UNESCO unveils plans for 2009
By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com
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Secretary-General of National UNESCO Commission Antonio Maynard
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE St. Kitts and Nevis office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is ready to do its part in 2009 to develop and enhance the capabilities of the Federation’s young people.
SKNVibes contacted Secretary-General for the UNESCO’s National Commission in St. Kitts and Nevis, Antonio Maynard, who revealed and expounded upon a number of projects that the organisation is hoping to implement this year.
According to Maynard, the first of these projects is the creation of a teacher training lab which would be physically housed within the Ministry of Education. He disclosed that the lab would be utilised to build the capacity of teachers so they would be able to deliver more effectively in the classroom.
“Teacher training, along with youth development and sustainable development in small island states, is one of the priority areas identified by UNESCO,” Maynard said, pointing to UNESCO’s Youth Path Programme (YPP) and Small Islands Voice Programme (SIVP) as examples of activities undertaken by the organisation to address these priority areas.
The Secretary-General stated that the YPP’s objective was to empower marginalised youth within the tourism industry.
“UNESCO is committed to engaging young people to get involved in their cultural heritage especially as it relates to developing a quality tourism product.
The YPP has had two phases and, during each, 25 persons have been exposed to training by tourism industry professionals in craft-making, hospitality, computers, languages, personal development and customer service. It is our expectation and hope that these young people will eventually become small business professionals in these fields” Maynard said.
Another project to be undertaken by the organisation in upcoming months is the research and documentation of the Federation’s musical history. Maynard divulged that consultants would be hired to facilitate the process and that the ultimate goal is to produce a document that speaks to the past and present musical culture in St. Kitts and Nevis.~~Adz:Right~~
He noted that UNESCO would continue to actively pursue funding for the Slave Trade Project which would consist of the erection of a commemorative monument in the Independence Square and an educational and tourism package that would be used to inform tourists and students about the history of the slave trade in St. Kitts.
Maynard also mentioned the Federation’s imminent ratification of the Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention and pointed to it as another way in which the local tourism product could be enhanced.
Conclusively, Maynard expressed his pleasure at the role UNESCO has so far played in the capacity-building of the Federation’s people.
“We have partnered with the Ministry of Education to ensure that young people are given the opportunity to gain skills they will need in order to make a living for themselves. I feel that now people are becoming more aware of our efforts and they can rest assured that we will continue in our efforts to serve the needs of the people,” he declared.
