May 5, 2018 - This week I was in Mauritius for the United Nations Country Team retreat, ... Impacts of Abandoned Mines i
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Photo: Secondary high school girls visiting a chemistry laboratory at Machakos University,
STEM Camp of Excellence 2018 in Machakos, 9 to 13 April 2018 (c)UNESCO
Message of the Director Dear
Colleagues
and
Partners,
This week I was in Mauritius for the United Nations Country Team retreat, accompanied by the Coordinator
in
Africa
of
the
International
Oceanographic
Commission.
On 9 and 10 April 2018, UNESCO organized a meeting on "Environmental and Health Impacts of Abandoned Mines in Sub-Saharan African countries" in Nairobi, Kenya where I made the opening remarks. This topic is of high importance because it touches on a very sensitive issue regarding trade-off between the necessities of economic growth of developing countries and those of sustainability of our planet. Africa is usually seeing as a continent endowed with huge potential in mineral wealth; mining activities have been going on for decades in many countries. Scientists and researchers gathered to assess the situation, by providing credible scientific explaining, providing solutions and advising decision makers to implement of the Africa Mining Vision, a pathway formulated by the African Union, putting the continent long term and broad development objectives at the heart of all policy making concerned with mineral extraction. Through the meeting, UNESCO is working towards the Earth Science Education Initiative, launched in 2011 to boost the skill development and to trigger the emergence of new generation of geoscientists, who are better equipped with tools and perspectives to address the multifaceted challenges of socio-economic development of the continent.
UNESCO also continues its efforts to promote STEM among girls by organizing a STEM
Camp of Excellence for secondary high school girls from 9 to 13 April 2018 in Machakos Kenya. The activity was carried out in collaboration with the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), FAWE, University of Machakos, the Ministry of Education of Kenya, as well as the private sector, including Microsoft Africa, Airbus Foundation. The Mentorship STEM Camp addressed the gender gap in careers of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, by inspiring and nurturing the interest in science among girls at a very early age; while motivating women at tertiary levels to avoid falling through the cracks of the leaky pipeline in the STEM careers. In developing countries, a variety of factors ranging from economic growth, gender equality, education quality all the way through to hunger and health can be improved through the regional advances
in
science
and
technology.
UNESCO is also finalizing the preparation of the Pan-African High-level Conference on Education (PACE 2018), to be held in Nairobi from 25 to 27 April 2018. The event is carried out in cooperation with the African Union as well as other key partners including the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the SDG4 co-conveners. It will be a great opportunity for Ministers of Education in Africa to gather and accelerate the alignment the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, with the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2016-2025). It will also be the chance to share experiences, lessons and issue recommendations for developing Africa's human and social capital through an education and skills revolution, emphasizing science, digital education and technology for the Future of Africa!
I
wish
Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta
you
a
successful
week
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For
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will
be
information,
on announced visit
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April 5
the
May website
2018 2018 here
Call for Funding: International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) On 26 February 2018 UNESCO launched its
9th IFCD call for funding and
the UNESCO-Sabrina Ho initiative“U40 Empowered: Women entrepreneurs powering the digital creative industries”. For more info about the conditions and the procedure here Application
for
Deadline for application: 16 April 2018
funding,
here.
What happened this week
Environmental and Health Impacts of Abandoned Mines in Sub-Saharan African Countries 10
Meeting and
11
April
2018,
Nairobi-
Kenya
Since 2014, the UNESCO Regional Office of Eastern Africa implements a continental-scale project to map and assess
environmental
and
health
impacts of abandoned mines in SubSaharan African countries. There is no doubt that decades of mining activities have contributed the economic growth in many countries. However, the uncontrolled and/or poorly regulated nature of activities have caused disturbance and toxic metals pollution of the environment, with consequences in the food chain and health of communities. This has led to challenging situations in many countries to a point where environmental and social legacies of mining have become major obstacles to build the necessary trust that a sustained economic growth needs. The project has mobilised more than 100 researchers with scientific background covering various fields of natural, medical and social sciences. The focus of their research was the assessment of the extent of pollution around mine sites in 17 countries, the testing of remediation solutions and the awareness among nearby communities.
The objectives of the two-day meeting were to share experiences and lessons learnt during the project implementation and to kick-start the preparation of a Special Publication that would serve as the science legacy of the project. Funding to support the activities came from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), a long-time partner of UNESCO.
Visit of a Representative of the Somalia Permanent Delegation of UNESCO in Paris, France
On 13 April 2018 UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa welcomed a representative
of
the
Somalia
Permanent delegation of UNESCO in Paris,
Mr.
Abdiqani
Abdullahi to
meet
UNESCO's
engaging
Somalia,
on
Ahmed
and
share
work
culture,
in
sciences,
education and communication and information. UNESCO is paying a lot of attention on the Somali
geopolitical
situation
and
the
organization
is
willing
to
commit
and
implement programmes that can support the sustainable development, partnerships, peacebuilding
and
intercultural
dialogue
in
Somalia.
The aim of his visit was to discuss the revilitalization of the National Commission for UNESCO in Somalia and the ratifications of UNESCO Conventions.
Strengthening communication and collaboration between journalists and security forces in
Madagascar
As part of the Project "Democratic, Representative and Credible Democratic Institutions" (IDIRC), funded by the Peacebuilding Fund, the United Nations System, through UNESCO, organized the Third Round Table between Journalists and the Defense and Security Forces on 12 April 2018 at the Hotel Colbert Antaninarenina in Antanarivo, Madagascar. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss two documents: (1) a communication guide and (2) a memorandum of understanding, to improve and strengthen communication and collaboration between journalists and the Defense Forces and security.
Mission Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta 16 April 2018 Meeting with AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science, and Technology Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
&
17 to 20 April 2018 Dodoma, Tanzania United Nations Country Team retreat
Lydiah Gachungi 16 to 18 April 2018 National Conference for Uganda Media Stakeholders on rolling out the National Mechanisms for Safety of Journalists and Media coordination Kampala, Uganda
Jane Kamau, Jaco du Toit 17 to 18 April 2018 Fact-finding Mission to develop digital contents on HIV and health education. Makueni, Kenya
Upcoming events
Inception and Consultation meeting for Preventing Violent Extremism through Education in Tanzania 16 April 2018
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Sensitization workshop on Policy Monitoring Tool on ICT and Disabilities 19 to 20 April 2018 Kampala, Uganda
Workshop on Prevention of violent extremism through education 24 to 26 April 2018 Juba, South Sudan
Community engagement on CSE Workshop Health Services Providers 25 to 27 April 2018 Wau,Malakal & Bentiu South Sudan
World Book and Copyright Day Global event, more information here 23 April 2018
World Intellectual Property Day 26 April 2018 Kampala, Uganda
Birthdays Georges Boade 23 April 2018
Abdul- Rahman Lamin 25 April
Publications & Videos
Publications related to the upcoming Pan African High Level Conference on Education, taking place in Nairobi from 25 to 27 April 2018
Flick Albums:
International Day of Sports for Development and Peace, 6 April 2018
STEM Camp of Excellence, 9 to 14 April 2018
YouTube Video UNESCO/SIDA Project on Abandoned Mines in Sub-Saharan Africa
Tweet of the Week on @UNESCOEast: Day 3 of #STEM Camp of Excellence, students are learning about the Beauty & Fun of Technology and how to code #Learning #Coding #STEM #Engineering #GirlsEducation #GenderEquality, read more on @UnescoEast https://bit.ly/2uv3Rhd #Kenya
