High-Level Launch Event Of The International Decade Of Indigenous Languages

UNESCO, in co-operation with the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the members of Global Task Force for Making a Decade of Action for Indigenous Languages, will organize and host a High-level launch event on 13 December 2022 from 10.00 to 18.00 (Central European Time) at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France (Room II).

The High-level launch event will primarily target high level representatives of UNESCO Member States, Indigenous leaders, the UN system, civil society national researcher organizations and representatives from the public and private sector.

The High-level launch will:

Mark the launch of the International Decade of Indigenous languages and raise awareness primarily among duty bearers on the critical situation of Indigenous languages around the world,
Foster international cooperation, sharing of experiences and creation of multistakeholder partnerships for the preservation, revitalization and promotion of Indigenous languages,
Reflect on immediate actions to be taken by all actors to implement the Global Action Plan of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (UNESCO 41 C/INF.14).

The event will provide an open space for discussion, sharing of good practices, and presentation of concrete projects. It will also feature a cultural performance by Indigenous artists. A global social media campaign is being carried out in conjunction with the launch event, to increase awareness about the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

Register here by Dec. 6!

Interpretation services

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English, French, Spanish and Russian.
Live Captioning Services will be provided in English.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the chair at fmhult@umbc.edu or the vice chair at tonkin@hartford.edu. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit un-ngocrip.net. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org.

UNESCO-UNFCCC COP27 webinar #7: Climate Change Education

From April to September, UNESCO-UNFCCC hosted the first six webinars of eight for the Webinar Series, Climate Change Education for Social Transformation: On the Road to COP27, which is dedicated to the goal of greening every education policy and curriculum to be climate ready. Taking place on the last Tuesday of every month, each episode will explore the critical role of climate change education, and how to harness its transformative power, in leading up to COP27.

The seventh session, Getting Ready to Scale Up Climate Change Education at COP27, takes place on Tuesday, 25 October 2022 from 10:00 – 11:00 CET, and reviews the gaps, challenges, and opportunities in promoting climate change education for social transformation in education and sustainable development policies and curriculums. The discussion will present concrete strategies to promote the greening of every education policy and curriculum, particularly around COP27.

Register here!

The session will be in English with interpretation in French. The forthcoming Session 8 (November), next and last in the series, will focus on: “Post-COP27 climate change education: Where do we go from here?”

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights/NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

SPSSI’s 75th Anniversary Celebration

Program will include remarks from:

Ambassador Maritza Chan, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations
Mr. Rio Hada, Chief of the Equality, Development, and Rule of Law Section, UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights – NYC
Lily Gray, Senior Liaison Officer, UNESCO
Daniel Seymour, UN Women
Levi Bautista, President, CoNGO
Patrick Sciarratta, President, Global NGO Executive Committee
Houry Geudelekian, NGO Committee on the Status of Women

This is an invitation-only event. If you plan to bring a guest, please ask them to RSVP to this invitation as well so that they will be on the guest list (or RSVP for them separately after you submit your own RSVP).

Please RSVP here by the end of the day on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org.

Fostering freedom of expression through the UPR process: Enhancing Synergies between UNESCO and the Human Rights Council

High-level discussion on “Fostering freedom of expression through the UPR process: Enhancing Synergies between UNESCO and the Human Rights Council”

When: 5 September 2022 15:00-16:30 (CEST)
Where: Room XVII – UN Palais des Nations, Geneva. The event will be open for in-person participation in Geneva and will be live-streamed on the UNWebcast.
Read more (full invitation, concept note and registration link for those without a UN badge will be posted here as they become available)

Programme:

Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR
Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO
H.E. Mr. Santiago Irazabal Mourão, President of the General Conference of UNESCO
H.E. Mr. Federico Villegas, President of the Human Rights Council
Q&A session

Guidelines for Civil Society Organizations:

Built upon a joint Amnesty-UNESCO survey of more than 70 civil society respondents from different regions; these guidelines offer recommendations and insights about the key challenges and needs for NGOs to effectively contribute to the UPR process.

For more information please contact hrcpresidency@un.org or f.amoros-cascales@unesco.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu. For more information on the NGO Major Group, please visit ngomg.org.

2022 International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated globally on 9 August. It marks the date of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982. The Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is organizing a virtual commemoration of the International Day from 9 am to 11am (EST) on Tuesday, 9 August 2022, focusing on this year’s theme: “The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge. ” Indigenous Peoples, Member States, UN entities, civil society, and the public are all invited.

Background:

Indigenous women are the backbone of indigenous peoples’ communities and play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge. They have an integral collective and community role as carers of natural resources and keepers of scientific knowledge. Many indigenous women are also taking the lead in the defence of lands and territories and advocating for indigenous peoples’ collective rights worldwide.

The significance of indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge is widely acknowledged: “Long before the development of modern science, which is quite young, indigenous peoples have developed their ways of knowing how to survive and also of ideas about meanings, purposes and values.” As noted by the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, the term “scientific knowledge” is also used to underscore that traditional knowledge is contemporary and dynamic, and of equal value to other kinds of knowledge.

International consultations jointly facilitated by UNESCO and the Internal Council of Science (ICSU) states that “Traditional knowledge is a cumulative body of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations maintained and developed by peoples with extended histories of interaction with the natural environment. These sophisticated sets of understandings, interpretations and meanings are part and parcel of a cultural complex that encompasses language, naming and classification systems, resource use practices, ritual, spirituality and worldviews.”

However, despite the crucial role that indigenous women play in their communities as breadwinners, caretakers, knowledge keepers, leaders and human rights defenders, they often suffer from intersecting levels of discrimination on the basis of gender, class, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Their right to self-determination, self-governance and control of resources and ancestral lands have been violated over centuries.

Small but significant progress has been made by indigenous women in decision-making processes in some communities. They are leaders at local and national levels, and stand at the frontlines of defending their lands, their cultures, and their communities. The reality, however, remains that indigenous women are widely under-represented, disproportionately negatively affected by decisions made on their behalf, and are too frequently the victims of multiple expressions of discrimination and violence.

The Committee of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) highlighted some of the major issues encountered by indigenous women, particularly noting the high levels of poverty; low levels of education and illiteracy; limitations in access to health, basic sanitation, credit and employment; limited participation in political life; and the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence.

Format:

The virtual commemoration will include an interactive dialogue segment with invited speakers, moderated by Ms. Rosemary Lane, Acting Chief of the Indigenous Peoples Development Branch – Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Speakers will share their expertise and experience from their indigenous communities in preserving, reviving, retaining, and transmitting the traditional ancestral knowledge in various fields of communal activities, including but not limited to effective and sustainable climate solutions, use of natural resources, protection of biodiversity, ensuring food security, promoting native languages and culture, and managing indigenous science and medicine. Questions to be discussed include:

What is the unique position of indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge?
What are some of the brightest examples of indigenous women-led processes in solving contemporary global issues through the effective application of traditional scientific knowledge?
How are indigenous languages crucial to the development, preservation, and transmission of indigenous cultural and knowledge systems? How are women leading the way in maintaining indigenous languages?
What was the effect of applying indigenous scientific knowledge and medicine in alleviating the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemiologic crisis?

Panel Speakers:

Archana Soreng (Kharia) – Member of UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change

Aili Keskitalo (Sámi) – Former President of the Sámi Parliament of Norway

Zakiyatou Oualet Halatine (Touareg) – Former Minister of Tourism & Handicrafts, Mali

Hannah McGlade (Noongar) – Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Commentary on Panel Discussion by His Excellency Ambassador Diego Pary Rodriguez(Quechua), Permanent Representative of Bolivia to the United Nations

More information about International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022 available here: un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples-2022.html

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu.

Invest in SDG 4.7 to Unleash the Transformative Power of Education

This side event sponsored by Salesian Missions, addresses the critical need for a holistic education focused on target 7 of SDG 4. Even though we are yet to achieve the various targets under Goal 4, considerable progress has been made in this regard. This has not resulted in a more equal world despite the fact education has always been seen as a great leveler. Globally inequality has continued to grow. What can make education truly transformative are the aspirational goals set out in target 4.7.

The World Program of Human Rights Education that followed the Decade of Human Rights Education, the Decade of Education to Sustainable Development, and the United Nation’s Gyeongju Action Plan for Education for Global Citizenship, not only add content to target 7 but also set the framework for Sustainable Development Goals and its overarching goal: Leave No One Behind. They have the power to make education transformative. The call of Pope Francis for a Global Compact on Education also reinforces the need for addressing target 4.7.
In conversation with experts from OHCHR, UNESCO, Development Cooperation Agencies, and field practitioners, this side event will attempt to deepen this understanding even as it examines the progress already made in this respect.

The side event while presenting good practices that highlight the transformative power of education where there has been a focus on target 4.7. will also strengthen the call for investment and commitment to pursue target 4.7.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0td-2trDgoEtIO29WYZajXTVG3O6m0N68H

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs

Date and Time: 7 July 2022, 08:00-09:00 AM New York time / 14:00-15:00 PM CEST

About: Highlighting the theme of the WSIS Forum 2022, this session will focus on how the ICTs and the WSIS Action Lines can help accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), learning from the COVID-19 experience to build an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable societies and economies. It is important to strengthen partnerships and digital cooperation towards achieving goals and targets across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Register here: https://itu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Av6zKxyzTK65UxwzzIXmjQ

Speakers:

Mr. Malcolm Johnson, Deputy Secretary-General, ITU (Chair of UNGIS)
H.E. Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigeria, Government
Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO (Vice Chair of UNGIS)
Mr. Torbjörn Fredriksson, Head of E-Commerce and Digital Economy Branch, UNCTAD (Vice Chair of UNGIS)
Mr. Jean-Paul Adam, Director Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), (Vice Chair of UNGIS)
Mr. Moshe Kao, Programme Management Officer, UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries
Mr. Liberato C. Bautista, President, Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO), Civil Society
Ms. Mei Lin Fung, Chair and Co-Founder, People Centered Internet, WSIS Gender Trendsetter
Mr. Michael Hodin, CEO, Global Coalition on Aging, Private Sector

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please contact the co-chairs at tonkin@hartford.edu or fmhult@umbc.edu.

We Champion Speaker Series: Yasmine Sherif

Dear Global Citizens,The upcoming “We Champion Speaker Series” session, hosted by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, has been POSTPONED to Tuesday, July 5 at 4.30 PM CEST.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrf-2oqjIvEtydHYbot-npojJ5YnlFSw-w

Following the UNESCO Transforming Education Pre-Summit, join a conversation with the Director of Education Cannot Wait Yasmine Sherif to discuss the importance of delivering quality education in humanitarian crises like those occurring in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – especially to children and adolescents. Learn how Education Cannot Wait supports rapid responses to urgent education needs, turns investments into concrete public goods, and faces challenges in the field.Building on Mission 4.7’s #WeChampion social media campaign, the “We Champion” speaker series showcases best practices and innovative approaches to Transformative Education from across the Mission 4.7 community and beyond. The series will help further collective thinking around SDG 4.7 implementation and gather momentum on various thematic areas pertaining to SDG 4.7.AGENDA:

Interview with Director of Education Cannot Wait Yasmine Sherif and BKMC CEO Monika Froehler
Q&A Session with audience

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org.

Putting SDG 4 Back on Track After COVID-19: The Essential Role of Multilingualism in Education

A High-Level Political Forum Side Event on 11 July 2022

co-hosted by the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, the Universal Esperanto Association, and the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations

Register here by July 10!

About:

Even before COVID-19, alarms were sounded that progress on SDG 4 was too slow and that the achievement of its targets by 2030 was in jeopardy. Linguistic inequality in access to education has been a key factor. The 2016 Global Education Monitoring Report showed that 40% of the global population was not accessing education in a language they understand. The onset of the pandemic exacerbated such inequalities as over 1.6 billion learners experienced school closures, cutting them off from language and literacy learning opportunities. Moreover, the digital divide prevented vulnerable populations, especially in least developed countries, from accessing online education, including resources for language development. In order to achieve inclusive and equitable education for linguistically diverse student populations, multilingualism must be foregrounded in post-pandemic educational planning.

Accordingly, this side event focuses on recommendations for the role of languages in education put forth in Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education, the UNESCO report on the Futures of Education initiative. Specifically, it brings together leading experts in the field of language education from diverse global contexts who address what it means in practice to take a multilingual perspective on the targets of SDG 4. Drawing upon empirical research and documented best practices, they demonstrate how schools can cultivate multilingual resources, including mother tongues, major world languages, national and regional languages, Indigenous languages, and international languages like Esperanto to achieve inclusive and equitable education that empowers students as global citizens prepared for participation in social, economic, and political life.

Programme:

Pedagogical Translanguaging to Make the Most of Multilingualism, Professor Jasone Cenoz, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU
Multilingualism as a Resource for Learning and a Decolonial Strategy, Dr. Xolisa Guzula, University of Capetown, School of Education

Moderated by Professor Humphrey Tonkin and Professor Francis M. Hult with welcoming remarks by Mr. Guillermo Escribano, Director General for the Spanish Language around the World at the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Spain

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Language and Languages is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations – for more information, please email the co-chairs at tonkin@hartford.edu or fmhult@umbc.edu. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

Protecting Education from Attack: A Call for Improving Data Monitoring and Policy Response

Virtual side event to the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum

The event will be entirely virtual, with simultaneous translation provided in English and French. Please register here, by Tuesday, 5 July, to participate. The event will also be livestreamed on UN Web TV.

Background

Attacks on education have harrowing effects, ranging from tragic deaths on account of damage to physical infrastructure, psychological injuries and threats that lead to school disruption and loss of learning over time. Long recognized by the international community in Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Right to Education obliges Member States to ensure its protection, respect, and fulfilment for all. In contexts of armed conflict, this inalienable human right has been further reiterated and reinforced by international humanitarian law and other prominent soft law mechanisms and tools, such as the Safe Schools Declaration and its guidelines, which aim to protect schools from military use. However, as it stands, the right to education is denied for many conflict-affected children and other vulnerable populations who fall victim to attacks on education. To this end, much needs to be done to ensure stronger evidence-based policies and conducive environments at the national level for the effective implementation of international legal frameworks.

Objectives

Organized in the margins of the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), the virtual side-event will underscore the need for Member States to ensure full protection of the right to education in times of armed conflict, and will particularly aim to enhance government capacities to formulate and implement evidence-based policies on attacks on education within national data systems to better guide their actions towards realizing SDG 4. More particularly, this virtual event will bring together UN Member States, UN agencies and education stakeholders to highlight key challenges and promising practices around the following objectives:

Inform key stakeholders on data, policy measures and tools needed to strengthen national capacities in order to effectively review, respond, prevent, and mitigate occurrences of attacks on education and military use of schools to better deliver and accelerate progress towards SDG 4.
Identify linkages for Member States to strengthen national action on data collection and analysis on attacks on education as enhanced data collection and management will allow for better-informed robust policies to prevent, mitigate and respond to attacks on education and ensure educational continuity for all during times of peace and war.
Promote greater quality and institutionalization of attacks on education data into national education systems to foster greater national ownership and increased harmonization and integration into education sector policies and plans. This will further enable the inclusion of the most vulnerable populations in crisis contexts while bridging the humanitarian-development divide in delivering education for all.
Secure further introduction of tools especially designed to assist refugees and vulnerable migrants, in particular Qualifications Passport for Refugees as a recognition tool particularly designed for these individuals.
Identify key recommendations on how to engage with international actors and mechanisms and optimize national actions in line with ongoing preparations for the Transforming Education Summit (TES), which aims to strengthen and accelerate the implementation of existing multilateral agreements, particularly the 2030 Agenda framework, and galvanize action towards meeting SDG4 goals at the national and global levels.

Organizers

This virtual event is co-organized by Belgium, Malta, Norway, the State of Qatar, Gabon, UNESCO and OSRSG-CAAC.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org.

UNESCO

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