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Issue 31: From 19 to 23 June 2017

Message of the Director

I attended this week the Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees that took

place in Kampala Uganda from 22 to 23 June 2017. The Summit was jointly

organized by the Government of Uganda, the Office of the United Nations

Secretary- General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,

with the support of the UN in Uganda. I also had the opportunity to join the team

which visited the Adjumani Refugees site in Northern Uganda. The Summit

witnessed the participation of a number of presidents from the region as well as a

number of other delegates and organizations who made pledges to overcome the

difficult challenges of hosting over 1.2 million refugees. Recommendations were

made, among others, to end the horrendous and catastrophic crisis in the

countries contributing to the refugee crisis.

UNESCO, with no doubt, has an important role in addressing the plight of

refugees by working with governments to build a sustainable education system

and to provide technical support to introduce Education for Sustainable

Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in the

curriculum, teacher training, STEM and TVET. These interventions can target

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and provide support to the impoverished North of Uganda, which hosts

communities, in spite of stretched resources and basic social services. I

discussed with the Chinese, Japanese and Korean ambassadors cooperation

targeting refugees. UNESCO joins the call for Solidarity with Uganda made by

the Secretary-General of the United Nations and President of Uganda to

implement its comprehensive refugee response framework (CRRF).

During my visit to Uganda, I also met with the Permanent Secretary and team of

the Ugandan Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Affairs who covers quite a

number of Sustainable Development Goals and in fact is considered a key

ministry for the realization of Agenda 2030. A meeting also took place with the

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports on the modalities

for implementation if CFIT and BEAR projects in Uganda. He calls for

alignment with their planned intervention in the Ministry. I was also able to visit

the of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, a World Heritage Site, to assess the

reconstruction work and had the opportunity to meet and discuss with the former

King’s wife and lady in waiting UNESCO’s interventions.

At the Regional Office, arrangements for two important meetings are well

underway. The Regional Technical Workshop on Education for Sustainable

Development and Global Citizenship Education has as theme Transforming

and Sustaining Our World through Learning will take place in Nairobi,

Kenya from 4 to 7 July 2017. The workshop will gather representatives from the

thirteen countries under the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, as well

as key partners, such as UNICEF, UNEP, UNWOMEN, Interpeace, and the

Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). It will focus on four

thematic areas: Peace Education/Prevention of Violent Extremist through

Education; Education for Sustainable Development and the Global Action Plan;

Health Education and sustainable lifestyles as well as global citizenship. The

Office will also participate in the 6th Regional Meeting of Africa, Committee of

the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) taking place in Porth

Elizabeth, South Africa, from 12 to 13 July 2017. The overall objective of the

meeting is to take stock on the implementation and governance of the IHP

programme in Africa.

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This week the Regional Office for Eastern Africa will host the Programme

Evaluation Training for English Speaking Countries. The training is

conducted by the UNESCO Internal Oversight Service and targeting focal points

nominated by each office for IOS evaluation and their alternates. Staff from the

Regional Office will have the opportunity to take part in the training on the

morning of 27 July 2017.

I wish you a productive week!

Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta

Announcements

New member of UNESCO East Africa

Mr. Aderaw Genetu Tassew

Aderaw is joining UNESCO as national professional officer for the

Communication and Information sector at UNESCO Addis Ababa Liaison Office

for UNECA and the African Union (AU).

He has 11 years in communication and information

related experience as knowledge sharing innovator,

trainer and lecturer. As lecturer for more than six

years, he has been focusing on the interplay among

communication, mass media and development.

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Global Youth Video Competition

Mobilizing Climate Action related to cities and oceans

Share your Climate Action Story!

Young people are the drivers of

change to reach a sustainable

future. We are calling for youth

to show us the efforts you are

taking to be an agent of change.

Enter the Global Youth Video

Competition by creating a 3-

minute video highlighting a

climate action you are taking.

The two themes of this year’s

competition are

‘Climate friendly and resilient

cities’ and ‘Oceans and climate

change.’

Two winners will be selected to

win a trip to COP 23 in Bonn,

where they will assist the

UNFCCC Newsroom team as

youth reporters.

To participate in the Global Youth Video Competition, you must

be between the ages of 18 and 30 and the deadline for

submissions is 18 August 2017.

For more information on the competition, please check the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change by clicking here

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Events of the Week

Working session to support Ministry of Education- Kenya in the validation

process for the draft action policy for the Ministry of Education- Education

for Sustainable Development Policy

Nairobi, Kenya

28 to 29 June 2017

Workshop on Radio Programming and Production for Community Radios

Kwale Golden Hotel, Kwale County, Kenya

28 to 30 June 2017

IOS Training for Anglophone Countries in Africa

The training targets focal points nominated by each office for IOS

evaluation and their alternates

Nairobi, Kenya

27 to 30 June 2017

Follow- up Workshop on "Mathematical Mallets"

Antsirabe, Madagascar

19 to 23 June 2017

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Infrastructure needs Assessment for ODeL facilities at University of

Rwanda by African Virtual University

Kigali, Rwanda

19 to 29 June 2017

Second phase of Pilot Training on Inclusive Education in Kirehe District

Kirehe, Rwanda

26 to 30 June 2017

Regional Media - Police Forums in Northern, Western and Southern

Provinces

Rwanda

27 to 29 June 2017

Missions

Mika Odido

19 to 29 June 2017

29th Session of the IOC Assembly, 50th Session of the IOC Executive Council

Jane Kamau

26 to 30 June 2017

SIDA End Term Proejct Review meeting

Johannesburg, South Africa

Peter Wallet

26 June 2017

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Second phase of Pilot Training on Inclusive Education in Kirehe District

Web News of the Week

UNESCO supports 14 Documentation and

Information Centers in Madagascar

Regional Technical Workshop on Education for

Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global

Citizenship Education (GCED): Transforming and

Sustaining Our World through Learning

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Meetings

Kenya Ministry of ICTs to officiate the launching of the Kenya Media

Sector Working Group

20 June 2017, Nairobi Kenya

In line with UNESCO’s mandate as the UN lead Agency on promotion of

freedom of expression and the related rights, the UNESCO Regional Office for

Eastern Africa is joining efforts with the Kenya Ministry of ICTs and all other

media stakeholders in Kenya, to coordinate and create synergy in supporting the

media sector. The upcoming launch of the Kenya Media Sector Working group

and commencement of the process to put in place a Kenya Media Development

Strategy is therefore set to propel the development of the media industry in

Kenya.

Through a consultative process by the Kenya media stakeholders and a meeting

between the UNESCO Regional Office and the Kenya Broadcasting and

Telecommunications Principal Secretary (PS), Sammy Itemere, the Kenya Media

Sector Working Group will be officially launched in early July 2017. This joint

effort contributes greatly to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

(SDG) and in particular SDG 16 on promotion of peaceful, justice and inclusive

institutions.

Supreme Court of Kenya partnering with UNESCO in training Judges and

Prosecutors

21 June 2017

Nairobi, Kenya

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UNESCO held a meeting with the Kenya Judiciary Training Institute in Nairobi

Kenya, to plan a training for Judges and prosecutors, on safety of journalists. The

training which has been requested by the Kenya Permanent Delegation to

UNESCO, will focus on International and African Regional Standards on

freedom of expression, safety of journalists, access to information and related

human rights issues.

The training will comprise an on the

ground 3-day training and a Massive

Open Online Course (MOOC) for

Kenya and Somalia, based on the

experience of the MOOC for judges in

Latin America and the outcome of the

2016 Arusha Conference, organised by the African Court on Human and

People’s Rights (ACHPR). Integration of this training into the Kenya Judiciary

training curriculum was also discussed, with a view to ensuring there is local

ownership and long term impact.

World Day for the Combat against Desertification and Drought, 17 June

2017

The theme of this year'sWorld

Day for the Combat against

Desertification is Our home. Our

land. Our Future. On behalf of

UNESCO, Saba Bokhari, Chief

guest at the event, explained to

the children of Cheleta Primary

School and fifteen other

participating schools how land

use could be better managed

against desertification, and how it could also be reclaimed values education and

tree plantation for example. KOEE a local NGO for environmental education had

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organized this important gathering of children, the private sector and the UN for

meaningful partnerships to combat desertification. The schools also displayed

products made of recycled goods and demonstrated how briquettes were made

and their use as a more environmentally friendly product than the burning of

charcoal or wood for cooking.

Photo credit: KOEE. (Kenya

Organization for

Environmental Education)

Community Radio Practitioners trained on the use of ICTs in radio

programming and diffusion in Isiolo County, Kenya

20 to 22 June 2017

Bomen Hotel, Isiolo County, Kenya

UNESCO supported training of community radio practioners on the use of ICTs

in radio programming and diffusion at Baliti FM in Isiolo County, Kenya. The

workshop helped impart knowledge to the participants on technical online

platforms that support information delivery as well as communication with and

from the radio station, linking FM-broadcasting, mobile telephony, Internet, the

Web, social media, etc. Baliti FM is a beneficiary of its ongoing SIDA funded

project themed: “Empowering Local Radios with ICTs “ in Kenya.

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Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa visited Kasumi

Tombs, Kampala on 22 June 2017

The Director of the UNESCO Regional

Office for Eastern Africa visited

Kampala and the UNESCO World

Heritage site of Kasubi Tombs, at the

former palace of the Kabakas (Kings)

of the Buganda Kingdom. It was

originally built in 1882 and made into

the Royal Burial Grounds in 1884. In

the main building the “Muzibu Azaala

Mpganga there are the tombs of four

Kabakas.

Kasubi Tombs is a place of belief,

spirituality, and identity for the

Baganda People – the Kasubi Tombs

are simply an African Master Piece and

reflects the culture, ways, traditions,

and expertise of the Buganda Kingdom.

The Tombs were inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 2010.

Read more about the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, by clicking on the

UNESCO World Heritage Site List website, here.

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Capacity Building workshop in textbook development and evaluation in

Juba, South Sudan

A three-day capacity building workshop by UNESCO on textbook development

and evaluation concluded on 21 June 2017 in Juba, South Sudan. The workshop

was organized with the Quality Assurance and Standards Directorate in the

Ministry of General Education and Instruction, Republic of South Sudan.

Twenty-one high level technical staff who work in the area of curriculum and

textbook development participated in the workshop. Three of the participants are

from the Teacher Training College in Maridi, former Western Equatoria State.

UNESCO provided important materials that inform the staff textbook selection

and/or production. Having developed its first ever curriculum, South Sudan is

now engaged in securing the textbooks necessary for translating the curriculum

in the classroom.

Preparation of the South Sudan Global Partnership Education 2

Application

South Sudan is in its bid to apply for its Global Partnership for Education (GPE)

2 grant, to be submitted to GPE in September 2017. UNESCO facilitated the

development of the General Education Sector Plan (GESP) and the two year

action plan for the GESP, which will be part of the package for South Sudan's

GPE 2 application.

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From the Office Communication and Information Regional Meeting

20 June 2017

The Communication and

Information Sector hosted their

monthly Regional meeting,

gathering the teams in Nairobi,

in Tanzania, in South Sudan and

in Ethiopia, discussing about

documentary heritage,

audiovisual heritage, and new

ideas to bring together projects

showcasing heritage of the

Eastern Africa Region.

The Audiovisual Heritage day, celebrated each 28 October, highlights the

transformational power of audiovisual documents, such as films, radio and

television programmes, audio and video recordings, by becoming a permanent

complement to the traditional written record, and the importance in preserving

them.

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Public Holidays

Eid al-Fitr

26 June 2017

UN Public Holiday in UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa

End of Ramadan

Independence Day of Djibouti

27 June 2017