39TH SESSION OF THE UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE

The General Conference of UNESCO is a key feature of UNESCO’s decision-making process. It is tasked with determining the core work of the Organisation as well as its policies. Aside from this it also decides upon the budget of UNESCO and its agenda, whilst additionally electing Members of the Executive Board and appointing the Director-General every four years. The Conference assembles once every two years and is made up of representatives from all UNESCO Member States, however it is also open to Associate Members, observers for non-Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations.

Held from 30^th October – 14^th November 2017 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the 39^th Session of the UNESCO General Conference was of much significance for a number reasons. It was the last Session under outgoing General-Director Irina Bokova, who handed over her role to the newly appointed Mrs. Audrey Azoulay who had formerly served as Minister of Culture of France, now elected to serve a four-year term (2017-2021). The Session also saw the election of the Ambassador of Morocco to UNESCO H.E. Mrs. Zohour Alaoui to President of the 39^th Session of the General Conference. The General Conference also elected Member States into the Executive Board and other intergovernmental bodies of the Organization. In this Session Nigeria did not present its candidature for any posts.

Nigeria’s Participation

The Nigerian Delegation to this Session was led by the Honourable Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu and comprised of 47 Delegates. This included the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Hon. Minister of Water Resources and Rural Development Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, Hon. Minister of Sports and Youth Development Mr. Solomon S. Dalung, Hon. Minister of State for Education Prof. Anthony G. Anwukah, Permanent Secretary FME Mr. Sunday S.T Echonu, and Permanent Secretary FMI & C, Ms. Grace Isu Gekpe. 

During the Conference the Nigerian Delegation was fairly active and participated in a number of significant activities, including:

• The attendance of the Hon. Minister of Education to the High-Level Meeting of the Leaders Forum

  

• The participation of the Hon. Minister of Education in the Grand Policy Debate
• The attendance of the Hon. Minister of Education to the High-Level Meeting on Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all)
• The attendance of the Hon. Minister of Education to the E9 Working Lunch Ministers Meeting
• The HME paying a courtesy call to the Director-General of UNESCO.  As well as this, the Nigerian Delegation also hosted multiple side meetings, such as:
• The Meeting of NATCOMS with the Abuja office and other countries within our region
• Meeting on the Lake Chad project
• Meeting on the Extra Budgetary Resources
• Briefing Meeting on the Commonwealth Education Minister, which the Honourable Minister of State Education chaired. Many thanks are owed to Her Excellency Ambassador Mrs. M. Y. Katagum and her management team. During the duration of the Conference the Delegation staff were at hand to ensure that every member of the Nigerian Delegation was well supplied with the necessary documents needed in order to aid their work at the various meetings on the agenda.

Youth Forum

Shortly before the 39^th Session to the General Assembly took place, the 10^th UNESCO Youth Forum occurred on Wednesday 25^th October – Thursday 26^th October 2017. The aim of the Forum was to allow expert youth from around the world to discuss and debate relevant issues linked with UNESCO key areas of interest. It is the hope of the attendees that they are able to use their results and agreed measures to guide UNESCO’s youth actions for the next biennium, with the theme to the 10^th edition of the Forum being “Rethinking Youth Engagement with UNESCO”. 

During the Forum Nigeria was well represented by Miss Fatima Askira, head of the Borno Women Development Initiative (BOWDI) aimed at addressing the needs of women and girls in my Nigeria that have become internally displaced due to terrorism. She was part of the review of the previous Forum, also examining the relationship between UNESCO and the youth, and the framework for its operational strategy (2014-2021). As part of their findings the review carried out by the Forum determined that to make forward progress UNESCO must find a new way to work with the youth and involve them in its activities, with this alongside their other final recommendations being suggested to the Member States during the 39^th Session of the UNESCO General Conference.