activities highlighted the importance of safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Comoros and in Djibouti. A visit to a UNESCO World Heritage site also took place in the South of Kenya, the Mijikenda Sacred Forest of the KayaFungo. The visit permitted a better understanding and underscored the value of expressions, representations, practices, knowledge and skills of local and indigenous people. The activities on the task of empowering civil society, national authorities for culture, universities, national experts, communities and other stakeholders on the crucial role of promoting the transmission of intangible
cultural
heritage
from
generation
to
generation.
Local communities were further valued during a two-day expert meeting on local indigenous knowledge & climate change in Africa, where interesting questions were answered about the dialogue and the need of a knowledge co-production between the pastoralists communities and the scientific community. Pastoralists communities are key in the climate change discourse because they hold knowledge of the environment by a deep understanding of weather, climate, ecosystems and biodiversity, and the interrelationships between them. Accurate, relevant and accessible climate change information becomes more urgent for achieving
sustainable
development
and
in
particular
adaptation
planning.
I also participated as a Focal Point for Uganda in the Regional United Nations Development Group Retreat (R/UNDG), as well as a Dialogue to encourage the New Way of Working Spirit of the United Nations Reform. The meeting and retreat called for stronger partnerships within the Government and with other partners to implement the Sustainable Development Goals
and
the
African
Union
Agenda
2063.
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Finally, the Regional Office in Nairobi participated alongside 3 other regional offices in Africa in a conference on Documentary Heritage for Sustainable Development in Africa. Documentary heritage was highlighted as an essential element in striving for the Agenda 2063 aspiration: Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics. The conference drafted an action plan for the implementation of the 2015 Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage including in digital form.
I
wish
you
a
productive
week
ahead!
Ann Therese Ndong Jatta
Announcements Call
for
Proposals
for
Photo-Journalists
&
Professional
Photographers!
The call invites photographers from around the world to submit their work that depicts journalists doing their jobs in an everyday environment. The aim of the call is to raise awareness on the working conditions of journalists and to illustrate UNESCO activities and programs contributing to the promotion of freedom of expression. Applications are due 15
July 2018,
Link
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Are you the Voice of Refugees in Education?
The Global Education Monitoring Report is launching a call for refugee students and their teachers to share their stories and photos about education. To write and share it, follow the link for instructions here
News of the week Expert meeting on Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change in Africa
Comoros launches a new project to safeguard intangible cultural heritage for sustainable development, in English
Les Comores lance un nouveau projet pour sauvegarder leur patrimoine culturel immatériel pour le développement durable, in French
A UNESCO high-level mission met with the Council of Elders at the Kaya Sacred Forest of the
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Mijikenda
World
Heritage
site
in
Kenya
Empowering Malagasy Women through Capacity Development at UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tsingy Bemaraha in English
Missions Mika Odido 51st session of the Executive Council of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission 2 to 6 July 2018 Paris, France
Jaco du Toit International Policy Dialogue on Information for All (IFAP) Priority Areas 4 to 6 July 2018 Cape Town, South Africa
Karalyn Monteil National capacity building workshop on Fighting illicit trafficking of cultural property in Ethiopia 5 to 7 July 2018 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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What happened last week First consultation on the implementation of the 2015 Recommendation concerning the preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage including in digital form 25 to 27 June 2018, Abuja, Nigeria
UNESCO Eastern Africa participated in the Africa wide
consultation
preservation
of
Documentary The
Heritage.
consultation
attended
on
by
was several
Eastern African countries, including Eritrea, Kenya, Mauritius,
Rwanda,
Seychelles, Tanzania and Uganda. Participants provided meaningful input to a regional Action Plan to implement the Recommendation in Africa and in the Eastern African caucus deliberated on subregional coordination in preserving documentary heritage.
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Expert 27
meeting to
on
Indigenous 28
Knowledge June
&
Climate
2018
Change
in
Africa
Nairobi,
Pastoralist environments
Kenya
peoples with
live variability
in &
exposure to climate stress. Through Knowledge,
they
adapt,
interpret
climate & weather information & maintain resilience to ensure their well-being and of their herds.Research shows that Pastoralist Knowledge on Weather & Climate is very vast & extensive, based on observations, seasonal cycles, astronomical signs (moon, stars), trees, flowers & clouds. They forecast the weather to better prepare themselves to move with their herds and to ensure survival and wellbeing. As a result, they can make good decisions, they are more resilient to climate change & they can move among different territories, by knowing and understanding Nature UNESCO's work is to mobilize knowledge for Policy Making and to ensure that both pastoralists communities knowledge & scientific knowledge can make a substantial contribution to how National Adaptation Plans in Africa can draw the interaction of science & indigenous knowledge systems.
The Expert Meeting explored the opportunities for collaboration and co-production of knowledge, by sharing of experiences on climate change and weather seasonal variations, according to studies and observations from both pastoralists communities and scientific community, and how the communities can actively work together to influence policy making, and national adaptation planning.
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Promoting safety of journalists in Uganda through a Multistakeholder approach 27
June
2018,
Kampala,
Uganda
Uganda
National
Coordination Committee for Safety
of
approved
Journalists its
has
operational
framework and co-opted the Uganda
Media
Women
Association as a Co- Chair, in its effort to promote gender parity.
This
Committee
brings
together
25
stakeholders,
representing
media
networks/associations, civil society/human rights’ defenders, the three branches of the government (Executive, Legislature and Judicial), Government focal person for safety of journalists, journalism training and research institutions, media regulatory bodies, NGOs, INGOs, UN Agencies and bilateral donors supporting media development in Uganda. Speaking during a meeting organised by UNESCO to review the draft coordination framework, Lucy Ekadu, the President of the Uganda Union of Journalists challenged the journalists associations on the importance of working together. She informed them that when a bullet is fired towards a journalist, it does not know which Journalists association one belongs to and will kill those with no safety and security skills. The Uganda National Coordination Committee for Safety of Journalists is supported by UNESCO’s initiative on National Mechanisms for Safety of Journalists in Eastern Africa.
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Upcoming events
Training of teacher educators for the management of continuous electronic assessment of student teachers in the Teacher Educator E-Learning System (TEELS) Learn Management System (LMS) 2 to 6 July 2018 Wakiso, Uganda
Sensitization and training workshop for policy makers on electronic policy monitoring tool for inclusive education in Uganda. 4 to 5 July 2018 Kampala, Uganda
International Policy Dialogue on IFAP Priority Areas 4 to 6 July 2018 Cape Town South Africa
Publications & Videos
Photos: 5th Inter-regional Meeting of National Commissions for UNESCO
Expert meeting on Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change in Africa
Video: Pan African High- Level Conference on Education (PACE 2018)
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Tweet of the Week on @UNESCOEast: 9th World Water Forum DAKAR 2021 “First Preparatory Meeting” ,happening 25 & 26 June 2018 #Senegal discussing global changes of water, especially in Africa #WaterChallenges #WaterSolutions #Africa @UNESCO #Hydrology Programme, learn more https://en.unesco.org/themes/watersecurity/hydrology
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