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Today News

Mr. Yakhluf meets Koichiro Matsuura,

UNESCO Director General, within the UNESCO General Conference Agenda in Paris

Last night, Mr. Yahya Yakhluf , Head of the Palestinian Delegation to UNESCO General Conference, President of PNCECS met Mr. Koichiro Matsuura , UNESCO Director General at the presence of Mrs . Lamis Alami, Minister of Education and Higher Education of Palestinian National Authority , Mr Elias Sunber, Palestine Ambassador to UNESCO and Mr Abdel Rahim Farra, Vice – Ambassador to UNESCO . This meeting which was held within the UNESCO General Conference Agenda, discussed UNESCO's support to the Palestinian educational, cultural and scientific institutions in Palestine, as well as the procedures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities at the Moroccan Quarter around Aqssa Mosque. During the meetings of the General Conference, Mr. Yahya Yakhluf , Head of Palestinian Delegation to the Conference , delivered Palestine speech in the name of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Government. In the speech, Mr Yakluf emphasized that the Palestinian people, had chosen peace as a strategic option in order to achieve their rights, terminate the Israeli occupation lying on their chest for 40 years and establish their independent state and East Jerusalem its Capital which has been occupied since 1967 . Mr. Yakhluf added that this option of the Palestinian people stemmed from their belief in UNESCO's objectives and message, as they believe that education, culture, science and knowledge are bridges for understanding among peoples and for building confidence and firming international security and peace.Mr. Yakluf also noted that the Palestinian people who are persistent to education and knowledge open their windows and doors for every new thing in human knowledge, respect world cultures , believe in cultural diversity and look forward to active contribution to educational and knowledgeable aspect of human civilization. But for long years, the Palestinian people have been facing many difficulties of the Israeli occupation on their land . Israeli occupation is the basic obstacle of human development in our country; it causes severe damages to our efforts made in the fields of education culture and scientific research , especially, the Palestinian people have, for seven consecutive years, been facing the policy of collective punishment by the Israeli military authorities who practice the actions of closure, setting barriers between cities and villages, confiscating lands for constructing settlements, continuing the construction of the apartheid wall  which confiscates the agricultural lands, prevents the geographical and human communication and causes the destruction of hundreds of unique  archeological sites . Mr Yakluf also said that the Palestinian educational process is threatened by Israeli procedures which prevent knowledge to reach us and damage our civilized heritage in most of the cities and villages , especially in Jerusalem, Hebron , Nablus and Gaza , and in particular the excavations executed by the Israeli occupation authorities at the Moroccan Quarter , one of the gates of the old city of Jerusalem despite UNESCO's condemnation of such illegal excavations which cause damage to the civilized heritage of the holy city. Mr. Yakluf requested the General Conference to support the right of the Palestinian people to freedom, the right of the refugees living in the Diaspora camps to return in accordance with UN Resolution No. 194, and the right of the Palestinian people to obtain knowledge, education and innovation in the fields of arts, literature and scientific research by elevating the siege imposed by the occupation authorities on them.

Meeting for UNESCO ASPnet Local Coordinators

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, in cooperation with PNCECS , held a meeting for the UNESCO ASPnet local coordinators in Palestine at the headquarters of the Ministry on 25^th October 2007 , at 9:30 a.m. The meeting was attended by Mrs.  Suad Qaddoumi, Deputy Director General of General Education of the Ministry, Sawsan Saleh, ASPnet national coordinator at PNCECS, Mr. Ali Zaid, Director General of General Education, Ms Mervat Dharaghmeh ASPnet coordinator at the Ministry , 24 ASPnet local coordinators from Jerusalem , Ramallah , Bethlehem, Hebron , Silfeet , Nablus , Qalqilyeh , Tulkarem , Jenin and Jerecho Governarets . The meeting reviewed the projects which were implemented in the previous years, as well as the means of activating similar activities at present. The attendants discussed the national educational values and tendencies that should be adopted during the implementation of these projects; they concentrated on the basic principles of ASPnet represented in : Learn to know, Learn to work, Learn to be and Learn to live together . The attendants also discussed some projects that should be activated such as : Water Pioneering Project of the Arab Region , Dialogue among Cultures, Mondialogo and World Heritage in Young Hands . The attendants agreed to establish a Home Page for ASPnet schools, and to prepare for a training course for ASPnet local school coordinators on the ASPnet and the projects which are intended to be implemented.

United Arab Emirates requests to grant Palestine Full Membership in UNESCO

Paris 20^th October , 2007 – WAFA- United Arab Emirates has today requested UNESCO General Conference to grant Palestine full membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) . In delivering his speech, this afternoon , during UNESCO General Conference being held in Paris , Dr. Haneef Hasan Ali, the Minister of Education of UAE, called for granting Palestine this membership , and supporting the Palestinian  institutions. Dr. Haneef emphasized that UAE supports the efforts of UNESCO and its Director General, Koichiro Matsuura for rehabilitating the Palestinian educational, scientific and cultural institutions , and activating UNESCO- Palestine Joint Committee. He appealed to UNESCO and the international community to conserve Jerusalem city which is inscribed on the world heritage List on Risk , to protect it against dangers, and to refuse the change its demographic, urban and cultural features.

It is worth to mention that among the countries participating in the  Conference , there is an increasing number of supporters to grant Palestine full membership in UNESCO.    

Palestine, represented by Palestinian National Commission for Education Culture and Science, participates in a Regional Meeting of Arab National Commissions for International Hydrological Program.

Palestine will participate in the 12^th Regional Meeting of Arab National Commissions for International Hydrological Program which will be held by UNESCO Office- Cairo , in cooperation with Science Department of ALECSO  and UN Environment Program in Bahrin.

This meeting will be held at Ein City, UAE on 6-8 November, 2007. This meeting will discuss the influence of climatic changes on water sources in the Arab World, and will follow up the execution of the decisions of Johansburg Conference of 2002.

Palestine participates in the Meeting of Officers of Environment , Health and Population Programs, in Amman – Jordan

 Palestine, represented by the Palestinian National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, will participate in the Meeting of the Officers of Environment, Health and  Population Programs which will be held in Amman- Jordan , on 7-9 January, 2008.

This meeting aims at activating Jedda Undertakings for sustainable Development, and disseminating the principles and contents of such undertakings to which the members of the Islamic conference for Ministers responsible for Environment held in December. 2006 in Jadda, KSA, were committed. Mr. Jamil Shafiq Abdel Jalil Mtour, Vice President of environment Quality Authority will represent Palestine in this meeting. During the meeting, Mr. Mtour will present a vision including suggestions for programs and activities that can be implemented so as to activate the undertaking of health and population issues and their relation to environment.