UNESCO opens week-long meeting

JAKARTA: Members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) started their week-long meeting on Monday to draft its medium term strategy for the Asia Pacific region for the next six years.

Executive chairman of the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO Arief Rachman said on Monday that the meeting would also discuss the challenge of reducing poverty through education for all, applying science toward building a knowledge-based society, and removing social, cultural and communication barriers.

Other key issues include coping with globalization through building cultural and education bridges between people, applying information technology to the benefit not only of the rich but also those who are excluded, achieving sustainable development and education on how to prevent the spread of AIDS.

The meeting will also address the root causes of conflict in order to build a culture of peace through a region that has been bedeviled by a number of threats to both external and internal peace, Arief said. --JP