Thoughts occasioned by an article in Al-Ahram Weekly

There is an article in the Al-Ahram Weekly, apparently written just prior to the first round of voting for the new Director General of UNESCO. Al-Ahram Weekly is described as a "Government affiliated leading Egyptian newspaper." Not surprisingly, the article focuses on Farouk Hosny, the Egyptian candidate for UNESCO Chief, and is very positive as to his chances. It states:

Observers expect that Hosny will gain a majority of votes during the first round of voting for the UNESCO post, pointing in particular to his record as an artist and as Egypt's minister of culture for the past 22 years.

Candidate Hosny received 22 votes on the first round and 23 on the second round of voting, strong showing but short of the 30 votes needed for election.

As one would expect of a man who has served as Minister of Culture for 22 years in a large country blessed with a plethora of World Heritage sites and a rich cultural heritage, there are many positive aspects of Hosny's candidacy. The article also notes that "a veritable Pharaohs' Curse has hit Hosni's campaign, with controversy surrounding his candidacy." The charges of anti-Israeli bias and censorship have been thoroughly discussed in many locations, and I will not again address them here.

The article sites a number of portions of the candidate's vision statement for the future of UNESCO. The statement was required of all candidates and the interview of the UNESCO Executive Board with each candidate began with a statement of the candidates vision for the organization. I would bet the bankroll that Minister Hosny was smart enough to draw upon the advice of a number of people, including experts on UNESCO, in the drafting of the statement. It certainly has many positive aspects. Note, UNESCO has so complex a set of responsibilities that no one can master all of its intricacies, and the ability to draw on expert advice is an important qualification for the post of Director General; most of the candidate vision statements show signs of collaborative authorship.

There were a few statements in the report that I do want to address:

"Education is one of UNESCO's core concerns," Hosni told the Weekly recently, and it is important to educate children ethically, as well as provide them with a quality basic education.

"Children should be taught the value of life and faith, as well as ways in which they can discover their own skills. Solutions must be found to improve the lives of street children throughout the world, who should be provided with a proper standard of living," he said.

The call for education to include ethics is quite consistent with UNESCO's history and charter. The call for children to be taught the "value of faith" on the other hand I find problematic. As for most Americans, I think the choice of faith should stay with the family. Families may choose to send their children to schools that include religious instruction, but they may choose not to. I find the idea of children from religious minorities being subjected to religious instruction in public school to be objectionable, as that would be too likely to be of a form unacceptable to their families. The idea that UNESCO should encourage countries to promote religious education in their public schools seems to me simply ludicrous.

UNESCO's world heritage programme, which aims to protect the world's built heritage, should also be extended to increase the number of sites on the current list, as well as their geographical distribution. Awareness should be raised of the importance of heritage for all nations, Hosni said, since this could reinforce international peace and understanding.

There are currently 890 sites listed by UNESCO's World Heritage Center, and a major expansion of that list seems inadvisable to me. If everything is a world heritage site, then the designation means nothing. Even now, many world heritage sites are not properly protected and maintained. It would be better for UNESCO's World Heritage Center to husband its resources and influence to assure the protection of the most transcendental sites rather than accede to the requests of all petitioners to designate sites.

"We will also give special priority to decentralisation in the framework of the Priority Africa programme, in order to improve the quality of the work that is carried out," Hosni said.

While it is an easy promise to get people out of Paris and into the field, in practice that is more difficult and problematic than one may think. UNESCO is not primarily a development assistance agency, but rather a forum for discussion, a laboratory for ideas and a catalyst for networking -- all functions that benefit from centralization and the availability of central support staff to assist the program technical leaders.

After more than 20 years as Egypt's minister of culture, how will you use your experience to find new sources of finance for UNESCO, particularly within the context of the current financial crisis, Hosni was asked. How will you guarantee the free and independent exchange of ideas in achieving your goal of the reconciliation of civilisations? How will you embrace exchange between the different continents?

In reply, Hosny said that a special development fund might be set up to raise additional finance for the organisation, along the lines of the cultural development fund set up by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.

"As far as freedom of thought and expression is concerned, my record as Egyptian minister of culture should demonstrate my commitment," Hosny said.

Two-thirds of UNESCO's regular budget comes from six governments and if, as seems possible, these governments are opposed to Hosny UNESCO will continue to face significant financial problems. A special development fund is unlikely to be very useful in that event.

Perhaps the most serious challenge to Farouk Hosny's candidacy was presented in the report by Reporters Without Borders titled "Egyptian censorship advocate is candidate to be UNESCO director general."

O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us.
Robert Burns, Poem "To a Louse"