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http://noosphere-arts.com/modules.php?name=English&file=article&sid=88
14.08.2012 - ODG
Republic of Korea Reaffirms Strong Support to UNESCO
© UNESCO/Cynthia GuttmanUNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova meets with Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik in Seoul on 13 August, 2012
Meeting with the Director-General in Seoul on 13 and 14 August, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr Kim Sun-Hwan expressed the Republic of Korea’s strong support for UNESCO’s programmes in education, water management, cultural heritage and science.
Indicating that the Republic of Korea aimed to increase the share of its official development assistance to 0.25 percent of GNP, Foreign Minister Kim Sun-Hwan affirmed the country’s interest in increasing cooperation with Africa, including in the areas of cultural heritage, and of HIV prevention.
The Prime Minister also affirmed the country’s full engagement to make the World Water Forum and the Education for All stocktaking conference, both to be hosted by the Republic of Korea in 2015, a success.
The Director-General evoked the country’s efforts to preserve and protect cultural properties in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, making specific reference to a the project to preserve the Koguryo Tombs and Mural Paintings, and offered UNESCO’s willingness to act as a channel for future cooperation.
She drew attention to her recent official visit to Myanmar and to the country’s demand for capacity building, notably in the area of cultural heritage and education.
In Seoul, the Director-General also gave the prestigious Miwon lecture at Kyung-Hee University on “The Foundations for Peace in the 21st Century: UNESCO’s view,” during which she underscored that “we had to set a new global sustainability agenda that harnesses the power of education and culture for development and the sciences for a more inclusive, just and peaceful world.”
She met with influential UNESCO stakeholders during a breakfast organized by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, including with the directors of UNESCO’s Seoul-based Category 2 centres respectively specialized in education for intercultural understanding and networking for intangible heritage.
She was also hosted in traditional Korean settings by Mr Kim Chan, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, and by Ms Lee Bae-yong, head of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, in which the promotion of the country’s intangible and tangible cultural heritage play a special role.
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