UNESCO Director-General in Davos: Partner for Prosperity, Inclusion and Resilience
From 17 to 20 January 2017, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will advocate for strengthened global cooperation for inclusive development during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters on the theme of Responsive and Responsible Leadership.
“In the words of the Forum’s Chairman and Founder Klaus Schwab, we are living today in a ‘complex, uncertain and anxious world.’ Challenges are steep across the board – from coming to grips with the 4th industrial revolution, to strengthening effective multilateralism, to ending poverty and building more open and cohesive societies,” said Ms Bokova.
“This year’s theme on Responsive and Responsible Leadership is a call for reinforced collaboration, dialogue and the joint search for solutions to challenges that are collective and interconnected by nature, but that hit the most vulnerable the hardest everywhere and are threatening the cohesion of our societies,” said Ms Bokova on the eve of the Forum’s opening.
The Forum’s Annual Global Risks Report cites inequality, social polarization and intensifying environmental degradation as the top drivers of risks in the next 10 years.
“More than ever, we need to foster resilience, to get to the root causes of exclusion and crises, to invest in creators of shared wealth and confidence, underpinned by a sense of global citizenship. This begins with a massive expansion of opportunities to learn throughout life, together with harnessing technology for inclusion and recognizing culture and cultural heritage as foundation of identity and shared values.”
Through events on education, the youth skills gap, the protection of cultural heritage in conflict, the Broadband Commission, girls’ and women’s empowerment and fighting discrimination in sport, the Director-General will advocate for partnerships that advance inclusion and mobilize leaders and societies around the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. She will highlight UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report publication on “Partnering for Prosperity: Education for green and inclusive growth,” released for the Annual Meeting.
The Director-General’s commitments include participation in the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development with ITU Secretary-General Mr Houlin Zhao and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda; a session on Shaping the Future of Education and Skills with Education Ministers from Argentina and the United Arab Emirates; a roundtable on Education and the SDGs hosted by the University of Geneva and Tsinghua University; an event hosted by the Varkey Foundation and Education International on the Implications for Education of the 4th Industrial Revolution; a discussion hosted by the Intel Foundation on the Youth Skills Gap; a session on Responding to the Cultural Heritage Crisis with the Smithsonian Institutions and the World Customs Organization; the stakes of protecting cultural heritage addressed for the first time in the context of the Forum’s Humanitarian Hub; an event organized with the Russian Federation’s Centre for Tolerance, Psychology and Education on fighting discrimination in sport. She will take part in discussions gathering global leaders on Responsible and Responsive Leadership in a Multipolar World; and on Restoring Stability in the Middle East and North Africa.
During the Annual Meeting, UNESCO, Proctor & Gamble and Save the Children will publicize a commitment to empower over 1000 young girls and women living in Jordan through education, life skills and work readiness training. The project is implemented through UNESCO’s office in Amman.
In its 47th edition, in a mission to “Improve the State of the World”, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting gathers global leaders from across government, business, international organizations, academia and civil society to engage in collaborative activities to shape global, regional and industry agendas. In 2015,the Forum was recognized as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation by the Federal Council of Switzerland.
From: www.unesco.org
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