EU unlikely to agree on UNESCO candidate: commissioner
(STOCKHOLM) - The EU is unlikely to reach consensus on a candidate to head UNESCO, European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, seen as Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni's main rival for the job, said Friday.
"It's unlikely" that the EU will reach agreement on a single candidate in the first round of the voting process, Ferrero-Waldner said at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Stockholm.
However, she expressed hope that it "might be possible in the following round."
"There are three candidates" from the EU to head the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.
In addition to Ferrero-Waldner, an Austrian who serves as the Commissioner for External Relations, the other candidates are Lithuanian ambassador to UNESCO Ina Marciulionyte and Bulgarian ambassador to France Irina Bokova.
The election process is due to begin Monday. There are a total of nine candidates, and a maximum of five rounds of voting are allowed. The winning candidate will be confirmed in October by UNESCO's general assembly.
Asked whether former Austrian foreign minister Ferrero-Waldner had a chance at the top job, Frattini was cautious: "I don't know. That depends on the first round, and the second also."
While current Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said he thought she had a good chance "because she is known around the world," her appointment would likely be vetoed by Bulgaria and the Baltic states.
Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins said the three Baltic countries had agreed to support the Lithuanian candidate, but did not rule out an agreement in the second round of the vote.
"If the issue is not resolved in the first round, then we'll see what kind of consensus we can have among us Europeans," he said.
"At the end of the first round, we'll see whether it's not in Europe's interest to agree on the candidate that has the best chance. And I think it's Ferrero-Waldner," Spindelegger said.
France must remain neutral on the issue as it is the host country for UNESCO, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said, but according to diplomatic sources Paris favours Hosni for the job.
Hosni's bid is however controversial due to anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic remarks he has made in the past.
Three prominent French intellectuals -- Nobel Peace Price laureate Elie Wiesel, philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, and filmmaker Claude Lanzmann -- have called for his candidacy to be blocked, branding him a "dangerous man."
Hosni claims to have already secured the votes of 32 of the 58 UNESCO member countries.
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Just as Barack Obama brought change to the United States, UNESCO has a real opportunity to modernize the institution under the leadership of a Director General Ivonne Baki
Just as Barack Obama brought change to the United States, UNESCO has a real opportunity to modernize the institution under the leadership of a Director General Ivonne Baki
In just a few short weeks, the Executive Board of UNESCO will meet to start the process of selecting its next Director General. As with so many multi-lateral organizations UNESCO is faced with the profound need to modernize, to demonstrate its relevancy in the 21st century, to focus on successful programs and to introduce new innovative projects that will advance it's ultimate mission - that of peace.
As the discussions about the selection continue I think it would be critical to choose a Director General who has the ability to bridge cultures, has a history of bringing people together, build consensus, effectively administer the organization and who is unquestionably committed to the values of UNESCO. This year also presents the historic opportunity to elect the first woman as Director General of UNESCO. It is critical that the next Director General be someone who understands the challenges of those living in the Developing countries. Given the foregoing criteria it is crystal clear that there is only one natural choice - Ivonne Baki of Ecuador and Lebanon.
Ivonne Baki's candidacy represents a fresh start for UNESCO by an experienced person who can strengthen the institution and better serve its global constituents. Just as Barack Obama has represented change for the United States, Smart Government and talked about bringing people together, Ivonne Baki will bring that same magic to UNESCO.
Science:
UNESCO is one of the relevant UN Organization to tackle the dangers of Global Climate Change. It is heartening that as a leading consensus candidate for the position, Ivonne Baki has been a champion for tacking this global challenge. She established the Galapagos Foundation in her country and has called for greater collaboration between government and the NGO community to confront this problem. Moreover, UNESCO can be at the forefront of educating the global community about protecting our precious biosphere, promoting carbon credits and reducing emissions.
Education
Education is a critical component of UNESCO. UNESCO is tasked with the responsibility of promoting education. UNESCO is a voice to ensure that all regions of the globe have access to primary and basic education. The institution can also be a champion for promoting connectivity in rural areas. However, it cannot do it alone but should leverage its contacts with the private sector. In this respect it will take an experienced diplomat such as Ecuador's former Ambassador to Washington Ivonne Baki to bring all sides together. Additionally the UNESCO portal can become the "go to portal" for news on culture, education and science. The portal should be the spoke in the wheel for everything in the world that represents culture. The UNESCO portal can also be a great resource for providing multilanguage Multicultural educational programming for emerging markets where physical infrastructure is often lacking. During her candidacy for President of Ecuador and her tenure as a Cabinet Minister Baki was a strong advocate for promoting access to education especially in impoverished communities.
Culture -
UNESCO is known for its magnificent world heritage site programs. It can also develop a sophisticated virtual on line museum to promote these sites.. In addition the organization should partner with both national governments and the private sector to develop physical museums in Africa, Latin America and Asia that promote the culture and contributions of the world's developing countries. The architects selected to build these museums should come from those regions. The UNESCO museums would also provide exhibit space for masters from other continents, - and through a proposed UNESCO museum art exchange program the organization could develop a mechanism for constant exchange of art between museums in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America and the Caribbean with the rest of the world. Art and Culture are an important instrument of peace. As Artist in Residence at Harvard Ivonne Baki championed programs that brought people from different backgrounds and cultures together to work together and build consensus.
In short as the discussions continue about who will become the next Director General of UNESCO, it is critical that the institution chooses a visionary leader along the lines of the vision of the new U.S. President Barack Obama. That visionary leader for UNESCO is Ivonne Baki.