UNESCO highlights Education, Culture and Media as priorities for 2014

“Looking to our projects and priorities for the year, - Ms.Pikkat says - it will be an important year for us as we will be reviewing the progress made in two important areas: the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and those related to Education for All .”

As regards education, the Chief of UNESCO said “we will be able to build on the work done last year, when Uzbekistan became, member in the Global Partnership for Education and developed its first sectorial plan. We will strive to contribute to the Education Sector Plan that aims to promote quality education and we hope to engage national partners in discussions on long-term priorities within the framework of post-2015 development agenda discussions.”

As part of its cooperation in culture, Ms.Pikkat noted that Uzbekistan had ratified the majority of UNESCO’s culture-related conventions and mentioned UNESCO’s support in the implementation of these conventions, in particular as regards those related to the preservation and safeguarding of tangible and intangible heritage.

“In the frame of this work we realized that there are many areas where the cities that are proclaimed as the UNESCO World Heritage property face many common challenges that include the issues of finding a proper balance between modern development of the city, and the preservation of the heritage, including its uniqueness and authenticity that made it possible for these sites to be included in the World Heritage list. “

The Office and the Senate of Uzbekistan are planning a round table to address these challenges and help define ways and means for these sites to better “marry” these often conflicting needs - development and preservation.

Another area of collaboration with Uzbekistan is the freedom of expression and the media. Following last year’s initiative launched on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, the drafting of national professional and ethical standards for journalists is nearly completed. Additionally, UNESCO will continue its work in support of introducing UNESCO’s curricula on media and information literacy, and investigative journalism, which were translated and adapted to the local context with support of the Swiss Embassy in Uzbekistan last year.

Stressing on the significance of these priorities, Krista Pikkat expressed hope for the new year to be fruitful and productive both for Uzbekistan and the UN family.