20 January 2005 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo today stressed the important role of education in the sustainable development of a country and in meeting the challenges of globalization.

In his keynote address at the UNESCO National Conference 2005 at the Bulwagang Apolinario Mabini, Secretary Romulo said “the role of education under globalization is to prepare people to deal with the changing world and to empower them to cope with the different aspects of globalization.”

Secretary Romulo cited the two key United Nations initiatives in the 21st Century that provide the substance for the UNESCO Conference, namely, the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the implementation scheme for the United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).    The Secretary said that “since the UNESCO has fully integrated the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the DESD in its work programmes, the challenge for each national commission and local stakeholders is to ensure that the necessary complementary activities are undertaken at the national and grassroots level.”

Education plays an important role in the realization of these two UN initiatives, Secretary Romulo said as he noted the policy recommendations on education formulated during the “Conference on Globalization with a Human Face” held in July 2003 in Tokyo, Japan.

The Tokyo Conference recommendations state, among other things, that education should focus more on problem solving rather than merely the acquisition of knowledge; that it should seek to combine the preservation of tradition and the creation of a positive attitude toward cultural diversity, and help equip people with the skills to obtain and evaluate knowledge. The recommendations also state that curriculum development must be the product of a consultative process that involves all stakeholders including civil society, local communities, parents and students.

“I hope that the UNESCO National Commission will use these recommendations as drafts of an integrated program, linking UNESCO’s priority programs to our own national policies -- as enunciated by the President herself -- focusing on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and realizing the objectives of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development,” Secretary Romulo said.

UNESCO Secretary General Preciosa Soliven led officials in welcoming Secretary Romulo at the opening of the conference.  Education Secretary Florencio Abad and Ms. Deborah Landley, Head of UN Country Team in the Philippines, delivered separate remarks on conference theme UNESCO and Its Philippine Millenium Development Goal Partners: Re-engineering Education for Sustainable Development.

The Conference was hosted by broadcast journalist Che-che Lazaro and participated by experts  from various sectors of the society. They include Senator Jamby Madrigal and Congressman Jesli Lapus who spoke about legislation in promoting the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development; and  Dr. Victor Ordonez, former member of the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris, who discussed collaboration and partnerships in UNESCO.  Other speakers were Ambassador Preciosa S. Soliven, UNESCO Secretary-General; Dr. Erlinda Pefianco (SEAMEO-INNOTECH); Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid, President of Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication; Mrs. Felice Sta. Maria, a writer;  Mrs. Leonarda Camacho, an environmentalist; and Mrs. Carmen Padilla of the  International Folk Arts Organization.

UNESCO experts in areas of education, sciences and human sciences, culture and communication also participated in the Conference. They are Secretary Cerge Remonde (Government Media Group), Dr. Ethel Valenzuela (CHED), Dr. Carolina Guerrero (DepED), Dr. Tala Basman (Mindanao Research Institute), Sr. Luz Emmanuel Soriano (Assumption College), Ms. Irene Isaac (TESDA), Dr. Virginia Davide (PAVE), Dr. Mariquita Mendoza (Southeast Asian College), Dr. Imelda Roces (NAPOLCOM), Ms. Didith Tayawa (Office of Sen. Juan Flavier), Ms. Jiji Ricafort (Office of Cong. Edmundo Reyes), Dr. Virginia Miralao (PSSC), Dr. Florentino Hornedo, Atty. Jose Sison and Prof. Jose David Lapuz (UST); Dr. Victoria Bautista (UP), Ms Viriginia Moreno and Mr. Pedro Abraham (Kontra-Gapi); Mr. Gabby Lopez (NDCP), Ms. Joanne Andrada, Mr. Inno Sotto, Mr. Cesar Montano Manhilot, Mr. Mel Velarde (NEXTEL), Dr. Ceferino Follosco, Dr. Milagros Ibe, Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, Dr. Rolu Encarnacion (PAG-ASA), Dr. Virginia Carino (NRCP-DOST) and Prof. Luis Manzano (UP).

A multi-media exhibit at the DFA lobby was also launched during the conference.  The exhibit, which is opened to public viewing until 28 January 2005, showcases the major projects of the UNESCO Programme Area Committees for the last four years. The Doon Po sa Amin of the Culture Committee and the Man and the Biosphere project of the Science and Technology Committee were also launched. The exhibit is being undertaken in cooperation  with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Next Mobile, Inc. and Samsung.

UNESCO is part of the United Nations System.  The Conference’s two-cross-cutting themes of poverty eradication and the creation of a knowledge society through the ICTs was put together by Director-General Koichiro Matsuura. It embraces the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The National Conference aims to review the projects of UNESCO in the Philippines based on the MDGs and the 2005-2014 Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.  END
 
 

/jay