German Commission for UNESCO

50.7317333333337.093813888888910000Koordinaten: 50 ° 43 ' 54 "N, 7 ° 5' 38" E

The German Commission for UNESCO (DUK ) is a mediator of foreign cultural and educational policy of Germany, located in Bonn and is funded by the Foreign Office. Since it is the UNESCO Constitution, the National Commission for Germany pursuant to Article VII, it can be considered a national "presence of UNESCO in Germany ", although it is independent of the UNESCO organization. It was founded on 12 May 1950 before the actual accession of the Federal Republic of Germany to UNESCO on 11 July 1951. UNESCO is one of the first organizations of the United Nations which has acceded to Germany. With the accession ended the spiritual isolation into which Germany was advised by the Second World War.

UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture. Objective of UNESCO is to "contribute by promoting cooperation between nations through education, science and culture for the maintenance of peace and security " (Article I of the UNESCO Constitution ). The organization was established in 1946 as one of the 15 legally independent agencies of the United Nations and is based in Paris ( France). It is a global forum for intellectual cooperation and for the exchange of information, experience and ideas. UNESCO has 195 Member States (as of 2012), have established national commissions for UNESCO.

The National Commissions of UNESCO form a unique in the United Nations system network to further the objectives of UNESCO in its Member States and to put into practice. They relate that dealt with education, science, culture and communication organizations and institutions of each country in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the broad UNESCO program.

Objectives and tasks

The German Commission for UNESCO is coordinating, liaison and advisory body in all program areas of UNESCO. It represents the presence of UNESCO in Germany safely and is working on the implementation of the program of UNESCO responsibly. According to its statutes, the German UNESCO Commission shall undertake the following tasks:

  • The federal government to advise the Bundestag and the other competent authorities in all matters arising out of membership of the Federal Republic of Germany to UNESCO;
  • Contribute to the development of the German membership in UNESCO and develop contributions to international understanding and international cooperation and implement;
  • Contribute in terms of peacekeeping work of UNESCO into a cosmopolitan and sustainable knowledge society in Germany;
  • To inform the public about the purpose and work of the Commission;
  • And means to achieve the tax-privileged purposes of UNESCO to procure a whole.

The " Charter of National Commissions for UNESCO " of 1978 expressly states that each Commission should make their work more freely as they wish and according to the interests of their members. The German Commission for UNESCO represents the UNESCO as owner of the rights to the name and the logo of UNESCO for Germany. It is usually also coordinating body for the implementation of UNESCO's program in Germany.

History, legal status, organization

The German Commission for UNESCO was founded on 12 May 1950, before the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany to UNESCO (11 July 1951). On 3 October 1990, she was also the legal successor of the UNESCO Commission of the GDR. As an intermediary organization for cultural relations policy, the German Commission for UNESCO is funded by the Foreign Office. Legally, it is a membership organization. The German Commission for UNESCO has up to 114 members, including representatives of the Federal Government and the worship and education ministries of the countries as well as elected by the general meeting representatives of institutions and ad personam selected experts. The General Assembly meets once a year. It elects the Bureau and a board. President of the German Commission for UNESCO since November 2002 Walter Hirche. The German Commission for UNESCO Secretariat based in Bonn. Secretary-General Roland Bernecker. Germany is accredited by a " permanent representation " at UNESCO in Paris. This maintains the ongoing work contact with the UNESCO Secretariat and is responsible for maintaining relations with UNESCO. Permanent Representative of Germany to UNESCO since August 2012 Ambassador Dr. Michael Worbs ..

The focal points of the German Commission for UNESCO correspond to the four program areas of UNESCO: education, science, culture and communication / information. The work is coordinated by the respective committees.

Education

" Learning Sustainability " is a focal point in the Department of Education of the German Commission for UNESCO. To the world the United Nations Decade " Education for Sustainable Development " (2005-2014) has convened a German National Committee. It has developed a national action plan and brings together partners, projects and initiatives.

The German Commission for UNESCO, UNESCO supported the program " Education for All" and the Literacy Decade ( 2003-2012 ). In the global school network of UNESCO work about 200, of which 155 are recognized and 45 cooperating German UNESCO project schools. They live international understanding, sustainability and intercultural learning.

Science

The research and monitoring of the oceans and the water cycle, the ethical implications of biotechnology or the participation of developing countries in scientific advancement are specific areas of work in the science program of UNESCO. The German Commission for UNESCO is supporting the implementation of these programs in Germany and in international cooperation, including in the IHP and the IOC. Among other things, it supports the "UNESCO Engineering Initiative" and coordinates the UNESCO World Philosophy Day.

A special focus on sustainable development lay UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. At this global network includes among others the Swabian Alb, the Rhön and the Elbe River Landscape. This model regions to promote economic systems that create income for the population and at the same time preserve the natural foundations of life.

2014, the German UNESCO Commission, in cooperation with UNESCO and the Foreign Office from the first meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the UN Secretary General.

Culture

The German Commission for UNESCO contributes to the implementation of the " Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of the World " (World Heritage Convention ). On the UNESCO World Heritage List are plenty of sites in Germany, including the Aachen Cathedral, Ensemble Classical Weimar and the Zeche Zollverein.

The German Commission for UNESCO coordinates in Germany the development and application of international legal instruments for the protection of cultural assets. In the nationwide " Coalition for cultural diversity " has combined the expertise of the most important German cultural organizations to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The German Commission for UNESCO has endeavored to ensure that the human rights enshrined in cultural self-determination with the UNESCO Convention on the protection and diversity of cultural expressions in international law.

Designed the German Commission for UNESCO and organized since the beginning of 2009 the new international voluntary service kulturweit in cooperation with the Foreign Office. The Voluntary Service enables young people from Germany, for 6 or 12 months voluntary service in the field of foreign cultural and education policy in Germany. Partners are the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Archaeological Institute, Goethe Institute, the German Academy shaft, the Educational Exchange Service, the Central Agency for Schools Abroad and the PASCH schools. In addition, volunteers are deployed in the UNESCO National Commissions of the countries ..

Communication and Information

The German Commission for UNESCO supports the activities of UNESCO to promote press freedom and media technology for developing countries. The objective is the participation of all people in the information technology progress.

Media Technology and Cultural Preservation connects the UNESCO " Memory of the World ". The aim is to preserve the documentary heirs of humanity and make it available to the world through digitization. A nominating committee of the German UNESCO Commission proposes German contributions to the UNESCO World Heritage register of documents. For " Memory of the World " for example include the literary estate of Goethe and the Göttingen Gutenberg Bible.

International cooperation

The German Commission for UNESCO is consistent with the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in daily contact. The global ideas and views is guaranteed over the UNESCO offices and the international scientific institutes of UNESCO distributed on all continents. Partners in Germany are the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg and the International Training Centre of UNESCO in Bonn.

For the purposes of the "Charter of National Commissions for UNESCO " the German Commission for UNESCO is working directly with National Commissions of all other regions of the world. Since the sixties, it has been extensively used for improving relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Together with the Polish National Commission for UNESCO informed the German Commission for UNESCO in 1972, the German -Polish Textbook Commission a. Together with the Israeli and Palestinian Commission for UNESCO has launched projects to peace and security in the Middle East to life the German Commission for UNESCO. The changes in Europe and the new division of labor among European countries organizations (EU, euro Europe, OSCE, OECD) require that amplifies the German Commission for UNESCO cooperates with other European commissions.

The cooperation between Germany and UNESCO also takes place in some of the 20 intergovernmental committees and programs of UNESCO. Examples are the International Bioethics Committee (IBC ), the environmental program "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB ), the International Hydrological Programme ( IHP ), which deals with issues of water, or the Council of the International Programme "Information for All " ( IFAP ).

At the international cooperation under the umbrella of UNESCO act in addition to the German Commission for UNESCO as other stakeholders with: the approximately 200 German UNESCO Associated Schools, the ten German UNESCO Chairs, the World Heritage Sites 38 UNESCO in Germany, the eleven German UNESCO Clubs and the two UNESCO depository libraries in Berlin and Leipzig.

Selected Publications

  • UNESCO today. Journal of the German Commission for UNESCO ( published twice a year ). ISSN 0937 - 924x
  • UNESCO manual. Edited by Klaus Hufner and Wolfgang Reuther ( 2005). Bonn: UN -Verlag, ISBN 3-923904-60-6
  • Basic texts of UNESCO and the German Commission for UNESCO ( 2003). Bonn: German Commission for UNESCO, ISBN 3-927907-86-3
  • Objective cosmopolitanism: Fifty Years of German participation in the UNESCO ( 2001). Bonn: German Commission for UNESCO, ISBN 3-927907-81-2
  • Medium-Term Strategy of UNESCO from 2002 to 2007. Published by the German Commission for UNESCO ( 2003). Bonn: German Commission for UNESCO, ISBN 3-927907-85-5
  • World Report Education for All: Literacy worldwide ( 2006). German short version of the UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2006, Bonn:. German Commission for UNESCO
  • "Learning - Our Treasure " - Education for the 21st Century ( 1998). UNESCO report of the International Commission " Education for the 21st Century." Edited by the German Commission for UNESCO. 2nd edition, Luchterhand -Verlag, Neuwied, ISBN 3-472-02988-9
  • UN Decade " Education for Sustainable Development " - National Action Plan for Germany ( 2005). Berlin: German National Committee for the UN Decade " Education for Sustainable Development "
  • Forum. Journal of the UNESCO Associated Schools. Published by the German Commission for UNESCO ( published quarterly ).
  • Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Roadmap for the Internationalization of Bioethics ( 2006). Bonn: German Commission for UNESCO, ISBN 3-927907-87-1
  • Klaus Hufner, Wolfgang Reith, Norman White: human rights violations: What can I do about it? Human rights cases in practice ( 2004). German Association for the United Nations and German Commission for UNESCO. 2nd act. and ext. Ed, Bonn: UN -Verlag, ISBN 3-923904 -55- X
  • Leah Levin: Human rights - Questions and Answers (1998). Edited by the UNESCO Commissions of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Publisher Löcker, Vienna, 3rd updated edition, ISBN 3-85409-162-1
  • Full of life. UNESCO Biosphere Reserves - Model Regions for Sustainable Development ( 2003). Published by the German MAB National Committee at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer -Verlag, ISBN 3-540-20080-0
  • Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Magna Carta of International Cultural Policy German Commission for UNESCO, Bonn 2006 ISBN 3-927907-89-8
  • World Heritage Manual. Handbook on implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Germany (2006). Bonn: German Commission for UNESCO, ISBN 3-927907 -88- X
  • World Heritage in Young Hands - Discover, Explore, Get. A teaching session for teachers ( 2003). Published by the German Commission for UNESCO, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO and the Foundation for Monument Protection. Bonn: German Commission for UNESCO
Classical Weimar (World Heritage Site) Council of Europe Lists of World Heritage Sites in Europe Wieskirche Rammelsberg Goslar Walkenried Abbey Samson Pit Maulbronn Monastery Wartburg Bremen Town Hall Bremen Roland Limes Germanicus Quedlinburg Berlin Modernism Housing Estates Fagus Factory Messel pit Berliner Phonogramm-Archiv Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) Metropolis (1927 film) Bibliotheca Corviniana Das Kapital Golden Bull of 1356 Dresden Elbe Valley
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