L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

2

UNESCO Sourcesis available on

Internet

under the headingsnew or publications

at our addresshttpwwwunesco org

of human life And the fact that the Com-mittee also has a strong representation oflawyers doesnrsquot console me either

Now donrsquot mistake me for some radi-cal right-winger If it makes you feel anybetter I am a pro-choice atheist but Istrongly believe in the need to gather a di-versity of opinions in trying to forge a setof universal ethics concerning geneticsWhy not include religious leaders of allstripes and colours in fleshing out a cleardefinition of human dignity And whatabout human rights activists with first handexperience in fighting racism and discrimi-nation

Broadening the debate is far differentfrom just offering ldquoa measured dose ofpolitical forces ideological currents andinterest groupsrdquo as Noelle Lenoir IBCpresident suggests These are decisionswhich cannot just be left up to scientistslawyers and government representativesMs Lenoir is not at all convincing whenshe says that the IBC is an ldquoopen struc-turerdquo in which NGOs and special interestassociations ldquohave expressed particularopinions on the subjectrdquo They arrived atthose debates by their own limited meansBy effectively leaving them out in the coldyou radicalize their positions Here I amnamely thinking of indigenous peopleswhose interests are represented by neitherthe scientists nor the government repre-sentatives Indeed my native Canada wasperhaps the only country to make their con-cerns heard at the IBC

your insistence that the magazine ldquois notan official UNESCO documentrdquo we cer-tainly consider it to be so

One question to end with in the edito-rial entitled ldquoWelcome backrdquo (No 91) yourefer to the United Kingdomrsquos return toUNESCO What about Singapore It seemsto me that only the United States has notcome back to the fold of education scienceand culture

Editorrsquos note Singapore like the US has not rejoinedUNESCO

KEEP THE QUALITYCOMINGLewis A TaylorCoastal Geology Lab of Skidaway Instituteof OceanographySavannah California (USA)

I enjoy your publicationfrom both professional and personal per-spectives Please continue to deliver suchhigh quality of content

FEELING UNEASYAnn BixBusinesswomanMoosejaw Saskatchewan (Canada)

Your issue entitledldquoBioethics Human Dignity Firstrdquo (No 94)must have been difficult given the sensi-tive and political nature of the subjectHowever I had a real uneasy feeling afterreading through the articles I didnrsquot findany particular position shocking but rathera disturbing undercurrent in interviews withmembers of the International BioethicsCommittee (IBC) These experts are for themost part scientists with a very particularset of interests - namely to freely pursuetheir research Their expertise lies in thelaboratories but not necessarily in what wemight call the lsquogreat experiment of lifersquo Inmy books a Nobel Peace Prize in chemis-try does not make anyone more qualifiedto discuss the origins and inherent dignity

ldquoTHE BIBLEOF BABELrdquoNicolas Cosio SierraUniversity professorHavana (Cuba)

In issue No 91 ofSources one of your readers expressed re-serves concerning the origins of languagesin reference to an article published in is-sue No 89 on linguistic policies in Africa

Of the some 10000 languages spokenmost around the world English is the mostwidespread if we count the 17 billion peo-ple who use it as an official language andthe 470 million for whom it is a mothertongue Chinese is spoken by 11 billionHindi by 418 million Spanish by 372 mil-lion and French by 124 million These num-bers come from the catalogue of the Lin-guistic Observatory of Hebron Accordingto this work baptized the ldquoBible of Babelrdquothere are twice as many languages thanpreviously believed However this doesnot mean that languages of smallpopulations groups are not continuing todisappear in places like the Arctic theAmazon Western Africa or Australia

According to the researchers Bikya isthe worldrsquos least spoken language used byjust one 87-year-old woman from Furu-awawhich is on the border between Cameroonand Nigeria In Europe the least used lan-guage is Liv stemming from Finnish andspoken in Latvia by about 200 people

The problem concerning the survival oflanguages is therefore very complex Lan-guage is not always a vector for ldquocrossborder unityrdquo

The readerrsquos letter also questions theorigins of languages in alluding to a theory(referred to in the article) in which linguis-tic origins stem from Africa While thereis no doubt that Bikyarsquos roots lie in AfricaRomansh spoken by about one percent ofyour Swiss readerrsquos fellow citizens is anindigenous language while Hungarian hasFinnish and Estonian roots Perhaps Cre-ole - Cubarsquos second language - stems firstfrom Africa and then Spain Anything ispossible Indeed we may well question theorigins of our common language ofincomprehension

That said I would like to congratulateyou for the editorial line of Sources Despite

I N S I G H T

PAGE AND SCREEN 4

PEOPLE 5

C O N T E N T S

F O C U S

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c opy r i gh tres t r i c t ions and can be reproducedi n wh i c h c a s e t h e ed i t o r s wou l dapprec ia te a copy Pho to s ca rr y ingno copyright mark copy may be obtainedb y t h e m e d i a o n d e m a n d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

Editorial and Distribution ServicesUNESCOSOURCES 7 place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP Tel(+33 1) 45 68 16 73 Fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54This magazine is destined for use as an infor-mation source and is not an official UNESCOdocument ISSN 1014-6989

Pages 6 to 16

PLANET

Culturebull OPPRESSION AND REVOLT 18

Culturebull APPEASING THE SPIRITS 20

Youthbull HAVING A BALL 22

Heritagebull THE PLUNDEROF AFGHANISTAN 23

LOOKING AHEAD 24

Cover photo Hong Kongcopy McMillanLiaison-Gamma

The quest for freedom

The difficult path towards anew urban citizenship

An eight century restin Sri Lanka

CONTRARYTO HUMAN DIGNITY

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

13

Reneacute L E FORT

MAKING THE MOSTOF GLOBALIZATION

3

I t wa s t o b e expe c t ed bu t p e rhap s no t s o qu i c k l y A

c e r t a i n R i c ha rd S eed Ch i c ago -ba s ed do c t o r bu s i n e s sman

and we l l - known r e s ea r che r i n t o human r ep rodu c t i on ha s

announ ced h i s i n t en t i on t o c l one human be i ng s F ou r

c oup l e s r eady t o pay t he p r i c e a sked h e s ay s have

a l r eady been s e l e c t ed

Ce r t a i n l y t h e p r o j e c t w i l l o n l y c on c e rn s t e r i l e c oup l e s Bu t

f o r how l ong Ce r t a i n l y t h e t e c hn i que - s t i l l i n i t s d eve l op -

men t pha se f o r an ima l s - may p rove d i f f i c u l t t o c a r r y ou t

on peop l e Bu t t h e s c i en t i f i c c ommun i t y be l i e ve s t h e

p rob l ems w i l l b e qu i c k l y o ve r c ome And c e r t a i n l y P r e s i d en t

C l i n t on a l ong w i t h t h e Amer i c an b i o e t h i c s c ommi s s i on and

numerou s pe r s ona l i t i e s and s pe c i a l i s t s i n t h e U S have

vo i c ed t h e i r oppo s i t i o n t o i t a t l e a s t f o r t h e t ime be i ng

Bu t t h e l aw doe s no t f o r b i d t h e c l on i ng o f humans And

R i c ha rd S eed s ay s t ha t i f h e i s p r even t ed f r om do i ng i t on

home g round h e w i l l pu r s ue t h e p r o j e c t unde r mo re

we l c om ing s k i e s - wh i c h he w i l l a lway s f i nd g i v en t he

l u c r a t i v e po t en t i a l o f a bu s i n e s s f o r wh i c h t h e r e i s a l r eady

a s t r ong demand

P roh i b i t i o n mus t t h e r e f o r e be g l oba l o r i t w i l l n o t b e T he

Un i ve r s a l De c l a r a t i on on t he Human Genome and Human

R i gh t s adop t ed by UNESCO l a s t Novembe r s t i pu l a t e s t ha t

ldquop ra c t i c e s wh i c h a re c on t r a r y t o human d i gn i t y s u ch a s

r ep rodu c t i v e c l on i ng o f human be i ng s s ha l l n o t b e pe rm i t -

t e d rdquo True a d e c l a r a t i on i s no t l e ga l l y en f o r c eab l e Bu t i t

wou l d be s omewha t pa radox i c a l i f t h e 187 S t a t e s t ha t have

so f a r adop t ed o r app roved i t t o ok an oppo s i t e s t and when

d raw ing up t he i r na t i ona l l e g i s l a t i on

Human d i gn i t y i s t h e p r odu c t o f a my s t e r i ou s a l c hemy t ha t

t h r ough t he c omb ina t i on o f pa r en t s rsquo g ene s c r ea t e s s omeone

un i que and c omp l e t e l y un f o r e s eeab l e S omeone who se

i nd i v i dua l i t y - t h e r e su l t o f t h e i r au t onomy f r om t he

momen t o f c on c ep t i on make s t h em any th i ng bu t a p rede t e r -

m ined ob j e c t - a pu r e f ab r i c a t i on o f who -knows -wha t

pa ren t a l o r s o c i a l f an t a s y

P A G E A N D S C R E E N

4

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

bull Our Nordic Heritage - WorldHeritage Sites in the NordicCountries by Leif Anker withphotographer Ingalill Snit andeditor Stephan Tschudi-MadsenKom ForlagUNESCO 1997255 pp 305 FF

UNESCO publications andperiodicals can be purchased atUNESCO Headquarters andthrough national distributors inmost countries In each MemberState books and periodicals can beconsulted at a UNESCO depositarylibraryFor further information or directorders by mail fax or InternetUNESCO Publishing 7 place de Fon-tenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP (France)tel (+33 1) 01 45 68 43 00 fax(+33 1) O1 45 68 57 41 Interneth t tp wwwUNESCOorgpublishing

BOOKS

OUR NORDIC HERITAGEPresenting 18 World Heritagesites and areas readers arestruck by the remarkablecontrast between the starkclean lines of Nordic architec-ture and the undeniable warmthof their interiors From theJelling stone of the last half ofthe 10th century to the card-board factory at Verla from the1880s the book delves into themanifold culture of Nordiccountries before exploring theirphysical landscapes with theSaami wilderness setting off theevergreen forests and marshesof the fjords

embittered by the fact that hedoes not have a son A chorusof characters represent thediverse elements making upKorea - from the magnificentLady and her prophetic wisdomto the tender-hearted Wolsunaccepting as her due theignominy of the life as ashamanrsquos daughterOne of the countryrsquos mostimportant authors Park Kyong-ni depicts an incredible range ofevents and elements to captureand contain the heart and soulof Korea

bull Land by Park Kyong-ni andtranslated by Agnita TennantUNESCO Collection of Repre-sentative Works Kegan PaulInternationalUNESCO 1996617 pp 194 FF

good While this debate is notnew earth scientists may offerunique insight given the longhistory of changes in theirdisciplineThe issue continues with a lookat ecotechnology used tomanage Cubarsquos tropical forestdiversity before turning towetlands in India and Pakistanwhere villagers are effectivelyand appropriately contestingconservation policies in ulti-mately contributing to a moreaccurate view of naturalresources and local socio-economic needs

INTERNATIONAL SOCIALSCIENCE JOURNALPicking up on the last issueNo 154 sounds out newpossibilities in anthropology AsProf Michael Herzfeld ofHarvard University explains theessays in this issue are allldquoillustrations of how anthropol-ogy can protect a criticallyimportant resource the verypossibility of questioning theuniversal logic of lsquoglobalizationrsquoand exposing its historicallynarrow and culturally parochialbase by hearing other voices ispreserved through the criticalinvestigations of anthropologyrdquoBy covering a wide range ofsubjects - from culture andeconomy to ecology colonial-ism cosmology gender andmusic - the issue highlights theevolution and contributions ofthe discipline

REPRESENTATIVEWORKS

COMPACT DISCS

PERIODICALS

BALINESE MUSICOF LOMBOKWith titles like Exciting EarlyPond and the Crow Steals Eggsthe pieces reflect Balirsquos tradi-tional life - from religiouscelebrations to shadow theatreSmall and large gamelans(orchestras) perform with metalxylophones gong-chimes orrows of tuned kettle-gongs ac-companied by suling (bambooflutes) preret (wooden double-reed oboe) and a two-stringspiked fiddle rebab Whileaffirming the unique culturalidentity of the Lombok minoritythe music also reflects theinfluence of the dominant Islamicsociety

LANDConsidered by Koreans to beldquothe great national novelrdquo theepic story follows the fortunes ofseveral generations of a villageduring the turn of the centuryrsquosunsurpassed turbulence Itskillfully and studiously evokesthe past to illustrate the strugglebetween conservative andmodernizing forcesBeginning with the HarvestMoon Festival in 1897 the plotrevolves around the household ofChoi Chisoo a rich landowner

NATURE amp RESOURCESEarth scientists have long beendemonized by their links tominers and exploiters And yetthey play a critical role insolving major environmentalproblems by predicting forexample earthquakes and theimpact of global climate changeExploring the new roles ofgeology this issue (Vol 33No 1) also delves into a majorparadox as earth scienceprogrammes shift to address thepublic good the scientists arefaced with steep public fundingcuts Moreover the alternativefunding arrangements found inthe private sector compromisetheir basic science researchwhich is essential for the public

THE UNESCO COURIERFaced with the ldquoneedsrdquo imposedby our consumer society moreand more people are choosingfrugality as a lifestyle instead ofaccepting it as somethingimposed Entitled ldquoFrugality - away to a better liferdquo theJanuary issue presents thisldquoalternative philosophyrdquo basedon a balance between materialneeds on the one hand andethical aesthetic and recrea-tional aspirations on the othernote the editorialists Fromtraditional Japanese aestheticsbased on moderation to theethics and solidarity bindingcertain African communities andnomadic peoples the issuemoves on to an imaginary

interview with the Greekphilosopher EpicurusThis monthrsquos guest interview iswith Chilean novelist andvoyager Luis Sepuacutelveda whorecounts his adventurous careermarked by prison and exile

bull Balinese Music of LombokAnthology of Traditional MusicUNESCOAuvidis 1997Price 120 FF

P A G E A N D S C R E E N

4

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

bull Our Nordic Heritage - WorldHeritage Sites in the NordicCountries by Leif Anker withphotographer Ingalill Snit andeditor Stephan Tschudi-MadsenKom ForlagUNESCO 1997255 pp 305 FF

UNESCO publications andperiodicals can be purchased atUNESCO Headquarters andthrough national distributors inmost countries In each MemberState books and periodicals can beconsulted at a UNESCO depositarylibraryFor further information or directorders by mail fax or InternetUNESCO Publishing 7 place de Fon-tenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP (France)tel (+33 1) 01 45 68 43 00 fax(+33 1) O1 45 68 57 41 Interneth t tp wwwUNESCOorgpublishing

BOOKS

OUR NORDIC HERITAGEPresenting 18 World Heritagesites and areas readers arestruck by the remarkablecontrast between the starkclean lines of Nordic architec-ture and the undeniable warmthof their interiors From theJelling stone of the last half ofthe 10th century to the card-board factory at Verla from the1880s the book delves into themanifold culture of Nordiccountries before exploring theirphysical landscapes with theSaami wilderness setting off theevergreen forests and marshesof the fjords

embittered by the fact that hedoes not have a son A chorusof characters represent thediverse elements making upKorea - from the magnificentLady and her prophetic wisdomto the tender-hearted Wolsunaccepting as her due theignominy of the life as ashamanrsquos daughterOne of the countryrsquos mostimportant authors Park Kyong-ni depicts an incredible range ofevents and elements to captureand contain the heart and soulof Korea

bull Land by Park Kyong-ni andtranslated by Agnita TennantUNESCO Collection of Repre-sentative Works Kegan PaulInternationalUNESCO 1996617 pp 194 FF

good While this debate is notnew earth scientists may offerunique insight given the longhistory of changes in theirdisciplineThe issue continues with a lookat ecotechnology used tomanage Cubarsquos tropical forestdiversity before turning towetlands in India and Pakistanwhere villagers are effectivelyand appropriately contestingconservation policies in ulti-mately contributing to a moreaccurate view of naturalresources and local socio-economic needs

INTERNATIONAL SOCIALSCIENCE JOURNALPicking up on the last issueNo 154 sounds out newpossibilities in anthropology AsProf Michael Herzfeld ofHarvard University explains theessays in this issue are allldquoillustrations of how anthropol-ogy can protect a criticallyimportant resource the verypossibility of questioning theuniversal logic of lsquoglobalizationrsquoand exposing its historicallynarrow and culturally parochialbase by hearing other voices ispreserved through the criticalinvestigations of anthropologyrdquoBy covering a wide range ofsubjects - from culture andeconomy to ecology colonial-ism cosmology gender andmusic - the issue highlights theevolution and contributions ofthe discipline

REPRESENTATIVEWORKS

COMPACT DISCS

PERIODICALS

BALINESE MUSICOF LOMBOKWith titles like Exciting EarlyPond and the Crow Steals Eggsthe pieces reflect Balirsquos tradi-tional life - from religiouscelebrations to shadow theatreSmall and large gamelans(orchestras) perform with metalxylophones gong-chimes orrows of tuned kettle-gongs ac-companied by suling (bambooflutes) preret (wooden double-reed oboe) and a two-stringspiked fiddle rebab Whileaffirming the unique culturalidentity of the Lombok minoritythe music also reflects theinfluence of the dominant Islamicsociety

LANDConsidered by Koreans to beldquothe great national novelrdquo theepic story follows the fortunes ofseveral generations of a villageduring the turn of the centuryrsquosunsurpassed turbulence Itskillfully and studiously evokesthe past to illustrate the strugglebetween conservative andmodernizing forcesBeginning with the HarvestMoon Festival in 1897 the plotrevolves around the household ofChoi Chisoo a rich landowner

NATURE amp RESOURCESEarth scientists have long beendemonized by their links tominers and exploiters And yetthey play a critical role insolving major environmentalproblems by predicting forexample earthquakes and theimpact of global climate changeExploring the new roles ofgeology this issue (Vol 33No 1) also delves into a majorparadox as earth scienceprogrammes shift to address thepublic good the scientists arefaced with steep public fundingcuts Moreover the alternativefunding arrangements found inthe private sector compromisetheir basic science researchwhich is essential for the public

THE UNESCO COURIERFaced with the ldquoneedsrdquo imposedby our consumer society moreand more people are choosingfrugality as a lifestyle instead ofaccepting it as somethingimposed Entitled ldquoFrugality - away to a better liferdquo theJanuary issue presents thisldquoalternative philosophyrdquo basedon a balance between materialneeds on the one hand andethical aesthetic and recrea-tional aspirations on the othernote the editorialists Fromtraditional Japanese aestheticsbased on moderation to theethics and solidarity bindingcertain African communities andnomadic peoples the issuemoves on to an imaginary

interview with the Greekphilosopher EpicurusThis monthrsquos guest interview iswith Chilean novelist andvoyager Luis Sepuacutelveda whorecounts his adventurous careermarked by prison and exile

bull Balinese Music of LombokAnthology of Traditional MusicUNESCOAuvidis 1997Price 120 FF

P E O P L E

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

5

ABBAS KIAROSTAMITHE CHERRY ON THE CAKE

YONG-CHUAN CHENrsquoSWINNING COMBINATION

I ranian film-maker AbbasKiarostami didnrsquot need

UNESCOrsquos Fellini Medal to wininternational recognition He al-ready has a string of prizes to hiscredit including the Cannes Fes-tivalrsquos Palme drsquoOr for his filmldquoLe Goucirct de la Ceriserdquo (The tasteof the cherry)

previously been prohibitedhave been authorized by thenew culture minister AttaollahMohajerani and are beingscreened A film that I made 21years ago was even shown lastDecember in Iran This was un-thinkable before

ldquoThese are signs of changeBut Iranian cinema needs long-term policies to increase themeans available to film-makersand to abolish censorship andother obstacles The decisions bythe new government are movingin this direction for example theauthorization required beforefilming could begin withoutdoubt the biggest hurdle hasbeen tossed outrdquo

In any case censhorship hasnever stopped him from makingmovies ldquoWe adapted ourselvesrdquoToday Iran produces 60 featurelength films a year Works whichare helping to change his coun-tryrsquos image overseas saysKiarostami ldquoWestern tv some-times transmits images of Iranthat I have never seen thereThere is a clear contradictionbetween them and the images thatcan be seen in Iranian films Formy part I am convinced that thelatter are closer to reality

ldquoWe have succeeded in modi-fying the perception cinema-lov-ers have of Iran or at least wehave sown some doubtsrdquo Indeedthe long battle fought by Iranianfilm-makers may take on new di-mensions given the current gov-ernmentrsquos efforts to show theworld a more moderate Iran tojoin the ranks of the internationalcommunity

Y ong-Chuan Chen was thekind of kid parents dream

of he did his math exercises with-out so much as a stern look De-spite a ldquovery hard life mathemat-ics made my life quite happy insecondary schoolrdquo recalls theChinese professor who at the ageof 33 received the Javed HusainPrize for Young Scientists($10000) in early November forhis research in combinatorialmathematics and its applicationsin computer science physics andbiology ldquoCombinatorics is the

studies Surprisingly Chern tookthis letter seriously and we had aconversation In his opinion tosucceed in academic researchone needs a great teacher and astimulating environment Thanksto him I got both Gian-CarloRota a leading combinatorialistand MIT (Massachusetts Instituteof Technology)rdquo

After seven years in theUnited States (1987-1994) Chenlonged to return home ldquoIt was notan easy decision But Chinarsquoseconomic development and ad-vancement in science and tech-nology made me think that it wasa good time to set up a group incombinatrics I returned at theright time not too early not toolate More and more Chineseoverseas are considering return-ingrdquo

Chen his wife and their twosons live in a three-room apart-ment provided virtually free byNankai University Yet hismonthly salary $150 is ldquoloweven by Chinese standardsNever-the-less being a universityprofessor is regarded as a goodjobrdquo The UNESCO prize hasalso helped with ldquothe Mayor ofthe Tianjin Government alsoawarding me $12000rdquo

Chen continues his researchwith foreign colleagues and a fewprojects in the private sector Ac-cording to the mathematician andperhaps a bit because of himChina is not far from ldquocatchinguprdquo to the west ldquoWalking in thestreets one can sense the west-ern influence I even saw anAmerican tv advertisement withAmericans speaking perfect Chi-neserdquo

study of arranging a complex sys-tem of objects and their behav-iour How do you find the short-est way when you drive How canyou make the best flight connec-tions These are the simplest ex-amples It is beautiful and usefulrdquo

And yet ldquoI never dreamedthat my interest in mathematicswould lead to a career In thecultural revolution I was pre-pared to go back to the country-side for re-education But in1976 Mao passed away andChina went through tremendouschangesrdquo Instead of going to thefields Chen studied computersoftware and math in universityldquoA friend of mine wrote to theworld renowned Chinese math-ematician SS Chern in the hopethat he could help me pursue my

But the presence of his coun-tryrsquos ambassador at the award cer-emony held at UNESCO at theend of November to renderhommage to his work was a signof long-awaited recognition byIranian authorities Despite prob-lems with censorship the 57-year-old film-maker has decidedto stay in his country to continueproducing work like so many ofhis colleagues

This hint of recognition is un-doubtedly linked to the politicalchanges occurring in Iran wit-nessed last May by the electionof Mohammad Khatami to thepresidency a result Kiarostamiwarmly approves

ldquoI didnrsquot start my new film tospeak concretely of the changesEven so several films that had

(Ph

oto

UN

ES

CO

N

ina

Lev

inth

al)

(Ph

oto

UN

ES

CO

In

ez F

orb

es)

bull ldquoIt is shameful to let AIDSpatients in poor countries diewithout benefiting from the newtreatments availablerdquo saidDirector-General FedericoMayor in marking WORLD AIDSDAY on December 1

It is also ldquomedically reckless HIVhas been proved to be capableof rapid mutation and allowingthis horrible pandemic to spreadin developing countries mayhave a boomerang effect on allof us as the greater number of

AIDS sufferers the more likelythe virus is to become even moreaggressive and resistant to thenew therapiesldquoThe AIDS threat will persist aslong as we fail to tackle it on aglobal scale with prevention

campaigns adapted to theconditions of every region anduniversal access to the mosteffective treatmentsrdquo Mr Mayorconcluded

Siavosh GHAZITehran Sophie BOUKHARI

THE FUROR AND FOLLY OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE (HERE IN CHICAGO)SYMBOL PAR EXCELLENCE OF GLOBALIZATION(Photo copy COSMOSTom Campbell)

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

7

MAKING THE MOSTOF GLOBALIZATION

T h i s m o n t h rsquos d o s s i e r

G lobalization a multifaceted processwith its complex interplay of networks

and actors both fascinates and frightensThe optimists look on it as a new op-

portunity to generate more wealth and pro-mote harmony between the peoples of theworld through the advent of a uniformworld culture This is how it is seen by theindividuals and organizations that alreadyoperate worldwide in areas such as financeinformation technologies and trade Someanalysts even maintain that globalizationand the economic and financial liberaliza-tion that goes with it are inseparable Theybelieve that the strategy of market deregu-lation advocated by the proponents of neo-liberal ideology and applied since the1980s by the major economic powers isalong with communication technologiesthe driving force behind globalization

Then there are the pessimists who re-gard globalization with apprehension andare less than enthusiastic about a ldquobravenew worldrdquo run by the financial marketsand Internet Three factors may account fortheir scepticism First and fortunately saythe defenders of diversity - globalizationdoes not lead to a uniformization of cul-tures The global communications spherevia satellites and the American televisionprogrammes watched the world over doesnot stop people from claiming separate

identities finding refuge in a sense of com-munity or engaging in ethnic or religiousconflicts On the contrary it would seemthat these phenomena are all a reactionagainst globalization which is seen as athreat to the established order

Second there is the problem of thenation-state whose sovereignty and scopefor action are seriously undermined bytransnational players processes and net-works such as the multinational corpora-tions the flow of finance and informationenvironmental phenomena mafias ethnicand religious movements migrations anddiasporas The nation-state has less and lesscontrol over them and they are often regu-lated on a regional (eg European Un-ion) or world (eg United Nations G7)level

Third citizensrsquo living conditions andsocial benefits - normally guaranteed bythe state - are eroded by the concentrationof economic and financial power and theproductivity race fuelled by the globaliza-tion of markets And the weakening of thestate undermines its capacity to stem therise of poverty exclusion and unemploy-ment and to work for the improvement ofeducation and health systems This is feltmost acutely in the developing countrieswhere the situation can sometimes take adramatic turn for the worse for the least

privileged groups Inequalities within na-tions and between nations deepen leadingamong other things to mass emigration ei-ther for economic reasons or to escapefrom intercommunal and inter-ethnicconflicts

We need to ask ourselves whether thesedevelopments can all be attributed to glo-balization Economists sociologists andpolitical experts dispute the extent to whichthe statersquos scope for action has been weak-ened and the responsibility of globaliza-tion for unemployment and poverty the as-sertion of specific cultural identities andthe increase in intercommunal conflicts Asfor politicians and decision-makers theyare to say the least uncertain about theeffects of globalization and the appropri-ate measures to be taken

One thing is beyond dispute it is es-sential to identify and gain a better under-standing of the different aspects of globali-zation through social science research soas to apply national development strategiesand policies which can make the most ofthe opportunities offered or at least limitthe harmful effects on globalization

Ali KAZANCIGILExecutive Secretary Management of Social

Transformations Programme(MOST)

Our grandparents would be hard-pressed to recognize the world they grew up in Technology andeconomics have rolled back all the familiar frontiers including those bounding the nation-state theunit or model that has largely structured the world and the identities of its peoples for the last threecenturies We have entered the age of globalization (see below and pp12-13) But what sort of worldis it shaping How is it affecting peoplesrsquo lives And how do we solve the new problems it is giving riseto Finding answers to some of these questions is the goal of UNESCOrsquos MOST Programme (Managementof Social Transformations p16) This monthrsquos Focus looks at three of MOSTrsquos priority areas migrationwhich is increasing at an unprecedented rate (pp8-9) cities where most people will live next century(pp10-11) and isolated and rural communities which risk being left by the wayside (pp14-15)

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

8

THE MIGRATION BOOMAn estimated 100 million people now live outside their country of origin More women are migratingthan ever before And work offered to migrants is increasingly temporary

M igrations are as old as human historybut took on new forms from the

1600rsquos with the emergence of Europeanmercantile interests and the conquest of thelsquoNew Worldrsquo Slaves and indentured work-ers were shipped between continents towork plantations mines and constructionprojects in the Americas Asia and AfricaIndustrialization in Western Europe andNorth America last century saw new move-ments of settlers to build railways ports andcities and work in the new factories Be-tween 1860 and 1920 some 30 million peo-ple sailed to the United States

However with globalization has comea dramatic increase in the volume andscope of international migration an esti-mated 100 million people now live outsidetheir country of origin This mobility istransforming societies and cultures creat-ing diasporas and developing transnationalidentities - the feeling of belonging to twoor more societies at once Community linksare forming between people across theglobe family reunion is now the means bywhich the majority of migrants arrive incountries like France and Australia (65in 1995) or Great Britain (85 in 1995)The cities of North America Europe andOceania have become multicultural whilenew immigration areas in Asia Africa andLatin America are rapidly following thesame path Formerly homogenouspopulations now experience a bewilderingdiversity of languages religions and cul-tural practices

SE EK ING GREENER PASTURESMany people do not move by choice in1995 the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) countedabout 18 million political refugees and asy-lum seekers throughout the world How-ever the vast majority move in search ofwork and a better life

Most of the worldrsquos migrants and refu-gees begin their journey as internal rural-urban migrants in developing countries be-fore moving on to other places where op-portunities seem better An estimated sixmillion Asian migrants currently workabroad many in so-called Free Trade Zonesestablished to attract foreign investmentwhere labour standards and regulations are

often ignored and wages and conditionsoften appalling

A key development in recent years hasbeen the feminization of migration about15 million Asian women for examplework abroad most of them in jobs regardedas ldquotypically femalerdquo domestic workersentertainers (often a euphemism for pros-titution) restaurant and hotel staff assem-bly-line workers in clothing and electron-ics Domestic service leads to isolation andvulnerability for young women migrantswho have little protection against the de-mands of their employers In 1995 theexecution of Flor Contemplacion a

Filipina maid in Singapore who was con-victed of murder made world headlinesand highlighted the vulnerability of Over-seas Contract Workers (OCWs)

However few migrant-sending coun-tries would be willing to hobble what hasbecome an important commodity esti-mates of migrant workersrsquo remittanceshave been placed at more than $67 billionannually making labour second only to oilin global trade

While economic globalization hasmade labour more mobile it has also seenthe work available become more tempo-rary The era of permanent settlementwhich characterized post-war migrationsfrom Europe is over Labour markets inmany countries now look for workers bothskilled and unskilled to occupy specific jobswith a fixed duration rather than invite themto participate in the economy and infrastruc-ture of a country This is partly due to thedifficulties migrant-receiving countries

have coping with permanent settlement byworkers or refugees The unplanned shiftfrom temporary sojourn to new ethnic di-versity questions traditional ideas on cul-ture and identity Thus developed coun-tries with democratic traditions founded onindividual freedoms are redefining who canand cannot belong Citizenship is now aprized possession as it means access notjust to the economy but to broader socialinstitutions which determine rights andfreedoms Post-colonial states such asMalaysia Indonesia Singapore and Koreafind it difficult to reconcile immigrationand growing cultural diversity with the for-

mation of their own national identity De-portation campaigns stricter border con-trols and measures to prevent permanentsettlement are increasingly the norm How-ever closing borders usually only turns alegal movement illegal Trafficking of mi-grants has become a lucrative trade withprivate agencies providing everything frominformation and travel assistance to forgeddocumentation and direct smuggling ofpeople across borders

The rapid internationalization of eco-nomics and culture virtually guaranteesthat migration will continue to grow in theyears ahead The pressure for long-term so-lutions remains Encouraging the mobilityof labour to fit the needs of a globalized worldis one thing Managing immigration to ad-mit only those whorsquore ldquoeconomically de-sirablerdquo is something else again

Stephen CASTLES and Patrick BROWNLEEUniversity of Wollongong Australia

T O D AY T H E YA R R I V E B YJ U M B OJ E T( P h o t o copyH a r l i n g u e -V i o l l e t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

D o s s i e r

9

A NEW COUNTRY A NEW LIFEAustralia continues to draw migrants from Asia despite tougher economic conditionsand strict selection criteria

Walk through some areas of Sydneyrsquoswestern suburbs (Australia) and you

could easily believe you were somewherein Asia Vietnamese Cambodian Chineseand Thai are as prevalent as English Thenoodle restaurants are side-by-side with thesandwich takeaways and the fish nrsquo chipshops and shopping arcades are full ofChinese chess players and Vietnamesebuskers In heavily stocked fruit and veg-etable shops the attendants speak Englishand an Asian language to suit the needs oftheir customers

About 30000 Asians migrate to Aus-tralia each year - some 37 of the totalmigrant intake And their first port of callis usually western Sydney whose formerWASP identity has been transformed bythe steady stream of arrivals over the pasttwo decades The majority are Vietnam-ese who started arriving as political refu-gees after the fall of Saigon in 1975 Sincethe late 1980s however and despite strictselection criteria the majority have ar-rived under Australiarsquos family reunionprogramme - rejoining partners parentsand children in the hope of a more pros-perous life

LUCK I ER THAN MOSTNhu Tran and his family are a typical caseNhu fled Viet Nam in 1977 to escape a re-education camp His wife and three chil-dren followed six years later They havesince had four more children and have beenjoined by Nhursquos two brothers and a sister

He and his wife initially launchedthemselves into business running a serv-ice station The profits were turned intosetting up a clothes manufacturing com-pany successfully run by Mrs Tran How-ever they found running a business andraising seven children too demanding sothey sold up Nhu is now a liaison workerwith a local council helping other migrantsand refugees settle into Australia His threeeldest children are working in computingand biomedical engineering Nhu thinks hehas been much luckier than most of hiscompatriots ldquoIn Viet Nam I was the prin-cipal of a school teaching maths and phys-ics I had some English and an educationThe majority of other migrants have loweducation because of the war or lived in

isolated country areas The lack of Eng-lish is a big big barrier to settling in Aus-traliardquo he says In western Sydney 144of the migrant population is jobless com-pared with the national average of 84

This was not always the case The firstrefugees from Viet Nam were generally ableto find work in manufacturing that didnrsquot re-quire much English However globalizationhas seen the restructuration of Australian in-dustry and migrant job seekers in todayrsquos hi-tech or service industry markets must have ahigher level of skills and the ability to adaptquickly to their new environment

Nhan Tran a Vietnamese communitycoordinator in the suburb of Bankstownsays that after English and a job comes theneed to ldquolearn about the Australian wayof life and its system of operationrdquo Thelure of a better life is a powerful one butcultural adjustment remains difficult Forexample says Nhan most Vietnamesenewcomers find it hard to understand thelack of neighbourly concern Anglo-Saxonshave for each other and their communityldquoWe miss the neighbourhood atmosphereand culture that we have in Viet Nam andthe way people in a community care foreach otherrdquo says Nhan For Nhu Tranyoung peoplersquos attitudes to their parents isone of the most prominent differences be-tween Australia and Viet Nam In VietNam he explained parents were the au-thority figures but in Australia children aretaught fairness and right and wrong andquestion their parents and teachers

The federal and state governments haveestablished a range of free programmesaimed at briefing new arrivals on issuessuch as housing health domestic violencegovernment policies and social securitybenefits Education programmes help theirchildren adapt to the new school systemand to hone their job-hunting skills Com-munity workers provide information andcounselling services and a vigorous culturalarts programme preserves and promotesVietnamese culture

Nonetheless lots of difficulties afflictthese communities not the least of which

is a certain dose of ldquoanti-Asianrdquo sentimentamongst white-Australians who fear thecountryrsquos ldquoAsianizationrdquo and resent thesupport migrants receive But there are alsosigns that the hurdles are being overcomeIntermarriage is increasingly common Mi-grants are increasingly participating in thepolitical process

ldquoThere was no future for us in Viet Namin terms of education and employmentrdquosays one family health counsellor who didnot want to be named She was 19 whenshe arrived in Australia penniless and withno English after an epic voyage with 55others in a fishing boat built for six Nowshe is an Australian citizen married to an-other Vietnamese with Australian citizen-ship and has two children ldquohalf Aussieand half Vietnameserdquo

Robin SMITHSydney

D U E LI D E N T I T I E S D O I N GI T T H EA U S T R A L I A NW AY( P h o t o copyR o b i nS m i t h )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

10

AN URBAN KALEIDOSCOPEThe peaceful homogenous city is a thing of the past But it will take more than technologicaland rational planning to build a humane place where social ties flourish

At the start of the 21st century most ofthe worldrsquos population will live in cit-

ies By 2015 nine of the 10 biggest citieswill be in Asia Latin America and AfricaAccording to United Nations statistics cit-ies in developing countries are growing by62 million people every year By 2015 thenumber of city-dwellers in these countrieswill double and for the first time overtakethe rural population Growth of urban ar-eas will account for 88 of world popula-tion increase 90 of it in poor countriesWhile 28 of the worldrsquos 38 cities with morethan five million people were in the Southin 1995 as many as 59 out of 71 will be in2015

This urban explosion goes along witha very heavy ldquosocial debtrdquo including in-adequate housing even in ldquoglobalizedrdquo cit-ies (which are the motor of economic glo-balization) poor infrastructure and publicservices like water and garbage collection

This emerging urban civilization faceshead-on all the conflicts of a changing so-ciety as well as exacerbating and symbol-izing them Like mirrors the cities of boththe South and the North reflect ill-adviseddevelopment and the cost of modernityThe overall impression is one of fragmen-tation where social exclusion spatial seg-regation and increasing violence are thenorm But these places are also centres ofcreativity and innovation

A city is a physical visible place wherepolitical decisions are made where thereare economic restraints and collective

channels - a place which crystallizes cur-rent social transformations like globali-zation which brings a new global and lo-cal overlap in addition to changes in thenature of work including higher unemploy-ment under-employment and job insecu-rity Then there are the inequalities featur-ing marginalization and the resulting questfor social integration Or multiculturalismand ethnic affirmation Or urban violenceor the arrival of the information society andthe scientific and technological revolutionand ecology etc Cities must now be seenas places where diverse realities get mixedup So in one we find the global city thedivided city the multicultural city the

governed city the technological city andthe ecological one

The peaceful homogenous city is nomore Ruptures and uncertainty are the rulepolitical plans for social change are a pri-ority and rapid change in the most dynamicsocial areas is speeded up by technologi-cal innovations The rationally-planned citywith a technological future has to yield toa humanistic place where social ties pre-dominate This is why management ofchanges in social structure is vital for acityrsquos future because the city is both a placeand an actor Furthermore city governmentshould be seen as a complicated process ofmutual coordination and adjustment be-tween its various actors

Comparative international social sci-ence research such as that carried outunder the MOST programme conceived

as a socially useful initiative has a keyrole to play A look at different forms ofcity government shows that the new struc-ture of local politics strongly linked withboth decentralization and globalizationparallels a new division of authority be-tween the state civil society and the mar-ket Their contractual relationships are de-fined by competition and cooperationthrough the art of negotiating and manag-ing the conflicts of interest between dif-ferent elements of the local community forthe common good

INNOVAT IONThe final share of costs and benefits fromsolving social conflicts depends on the ca-pacity of these coalitions and institutionsto take action in the cityrsquos public spheresand on the speed at which institutions ma-ture By building partnerships between pub-lic sector private sector and citizenry inmany institutional forms the state as pro-tector can be transformed into one whichserves as a driving force Citizens are nolonger just passive users but initiators whilecompanies leave their role as suppliers tobecome partners

But current territorial units and theirinstitutional expressions only allow citi-zens a limited role The challenge next cen-tury is to humanize cities making themmore active and creative in terms of civicideals and mingling of cultures and somore democratic Three basic commit-ments are needed to achieve this - consoli-dating democracy guaranteeing citizensrsquorights and drawing up a new social con-tract

The first condition of this new socialcontract is to redefine the pattern of devel-opment The destructive ldquoeconomicrdquomodel which leads to ldquodehumanizingrdquo ur-banization must be replaced by a moreldquosocialrdquo version which treats the economyas an instrument and not an end in itselfSolidarity is not just a routine aspect ofdemocracy but one which determines free-dom human rights and how long democ-racy itself lasts

Ceacuteline SACHS-JEANTETUrban planner

Paris

lsquo C R E A T I N G rsquoM O R E L A N D

I NH O N G K O N G

( P h o t o copyR A P H O M i c h a e l

Y a m a s h i t a )

ALL

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

11

D o s s i e r

COMMON GROUND ON DIVIDED TERRITORYInstead of waiting for municipal authorities to respond residents of a Dakar suburb installtheir own infrastructure despite more than one social divide

A bowl balanced on her head AwaDniaye emerges from her family com-

pound next to the small clinic She pourswater whitened from rice mixed with fishscales onto the soil ldquoWhat do you expectme to do when therersquos no drainrdquo she re-plies sharply to anyone who might want totell her to do otherwise

Like most women from Yeumbeul Awahas more serious worries ldquoPeople herehave nothingrdquo explains Laye Seye Saerdeputy mayor of this former Leacutebou village(the Leacutebou were the original occupants ofthis region of Dakar Senegal) set up as amunicipality by Dakarrsquos decentralizingadministration in January 1996 ldquoTheydrink polluted waterrdquo he says ldquoThe youngpeople are unemployed they canrsquot culti-vate the fields because it doesnrsquot rainenough nor can they grow vegetable gar-dens because you have to drill 10 to 15metres before finding water instead of thetwo metres it used to take Letrsquos not evengo into the lack of land and motorizedpumpsrdquo Provided in theory by municipalauthorities the irregular rubbish collectionis limited to two main roads

D IRTY WEL LSldquoHow can things improve when everythingis a priorityrdquo laments Saer Without pub-lic toilettes how can you stop children uri-nating on the walls of their schools (withonly one secondary and seven primaryschools for a population of over 100000of which 52 are under the age of 20)Even worse insists the school directorDjiby Diouf more than half of the popula-tion has no running water and just two so-lutions fork out 25F CFA (about five cents)for a basin of water from the fountain (plusa monthly fee of 100F CFA per household)or go to a well However a recent study byUNESCO and the University of Dakarfound that two out of three wells are con-taminated by faecal coliform bacteria

Yet Yeumbeulans donrsquot give up ldquoInthe face of such precarious living condi-tions they organize themselves into youthassociations residentsrsquo committees busi-nesses Despite the number of these some-what unstructured groups these initiativesappear to be credible alternativesrdquo notesMohamed Soumareacute from the NGO Enda

Third World But how can they get pastsquare one of social mobilization to form-ing a solid local citizenry

ldquoOur theory is that collective well-being grows from concrete actionrdquo saysGeneviegraveve Domenach-Chich responsiblefor UNESCOrsquos Cities project Concrete isthe word the ldquo project supporting commu-nity dynamics and improvement in qualityof liferdquo undertaken at Yeumbeul consistsof structuring and reinforcing local hygieneinitiatives UNESCO provides two-thirdsof the budget while Enda coordinates theproject In 1996-1997 a budget of$100000 saw the construction of 44 sew-age ponds 32 toilets and five water sta-tions plus three rubbish collection cartsSavings and credit facilities for 10womensrsquo groups were also supported and

local leaders businesswomen carpentersand handymen trained Beyond that theproject has enabled the village to alter thebalance of power between the different so-cial groups as well as between the peopleand the municipal authorities

The first lesson learnt is that in such aneconomically drained community it is dif-ficult to get people so consumed with in-dividual problems to organize themselvesas a community for the collective good

The interpersonal conflicts are as bitter asresources are rare and they are multi-eth-nic (Wolof Toucouleur Diola etc) Basi-cally three groups represented by three as-sociations and corresponding to definedterritories want the project to give theirmembers preference ldquoStraightaway wenoticed conflictual relations between thelocal organizationsrdquo underline those as-sessing the project Pape Salif Seck andAbdsoul Karim Gueye

GIVE amp TAKEIntegrating new arrivals rural Diolas for themost part is also a problem ldquoThey claim aright to participate in the decisions that theoriginal members of the traditional villagedonrsquot seem ready to giverdquo Another dividearises as the Leacutebous see their traditionalpower giving way to second generationmigrants (predominantly Toucouleurs) whoare very involved in the project Finally theassessors note ldquoseeing the creation of citi-zensrsquo associations focused on the develop-ment of their village of originrdquo Indeed thevery popular El Hadji Ibrahima Ndiaye ofthe Toucouleurs is impatient ldquoWe needmore equipment as wersquore organizing a hy-giene campaignrdquo

The population is starting to impose it-self as a partner to the authorities who aretotally overwhelmed by the magnitude ofthe problems ldquoWe donrsquot have the meansnot even a vehicle to clear the streets whentheyrsquore illegally occupied by street vendorsand the likerdquo laments Saer ldquoWersquore forcedto hire clandestine taxisrdquo Despite thesuspicion of some local politicians fearingcompetition from leaders closer to the popu-lation than they are ldquoexchange is beginningto develop between the associative and po-litical worldsrdquo says Domenach-ChichldquoWe are regularly consulted and I partici-pate in municipal meetingsrdquo confirmsNdiaye For Soumareacute the projectrsquos limitsldquoshow that the NGOs and communitygroups cannot replace the state and mu-nicipal authorities Their initiatives shouldbe considered as leads - legitimated byUNESCOrsquos support - to follow up and be sup-ported on the ground by the public servicerdquo

SB and Daniel BEKOUTOUDakar

L AY I N G D O W N M O R E T H A N W AT E R P I P E S( P h o t o U N E S C O )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

THE FUROR AND FOLLY OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE (HERE IN CHICAGO)SYMBOL PAR EXCELLENCE OF GLOBALIZATION(Photo copy COSMOSTom Campbell)

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

7

MAKING THE MOSTOF GLOBALIZATION

T h i s m o n t h rsquos d o s s i e r

G lobalization a multifaceted processwith its complex interplay of networks

and actors both fascinates and frightensThe optimists look on it as a new op-

portunity to generate more wealth and pro-mote harmony between the peoples of theworld through the advent of a uniformworld culture This is how it is seen by theindividuals and organizations that alreadyoperate worldwide in areas such as financeinformation technologies and trade Someanalysts even maintain that globalizationand the economic and financial liberaliza-tion that goes with it are inseparable Theybelieve that the strategy of market deregu-lation advocated by the proponents of neo-liberal ideology and applied since the1980s by the major economic powers isalong with communication technologiesthe driving force behind globalization

Then there are the pessimists who re-gard globalization with apprehension andare less than enthusiastic about a ldquobravenew worldrdquo run by the financial marketsand Internet Three factors may account fortheir scepticism First and fortunately saythe defenders of diversity - globalizationdoes not lead to a uniformization of cul-tures The global communications spherevia satellites and the American televisionprogrammes watched the world over doesnot stop people from claiming separate

identities finding refuge in a sense of com-munity or engaging in ethnic or religiousconflicts On the contrary it would seemthat these phenomena are all a reactionagainst globalization which is seen as athreat to the established order

Second there is the problem of thenation-state whose sovereignty and scopefor action are seriously undermined bytransnational players processes and net-works such as the multinational corpora-tions the flow of finance and informationenvironmental phenomena mafias ethnicand religious movements migrations anddiasporas The nation-state has less and lesscontrol over them and they are often regu-lated on a regional (eg European Un-ion) or world (eg United Nations G7)level

Third citizensrsquo living conditions andsocial benefits - normally guaranteed bythe state - are eroded by the concentrationof economic and financial power and theproductivity race fuelled by the globaliza-tion of markets And the weakening of thestate undermines its capacity to stem therise of poverty exclusion and unemploy-ment and to work for the improvement ofeducation and health systems This is feltmost acutely in the developing countrieswhere the situation can sometimes take adramatic turn for the worse for the least

privileged groups Inequalities within na-tions and between nations deepen leadingamong other things to mass emigration ei-ther for economic reasons or to escapefrom intercommunal and inter-ethnicconflicts

We need to ask ourselves whether thesedevelopments can all be attributed to glo-balization Economists sociologists andpolitical experts dispute the extent to whichthe statersquos scope for action has been weak-ened and the responsibility of globaliza-tion for unemployment and poverty the as-sertion of specific cultural identities andthe increase in intercommunal conflicts Asfor politicians and decision-makers theyare to say the least uncertain about theeffects of globalization and the appropri-ate measures to be taken

One thing is beyond dispute it is es-sential to identify and gain a better under-standing of the different aspects of globali-zation through social science research soas to apply national development strategiesand policies which can make the most ofthe opportunities offered or at least limitthe harmful effects on globalization

Ali KAZANCIGILExecutive Secretary Management of Social

Transformations Programme(MOST)

Our grandparents would be hard-pressed to recognize the world they grew up in Technology andeconomics have rolled back all the familiar frontiers including those bounding the nation-state theunit or model that has largely structured the world and the identities of its peoples for the last threecenturies We have entered the age of globalization (see below and pp12-13) But what sort of worldis it shaping How is it affecting peoplesrsquo lives And how do we solve the new problems it is giving riseto Finding answers to some of these questions is the goal of UNESCOrsquos MOST Programme (Managementof Social Transformations p16) This monthrsquos Focus looks at three of MOSTrsquos priority areas migrationwhich is increasing at an unprecedented rate (pp8-9) cities where most people will live next century(pp10-11) and isolated and rural communities which risk being left by the wayside (pp14-15)

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

8

THE MIGRATION BOOMAn estimated 100 million people now live outside their country of origin More women are migratingthan ever before And work offered to migrants is increasingly temporary

M igrations are as old as human historybut took on new forms from the

1600rsquos with the emergence of Europeanmercantile interests and the conquest of thelsquoNew Worldrsquo Slaves and indentured work-ers were shipped between continents towork plantations mines and constructionprojects in the Americas Asia and AfricaIndustrialization in Western Europe andNorth America last century saw new move-ments of settlers to build railways ports andcities and work in the new factories Be-tween 1860 and 1920 some 30 million peo-ple sailed to the United States

However with globalization has comea dramatic increase in the volume andscope of international migration an esti-mated 100 million people now live outsidetheir country of origin This mobility istransforming societies and cultures creat-ing diasporas and developing transnationalidentities - the feeling of belonging to twoor more societies at once Community linksare forming between people across theglobe family reunion is now the means bywhich the majority of migrants arrive incountries like France and Australia (65in 1995) or Great Britain (85 in 1995)The cities of North America Europe andOceania have become multicultural whilenew immigration areas in Asia Africa andLatin America are rapidly following thesame path Formerly homogenouspopulations now experience a bewilderingdiversity of languages religions and cul-tural practices

SE EK ING GREENER PASTURESMany people do not move by choice in1995 the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) countedabout 18 million political refugees and asy-lum seekers throughout the world How-ever the vast majority move in search ofwork and a better life

Most of the worldrsquos migrants and refu-gees begin their journey as internal rural-urban migrants in developing countries be-fore moving on to other places where op-portunities seem better An estimated sixmillion Asian migrants currently workabroad many in so-called Free Trade Zonesestablished to attract foreign investmentwhere labour standards and regulations are

often ignored and wages and conditionsoften appalling

A key development in recent years hasbeen the feminization of migration about15 million Asian women for examplework abroad most of them in jobs regardedas ldquotypically femalerdquo domestic workersentertainers (often a euphemism for pros-titution) restaurant and hotel staff assem-bly-line workers in clothing and electron-ics Domestic service leads to isolation andvulnerability for young women migrantswho have little protection against the de-mands of their employers In 1995 theexecution of Flor Contemplacion a

Filipina maid in Singapore who was con-victed of murder made world headlinesand highlighted the vulnerability of Over-seas Contract Workers (OCWs)

However few migrant-sending coun-tries would be willing to hobble what hasbecome an important commodity esti-mates of migrant workersrsquo remittanceshave been placed at more than $67 billionannually making labour second only to oilin global trade

While economic globalization hasmade labour more mobile it has also seenthe work available become more tempo-rary The era of permanent settlementwhich characterized post-war migrationsfrom Europe is over Labour markets inmany countries now look for workers bothskilled and unskilled to occupy specific jobswith a fixed duration rather than invite themto participate in the economy and infrastruc-ture of a country This is partly due to thedifficulties migrant-receiving countries

have coping with permanent settlement byworkers or refugees The unplanned shiftfrom temporary sojourn to new ethnic di-versity questions traditional ideas on cul-ture and identity Thus developed coun-tries with democratic traditions founded onindividual freedoms are redefining who canand cannot belong Citizenship is now aprized possession as it means access notjust to the economy but to broader socialinstitutions which determine rights andfreedoms Post-colonial states such asMalaysia Indonesia Singapore and Koreafind it difficult to reconcile immigrationand growing cultural diversity with the for-

mation of their own national identity De-portation campaigns stricter border con-trols and measures to prevent permanentsettlement are increasingly the norm How-ever closing borders usually only turns alegal movement illegal Trafficking of mi-grants has become a lucrative trade withprivate agencies providing everything frominformation and travel assistance to forgeddocumentation and direct smuggling ofpeople across borders

The rapid internationalization of eco-nomics and culture virtually guaranteesthat migration will continue to grow in theyears ahead The pressure for long-term so-lutions remains Encouraging the mobilityof labour to fit the needs of a globalized worldis one thing Managing immigration to ad-mit only those whorsquore ldquoeconomically de-sirablerdquo is something else again

Stephen CASTLES and Patrick BROWNLEEUniversity of Wollongong Australia

T O D AY T H E YA R R I V E B YJ U M B OJ E T( P h o t o copyH a r l i n g u e -V i o l l e t )

ALL

ARTI

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ARE

FRE

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YRIG

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SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

D o s s i e r

9

A NEW COUNTRY A NEW LIFEAustralia continues to draw migrants from Asia despite tougher economic conditionsand strict selection criteria

Walk through some areas of Sydneyrsquoswestern suburbs (Australia) and you

could easily believe you were somewherein Asia Vietnamese Cambodian Chineseand Thai are as prevalent as English Thenoodle restaurants are side-by-side with thesandwich takeaways and the fish nrsquo chipshops and shopping arcades are full ofChinese chess players and Vietnamesebuskers In heavily stocked fruit and veg-etable shops the attendants speak Englishand an Asian language to suit the needs oftheir customers

About 30000 Asians migrate to Aus-tralia each year - some 37 of the totalmigrant intake And their first port of callis usually western Sydney whose formerWASP identity has been transformed bythe steady stream of arrivals over the pasttwo decades The majority are Vietnam-ese who started arriving as political refu-gees after the fall of Saigon in 1975 Sincethe late 1980s however and despite strictselection criteria the majority have ar-rived under Australiarsquos family reunionprogramme - rejoining partners parentsand children in the hope of a more pros-perous life

LUCK I ER THAN MOSTNhu Tran and his family are a typical caseNhu fled Viet Nam in 1977 to escape a re-education camp His wife and three chil-dren followed six years later They havesince had four more children and have beenjoined by Nhursquos two brothers and a sister

He and his wife initially launchedthemselves into business running a serv-ice station The profits were turned intosetting up a clothes manufacturing com-pany successfully run by Mrs Tran How-ever they found running a business andraising seven children too demanding sothey sold up Nhu is now a liaison workerwith a local council helping other migrantsand refugees settle into Australia His threeeldest children are working in computingand biomedical engineering Nhu thinks hehas been much luckier than most of hiscompatriots ldquoIn Viet Nam I was the prin-cipal of a school teaching maths and phys-ics I had some English and an educationThe majority of other migrants have loweducation because of the war or lived in

isolated country areas The lack of Eng-lish is a big big barrier to settling in Aus-traliardquo he says In western Sydney 144of the migrant population is jobless com-pared with the national average of 84

This was not always the case The firstrefugees from Viet Nam were generally ableto find work in manufacturing that didnrsquot re-quire much English However globalizationhas seen the restructuration of Australian in-dustry and migrant job seekers in todayrsquos hi-tech or service industry markets must have ahigher level of skills and the ability to adaptquickly to their new environment

Nhan Tran a Vietnamese communitycoordinator in the suburb of Bankstownsays that after English and a job comes theneed to ldquolearn about the Australian wayof life and its system of operationrdquo Thelure of a better life is a powerful one butcultural adjustment remains difficult Forexample says Nhan most Vietnamesenewcomers find it hard to understand thelack of neighbourly concern Anglo-Saxonshave for each other and their communityldquoWe miss the neighbourhood atmosphereand culture that we have in Viet Nam andthe way people in a community care foreach otherrdquo says Nhan For Nhu Tranyoung peoplersquos attitudes to their parents isone of the most prominent differences be-tween Australia and Viet Nam In VietNam he explained parents were the au-thority figures but in Australia children aretaught fairness and right and wrong andquestion their parents and teachers

The federal and state governments haveestablished a range of free programmesaimed at briefing new arrivals on issuessuch as housing health domestic violencegovernment policies and social securitybenefits Education programmes help theirchildren adapt to the new school systemand to hone their job-hunting skills Com-munity workers provide information andcounselling services and a vigorous culturalarts programme preserves and promotesVietnamese culture

Nonetheless lots of difficulties afflictthese communities not the least of which

is a certain dose of ldquoanti-Asianrdquo sentimentamongst white-Australians who fear thecountryrsquos ldquoAsianizationrdquo and resent thesupport migrants receive But there are alsosigns that the hurdles are being overcomeIntermarriage is increasingly common Mi-grants are increasingly participating in thepolitical process

ldquoThere was no future for us in Viet Namin terms of education and employmentrdquosays one family health counsellor who didnot want to be named She was 19 whenshe arrived in Australia penniless and withno English after an epic voyage with 55others in a fishing boat built for six Nowshe is an Australian citizen married to an-other Vietnamese with Australian citizen-ship and has two children ldquohalf Aussieand half Vietnameserdquo

Robin SMITHSydney

D U E LI D E N T I T I E S D O I N GI T T H EA U S T R A L I A NW AY( P h o t o copyR o b i nS m i t h )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

10

AN URBAN KALEIDOSCOPEThe peaceful homogenous city is a thing of the past But it will take more than technologicaland rational planning to build a humane place where social ties flourish

At the start of the 21st century most ofthe worldrsquos population will live in cit-

ies By 2015 nine of the 10 biggest citieswill be in Asia Latin America and AfricaAccording to United Nations statistics cit-ies in developing countries are growing by62 million people every year By 2015 thenumber of city-dwellers in these countrieswill double and for the first time overtakethe rural population Growth of urban ar-eas will account for 88 of world popula-tion increase 90 of it in poor countriesWhile 28 of the worldrsquos 38 cities with morethan five million people were in the Southin 1995 as many as 59 out of 71 will be in2015

This urban explosion goes along witha very heavy ldquosocial debtrdquo including in-adequate housing even in ldquoglobalizedrdquo cit-ies (which are the motor of economic glo-balization) poor infrastructure and publicservices like water and garbage collection

This emerging urban civilization faceshead-on all the conflicts of a changing so-ciety as well as exacerbating and symbol-izing them Like mirrors the cities of boththe South and the North reflect ill-adviseddevelopment and the cost of modernityThe overall impression is one of fragmen-tation where social exclusion spatial seg-regation and increasing violence are thenorm But these places are also centres ofcreativity and innovation

A city is a physical visible place wherepolitical decisions are made where thereare economic restraints and collective

channels - a place which crystallizes cur-rent social transformations like globali-zation which brings a new global and lo-cal overlap in addition to changes in thenature of work including higher unemploy-ment under-employment and job insecu-rity Then there are the inequalities featur-ing marginalization and the resulting questfor social integration Or multiculturalismand ethnic affirmation Or urban violenceor the arrival of the information society andthe scientific and technological revolutionand ecology etc Cities must now be seenas places where diverse realities get mixedup So in one we find the global city thedivided city the multicultural city the

governed city the technological city andthe ecological one

The peaceful homogenous city is nomore Ruptures and uncertainty are the rulepolitical plans for social change are a pri-ority and rapid change in the most dynamicsocial areas is speeded up by technologi-cal innovations The rationally-planned citywith a technological future has to yield toa humanistic place where social ties pre-dominate This is why management ofchanges in social structure is vital for acityrsquos future because the city is both a placeand an actor Furthermore city governmentshould be seen as a complicated process ofmutual coordination and adjustment be-tween its various actors

Comparative international social sci-ence research such as that carried outunder the MOST programme conceived

as a socially useful initiative has a keyrole to play A look at different forms ofcity government shows that the new struc-ture of local politics strongly linked withboth decentralization and globalizationparallels a new division of authority be-tween the state civil society and the mar-ket Their contractual relationships are de-fined by competition and cooperationthrough the art of negotiating and manag-ing the conflicts of interest between dif-ferent elements of the local community forthe common good

INNOVAT IONThe final share of costs and benefits fromsolving social conflicts depends on the ca-pacity of these coalitions and institutionsto take action in the cityrsquos public spheresand on the speed at which institutions ma-ture By building partnerships between pub-lic sector private sector and citizenry inmany institutional forms the state as pro-tector can be transformed into one whichserves as a driving force Citizens are nolonger just passive users but initiators whilecompanies leave their role as suppliers tobecome partners

But current territorial units and theirinstitutional expressions only allow citi-zens a limited role The challenge next cen-tury is to humanize cities making themmore active and creative in terms of civicideals and mingling of cultures and somore democratic Three basic commit-ments are needed to achieve this - consoli-dating democracy guaranteeing citizensrsquorights and drawing up a new social con-tract

The first condition of this new socialcontract is to redefine the pattern of devel-opment The destructive ldquoeconomicrdquomodel which leads to ldquodehumanizingrdquo ur-banization must be replaced by a moreldquosocialrdquo version which treats the economyas an instrument and not an end in itselfSolidarity is not just a routine aspect ofdemocracy but one which determines free-dom human rights and how long democ-racy itself lasts

Ceacuteline SACHS-JEANTETUrban planner

Paris

lsquo C R E A T I N G rsquoM O R E L A N D

I NH O N G K O N G

( P h o t o copyR A P H O M i c h a e l

Y a m a s h i t a )

ALL

ARTI

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F O C U S

11

D o s s i e r

COMMON GROUND ON DIVIDED TERRITORYInstead of waiting for municipal authorities to respond residents of a Dakar suburb installtheir own infrastructure despite more than one social divide

A bowl balanced on her head AwaDniaye emerges from her family com-

pound next to the small clinic She pourswater whitened from rice mixed with fishscales onto the soil ldquoWhat do you expectme to do when therersquos no drainrdquo she re-plies sharply to anyone who might want totell her to do otherwise

Like most women from Yeumbeul Awahas more serious worries ldquoPeople herehave nothingrdquo explains Laye Seye Saerdeputy mayor of this former Leacutebou village(the Leacutebou were the original occupants ofthis region of Dakar Senegal) set up as amunicipality by Dakarrsquos decentralizingadministration in January 1996 ldquoTheydrink polluted waterrdquo he says ldquoThe youngpeople are unemployed they canrsquot culti-vate the fields because it doesnrsquot rainenough nor can they grow vegetable gar-dens because you have to drill 10 to 15metres before finding water instead of thetwo metres it used to take Letrsquos not evengo into the lack of land and motorizedpumpsrdquo Provided in theory by municipalauthorities the irregular rubbish collectionis limited to two main roads

D IRTY WEL LSldquoHow can things improve when everythingis a priorityrdquo laments Saer Without pub-lic toilettes how can you stop children uri-nating on the walls of their schools (withonly one secondary and seven primaryschools for a population of over 100000of which 52 are under the age of 20)Even worse insists the school directorDjiby Diouf more than half of the popula-tion has no running water and just two so-lutions fork out 25F CFA (about five cents)for a basin of water from the fountain (plusa monthly fee of 100F CFA per household)or go to a well However a recent study byUNESCO and the University of Dakarfound that two out of three wells are con-taminated by faecal coliform bacteria

Yet Yeumbeulans donrsquot give up ldquoInthe face of such precarious living condi-tions they organize themselves into youthassociations residentsrsquo committees busi-nesses Despite the number of these some-what unstructured groups these initiativesappear to be credible alternativesrdquo notesMohamed Soumareacute from the NGO Enda

Third World But how can they get pastsquare one of social mobilization to form-ing a solid local citizenry

ldquoOur theory is that collective well-being grows from concrete actionrdquo saysGeneviegraveve Domenach-Chich responsiblefor UNESCOrsquos Cities project Concrete isthe word the ldquo project supporting commu-nity dynamics and improvement in qualityof liferdquo undertaken at Yeumbeul consistsof structuring and reinforcing local hygieneinitiatives UNESCO provides two-thirdsof the budget while Enda coordinates theproject In 1996-1997 a budget of$100000 saw the construction of 44 sew-age ponds 32 toilets and five water sta-tions plus three rubbish collection cartsSavings and credit facilities for 10womensrsquo groups were also supported and

local leaders businesswomen carpentersand handymen trained Beyond that theproject has enabled the village to alter thebalance of power between the different so-cial groups as well as between the peopleand the municipal authorities

The first lesson learnt is that in such aneconomically drained community it is dif-ficult to get people so consumed with in-dividual problems to organize themselvesas a community for the collective good

The interpersonal conflicts are as bitter asresources are rare and they are multi-eth-nic (Wolof Toucouleur Diola etc) Basi-cally three groups represented by three as-sociations and corresponding to definedterritories want the project to give theirmembers preference ldquoStraightaway wenoticed conflictual relations between thelocal organizationsrdquo underline those as-sessing the project Pape Salif Seck andAbdsoul Karim Gueye

GIVE amp TAKEIntegrating new arrivals rural Diolas for themost part is also a problem ldquoThey claim aright to participate in the decisions that theoriginal members of the traditional villagedonrsquot seem ready to giverdquo Another dividearises as the Leacutebous see their traditionalpower giving way to second generationmigrants (predominantly Toucouleurs) whoare very involved in the project Finally theassessors note ldquoseeing the creation of citi-zensrsquo associations focused on the develop-ment of their village of originrdquo Indeed thevery popular El Hadji Ibrahima Ndiaye ofthe Toucouleurs is impatient ldquoWe needmore equipment as wersquore organizing a hy-giene campaignrdquo

The population is starting to impose it-self as a partner to the authorities who aretotally overwhelmed by the magnitude ofthe problems ldquoWe donrsquot have the meansnot even a vehicle to clear the streets whentheyrsquore illegally occupied by street vendorsand the likerdquo laments Saer ldquoWersquore forcedto hire clandestine taxisrdquo Despite thesuspicion of some local politicians fearingcompetition from leaders closer to the popu-lation than they are ldquoexchange is beginningto develop between the associative and po-litical worldsrdquo says Domenach-ChichldquoWe are regularly consulted and I partici-pate in municipal meetingsrdquo confirmsNdiaye For Soumareacute the projectrsquos limitsldquoshow that the NGOs and communitygroups cannot replace the state and mu-nicipal authorities Their initiatives shouldbe considered as leads - legitimated byUNESCOrsquos support - to follow up and be sup-ported on the ground by the public servicerdquo

SB and Daniel BEKOUTOUDakar

L AY I N G D O W N M O R E T H A N W AT E R P I P E S( P h o t o U N E S C O )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

7

MAKING THE MOSTOF GLOBALIZATION

T h i s m o n t h rsquos d o s s i e r

G lobalization a multifaceted processwith its complex interplay of networks

and actors both fascinates and frightensThe optimists look on it as a new op-

portunity to generate more wealth and pro-mote harmony between the peoples of theworld through the advent of a uniformworld culture This is how it is seen by theindividuals and organizations that alreadyoperate worldwide in areas such as financeinformation technologies and trade Someanalysts even maintain that globalizationand the economic and financial liberaliza-tion that goes with it are inseparable Theybelieve that the strategy of market deregu-lation advocated by the proponents of neo-liberal ideology and applied since the1980s by the major economic powers isalong with communication technologiesthe driving force behind globalization

Then there are the pessimists who re-gard globalization with apprehension andare less than enthusiastic about a ldquobravenew worldrdquo run by the financial marketsand Internet Three factors may account fortheir scepticism First and fortunately saythe defenders of diversity - globalizationdoes not lead to a uniformization of cul-tures The global communications spherevia satellites and the American televisionprogrammes watched the world over doesnot stop people from claiming separate

identities finding refuge in a sense of com-munity or engaging in ethnic or religiousconflicts On the contrary it would seemthat these phenomena are all a reactionagainst globalization which is seen as athreat to the established order

Second there is the problem of thenation-state whose sovereignty and scopefor action are seriously undermined bytransnational players processes and net-works such as the multinational corpora-tions the flow of finance and informationenvironmental phenomena mafias ethnicand religious movements migrations anddiasporas The nation-state has less and lesscontrol over them and they are often regu-lated on a regional (eg European Un-ion) or world (eg United Nations G7)level

Third citizensrsquo living conditions andsocial benefits - normally guaranteed bythe state - are eroded by the concentrationof economic and financial power and theproductivity race fuelled by the globaliza-tion of markets And the weakening of thestate undermines its capacity to stem therise of poverty exclusion and unemploy-ment and to work for the improvement ofeducation and health systems This is feltmost acutely in the developing countrieswhere the situation can sometimes take adramatic turn for the worse for the least

privileged groups Inequalities within na-tions and between nations deepen leadingamong other things to mass emigration ei-ther for economic reasons or to escapefrom intercommunal and inter-ethnicconflicts

We need to ask ourselves whether thesedevelopments can all be attributed to glo-balization Economists sociologists andpolitical experts dispute the extent to whichthe statersquos scope for action has been weak-ened and the responsibility of globaliza-tion for unemployment and poverty the as-sertion of specific cultural identities andthe increase in intercommunal conflicts Asfor politicians and decision-makers theyare to say the least uncertain about theeffects of globalization and the appropri-ate measures to be taken

One thing is beyond dispute it is es-sential to identify and gain a better under-standing of the different aspects of globali-zation through social science research soas to apply national development strategiesand policies which can make the most ofthe opportunities offered or at least limitthe harmful effects on globalization

Ali KAZANCIGILExecutive Secretary Management of Social

Transformations Programme(MOST)

Our grandparents would be hard-pressed to recognize the world they grew up in Technology andeconomics have rolled back all the familiar frontiers including those bounding the nation-state theunit or model that has largely structured the world and the identities of its peoples for the last threecenturies We have entered the age of globalization (see below and pp12-13) But what sort of worldis it shaping How is it affecting peoplesrsquo lives And how do we solve the new problems it is giving riseto Finding answers to some of these questions is the goal of UNESCOrsquos MOST Programme (Managementof Social Transformations p16) This monthrsquos Focus looks at three of MOSTrsquos priority areas migrationwhich is increasing at an unprecedented rate (pp8-9) cities where most people will live next century(pp10-11) and isolated and rural communities which risk being left by the wayside (pp14-15)

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

8

THE MIGRATION BOOMAn estimated 100 million people now live outside their country of origin More women are migratingthan ever before And work offered to migrants is increasingly temporary

M igrations are as old as human historybut took on new forms from the

1600rsquos with the emergence of Europeanmercantile interests and the conquest of thelsquoNew Worldrsquo Slaves and indentured work-ers were shipped between continents towork plantations mines and constructionprojects in the Americas Asia and AfricaIndustrialization in Western Europe andNorth America last century saw new move-ments of settlers to build railways ports andcities and work in the new factories Be-tween 1860 and 1920 some 30 million peo-ple sailed to the United States

However with globalization has comea dramatic increase in the volume andscope of international migration an esti-mated 100 million people now live outsidetheir country of origin This mobility istransforming societies and cultures creat-ing diasporas and developing transnationalidentities - the feeling of belonging to twoor more societies at once Community linksare forming between people across theglobe family reunion is now the means bywhich the majority of migrants arrive incountries like France and Australia (65in 1995) or Great Britain (85 in 1995)The cities of North America Europe andOceania have become multicultural whilenew immigration areas in Asia Africa andLatin America are rapidly following thesame path Formerly homogenouspopulations now experience a bewilderingdiversity of languages religions and cul-tural practices

SE EK ING GREENER PASTURESMany people do not move by choice in1995 the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) countedabout 18 million political refugees and asy-lum seekers throughout the world How-ever the vast majority move in search ofwork and a better life

Most of the worldrsquos migrants and refu-gees begin their journey as internal rural-urban migrants in developing countries be-fore moving on to other places where op-portunities seem better An estimated sixmillion Asian migrants currently workabroad many in so-called Free Trade Zonesestablished to attract foreign investmentwhere labour standards and regulations are

often ignored and wages and conditionsoften appalling

A key development in recent years hasbeen the feminization of migration about15 million Asian women for examplework abroad most of them in jobs regardedas ldquotypically femalerdquo domestic workersentertainers (often a euphemism for pros-titution) restaurant and hotel staff assem-bly-line workers in clothing and electron-ics Domestic service leads to isolation andvulnerability for young women migrantswho have little protection against the de-mands of their employers In 1995 theexecution of Flor Contemplacion a

Filipina maid in Singapore who was con-victed of murder made world headlinesand highlighted the vulnerability of Over-seas Contract Workers (OCWs)

However few migrant-sending coun-tries would be willing to hobble what hasbecome an important commodity esti-mates of migrant workersrsquo remittanceshave been placed at more than $67 billionannually making labour second only to oilin global trade

While economic globalization hasmade labour more mobile it has also seenthe work available become more tempo-rary The era of permanent settlementwhich characterized post-war migrationsfrom Europe is over Labour markets inmany countries now look for workers bothskilled and unskilled to occupy specific jobswith a fixed duration rather than invite themto participate in the economy and infrastruc-ture of a country This is partly due to thedifficulties migrant-receiving countries

have coping with permanent settlement byworkers or refugees The unplanned shiftfrom temporary sojourn to new ethnic di-versity questions traditional ideas on cul-ture and identity Thus developed coun-tries with democratic traditions founded onindividual freedoms are redefining who canand cannot belong Citizenship is now aprized possession as it means access notjust to the economy but to broader socialinstitutions which determine rights andfreedoms Post-colonial states such asMalaysia Indonesia Singapore and Koreafind it difficult to reconcile immigrationand growing cultural diversity with the for-

mation of their own national identity De-portation campaigns stricter border con-trols and measures to prevent permanentsettlement are increasingly the norm How-ever closing borders usually only turns alegal movement illegal Trafficking of mi-grants has become a lucrative trade withprivate agencies providing everything frominformation and travel assistance to forgeddocumentation and direct smuggling ofpeople across borders

The rapid internationalization of eco-nomics and culture virtually guaranteesthat migration will continue to grow in theyears ahead The pressure for long-term so-lutions remains Encouraging the mobilityof labour to fit the needs of a globalized worldis one thing Managing immigration to ad-mit only those whorsquore ldquoeconomically de-sirablerdquo is something else again

Stephen CASTLES and Patrick BROWNLEEUniversity of Wollongong Australia

T O D AY T H E YA R R I V E B YJ U M B OJ E T( P h o t o copyH a r l i n g u e -V i o l l e t )

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

D o s s i e r

9

A NEW COUNTRY A NEW LIFEAustralia continues to draw migrants from Asia despite tougher economic conditionsand strict selection criteria

Walk through some areas of Sydneyrsquoswestern suburbs (Australia) and you

could easily believe you were somewherein Asia Vietnamese Cambodian Chineseand Thai are as prevalent as English Thenoodle restaurants are side-by-side with thesandwich takeaways and the fish nrsquo chipshops and shopping arcades are full ofChinese chess players and Vietnamesebuskers In heavily stocked fruit and veg-etable shops the attendants speak Englishand an Asian language to suit the needs oftheir customers

About 30000 Asians migrate to Aus-tralia each year - some 37 of the totalmigrant intake And their first port of callis usually western Sydney whose formerWASP identity has been transformed bythe steady stream of arrivals over the pasttwo decades The majority are Vietnam-ese who started arriving as political refu-gees after the fall of Saigon in 1975 Sincethe late 1980s however and despite strictselection criteria the majority have ar-rived under Australiarsquos family reunionprogramme - rejoining partners parentsand children in the hope of a more pros-perous life

LUCK I ER THAN MOSTNhu Tran and his family are a typical caseNhu fled Viet Nam in 1977 to escape a re-education camp His wife and three chil-dren followed six years later They havesince had four more children and have beenjoined by Nhursquos two brothers and a sister

He and his wife initially launchedthemselves into business running a serv-ice station The profits were turned intosetting up a clothes manufacturing com-pany successfully run by Mrs Tran How-ever they found running a business andraising seven children too demanding sothey sold up Nhu is now a liaison workerwith a local council helping other migrantsand refugees settle into Australia His threeeldest children are working in computingand biomedical engineering Nhu thinks hehas been much luckier than most of hiscompatriots ldquoIn Viet Nam I was the prin-cipal of a school teaching maths and phys-ics I had some English and an educationThe majority of other migrants have loweducation because of the war or lived in

isolated country areas The lack of Eng-lish is a big big barrier to settling in Aus-traliardquo he says In western Sydney 144of the migrant population is jobless com-pared with the national average of 84

This was not always the case The firstrefugees from Viet Nam were generally ableto find work in manufacturing that didnrsquot re-quire much English However globalizationhas seen the restructuration of Australian in-dustry and migrant job seekers in todayrsquos hi-tech or service industry markets must have ahigher level of skills and the ability to adaptquickly to their new environment

Nhan Tran a Vietnamese communitycoordinator in the suburb of Bankstownsays that after English and a job comes theneed to ldquolearn about the Australian wayof life and its system of operationrdquo Thelure of a better life is a powerful one butcultural adjustment remains difficult Forexample says Nhan most Vietnamesenewcomers find it hard to understand thelack of neighbourly concern Anglo-Saxonshave for each other and their communityldquoWe miss the neighbourhood atmosphereand culture that we have in Viet Nam andthe way people in a community care foreach otherrdquo says Nhan For Nhu Tranyoung peoplersquos attitudes to their parents isone of the most prominent differences be-tween Australia and Viet Nam In VietNam he explained parents were the au-thority figures but in Australia children aretaught fairness and right and wrong andquestion their parents and teachers

The federal and state governments haveestablished a range of free programmesaimed at briefing new arrivals on issuessuch as housing health domestic violencegovernment policies and social securitybenefits Education programmes help theirchildren adapt to the new school systemand to hone their job-hunting skills Com-munity workers provide information andcounselling services and a vigorous culturalarts programme preserves and promotesVietnamese culture

Nonetheless lots of difficulties afflictthese communities not the least of which

is a certain dose of ldquoanti-Asianrdquo sentimentamongst white-Australians who fear thecountryrsquos ldquoAsianizationrdquo and resent thesupport migrants receive But there are alsosigns that the hurdles are being overcomeIntermarriage is increasingly common Mi-grants are increasingly participating in thepolitical process

ldquoThere was no future for us in Viet Namin terms of education and employmentrdquosays one family health counsellor who didnot want to be named She was 19 whenshe arrived in Australia penniless and withno English after an epic voyage with 55others in a fishing boat built for six Nowshe is an Australian citizen married to an-other Vietnamese with Australian citizen-ship and has two children ldquohalf Aussieand half Vietnameserdquo

Robin SMITHSydney

D U E LI D E N T I T I E S D O I N GI T T H EA U S T R A L I A NW AY( P h o t o copyR o b i nS m i t h )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

10

AN URBAN KALEIDOSCOPEThe peaceful homogenous city is a thing of the past But it will take more than technologicaland rational planning to build a humane place where social ties flourish

At the start of the 21st century most ofthe worldrsquos population will live in cit-

ies By 2015 nine of the 10 biggest citieswill be in Asia Latin America and AfricaAccording to United Nations statistics cit-ies in developing countries are growing by62 million people every year By 2015 thenumber of city-dwellers in these countrieswill double and for the first time overtakethe rural population Growth of urban ar-eas will account for 88 of world popula-tion increase 90 of it in poor countriesWhile 28 of the worldrsquos 38 cities with morethan five million people were in the Southin 1995 as many as 59 out of 71 will be in2015

This urban explosion goes along witha very heavy ldquosocial debtrdquo including in-adequate housing even in ldquoglobalizedrdquo cit-ies (which are the motor of economic glo-balization) poor infrastructure and publicservices like water and garbage collection

This emerging urban civilization faceshead-on all the conflicts of a changing so-ciety as well as exacerbating and symbol-izing them Like mirrors the cities of boththe South and the North reflect ill-adviseddevelopment and the cost of modernityThe overall impression is one of fragmen-tation where social exclusion spatial seg-regation and increasing violence are thenorm But these places are also centres ofcreativity and innovation

A city is a physical visible place wherepolitical decisions are made where thereare economic restraints and collective

channels - a place which crystallizes cur-rent social transformations like globali-zation which brings a new global and lo-cal overlap in addition to changes in thenature of work including higher unemploy-ment under-employment and job insecu-rity Then there are the inequalities featur-ing marginalization and the resulting questfor social integration Or multiculturalismand ethnic affirmation Or urban violenceor the arrival of the information society andthe scientific and technological revolutionand ecology etc Cities must now be seenas places where diverse realities get mixedup So in one we find the global city thedivided city the multicultural city the

governed city the technological city andthe ecological one

The peaceful homogenous city is nomore Ruptures and uncertainty are the rulepolitical plans for social change are a pri-ority and rapid change in the most dynamicsocial areas is speeded up by technologi-cal innovations The rationally-planned citywith a technological future has to yield toa humanistic place where social ties pre-dominate This is why management ofchanges in social structure is vital for acityrsquos future because the city is both a placeand an actor Furthermore city governmentshould be seen as a complicated process ofmutual coordination and adjustment be-tween its various actors

Comparative international social sci-ence research such as that carried outunder the MOST programme conceived

as a socially useful initiative has a keyrole to play A look at different forms ofcity government shows that the new struc-ture of local politics strongly linked withboth decentralization and globalizationparallels a new division of authority be-tween the state civil society and the mar-ket Their contractual relationships are de-fined by competition and cooperationthrough the art of negotiating and manag-ing the conflicts of interest between dif-ferent elements of the local community forthe common good

INNOVAT IONThe final share of costs and benefits fromsolving social conflicts depends on the ca-pacity of these coalitions and institutionsto take action in the cityrsquos public spheresand on the speed at which institutions ma-ture By building partnerships between pub-lic sector private sector and citizenry inmany institutional forms the state as pro-tector can be transformed into one whichserves as a driving force Citizens are nolonger just passive users but initiators whilecompanies leave their role as suppliers tobecome partners

But current territorial units and theirinstitutional expressions only allow citi-zens a limited role The challenge next cen-tury is to humanize cities making themmore active and creative in terms of civicideals and mingling of cultures and somore democratic Three basic commit-ments are needed to achieve this - consoli-dating democracy guaranteeing citizensrsquorights and drawing up a new social con-tract

The first condition of this new socialcontract is to redefine the pattern of devel-opment The destructive ldquoeconomicrdquomodel which leads to ldquodehumanizingrdquo ur-banization must be replaced by a moreldquosocialrdquo version which treats the economyas an instrument and not an end in itselfSolidarity is not just a routine aspect ofdemocracy but one which determines free-dom human rights and how long democ-racy itself lasts

Ceacuteline SACHS-JEANTETUrban planner

Paris

lsquo C R E A T I N G rsquoM O R E L A N D

I NH O N G K O N G

( P h o t o copyR A P H O M i c h a e l

Y a m a s h i t a )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

11

D o s s i e r

COMMON GROUND ON DIVIDED TERRITORYInstead of waiting for municipal authorities to respond residents of a Dakar suburb installtheir own infrastructure despite more than one social divide

A bowl balanced on her head AwaDniaye emerges from her family com-

pound next to the small clinic She pourswater whitened from rice mixed with fishscales onto the soil ldquoWhat do you expectme to do when therersquos no drainrdquo she re-plies sharply to anyone who might want totell her to do otherwise

Like most women from Yeumbeul Awahas more serious worries ldquoPeople herehave nothingrdquo explains Laye Seye Saerdeputy mayor of this former Leacutebou village(the Leacutebou were the original occupants ofthis region of Dakar Senegal) set up as amunicipality by Dakarrsquos decentralizingadministration in January 1996 ldquoTheydrink polluted waterrdquo he says ldquoThe youngpeople are unemployed they canrsquot culti-vate the fields because it doesnrsquot rainenough nor can they grow vegetable gar-dens because you have to drill 10 to 15metres before finding water instead of thetwo metres it used to take Letrsquos not evengo into the lack of land and motorizedpumpsrdquo Provided in theory by municipalauthorities the irregular rubbish collectionis limited to two main roads

D IRTY WEL LSldquoHow can things improve when everythingis a priorityrdquo laments Saer Without pub-lic toilettes how can you stop children uri-nating on the walls of their schools (withonly one secondary and seven primaryschools for a population of over 100000of which 52 are under the age of 20)Even worse insists the school directorDjiby Diouf more than half of the popula-tion has no running water and just two so-lutions fork out 25F CFA (about five cents)for a basin of water from the fountain (plusa monthly fee of 100F CFA per household)or go to a well However a recent study byUNESCO and the University of Dakarfound that two out of three wells are con-taminated by faecal coliform bacteria

Yet Yeumbeulans donrsquot give up ldquoInthe face of such precarious living condi-tions they organize themselves into youthassociations residentsrsquo committees busi-nesses Despite the number of these some-what unstructured groups these initiativesappear to be credible alternativesrdquo notesMohamed Soumareacute from the NGO Enda

Third World But how can they get pastsquare one of social mobilization to form-ing a solid local citizenry

ldquoOur theory is that collective well-being grows from concrete actionrdquo saysGeneviegraveve Domenach-Chich responsiblefor UNESCOrsquos Cities project Concrete isthe word the ldquo project supporting commu-nity dynamics and improvement in qualityof liferdquo undertaken at Yeumbeul consistsof structuring and reinforcing local hygieneinitiatives UNESCO provides two-thirdsof the budget while Enda coordinates theproject In 1996-1997 a budget of$100000 saw the construction of 44 sew-age ponds 32 toilets and five water sta-tions plus three rubbish collection cartsSavings and credit facilities for 10womensrsquo groups were also supported and

local leaders businesswomen carpentersand handymen trained Beyond that theproject has enabled the village to alter thebalance of power between the different so-cial groups as well as between the peopleand the municipal authorities

The first lesson learnt is that in such aneconomically drained community it is dif-ficult to get people so consumed with in-dividual problems to organize themselvesas a community for the collective good

The interpersonal conflicts are as bitter asresources are rare and they are multi-eth-nic (Wolof Toucouleur Diola etc) Basi-cally three groups represented by three as-sociations and corresponding to definedterritories want the project to give theirmembers preference ldquoStraightaway wenoticed conflictual relations between thelocal organizationsrdquo underline those as-sessing the project Pape Salif Seck andAbdsoul Karim Gueye

GIVE amp TAKEIntegrating new arrivals rural Diolas for themost part is also a problem ldquoThey claim aright to participate in the decisions that theoriginal members of the traditional villagedonrsquot seem ready to giverdquo Another dividearises as the Leacutebous see their traditionalpower giving way to second generationmigrants (predominantly Toucouleurs) whoare very involved in the project Finally theassessors note ldquoseeing the creation of citi-zensrsquo associations focused on the develop-ment of their village of originrdquo Indeed thevery popular El Hadji Ibrahima Ndiaye ofthe Toucouleurs is impatient ldquoWe needmore equipment as wersquore organizing a hy-giene campaignrdquo

The population is starting to impose it-self as a partner to the authorities who aretotally overwhelmed by the magnitude ofthe problems ldquoWe donrsquot have the meansnot even a vehicle to clear the streets whentheyrsquore illegally occupied by street vendorsand the likerdquo laments Saer ldquoWersquore forcedto hire clandestine taxisrdquo Despite thesuspicion of some local politicians fearingcompetition from leaders closer to the popu-lation than they are ldquoexchange is beginningto develop between the associative and po-litical worldsrdquo says Domenach-ChichldquoWe are regularly consulted and I partici-pate in municipal meetingsrdquo confirmsNdiaye For Soumareacute the projectrsquos limitsldquoshow that the NGOs and communitygroups cannot replace the state and mu-nicipal authorities Their initiatives shouldbe considered as leads - legitimated byUNESCOrsquos support - to follow up and be sup-ported on the ground by the public servicerdquo

SB and Daniel BEKOUTOUDakar

L AY I N G D O W N M O R E T H A N W AT E R P I P E S( P h o t o U N E S C O )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

8

THE MIGRATION BOOMAn estimated 100 million people now live outside their country of origin More women are migratingthan ever before And work offered to migrants is increasingly temporary

M igrations are as old as human historybut took on new forms from the

1600rsquos with the emergence of Europeanmercantile interests and the conquest of thelsquoNew Worldrsquo Slaves and indentured work-ers were shipped between continents towork plantations mines and constructionprojects in the Americas Asia and AfricaIndustrialization in Western Europe andNorth America last century saw new move-ments of settlers to build railways ports andcities and work in the new factories Be-tween 1860 and 1920 some 30 million peo-ple sailed to the United States

However with globalization has comea dramatic increase in the volume andscope of international migration an esti-mated 100 million people now live outsidetheir country of origin This mobility istransforming societies and cultures creat-ing diasporas and developing transnationalidentities - the feeling of belonging to twoor more societies at once Community linksare forming between people across theglobe family reunion is now the means bywhich the majority of migrants arrive incountries like France and Australia (65in 1995) or Great Britain (85 in 1995)The cities of North America Europe andOceania have become multicultural whilenew immigration areas in Asia Africa andLatin America are rapidly following thesame path Formerly homogenouspopulations now experience a bewilderingdiversity of languages religions and cul-tural practices

SE EK ING GREENER PASTURESMany people do not move by choice in1995 the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) countedabout 18 million political refugees and asy-lum seekers throughout the world How-ever the vast majority move in search ofwork and a better life

Most of the worldrsquos migrants and refu-gees begin their journey as internal rural-urban migrants in developing countries be-fore moving on to other places where op-portunities seem better An estimated sixmillion Asian migrants currently workabroad many in so-called Free Trade Zonesestablished to attract foreign investmentwhere labour standards and regulations are

often ignored and wages and conditionsoften appalling

A key development in recent years hasbeen the feminization of migration about15 million Asian women for examplework abroad most of them in jobs regardedas ldquotypically femalerdquo domestic workersentertainers (often a euphemism for pros-titution) restaurant and hotel staff assem-bly-line workers in clothing and electron-ics Domestic service leads to isolation andvulnerability for young women migrantswho have little protection against the de-mands of their employers In 1995 theexecution of Flor Contemplacion a

Filipina maid in Singapore who was con-victed of murder made world headlinesand highlighted the vulnerability of Over-seas Contract Workers (OCWs)

However few migrant-sending coun-tries would be willing to hobble what hasbecome an important commodity esti-mates of migrant workersrsquo remittanceshave been placed at more than $67 billionannually making labour second only to oilin global trade

While economic globalization hasmade labour more mobile it has also seenthe work available become more tempo-rary The era of permanent settlementwhich characterized post-war migrationsfrom Europe is over Labour markets inmany countries now look for workers bothskilled and unskilled to occupy specific jobswith a fixed duration rather than invite themto participate in the economy and infrastruc-ture of a country This is partly due to thedifficulties migrant-receiving countries

have coping with permanent settlement byworkers or refugees The unplanned shiftfrom temporary sojourn to new ethnic di-versity questions traditional ideas on cul-ture and identity Thus developed coun-tries with democratic traditions founded onindividual freedoms are redefining who canand cannot belong Citizenship is now aprized possession as it means access notjust to the economy but to broader socialinstitutions which determine rights andfreedoms Post-colonial states such asMalaysia Indonesia Singapore and Koreafind it difficult to reconcile immigrationand growing cultural diversity with the for-

mation of their own national identity De-portation campaigns stricter border con-trols and measures to prevent permanentsettlement are increasingly the norm How-ever closing borders usually only turns alegal movement illegal Trafficking of mi-grants has become a lucrative trade withprivate agencies providing everything frominformation and travel assistance to forgeddocumentation and direct smuggling ofpeople across borders

The rapid internationalization of eco-nomics and culture virtually guaranteesthat migration will continue to grow in theyears ahead The pressure for long-term so-lutions remains Encouraging the mobilityof labour to fit the needs of a globalized worldis one thing Managing immigration to ad-mit only those whorsquore ldquoeconomically de-sirablerdquo is something else again

Stephen CASTLES and Patrick BROWNLEEUniversity of Wollongong Australia

T O D AY T H E YA R R I V E B YJ U M B OJ E T( P h o t o copyH a r l i n g u e -V i o l l e t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

D o s s i e r

9

A NEW COUNTRY A NEW LIFEAustralia continues to draw migrants from Asia despite tougher economic conditionsand strict selection criteria

Walk through some areas of Sydneyrsquoswestern suburbs (Australia) and you

could easily believe you were somewherein Asia Vietnamese Cambodian Chineseand Thai are as prevalent as English Thenoodle restaurants are side-by-side with thesandwich takeaways and the fish nrsquo chipshops and shopping arcades are full ofChinese chess players and Vietnamesebuskers In heavily stocked fruit and veg-etable shops the attendants speak Englishand an Asian language to suit the needs oftheir customers

About 30000 Asians migrate to Aus-tralia each year - some 37 of the totalmigrant intake And their first port of callis usually western Sydney whose formerWASP identity has been transformed bythe steady stream of arrivals over the pasttwo decades The majority are Vietnam-ese who started arriving as political refu-gees after the fall of Saigon in 1975 Sincethe late 1980s however and despite strictselection criteria the majority have ar-rived under Australiarsquos family reunionprogramme - rejoining partners parentsand children in the hope of a more pros-perous life

LUCK I ER THAN MOSTNhu Tran and his family are a typical caseNhu fled Viet Nam in 1977 to escape a re-education camp His wife and three chil-dren followed six years later They havesince had four more children and have beenjoined by Nhursquos two brothers and a sister

He and his wife initially launchedthemselves into business running a serv-ice station The profits were turned intosetting up a clothes manufacturing com-pany successfully run by Mrs Tran How-ever they found running a business andraising seven children too demanding sothey sold up Nhu is now a liaison workerwith a local council helping other migrantsand refugees settle into Australia His threeeldest children are working in computingand biomedical engineering Nhu thinks hehas been much luckier than most of hiscompatriots ldquoIn Viet Nam I was the prin-cipal of a school teaching maths and phys-ics I had some English and an educationThe majority of other migrants have loweducation because of the war or lived in

isolated country areas The lack of Eng-lish is a big big barrier to settling in Aus-traliardquo he says In western Sydney 144of the migrant population is jobless com-pared with the national average of 84

This was not always the case The firstrefugees from Viet Nam were generally ableto find work in manufacturing that didnrsquot re-quire much English However globalizationhas seen the restructuration of Australian in-dustry and migrant job seekers in todayrsquos hi-tech or service industry markets must have ahigher level of skills and the ability to adaptquickly to their new environment

Nhan Tran a Vietnamese communitycoordinator in the suburb of Bankstownsays that after English and a job comes theneed to ldquolearn about the Australian wayof life and its system of operationrdquo Thelure of a better life is a powerful one butcultural adjustment remains difficult Forexample says Nhan most Vietnamesenewcomers find it hard to understand thelack of neighbourly concern Anglo-Saxonshave for each other and their communityldquoWe miss the neighbourhood atmosphereand culture that we have in Viet Nam andthe way people in a community care foreach otherrdquo says Nhan For Nhu Tranyoung peoplersquos attitudes to their parents isone of the most prominent differences be-tween Australia and Viet Nam In VietNam he explained parents were the au-thority figures but in Australia children aretaught fairness and right and wrong andquestion their parents and teachers

The federal and state governments haveestablished a range of free programmesaimed at briefing new arrivals on issuessuch as housing health domestic violencegovernment policies and social securitybenefits Education programmes help theirchildren adapt to the new school systemand to hone their job-hunting skills Com-munity workers provide information andcounselling services and a vigorous culturalarts programme preserves and promotesVietnamese culture

Nonetheless lots of difficulties afflictthese communities not the least of which

is a certain dose of ldquoanti-Asianrdquo sentimentamongst white-Australians who fear thecountryrsquos ldquoAsianizationrdquo and resent thesupport migrants receive But there are alsosigns that the hurdles are being overcomeIntermarriage is increasingly common Mi-grants are increasingly participating in thepolitical process

ldquoThere was no future for us in Viet Namin terms of education and employmentrdquosays one family health counsellor who didnot want to be named She was 19 whenshe arrived in Australia penniless and withno English after an epic voyage with 55others in a fishing boat built for six Nowshe is an Australian citizen married to an-other Vietnamese with Australian citizen-ship and has two children ldquohalf Aussieand half Vietnameserdquo

Robin SMITHSydney

D U E LI D E N T I T I E S D O I N GI T T H EA U S T R A L I A NW AY( P h o t o copyR o b i nS m i t h )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

10

AN URBAN KALEIDOSCOPEThe peaceful homogenous city is a thing of the past But it will take more than technologicaland rational planning to build a humane place where social ties flourish

At the start of the 21st century most ofthe worldrsquos population will live in cit-

ies By 2015 nine of the 10 biggest citieswill be in Asia Latin America and AfricaAccording to United Nations statistics cit-ies in developing countries are growing by62 million people every year By 2015 thenumber of city-dwellers in these countrieswill double and for the first time overtakethe rural population Growth of urban ar-eas will account for 88 of world popula-tion increase 90 of it in poor countriesWhile 28 of the worldrsquos 38 cities with morethan five million people were in the Southin 1995 as many as 59 out of 71 will be in2015

This urban explosion goes along witha very heavy ldquosocial debtrdquo including in-adequate housing even in ldquoglobalizedrdquo cit-ies (which are the motor of economic glo-balization) poor infrastructure and publicservices like water and garbage collection

This emerging urban civilization faceshead-on all the conflicts of a changing so-ciety as well as exacerbating and symbol-izing them Like mirrors the cities of boththe South and the North reflect ill-adviseddevelopment and the cost of modernityThe overall impression is one of fragmen-tation where social exclusion spatial seg-regation and increasing violence are thenorm But these places are also centres ofcreativity and innovation

A city is a physical visible place wherepolitical decisions are made where thereare economic restraints and collective

channels - a place which crystallizes cur-rent social transformations like globali-zation which brings a new global and lo-cal overlap in addition to changes in thenature of work including higher unemploy-ment under-employment and job insecu-rity Then there are the inequalities featur-ing marginalization and the resulting questfor social integration Or multiculturalismand ethnic affirmation Or urban violenceor the arrival of the information society andthe scientific and technological revolutionand ecology etc Cities must now be seenas places where diverse realities get mixedup So in one we find the global city thedivided city the multicultural city the

governed city the technological city andthe ecological one

The peaceful homogenous city is nomore Ruptures and uncertainty are the rulepolitical plans for social change are a pri-ority and rapid change in the most dynamicsocial areas is speeded up by technologi-cal innovations The rationally-planned citywith a technological future has to yield toa humanistic place where social ties pre-dominate This is why management ofchanges in social structure is vital for acityrsquos future because the city is both a placeand an actor Furthermore city governmentshould be seen as a complicated process ofmutual coordination and adjustment be-tween its various actors

Comparative international social sci-ence research such as that carried outunder the MOST programme conceived

as a socially useful initiative has a keyrole to play A look at different forms ofcity government shows that the new struc-ture of local politics strongly linked withboth decentralization and globalizationparallels a new division of authority be-tween the state civil society and the mar-ket Their contractual relationships are de-fined by competition and cooperationthrough the art of negotiating and manag-ing the conflicts of interest between dif-ferent elements of the local community forthe common good

INNOVAT IONThe final share of costs and benefits fromsolving social conflicts depends on the ca-pacity of these coalitions and institutionsto take action in the cityrsquos public spheresand on the speed at which institutions ma-ture By building partnerships between pub-lic sector private sector and citizenry inmany institutional forms the state as pro-tector can be transformed into one whichserves as a driving force Citizens are nolonger just passive users but initiators whilecompanies leave their role as suppliers tobecome partners

But current territorial units and theirinstitutional expressions only allow citi-zens a limited role The challenge next cen-tury is to humanize cities making themmore active and creative in terms of civicideals and mingling of cultures and somore democratic Three basic commit-ments are needed to achieve this - consoli-dating democracy guaranteeing citizensrsquorights and drawing up a new social con-tract

The first condition of this new socialcontract is to redefine the pattern of devel-opment The destructive ldquoeconomicrdquomodel which leads to ldquodehumanizingrdquo ur-banization must be replaced by a moreldquosocialrdquo version which treats the economyas an instrument and not an end in itselfSolidarity is not just a routine aspect ofdemocracy but one which determines free-dom human rights and how long democ-racy itself lasts

Ceacuteline SACHS-JEANTETUrban planner

Paris

lsquo C R E A T I N G rsquoM O R E L A N D

I NH O N G K O N G

( P h o t o copyR A P H O M i c h a e l

Y a m a s h i t a )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

11

D o s s i e r

COMMON GROUND ON DIVIDED TERRITORYInstead of waiting for municipal authorities to respond residents of a Dakar suburb installtheir own infrastructure despite more than one social divide

A bowl balanced on her head AwaDniaye emerges from her family com-

pound next to the small clinic She pourswater whitened from rice mixed with fishscales onto the soil ldquoWhat do you expectme to do when therersquos no drainrdquo she re-plies sharply to anyone who might want totell her to do otherwise

Like most women from Yeumbeul Awahas more serious worries ldquoPeople herehave nothingrdquo explains Laye Seye Saerdeputy mayor of this former Leacutebou village(the Leacutebou were the original occupants ofthis region of Dakar Senegal) set up as amunicipality by Dakarrsquos decentralizingadministration in January 1996 ldquoTheydrink polluted waterrdquo he says ldquoThe youngpeople are unemployed they canrsquot culti-vate the fields because it doesnrsquot rainenough nor can they grow vegetable gar-dens because you have to drill 10 to 15metres before finding water instead of thetwo metres it used to take Letrsquos not evengo into the lack of land and motorizedpumpsrdquo Provided in theory by municipalauthorities the irregular rubbish collectionis limited to two main roads

D IRTY WEL LSldquoHow can things improve when everythingis a priorityrdquo laments Saer Without pub-lic toilettes how can you stop children uri-nating on the walls of their schools (withonly one secondary and seven primaryschools for a population of over 100000of which 52 are under the age of 20)Even worse insists the school directorDjiby Diouf more than half of the popula-tion has no running water and just two so-lutions fork out 25F CFA (about five cents)for a basin of water from the fountain (plusa monthly fee of 100F CFA per household)or go to a well However a recent study byUNESCO and the University of Dakarfound that two out of three wells are con-taminated by faecal coliform bacteria

Yet Yeumbeulans donrsquot give up ldquoInthe face of such precarious living condi-tions they organize themselves into youthassociations residentsrsquo committees busi-nesses Despite the number of these some-what unstructured groups these initiativesappear to be credible alternativesrdquo notesMohamed Soumareacute from the NGO Enda

Third World But how can they get pastsquare one of social mobilization to form-ing a solid local citizenry

ldquoOur theory is that collective well-being grows from concrete actionrdquo saysGeneviegraveve Domenach-Chich responsiblefor UNESCOrsquos Cities project Concrete isthe word the ldquo project supporting commu-nity dynamics and improvement in qualityof liferdquo undertaken at Yeumbeul consistsof structuring and reinforcing local hygieneinitiatives UNESCO provides two-thirdsof the budget while Enda coordinates theproject In 1996-1997 a budget of$100000 saw the construction of 44 sew-age ponds 32 toilets and five water sta-tions plus three rubbish collection cartsSavings and credit facilities for 10womensrsquo groups were also supported and

local leaders businesswomen carpentersand handymen trained Beyond that theproject has enabled the village to alter thebalance of power between the different so-cial groups as well as between the peopleand the municipal authorities

The first lesson learnt is that in such aneconomically drained community it is dif-ficult to get people so consumed with in-dividual problems to organize themselvesas a community for the collective good

The interpersonal conflicts are as bitter asresources are rare and they are multi-eth-nic (Wolof Toucouleur Diola etc) Basi-cally three groups represented by three as-sociations and corresponding to definedterritories want the project to give theirmembers preference ldquoStraightaway wenoticed conflictual relations between thelocal organizationsrdquo underline those as-sessing the project Pape Salif Seck andAbdsoul Karim Gueye

GIVE amp TAKEIntegrating new arrivals rural Diolas for themost part is also a problem ldquoThey claim aright to participate in the decisions that theoriginal members of the traditional villagedonrsquot seem ready to giverdquo Another dividearises as the Leacutebous see their traditionalpower giving way to second generationmigrants (predominantly Toucouleurs) whoare very involved in the project Finally theassessors note ldquoseeing the creation of citi-zensrsquo associations focused on the develop-ment of their village of originrdquo Indeed thevery popular El Hadji Ibrahima Ndiaye ofthe Toucouleurs is impatient ldquoWe needmore equipment as wersquore organizing a hy-giene campaignrdquo

The population is starting to impose it-self as a partner to the authorities who aretotally overwhelmed by the magnitude ofthe problems ldquoWe donrsquot have the meansnot even a vehicle to clear the streets whentheyrsquore illegally occupied by street vendorsand the likerdquo laments Saer ldquoWersquore forcedto hire clandestine taxisrdquo Despite thesuspicion of some local politicians fearingcompetition from leaders closer to the popu-lation than they are ldquoexchange is beginningto develop between the associative and po-litical worldsrdquo says Domenach-ChichldquoWe are regularly consulted and I partici-pate in municipal meetingsrdquo confirmsNdiaye For Soumareacute the projectrsquos limitsldquoshow that the NGOs and communitygroups cannot replace the state and mu-nicipal authorities Their initiatives shouldbe considered as leads - legitimated byUNESCOrsquos support - to follow up and be sup-ported on the ground by the public servicerdquo

SB and Daniel BEKOUTOUDakar

L AY I N G D O W N M O R E T H A N W AT E R P I P E S( P h o t o U N E S C O )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

D o s s i e r

9

A NEW COUNTRY A NEW LIFEAustralia continues to draw migrants from Asia despite tougher economic conditionsand strict selection criteria

Walk through some areas of Sydneyrsquoswestern suburbs (Australia) and you

could easily believe you were somewherein Asia Vietnamese Cambodian Chineseand Thai are as prevalent as English Thenoodle restaurants are side-by-side with thesandwich takeaways and the fish nrsquo chipshops and shopping arcades are full ofChinese chess players and Vietnamesebuskers In heavily stocked fruit and veg-etable shops the attendants speak Englishand an Asian language to suit the needs oftheir customers

About 30000 Asians migrate to Aus-tralia each year - some 37 of the totalmigrant intake And their first port of callis usually western Sydney whose formerWASP identity has been transformed bythe steady stream of arrivals over the pasttwo decades The majority are Vietnam-ese who started arriving as political refu-gees after the fall of Saigon in 1975 Sincethe late 1980s however and despite strictselection criteria the majority have ar-rived under Australiarsquos family reunionprogramme - rejoining partners parentsand children in the hope of a more pros-perous life

LUCK I ER THAN MOSTNhu Tran and his family are a typical caseNhu fled Viet Nam in 1977 to escape a re-education camp His wife and three chil-dren followed six years later They havesince had four more children and have beenjoined by Nhursquos two brothers and a sister

He and his wife initially launchedthemselves into business running a serv-ice station The profits were turned intosetting up a clothes manufacturing com-pany successfully run by Mrs Tran How-ever they found running a business andraising seven children too demanding sothey sold up Nhu is now a liaison workerwith a local council helping other migrantsand refugees settle into Australia His threeeldest children are working in computingand biomedical engineering Nhu thinks hehas been much luckier than most of hiscompatriots ldquoIn Viet Nam I was the prin-cipal of a school teaching maths and phys-ics I had some English and an educationThe majority of other migrants have loweducation because of the war or lived in

isolated country areas The lack of Eng-lish is a big big barrier to settling in Aus-traliardquo he says In western Sydney 144of the migrant population is jobless com-pared with the national average of 84

This was not always the case The firstrefugees from Viet Nam were generally ableto find work in manufacturing that didnrsquot re-quire much English However globalizationhas seen the restructuration of Australian in-dustry and migrant job seekers in todayrsquos hi-tech or service industry markets must have ahigher level of skills and the ability to adaptquickly to their new environment

Nhan Tran a Vietnamese communitycoordinator in the suburb of Bankstownsays that after English and a job comes theneed to ldquolearn about the Australian wayof life and its system of operationrdquo Thelure of a better life is a powerful one butcultural adjustment remains difficult Forexample says Nhan most Vietnamesenewcomers find it hard to understand thelack of neighbourly concern Anglo-Saxonshave for each other and their communityldquoWe miss the neighbourhood atmosphereand culture that we have in Viet Nam andthe way people in a community care foreach otherrdquo says Nhan For Nhu Tranyoung peoplersquos attitudes to their parents isone of the most prominent differences be-tween Australia and Viet Nam In VietNam he explained parents were the au-thority figures but in Australia children aretaught fairness and right and wrong andquestion their parents and teachers

The federal and state governments haveestablished a range of free programmesaimed at briefing new arrivals on issuessuch as housing health domestic violencegovernment policies and social securitybenefits Education programmes help theirchildren adapt to the new school systemand to hone their job-hunting skills Com-munity workers provide information andcounselling services and a vigorous culturalarts programme preserves and promotesVietnamese culture

Nonetheless lots of difficulties afflictthese communities not the least of which

is a certain dose of ldquoanti-Asianrdquo sentimentamongst white-Australians who fear thecountryrsquos ldquoAsianizationrdquo and resent thesupport migrants receive But there are alsosigns that the hurdles are being overcomeIntermarriage is increasingly common Mi-grants are increasingly participating in thepolitical process

ldquoThere was no future for us in Viet Namin terms of education and employmentrdquosays one family health counsellor who didnot want to be named She was 19 whenshe arrived in Australia penniless and withno English after an epic voyage with 55others in a fishing boat built for six Nowshe is an Australian citizen married to an-other Vietnamese with Australian citizen-ship and has two children ldquohalf Aussieand half Vietnameserdquo

Robin SMITHSydney

D U E LI D E N T I T I E S D O I N GI T T H EA U S T R A L I A NW AY( P h o t o copyR o b i nS m i t h )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

10

AN URBAN KALEIDOSCOPEThe peaceful homogenous city is a thing of the past But it will take more than technologicaland rational planning to build a humane place where social ties flourish

At the start of the 21st century most ofthe worldrsquos population will live in cit-

ies By 2015 nine of the 10 biggest citieswill be in Asia Latin America and AfricaAccording to United Nations statistics cit-ies in developing countries are growing by62 million people every year By 2015 thenumber of city-dwellers in these countrieswill double and for the first time overtakethe rural population Growth of urban ar-eas will account for 88 of world popula-tion increase 90 of it in poor countriesWhile 28 of the worldrsquos 38 cities with morethan five million people were in the Southin 1995 as many as 59 out of 71 will be in2015

This urban explosion goes along witha very heavy ldquosocial debtrdquo including in-adequate housing even in ldquoglobalizedrdquo cit-ies (which are the motor of economic glo-balization) poor infrastructure and publicservices like water and garbage collection

This emerging urban civilization faceshead-on all the conflicts of a changing so-ciety as well as exacerbating and symbol-izing them Like mirrors the cities of boththe South and the North reflect ill-adviseddevelopment and the cost of modernityThe overall impression is one of fragmen-tation where social exclusion spatial seg-regation and increasing violence are thenorm But these places are also centres ofcreativity and innovation

A city is a physical visible place wherepolitical decisions are made where thereare economic restraints and collective

channels - a place which crystallizes cur-rent social transformations like globali-zation which brings a new global and lo-cal overlap in addition to changes in thenature of work including higher unemploy-ment under-employment and job insecu-rity Then there are the inequalities featur-ing marginalization and the resulting questfor social integration Or multiculturalismand ethnic affirmation Or urban violenceor the arrival of the information society andthe scientific and technological revolutionand ecology etc Cities must now be seenas places where diverse realities get mixedup So in one we find the global city thedivided city the multicultural city the

governed city the technological city andthe ecological one

The peaceful homogenous city is nomore Ruptures and uncertainty are the rulepolitical plans for social change are a pri-ority and rapid change in the most dynamicsocial areas is speeded up by technologi-cal innovations The rationally-planned citywith a technological future has to yield toa humanistic place where social ties pre-dominate This is why management ofchanges in social structure is vital for acityrsquos future because the city is both a placeand an actor Furthermore city governmentshould be seen as a complicated process ofmutual coordination and adjustment be-tween its various actors

Comparative international social sci-ence research such as that carried outunder the MOST programme conceived

as a socially useful initiative has a keyrole to play A look at different forms ofcity government shows that the new struc-ture of local politics strongly linked withboth decentralization and globalizationparallels a new division of authority be-tween the state civil society and the mar-ket Their contractual relationships are de-fined by competition and cooperationthrough the art of negotiating and manag-ing the conflicts of interest between dif-ferent elements of the local community forthe common good

INNOVAT IONThe final share of costs and benefits fromsolving social conflicts depends on the ca-pacity of these coalitions and institutionsto take action in the cityrsquos public spheresand on the speed at which institutions ma-ture By building partnerships between pub-lic sector private sector and citizenry inmany institutional forms the state as pro-tector can be transformed into one whichserves as a driving force Citizens are nolonger just passive users but initiators whilecompanies leave their role as suppliers tobecome partners

But current territorial units and theirinstitutional expressions only allow citi-zens a limited role The challenge next cen-tury is to humanize cities making themmore active and creative in terms of civicideals and mingling of cultures and somore democratic Three basic commit-ments are needed to achieve this - consoli-dating democracy guaranteeing citizensrsquorights and drawing up a new social con-tract

The first condition of this new socialcontract is to redefine the pattern of devel-opment The destructive ldquoeconomicrdquomodel which leads to ldquodehumanizingrdquo ur-banization must be replaced by a moreldquosocialrdquo version which treats the economyas an instrument and not an end in itselfSolidarity is not just a routine aspect ofdemocracy but one which determines free-dom human rights and how long democ-racy itself lasts

Ceacuteline SACHS-JEANTETUrban planner

Paris

lsquo C R E A T I N G rsquoM O R E L A N D

I NH O N G K O N G

( P h o t o copyR A P H O M i c h a e l

Y a m a s h i t a )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

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COP

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

11

D o s s i e r

COMMON GROUND ON DIVIDED TERRITORYInstead of waiting for municipal authorities to respond residents of a Dakar suburb installtheir own infrastructure despite more than one social divide

A bowl balanced on her head AwaDniaye emerges from her family com-

pound next to the small clinic She pourswater whitened from rice mixed with fishscales onto the soil ldquoWhat do you expectme to do when therersquos no drainrdquo she re-plies sharply to anyone who might want totell her to do otherwise

Like most women from Yeumbeul Awahas more serious worries ldquoPeople herehave nothingrdquo explains Laye Seye Saerdeputy mayor of this former Leacutebou village(the Leacutebou were the original occupants ofthis region of Dakar Senegal) set up as amunicipality by Dakarrsquos decentralizingadministration in January 1996 ldquoTheydrink polluted waterrdquo he says ldquoThe youngpeople are unemployed they canrsquot culti-vate the fields because it doesnrsquot rainenough nor can they grow vegetable gar-dens because you have to drill 10 to 15metres before finding water instead of thetwo metres it used to take Letrsquos not evengo into the lack of land and motorizedpumpsrdquo Provided in theory by municipalauthorities the irregular rubbish collectionis limited to two main roads

D IRTY WEL LSldquoHow can things improve when everythingis a priorityrdquo laments Saer Without pub-lic toilettes how can you stop children uri-nating on the walls of their schools (withonly one secondary and seven primaryschools for a population of over 100000of which 52 are under the age of 20)Even worse insists the school directorDjiby Diouf more than half of the popula-tion has no running water and just two so-lutions fork out 25F CFA (about five cents)for a basin of water from the fountain (plusa monthly fee of 100F CFA per household)or go to a well However a recent study byUNESCO and the University of Dakarfound that two out of three wells are con-taminated by faecal coliform bacteria

Yet Yeumbeulans donrsquot give up ldquoInthe face of such precarious living condi-tions they organize themselves into youthassociations residentsrsquo committees busi-nesses Despite the number of these some-what unstructured groups these initiativesappear to be credible alternativesrdquo notesMohamed Soumareacute from the NGO Enda

Third World But how can they get pastsquare one of social mobilization to form-ing a solid local citizenry

ldquoOur theory is that collective well-being grows from concrete actionrdquo saysGeneviegraveve Domenach-Chich responsiblefor UNESCOrsquos Cities project Concrete isthe word the ldquo project supporting commu-nity dynamics and improvement in qualityof liferdquo undertaken at Yeumbeul consistsof structuring and reinforcing local hygieneinitiatives UNESCO provides two-thirdsof the budget while Enda coordinates theproject In 1996-1997 a budget of$100000 saw the construction of 44 sew-age ponds 32 toilets and five water sta-tions plus three rubbish collection cartsSavings and credit facilities for 10womensrsquo groups were also supported and

local leaders businesswomen carpentersand handymen trained Beyond that theproject has enabled the village to alter thebalance of power between the different so-cial groups as well as between the peopleand the municipal authorities

The first lesson learnt is that in such aneconomically drained community it is dif-ficult to get people so consumed with in-dividual problems to organize themselvesas a community for the collective good

The interpersonal conflicts are as bitter asresources are rare and they are multi-eth-nic (Wolof Toucouleur Diola etc) Basi-cally three groups represented by three as-sociations and corresponding to definedterritories want the project to give theirmembers preference ldquoStraightaway wenoticed conflictual relations between thelocal organizationsrdquo underline those as-sessing the project Pape Salif Seck andAbdsoul Karim Gueye

GIVE amp TAKEIntegrating new arrivals rural Diolas for themost part is also a problem ldquoThey claim aright to participate in the decisions that theoriginal members of the traditional villagedonrsquot seem ready to giverdquo Another dividearises as the Leacutebous see their traditionalpower giving way to second generationmigrants (predominantly Toucouleurs) whoare very involved in the project Finally theassessors note ldquoseeing the creation of citi-zensrsquo associations focused on the develop-ment of their village of originrdquo Indeed thevery popular El Hadji Ibrahima Ndiaye ofthe Toucouleurs is impatient ldquoWe needmore equipment as wersquore organizing a hy-giene campaignrdquo

The population is starting to impose it-self as a partner to the authorities who aretotally overwhelmed by the magnitude ofthe problems ldquoWe donrsquot have the meansnot even a vehicle to clear the streets whentheyrsquore illegally occupied by street vendorsand the likerdquo laments Saer ldquoWersquore forcedto hire clandestine taxisrdquo Despite thesuspicion of some local politicians fearingcompetition from leaders closer to the popu-lation than they are ldquoexchange is beginningto develop between the associative and po-litical worldsrdquo says Domenach-ChichldquoWe are regularly consulted and I partici-pate in municipal meetingsrdquo confirmsNdiaye For Soumareacute the projectrsquos limitsldquoshow that the NGOs and communitygroups cannot replace the state and mu-nicipal authorities Their initiatives shouldbe considered as leads - legitimated byUNESCOrsquos support - to follow up and be sup-ported on the ground by the public servicerdquo

SB and Daniel BEKOUTOUDakar

L AY I N G D O W N M O R E T H A N W AT E R P I P E S( P h o t o U N E S C O )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

10

AN URBAN KALEIDOSCOPEThe peaceful homogenous city is a thing of the past But it will take more than technologicaland rational planning to build a humane place where social ties flourish

At the start of the 21st century most ofthe worldrsquos population will live in cit-

ies By 2015 nine of the 10 biggest citieswill be in Asia Latin America and AfricaAccording to United Nations statistics cit-ies in developing countries are growing by62 million people every year By 2015 thenumber of city-dwellers in these countrieswill double and for the first time overtakethe rural population Growth of urban ar-eas will account for 88 of world popula-tion increase 90 of it in poor countriesWhile 28 of the worldrsquos 38 cities with morethan five million people were in the Southin 1995 as many as 59 out of 71 will be in2015

This urban explosion goes along witha very heavy ldquosocial debtrdquo including in-adequate housing even in ldquoglobalizedrdquo cit-ies (which are the motor of economic glo-balization) poor infrastructure and publicservices like water and garbage collection

This emerging urban civilization faceshead-on all the conflicts of a changing so-ciety as well as exacerbating and symbol-izing them Like mirrors the cities of boththe South and the North reflect ill-adviseddevelopment and the cost of modernityThe overall impression is one of fragmen-tation where social exclusion spatial seg-regation and increasing violence are thenorm But these places are also centres ofcreativity and innovation

A city is a physical visible place wherepolitical decisions are made where thereare economic restraints and collective

channels - a place which crystallizes cur-rent social transformations like globali-zation which brings a new global and lo-cal overlap in addition to changes in thenature of work including higher unemploy-ment under-employment and job insecu-rity Then there are the inequalities featur-ing marginalization and the resulting questfor social integration Or multiculturalismand ethnic affirmation Or urban violenceor the arrival of the information society andthe scientific and technological revolutionand ecology etc Cities must now be seenas places where diverse realities get mixedup So in one we find the global city thedivided city the multicultural city the

governed city the technological city andthe ecological one

The peaceful homogenous city is nomore Ruptures and uncertainty are the rulepolitical plans for social change are a pri-ority and rapid change in the most dynamicsocial areas is speeded up by technologi-cal innovations The rationally-planned citywith a technological future has to yield toa humanistic place where social ties pre-dominate This is why management ofchanges in social structure is vital for acityrsquos future because the city is both a placeand an actor Furthermore city governmentshould be seen as a complicated process ofmutual coordination and adjustment be-tween its various actors

Comparative international social sci-ence research such as that carried outunder the MOST programme conceived

as a socially useful initiative has a keyrole to play A look at different forms ofcity government shows that the new struc-ture of local politics strongly linked withboth decentralization and globalizationparallels a new division of authority be-tween the state civil society and the mar-ket Their contractual relationships are de-fined by competition and cooperationthrough the art of negotiating and manag-ing the conflicts of interest between dif-ferent elements of the local community forthe common good

INNOVAT IONThe final share of costs and benefits fromsolving social conflicts depends on the ca-pacity of these coalitions and institutionsto take action in the cityrsquos public spheresand on the speed at which institutions ma-ture By building partnerships between pub-lic sector private sector and citizenry inmany institutional forms the state as pro-tector can be transformed into one whichserves as a driving force Citizens are nolonger just passive users but initiators whilecompanies leave their role as suppliers tobecome partners

But current territorial units and theirinstitutional expressions only allow citi-zens a limited role The challenge next cen-tury is to humanize cities making themmore active and creative in terms of civicideals and mingling of cultures and somore democratic Three basic commit-ments are needed to achieve this - consoli-dating democracy guaranteeing citizensrsquorights and drawing up a new social con-tract

The first condition of this new socialcontract is to redefine the pattern of devel-opment The destructive ldquoeconomicrdquomodel which leads to ldquodehumanizingrdquo ur-banization must be replaced by a moreldquosocialrdquo version which treats the economyas an instrument and not an end in itselfSolidarity is not just a routine aspect ofdemocracy but one which determines free-dom human rights and how long democ-racy itself lasts

Ceacuteline SACHS-JEANTETUrban planner

Paris

lsquo C R E A T I N G rsquoM O R E L A N D

I NH O N G K O N G

( P h o t o copyR A P H O M i c h a e l

Y a m a s h i t a )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

11

D o s s i e r

COMMON GROUND ON DIVIDED TERRITORYInstead of waiting for municipal authorities to respond residents of a Dakar suburb installtheir own infrastructure despite more than one social divide

A bowl balanced on her head AwaDniaye emerges from her family com-

pound next to the small clinic She pourswater whitened from rice mixed with fishscales onto the soil ldquoWhat do you expectme to do when therersquos no drainrdquo she re-plies sharply to anyone who might want totell her to do otherwise

Like most women from Yeumbeul Awahas more serious worries ldquoPeople herehave nothingrdquo explains Laye Seye Saerdeputy mayor of this former Leacutebou village(the Leacutebou were the original occupants ofthis region of Dakar Senegal) set up as amunicipality by Dakarrsquos decentralizingadministration in January 1996 ldquoTheydrink polluted waterrdquo he says ldquoThe youngpeople are unemployed they canrsquot culti-vate the fields because it doesnrsquot rainenough nor can they grow vegetable gar-dens because you have to drill 10 to 15metres before finding water instead of thetwo metres it used to take Letrsquos not evengo into the lack of land and motorizedpumpsrdquo Provided in theory by municipalauthorities the irregular rubbish collectionis limited to two main roads

D IRTY WEL LSldquoHow can things improve when everythingis a priorityrdquo laments Saer Without pub-lic toilettes how can you stop children uri-nating on the walls of their schools (withonly one secondary and seven primaryschools for a population of over 100000of which 52 are under the age of 20)Even worse insists the school directorDjiby Diouf more than half of the popula-tion has no running water and just two so-lutions fork out 25F CFA (about five cents)for a basin of water from the fountain (plusa monthly fee of 100F CFA per household)or go to a well However a recent study byUNESCO and the University of Dakarfound that two out of three wells are con-taminated by faecal coliform bacteria

Yet Yeumbeulans donrsquot give up ldquoInthe face of such precarious living condi-tions they organize themselves into youthassociations residentsrsquo committees busi-nesses Despite the number of these some-what unstructured groups these initiativesappear to be credible alternativesrdquo notesMohamed Soumareacute from the NGO Enda

Third World But how can they get pastsquare one of social mobilization to form-ing a solid local citizenry

ldquoOur theory is that collective well-being grows from concrete actionrdquo saysGeneviegraveve Domenach-Chich responsiblefor UNESCOrsquos Cities project Concrete isthe word the ldquo project supporting commu-nity dynamics and improvement in qualityof liferdquo undertaken at Yeumbeul consistsof structuring and reinforcing local hygieneinitiatives UNESCO provides two-thirdsof the budget while Enda coordinates theproject In 1996-1997 a budget of$100000 saw the construction of 44 sew-age ponds 32 toilets and five water sta-tions plus three rubbish collection cartsSavings and credit facilities for 10womensrsquo groups were also supported and

local leaders businesswomen carpentersand handymen trained Beyond that theproject has enabled the village to alter thebalance of power between the different so-cial groups as well as between the peopleand the municipal authorities

The first lesson learnt is that in such aneconomically drained community it is dif-ficult to get people so consumed with in-dividual problems to organize themselvesas a community for the collective good

The interpersonal conflicts are as bitter asresources are rare and they are multi-eth-nic (Wolof Toucouleur Diola etc) Basi-cally three groups represented by three as-sociations and corresponding to definedterritories want the project to give theirmembers preference ldquoStraightaway wenoticed conflictual relations between thelocal organizationsrdquo underline those as-sessing the project Pape Salif Seck andAbdsoul Karim Gueye

GIVE amp TAKEIntegrating new arrivals rural Diolas for themost part is also a problem ldquoThey claim aright to participate in the decisions that theoriginal members of the traditional villagedonrsquot seem ready to giverdquo Another dividearises as the Leacutebous see their traditionalpower giving way to second generationmigrants (predominantly Toucouleurs) whoare very involved in the project Finally theassessors note ldquoseeing the creation of citi-zensrsquo associations focused on the develop-ment of their village of originrdquo Indeed thevery popular El Hadji Ibrahima Ndiaye ofthe Toucouleurs is impatient ldquoWe needmore equipment as wersquore organizing a hy-giene campaignrdquo

The population is starting to impose it-self as a partner to the authorities who aretotally overwhelmed by the magnitude ofthe problems ldquoWe donrsquot have the meansnot even a vehicle to clear the streets whentheyrsquore illegally occupied by street vendorsand the likerdquo laments Saer ldquoWersquore forcedto hire clandestine taxisrdquo Despite thesuspicion of some local politicians fearingcompetition from leaders closer to the popu-lation than they are ldquoexchange is beginningto develop between the associative and po-litical worldsrdquo says Domenach-ChichldquoWe are regularly consulted and I partici-pate in municipal meetingsrdquo confirmsNdiaye For Soumareacute the projectrsquos limitsldquoshow that the NGOs and communitygroups cannot replace the state and mu-nicipal authorities Their initiatives shouldbe considered as leads - legitimated byUNESCOrsquos support - to follow up and be sup-ported on the ground by the public servicerdquo

SB and Daniel BEKOUTOUDakar

L AY I N G D O W N M O R E T H A N W AT E R P I P E S( P h o t o U N E S C O )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

ALL

ARTI

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U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

11

D o s s i e r

COMMON GROUND ON DIVIDED TERRITORYInstead of waiting for municipal authorities to respond residents of a Dakar suburb installtheir own infrastructure despite more than one social divide

A bowl balanced on her head AwaDniaye emerges from her family com-

pound next to the small clinic She pourswater whitened from rice mixed with fishscales onto the soil ldquoWhat do you expectme to do when therersquos no drainrdquo she re-plies sharply to anyone who might want totell her to do otherwise

Like most women from Yeumbeul Awahas more serious worries ldquoPeople herehave nothingrdquo explains Laye Seye Saerdeputy mayor of this former Leacutebou village(the Leacutebou were the original occupants ofthis region of Dakar Senegal) set up as amunicipality by Dakarrsquos decentralizingadministration in January 1996 ldquoTheydrink polluted waterrdquo he says ldquoThe youngpeople are unemployed they canrsquot culti-vate the fields because it doesnrsquot rainenough nor can they grow vegetable gar-dens because you have to drill 10 to 15metres before finding water instead of thetwo metres it used to take Letrsquos not evengo into the lack of land and motorizedpumpsrdquo Provided in theory by municipalauthorities the irregular rubbish collectionis limited to two main roads

D IRTY WEL LSldquoHow can things improve when everythingis a priorityrdquo laments Saer Without pub-lic toilettes how can you stop children uri-nating on the walls of their schools (withonly one secondary and seven primaryschools for a population of over 100000of which 52 are under the age of 20)Even worse insists the school directorDjiby Diouf more than half of the popula-tion has no running water and just two so-lutions fork out 25F CFA (about five cents)for a basin of water from the fountain (plusa monthly fee of 100F CFA per household)or go to a well However a recent study byUNESCO and the University of Dakarfound that two out of three wells are con-taminated by faecal coliform bacteria

Yet Yeumbeulans donrsquot give up ldquoInthe face of such precarious living condi-tions they organize themselves into youthassociations residentsrsquo committees busi-nesses Despite the number of these some-what unstructured groups these initiativesappear to be credible alternativesrdquo notesMohamed Soumareacute from the NGO Enda

Third World But how can they get pastsquare one of social mobilization to form-ing a solid local citizenry

ldquoOur theory is that collective well-being grows from concrete actionrdquo saysGeneviegraveve Domenach-Chich responsiblefor UNESCOrsquos Cities project Concrete isthe word the ldquo project supporting commu-nity dynamics and improvement in qualityof liferdquo undertaken at Yeumbeul consistsof structuring and reinforcing local hygieneinitiatives UNESCO provides two-thirdsof the budget while Enda coordinates theproject In 1996-1997 a budget of$100000 saw the construction of 44 sew-age ponds 32 toilets and five water sta-tions plus three rubbish collection cartsSavings and credit facilities for 10womensrsquo groups were also supported and

local leaders businesswomen carpentersand handymen trained Beyond that theproject has enabled the village to alter thebalance of power between the different so-cial groups as well as between the peopleand the municipal authorities

The first lesson learnt is that in such aneconomically drained community it is dif-ficult to get people so consumed with in-dividual problems to organize themselvesas a community for the collective good

The interpersonal conflicts are as bitter asresources are rare and they are multi-eth-nic (Wolof Toucouleur Diola etc) Basi-cally three groups represented by three as-sociations and corresponding to definedterritories want the project to give theirmembers preference ldquoStraightaway wenoticed conflictual relations between thelocal organizationsrdquo underline those as-sessing the project Pape Salif Seck andAbdsoul Karim Gueye

GIVE amp TAKEIntegrating new arrivals rural Diolas for themost part is also a problem ldquoThey claim aright to participate in the decisions that theoriginal members of the traditional villagedonrsquot seem ready to giverdquo Another dividearises as the Leacutebous see their traditionalpower giving way to second generationmigrants (predominantly Toucouleurs) whoare very involved in the project Finally theassessors note ldquoseeing the creation of citi-zensrsquo associations focused on the develop-ment of their village of originrdquo Indeed thevery popular El Hadji Ibrahima Ndiaye ofthe Toucouleurs is impatient ldquoWe needmore equipment as wersquore organizing a hy-giene campaignrdquo

The population is starting to impose it-self as a partner to the authorities who aretotally overwhelmed by the magnitude ofthe problems ldquoWe donrsquot have the meansnot even a vehicle to clear the streets whentheyrsquore illegally occupied by street vendorsand the likerdquo laments Saer ldquoWersquore forcedto hire clandestine taxisrdquo Despite thesuspicion of some local politicians fearingcompetition from leaders closer to the popu-lation than they are ldquoexchange is beginningto develop between the associative and po-litical worldsrdquo says Domenach-ChichldquoWe are regularly consulted and I partici-pate in municipal meetingsrdquo confirmsNdiaye For Soumareacute the projectrsquos limitsldquoshow that the NGOs and communitygroups cannot replace the state and mu-nicipal authorities Their initiatives shouldbe considered as leads - legitimated byUNESCOrsquos support - to follow up and be sup-ported on the ground by the public servicerdquo

SB and Daniel BEKOUTOUDakar

L AY I N G D O W N M O R E T H A N W AT E R P I P E S( P h o t o U N E S C O )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

12

A MOBILE BORDERLESS WORLDOne of the main characteristics of our globalized world is movement of goods money and peopleThis is not new in itself but the speed with which it is happening and the sheer volumes involved

TRADE GROWTH OUTSTRIPS PRODUCTION INCREASES

THE LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL TRADE AND PRODUCTION (BASE YEAR 1950=100) (Source WTO 1995)

The constant growth in world trade overthe past 50-odd years is clearly shown inthis graph Until the mid-70s this growthwas fairly closely matched by increasingproduction With the rise of the marketeconomy and the spread of liberalizationpolicies aimed at lowering real exchangerates stimulating exporters and reducingquotas and tariffs trade began to leapahead According to the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) between 1984 and 1994 worldtrade increased by 53 annually asagainst a mere 19 rise in productionBetween 1990 and 1994 the rate was 5as against about 05 The World TradeOrganization (WTO) reports that in 1996the total value of exports topped $5 tril-lion for the first time ever

Money is also moving in far greater vol-umes This graph although incompletebecause it only deals with OECD coun-tries is nonetheless a telling example As

DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWING INTO AND OUT OF OECD COUNTRIES (LEFT) AND CUMULATIVE FLOWS FOR THE SAME (RIGHT) (Source OECD)

is shown here the amount of direct invest-ment flowing into and out of the OECD hasmultiplied five times over in the past 12years Similarly cumulative inflows

increased from $191b between 1971-1980to $15 trillion between 1987-1996 whilecumulative outflows rose from $304 b tojust over $2 trillion

RIVERS OF MONEY$ millions

2500000

2000000

1500000

1000000

500000

01971-1980 1987-1996

1985

1990

1996

$ millions

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0INFLOWS OUTFLOWS

INFLOWS

OUTFLOWS

50

100

200

1000

2000

500

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1994

123123123123123123123

12341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123123

123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234123412341234

1234123412341234Production

International trade

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F A C T S I N F I G U R E S

13

U S A

M E X I C O CUBA

J A M A I C ADOMINICAN REP

C O L O M B I A

VENEZUELA

B O L I V I A

URUGUAY

PARAGUAY

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

BOTSWANA

Z I M B A B W E MOZAMB IQUE

SWAZILAND

LESOTHOSOUTH AFRICA

B U R K I N A FA S OS E N E G A L

M A L I

COTE DIVOIRE

M A U R I TA N I A

M O R O C C OA L G E R I A

L I B Y A

T U N I S I A

WESTERN EUROPE

S U D A N

E G Y P T GULFCOUNTRIES

EASTERN EUROPE

PAK ISTAN

I N D I A

S R IL A N K A

BANGLADESH

T H A I L A N D

MALAYSIA

S INGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

T A I W A N

S O U T HK O R E A J A P A N

INDONESIA

MAJOR CURRENT LABOUR MIGRATION MOVEMENTS (Source International Labour Office)

are unprecedented making such movement a chief agent of change that societies everywhereare searching for ways to deal with

URBAN POPULATION AS A OF TOTAL POPULATION (1960-2000)(Source UNDP Human Development Report 1995)

According to the International Labour Of-fice (ILO) people move mainly fromldquosouth to southrdquo from ldquosouth to northrdquoand from ldquoeast to westrdquo The World Bankestimates that annual remittances fromthese migrants amount to some $67 bil-lion In Yemen remittances early this dec-ade were valued at 150 of the countryrsquostotal exports In Pakistan and Egypt theywere worth 75

The region most affected by migrationis Sub-Saharan Africa where some 30million migrants are concentrated mostlyin West and Southern Africa

People are also moving within theirown countries with the bright lights of thecity serving as a powerful magnet In allcountries in all regions the number ofurban inhabitants continues to swell fasterthan the capacity of cities to provide jobshomes water sanitation and other basicservices for them

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

4844

34

7673

61

3430

15

2521

9

4036

22

World

Industrialcountries

Sub-Saharancountries

Least developedcountries

All developingcountries

Year 2000

Year 1992

Year 1960

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

14

LESS TO THE ldquoHAVE-NOTSrdquoThe growth opportunities offered by globalization are not extended to all Isolated rural societiesrisk being left behind but losing the little they now have

Economic and commercial globalizationis a process in which national econo-

mies and markets are gradually opened upmore widely to competition capital tech-nology and information But it also involvesthe general introduction of market rules andlaws to regulate the economies This situa-tion springs from the determination of alarge number of countries to become partof the global economy in order to reap what-ever benefits it may offer

Along with national authorities themultinationals and the international mon-etary organizations have played a key roleThe IMF and the IBRD have orchestratedthe liberalization of developing countriesrsquo

economies by prescribing structural adjust-ment programmes (SAPs) For agriculturethis has meant privatizing formerly state-owned lands freeing production prices andaligning them with international ratesabolishing input subsidies and relieving thestate of its obligation to provide specificfacilities for farmers With regard to agri-cultural produce the GATT agreementsregulating international trade should leadto an increase in the volume of tradekeener competition a slight opening up ofthe import markets and above all a heftierfood bill for importing countries

Globalization is going to result in bigchanges to national production systems andthe labour market It will induce a reorgani-zation of businesses into small networksand the flexible management of productionand labour However its impact will notbe the same in all countries nor even in allregions within the same country still less

so in the social groups making them upIts effects may vary according to a coun-tryrsquos capacity to take advantage of thespinoff from world growth and how openits economy is It would seem that the bulkof the increase in international trade (50-80 according to estimates) is likely to beconcentrated in the hands of the developedcountries followed by the newly industri-alized countries of Asia and lastly by theother developing countries which will begathering but crumbs from the globaliza-tion cake At national level the regions bestintegrated into the international economyand with the best infrastructures will thusimprove their economic performance

On the other hand the less privilegedregions run the risk of even greater exclu-sion because of increasing competition anda rat race they are less able to cope with Inthe developing countries according to the re-searcher Bernard Ravenelldquoglobalizationturns production systems more and more out-wards thus widening the hiatus betweenthem and countriesrsquo internal economic andsocial realities and needsrdquo This appliesabove all to rural society which in mostdeveloping countries still has considerableweight on account of the size of its popu-lation and its contribution to national in-come and employment

As globalization weakens the nation-state it reduces its capacity for financialintervention especially for vulnerablepopulation groups and fringe regions

The dismantling of the industrial sys-tem which had been established throughpolicies of state-administered development

and shielded from foreign competition willas the European Commission coyly putsit have employment costs According toRavenel ldquowe know that bringing the Mo-roccan and Tunisian industrial sector upto scratch means shedding 40 of busi-nesses and the jobs that go with them Thepolitical choice of free trade will by ag-gravating local regional and national in-equalities make the public well-being apolitical issuerdquo The rural population withits low skill level is the first to be affectedWe are also witnessing a decline in thepurchasing power of workers in generaland agricultural workers in particular ofas much as 20-40 in countries likeTunisia Morocco or Egypt over thepast decade This is particularly true of ru-ral populations because their incomepartly depends on sectors other thanfarming

RETURN ING TO THE LANDIncreased urban unemployment has more-over brought about a return to rural areasof people who are now reverting to subsist-ence farming We are seeing a levelling outor even an increase in the number of farmsand landless peasants with a rise of over25 in Tunisia for example between 1989and 1995

However this option is not for all InEgypt after a freeze of 40 years a prop-erty counter-reform has made land andwater marketable again letting ownersraise rents and cut small farmers adrift

In short globalization which offersgrowth opportunities for all countries tak-ing part in the process seems to spell in-creased insecurity for the most vulnerablefringes of rural society mainly on accountof lower welfare payments and dwindlingincome and employment opportunities insectors other than farming What needsdetermining then is how far participationin the management of natural resources andrural development which is presented tothese populations as an alternative to glo-balization will in fact be able to offsetsome of its adverse effects

Mohamed ELLOUMIResearch Institute

on the contemporary maghreb Tunis

G A T H E R I N GT H E C R U M B S

( P h o t o copyB eacute a t r i c e

P e t i t )

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

ALL

ARTI

CLES

ARE

FRE

E OF

COP

YRIG

HT R

ESTR

ICTI

ONS

SEE

P3

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

F O C U S

15

D o s s i e r

SEEKING THE KEYS TO SUCCESSA MOST research project in the icy northern polar region tries to understand why globalizationsucceeds for some and proves fatal to others

F innmark lapped by the freezing watersof the Arctic Ocean and the Barents

Sea is Norwayrsquos northern-most countyWith its week-long blizzards in winter andhordes of mosquitoes each summer it isprobably one of the worldrsquos most inhospi-table places to live Its largest townBatsfjord has a population of 2500

This remote arearsquos strategic importanceduring the cold war ensured that it wasequipped with such infrastructure as air-ports roads hydro-electric dams and evencellular telephone reception in the mostremote valleys But since the fall of theSoviet Union political interest in the areahas declined - along with the population

The sight of a luxury liner cruisingalong this frozen desolate coast laden withtourists could therefore seem somewhatincongruous Yet international tourism isa growing industry there

Likewise fishing is an internationalaffair Batsfjordrsquos four locally-owned fishprocessing plants export their productsmostly to the European market but also asfar afield as Japan Their profits are turnedback into the local industry - and the com-munity the Batsfjord volley-ball teamwhich regularly tops Norwayrsquos first divi-sion has been coached for example byforeign professionals paid for by theplants

SATE L L I T E GU IDED RE INDEERStorfjord in neighbouring Troms countyhas also worked out ways of improving itslot by tapping into the globalized marketSituated close to the Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish border this town of 1800 peoplehas built its wealth on the export of hydro-electric power The profits in this case feeda fund created by local authorities to financesmaller local business projects

The other main industry in both coun-ties is reindeer herding which is mostly inthe hands of Norwayrsquos indigenous Saamipeople And even here the herders ridesnowmobiles and refer to information pro-vided by navigational satellites to find thebest grazing sites

ldquoEven the most peripheral communi-ties and regions in the north now find them-selves in a situation where they must learnto live in a globalized world Isolationism

will hardly suffice as a strategy for sur-vivalrdquo says Nils Aarsaether the coordina-tor of the Circumpolar Coping ProcessesProject (CCPP) established under the aus-pices of MOST at the University ofTromsoe The project has set up a networkof researchers in Russia Canada NorwayFinland Denmark Greenland IcelandFaeroes and Sweden to study how remotecommunities cope with the impact of glo-balization ldquoInstead of lamenting the nega-tive effects though we have deliberately

selected case communities like Batsfjordand Storfjord in which coping strategiesare being developed andor implementedto try to maximize the benefits from someof the globalization processesrdquo

When fish stocks collapsed in the1980s for example Batsfjord importedfish from Alaska to save jobs They nowregularly buy from Russian trawlers aswell Conscious of the destabilizing effectthe loss of women could have these farnorthern communities have made a realeffort to ensure equal opportunities forthem In the late 1970s when their num-bers fell the welcome mat was laid out forFinnish women who were offered jobs inthe fish plants Many of them stayed and mar-ried Norwegian men there In an effort to

overcome the chronic shortage of workers forthe plants the door has also been opened toTamil refugees who have even established acricket team in this frozen outpost

To understand the dynamics of such acommunity explains Aarsaether ldquowe try toask simple questions like why does thismunicipality keep its population while oth-ers experience decline The answers we gettend to lead us deep into very different fieldsand the possible interaction between themsuch as production distribution house-hold processes gender relations reli-gious life ethnicity and cultural identityeducation electronic communication andthe likerdquo

I M B A L A N C ESo far the story sounds very positive andthese coastal communities appear to be veryopen dynamic and positive But there isanother side ldquoWhile in some places and atcertain periods globalization offers newemployment opportunities and increasedsocial welfare the more common pattern isof increasing socio-economic and ecologi-cal imbalancerdquo said Aarsaether ldquoOne ef-fect is the concentration of power capitaland information in lsquosuccessfulrsquo urban re-gions coupled with the economic and de-mographic decline of rural regions Indeedmany rural communities in the north nowfind themselves on the brink of extinctionwith the natural resources they have reliedon in the past exhausted In fisheries forinstance a fleet of trawlers operating out-side territorial borders is largely responsi-ble for the crisis afflicting many coastalcommunities This is clearly the case inNewfoundland (Canada) for examplerdquo

Through its research the CCPP hopesto help explain why some communitieslike Batsfjord succeed under the new con-ditions imposed by the globalized worldand why others donrsquot Their findingsshould in turn help policy and decision-makers - and most importantly thesecommunities themselves - to devise strat-egies to deal with the problems and playtheir part in shaping the world they livein

John GUSTAVSSONTromsoe

A T R A D I T I O N A L S A A M I R E I N D E E R H E R D E R( P h o t o copy R o s i n e M a z i n )

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

F O C U S

U N E S C O S 0 U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

D o s s i e r

16

UNDERSTANDING WHATrsquoS HAPPENING

TO FIND OUT MORE

A wide-ranging research programme studies the changes brought by globalizationthat are affecting societies around the world

At the end of the cold war the profoundsocial changes that had been slowly

gathering momentum throughout most ofthe 70s and 80s moved into top speed Con-sequently major challenges such as the de-velopment of the South the rise of unem-ployment in the North social exclusion andpoverty the widening breach between richand poor countries and within societies themultiplication of internal ethnic and reli-gious conflicts and the diversification ofpublic and private actors in the internationalarena needs to be re-evaluated analyzedand understood

This task is essentially one for socialscientists But it requires new ways of or-ganizing research especially on the inter-national level to take the new context intoaccount It also requires the reinforcementof the links between social science researchand socio-economic decision-making totranslate knowledge gained into develop-ment policies that are more relevant andefficient

To this end UNESCO in 1994 createdan international social science researchprogramme known as MOST or the Man-agement of Social Transformations Its twomain goals are to promote research on to-dayrsquos major social issues and make the re-sulting knowledge known to policy mak-ers The programme establishes a frame-work for international scientific coopera-tion and a source of expertise for policyformulation as well as for the implemen-tation of development projects in the fieldThese diverse activities are carried out byteams of researchers government or

municipal authorities elected representa-tives andor non-governmental organiza-tions working as closely together as possi-ble

MOST is guided by the priorities iden-tified by the United Nations world confer-ences organized this decade including theRio Earth Summit (1992) the populationconference in Cairo (1994) social devel-opment in Copenhagen (1995) women inBeijing (1995) and cities in Istanbul (1996)focusing particularly on poverty and socialexclusion international migration the fu-ture of cities and sustainable development

These issues are tackled through the per-spectives of the democratic governance ofmulticultural and multi-ethnic societiessocial problems and citizenship in citiesand the interaction between national prob-lems and the process of globalization Re-search is being carried out on such themesas growing up in the city urban industrialgrowth and the global economy in SouthAsia citizenship and multiculturalism inEurope social transformation and drugtrafficking globalization and the transfor-mation of rural societies in the Arab coun-tries institutional reform of social policyin Latin America ethnicity and conflict inAfrica and migration and ethno-culturaldiversity in the Asia-Pacific region

Apart from its research arm MOST hasa number of field projects underway pro-moting local or national development suchas the adaptation of cities to the needs ofchildren and adolescents being carried outin eight countries or in Burkina Faso andLaos improving the quality of life for poorwomen in rural zones and in Kyrgyzstanproviding training in the democratic man-agement of a multicultural society

The programme is also involved intraining young researchers by encourag-ing their participation in its projects andvia courses conducted through the 30-oddUNESCO chairs in the social sciences andsustainable development that have been setup in universities in 20 countries

A MOST information exchange cen-tre also exists on the Internet at httpWWWUNESCOorgMOST It comprisesspecialized data bases on best practices inthe struggle against poverty and exclusionas well as a discussion forum on the ethi-cal questions raised by social science re-search A thematic data base is in theworks

The programme is led by an intergov-ernmental council composed of 35UNESCO Member States and an inde-pendent steering committee made up ofnine high-level researchers nominated fortheir individual achievement Activities arecoordinated by a small secretariat based atHeadquarters and MOST national liaisoncommittees that have so far been estab-lished in 40 countries

Ali KAZANCIGIL

CITIES OF THE FUTURE MANAGING SO-CIAL TRANSFORMATIONS (No 147 of theInternational Social Science Journal March1996) presents a series of articles lookingat the main social transformations shapingtomorrowrsquos cities

MOST POLICY PAPERS present policyimplications of research results Titles in-cludeSearching for New Development Strat-egies - The Challenges of the Social

Summit by Ignacy Sachs 1995 FromSocial Exclusion to Social Cohesion apolicy agenda by Sophie Bessis 1995 Cy-bernetics of Global Change Human Di-mension and Managing of Complexity byM Mesarovic D McGinnis and D West1996 Multiculturalism A policy Re-sponse to Diversity by Christine Inglis1996 Democracy and Citizenship in the21st Century City by Ceacuteline Sachs-Jeantetand Sustainability a Cross-DisciplinaryConcept for Social Transformations by

Egon Becker Thomans Jahn ImmanuelStiess and Peter Wehling 1997

THE MOST NEWSLETTER published twiceyearly it provides an update on programmeactivities

MOST DISCUSSION PAPERS this seriespublishes contributions from specialists inthe MOST research fields Fifteen papersare available to date

WORLD POPULATION MAP

ldquoGeographical distribution

of population

is deemed unsatisfactory

in over half of the worldrsquos

countriesrdquo

A detailed picture of human occupationeven in places not normally well-known

UNESCO Publishing Price 120 FF

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

C u l t u r e

18

OPPRESSION AND REVOLTThe Slave Route project attempts to give history its rightful dueon a divided island in the CaribbeanThe controversy surrounding the release ofthe film Amistad illustrates if there was everany need the importance of UNESCOrsquosSlave Route project (see box) Amistad thelatest mega-production of American film-maker Steven Spielberg tells the story of aslave revolt aboard the Spanish vessel ofthe same name Several well-known histo-rians contest the moviersquos view of Spainrsquosrole in the slave trade ldquoIt leaves the im-pression that the slave trade was treacherycommitted by detestable Latinos like theSpanish and Portuguese when for severalgenerations the British and to a lesser de-gree American captains and businessmenalso practised itrdquo reminds British historianHugh Thomas

The Slave Route project as defined by thescientific committee during the sessions inOuidah (Benin September 1994) Matanzas(Cuba December 1995) and Cabinda (An-gola November 1996) aims to study thecauses methods and consequences of thetransatlantic slave trade ldquoIt doesnrsquot justmean collecting historical anthropologicaland ethnological data but also and per-haps most of all it is about reviving thememory of the great human tragedies of theslave trade and slavery To wrench themfrom the past and transform them intoweapons against racism and violations ofhuman rights To use them to better under-stand the African diasporas Here for ex-ample in the Caribbean it is not possibleto understand the formation of our nationalidentities without taking into account theirAfrican rootsrdquo explains Hugo TolentinoDipp President of the projectrsquos Dominicancommittee he was one of the first profes-sors from Santo Domingo to study the Af-rican contribution to the formation of theDominican identity ldquoFrom the slave revoltto the participation of the blacks in the fight-ing during the Republican period the Afri-can influence cannot be disassociated fromthe fight for freedom equality and humanrightsrdquo he stresses

One of the worldrsquos most mixed-bloodnations the Dominican Republic buried itsAfrican roots for years The countryrsquos com-plex relationship with Haiti with which itshares the island of Hispaniola proved to

be an additional obstacle to the acknowl-edgement of this heritage For a long timethe political elite and the dominant ideol-ogy assumed that blacks and Haitians wereone and the same They also saw them asa threat to the ldquotrue Dominican identityrdquoconsidered part of the republicrsquos Hispanicheritage More recently during the 1994and 1996 electoral campaigns presiden-tial candidate Joseacute Francisco Pena Gomezwas the victim of racial attacks over hisblack and Haitian origins The incidents un-derline the importance of ldquoThe Slave Routerdquoin a country where the first African slavesarrived just nine years after ChristopherColumbus

As Tolentino notes ldquothe relationshipbetween master and slave engenderedlaws institutions rules of social behaviourand specific beliefsrdquo This contradictoryprocess translated into a ldquocultural sedimen-tation in the identity of these societies -layering the identity of oppression with thatof revolt but also with the fight for free-domrdquo Tolentinorsquos theory - which maintainsthat the prejudices and xenophobic ideolo-gies of certain groups were unable to blockthe mixing of origins that characterize thenational identities of old slave colonies- particularly applies to the DominicanRepublic

ldquoWhether it concerns work religion fes-tive activities art music cuisine or otherforms of expression syncretism and cul-tural synthesis shaped the particularitiesof these societiesrdquo The major challenge isto ldquobetter understand the role historicalconsciousness plays in the intimacy of na-tional identitiesrdquo An urgent task consider-ing that in most of these societies the de-scendants of African slaves live in condi-tions marked by poverty unemploymentsickness lack of education and social se-curity and an absence of real national soli-darity

To reach its objectives The SlaveRoute cannot restrict itself to exchangesbetween university researchers Culturalleaders artists and grassroots organizationsmust also participate Media awareness inthe various countries associated with theproject would enable it to reach the public

Unde r t h e banne r ldquoKn i t t i n g Na t i on sToge t he r rdquo a f a sh i on s how c ommerc i a lexh i b i t i o n and r ound - t ab l e a t Headqua r-t e r s f r om De cembe r 1 -5 h i gh l i gh t ed am i c r o - c r ed i t p r o j e c t f o r BOSN IANWOMEN i n s p i r ed by t h e G rameen Banki n Bang l ade sh O rgan i z ed by UNESCO t h e Wo r l d Bankand t he UN H i gh Commi s s i one r f o rRe fugee s t h e p r o j e c t ha s r a i s ed $4 7mfo r 2 200 l oan s t o i n t r odu ce kn i t t e d woven and embro i de r ed p r odu c t s t o t h ePa r i s f a sh i on ma rke t T he Wo r l d Bankhope s t o c r ea t e 10 000 new bu s i ne s s e s i nBo sn i a and He r zegov i na wh i c h maygene ra t e a s many a s 15 000 new j ob s

At the MERCOSUR summit on Decem-ber 15 Director-General FedericoMayor and Alvaro Ramos a repre-sentative of the Latin American free-trade institution and Foreign AffairsMinister of Uruguay signed aCO-OPERATION AGREEMENT inMontevideo before the presidents ofArgentina Bolivia Brazil ChileParaguay and UruguayUNESCO will work with these coun-tries to develop and implementprojects and assist in finding outsidefunding for them

R E V I V I N G A M E M O RY

A H E AV Y L E G A C Y

(Pho

to U

NESC

ONi

na L

evin

thal

)

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

19

C u l t u r e

at large and a website on the Internet wouldfacilitate exchanges between researchersand to allow them access to new documen-tary sources

The results expected of the projectseem promising particularly in the Carib-bean countries which are striving to offermore than their coconut-lined beaches andsunny skies To this end priority has beengiven to a proposition by the director ofthe Liverpool Museum (UK) RichardFoster for a census of museums and col-lections dedicated entirely or partially tothe slave trade and slavery In tandem thedevelopment of underwater archaeologicalresearch might add to museum collections

ldquoThe Port-au-Prince meet-ing (December 8-10) on theinsurrection of the night ofAugust 22 1791 in Saint-Domingue was not just ascientific event but a politi-cal successrdquo reportsDoudou Diegravene who di-rects UNESCOrsquos Divi-sion for InterculturalProjects like The SlaveRoute Prior to inde-pendence in 1803 Haitiwas known as Saint-Domingue The fact thatHaitirsquos President ReneacutePreacuteval personally re-

ceived a delegation of the seminarrsquos participants ldquounderscored the tremendous im-portance Haitians attach to the memory of this insurrection It forms the core of Haitianidentity and historyrdquo

ldquoThere are several reasons for turning back to this eventrdquo says Diegravene ldquoTo beginwith 1998 is the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in France and the Saint-Domingue revolt was a key factor triggering the process leading to abolitionrdquo Thisexplains why UNESCO declared August 23rd to be the International Day for theCommemoration of the Slave Trade and its Abolition ldquoWe need to show that it was thestruggle launched by slaves which ultimately led to the decision to abolish the slave traderdquo

While the insurrection is relatively well-known and documented the Port-au-Prince meeting explored new angles by notably asking why it became so im-portant symbolically when there were other revolts before it ldquoIt was the biggestand best organizedrdquo says Diegravene who also explains ldquothat it took on a very specialmeaning in light of the French Revolution which also contributed to itrdquo However theparticipants also pointed to the ambiguities vis-agrave-vis the slavesrsquo liberation onthe part of French revolutionaries pressured by colonists who were very activein the French National Convention (1792-1795)

ldquoThe force of the Saint-Domingue insurrection stems from the fact that it was basedon the use of African culture and religionrdquo explains Diegravene ldquoVoodoo welded Haitianslaves together by giving them a strong sense of spiritual motivation Blood-pacts boundthe slaves to the secret societies they created These societies also structured their revoltIt enabled them to transmit messages while they worked in the fields by song music anddance right under the noses of the slave owners who dismissed it all as just ceremonies ofsavages Haitian society is still profoundly marked by this culture of revolt All of theruling powers have used voodoo Haiti is a country with major political violence but alsoone with a very strong culture of resistancerdquo

Promoting ldquothe African vision ofinternational relationsrdquo nine Africanheads of state inaugurated the FEacuteLIXHOUPHOUEumlT BOIGNY Foundation forPeace Research in YamoussoukroDirector-General Federico Mayorjoined the leaders of Benin BurkinaFaso Congo Cocircte drsquoIvoire (the hostcountry) Gabon Niger NigeriaSenegal and Togo in signing adeclaration on December 5 whichnotably recommends creating a sub-regional early-warning system toprevent conflicts from explodingThe foundation is housed in a100000 m2 ultra-modern complexequipped with an internationaldocumentation and information centrewith UNESCOrsquos support

T h e ldquoR E N A I S S A N C E O F M O S C O W rdquocame t o l i f e a t Headqua r t e r s f r omDecembe r 17 t o 19 w i t h an exh i b i t i o n ont he Ru s s i an c ap i t a l a l ong w i t h a c on c e r tand f a sh i on s how on c l o s i ng n i gh t F r omembro i de r ed r obe s t o d e l i c a t e t ea - s e t s t h e exh i b i t i o n s h i f t e d t o t h e s p i r i t ua lw i t h g i l d ed r e l i g i ou s ob j e c t s f r om t hepe r s ona l c o l l e c t i on o f Ru s s i a rsquos Ho l yPa t r i a r c h wh i l e eng rav i ng s and pho t o st e s t i f i e d t o t h e c i t y rsquos a r c h i t e c t u r a lg r andeu r

Cuba is hoping to organize a ldquoCruise intothe Pastrdquo with the Guadeloupe committeeincluding stop-overs in the main ports andplaces associated with the slave trade in theCaribbean from Panama to Cuba

The project can also play an importantrole in developing cultural exchanges be-tween Africa and the wider African com-munity of the diaspora In short with a lit-tle imagination and by using the latest com-munication technologies ldquoThe Slave Routerdquocan offer a real contribution in eradicating thetraumas of an oppressive past

Jean-Michel CAROITSanto Domingo (Dominican Republic)

A LANDMARK REVOLT

T R A D I T I O N A L M U S C O V I T E H E A D - D R E S S( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

C u l t u r e

20

APPEASING THE SPIRITSThe promise and pitfalls of cultural tourism emerge with a majorcampaign restoring six World Heritage sites in Sri LankaRudyard Kiplingrsquos tales pale before BandaraBulankulamersquos childhood adventuresmagic even by Sri Lankan standards At sixhe braved the jungle to explore the ruins ofthe royal city of Anuradhapura founded 89years before the birth of Christ He watchedwild elephants saunter past colonnades aspilgrims appeased the spirits with jasminein crumbling shrines What looked like agrassy hill the boy knew to be a sealedchamber of ancient relics while a stonetrough could offer refuge after a spook fromsculpted Buddhas lurking in the vines

Today Bulankulame is a guide at hischildhood paradise now transformed intoone of the worldrsquos most expansive archaeo-logical sites spanning 40 km2 in a majorrestoration project of the Cultural Triangleby the Sri Lankan government andUNESCO A team of archaeologists aremapping Bulankulamersquos hiding places dis-covering that the secret trough is really theworldrsquos largest buffet stretching 30 metresto hold 5300 begging bowls of rice forhungry monks Workers spent years pull-ing up trees and grass to reveal theAbhayagiri Dagoba (stupa in Sinhala for achamber containing holy relics) once about106 metres high making it the tallest brickedifice of the ancient world

Central Cultural Fund (CCF) administeredby the Department of Archaeology In1996 65 of the funds came in the formof entrance fees with foreigners paying$35 for a pass to see all the sites (or $15for each visit)The campaign is scheduledto come to a close next year as the bulk ofexcavations are in the final phase

ldquoWersquove taken a proactive approach in-stead of leaving it up to government agen-cies to decide on how much to spend onpreserving heritagerdquo says SenakeBandaranayake Director-General of theCultural Triangle ldquoIn developing coun-tries there is often a lot of talk about thefunds needed but little consideration givento the structure That is what sets thisproject apart Wersquove created a partnershipbetween international public and privatesectorsrdquo

Nepa l rsquos Ka t hmandu va l l e y t h e G rea t Wa l li n Ch i na and a Saam i v i l l a ge we re t h esub j e c t s o f awa rd -w i nn i ng pho t og raph s i nt he I n t e rna t i ona l WORLD HER I TAGEPho t o Compe t i t i o n V i c en t e Pe i r o A s en s i oo f Spa i n Zhou Wanp i ng o f Ch i na andSwed i s h Ka t e Kauml r r be rg r e c e i v ed t hea w a r d s o n D e c e m b e r 1 6 F i r s t p r i z e - an a l l - expen s s e - pa i d t r i pa r ound t he wo r l d f o r two - wen t t o Pe i r owh i l e t h e o t he r two pho t og raphe r sr e c e i v ed i n t e r c on t i n en t a l t r i p s I n a l l 350 f i na l i s t s we r e s e l e c t ed f r om moret han 49 000 en t r i e s f r om 91 c oun t r i e s P r omo t i ng awa rene s s o f h e r i t age p r e -s e r va t i on t h e c on t e s t wa s o rgan i z ed byUNESCO rsquos Wo r l d He r i t age Rev i ew Ag fa Lu f t han sa and w i t h H i l t on Ho t e l

Will globalization leave us in amorality-free zone How can werespect cultural differences whilerecognizing a universal set of valuesAnd how can these values keep apacewith the changing problems and actorsof todayrsquos worldPhilosophers debated these questionsat the second meeting of the UNESCOUNIVERSAL ETHICS Project held inNaples Italy December 1 to 4 Theprojectrsquos findings to be published inthe coming six months will be thesubject of extensive electronic andconventional regional and disciplinaryconsultations

With his white cottage right beside the siteBulankulame keeps up with the latest dis-coveries while making a modest living guid-ing mostly foreign visitors Dreaming ofsomeday uncovering a tomb or palace ofAnuradhapurarsquos 118 kings (not one has beenfound) Bulankalume still fears that ldquocar-nival conservationrdquo will kill the spirit of thesite as busloads of tourists cruise in and out

For now the plague of mass tourism isunlikely to hit Sri Lanka as the bloody con-flict continues with the Tamil Tigers Andyet the island is a veritable shangri-la forthose looking for history and culture tocomplement white sand beaches shaded byswaying palms Recognizing this potentialthe Cultural Triangle was launched in 1980to promote cultural tourism in raisingmoney to restore six World Heritage sitesand to create jobs in the northern-centralarea of the island Contributions from pri-vate and public donors go directly into the

S H A N G R I - L A

With some $30m raised in total the resultsare impressive As was the case inAnuradhapura the medieval capitalPolonnaruva lay in undocumented ruinsswallowed by the jungle Today visitorsstroll along the elegant traces of royal pal-aces monasteries lotus ponds Hindushrines and some of the finest collectionsof Buddhist sculpture Further southSigiriya a fifth century palace carved in theform of a lion into a red boulder rises 200metres from the plain while the GoldenRock Temple of Dambulla has been rein-forced to shelter religious cave paintingsdating back to the 12th century And thenthere is the palace complex of Kandy en-trusted with the Holy Relic of the Tooth ofBuddha which is believed to have arrivedon the island in the fourth century hiddenin the chignon of an Indian princess

In all the Cultural Triangle has em-ployed more than 2000 labourers receiv-ing 129 ($215) rupees per day for skilledtasks and 112 ($185) for unskilled Sisiwho works at Kandy points out that thelow wages are compensated by the stabil-ity of steady work assured throughout therainy season when most jobs stop

ldquoBut you donrsquot see the biggest product- a new generation of empowered archae-ologistsrdquo says Bandaranayake pointing to160 post-graduate students in the field If

T H E B U D D H Arsquo S T O O T H

K AT H M A N D U rsquo S W I N N I N G W O R L D H E R I TA G E( P h o t o V i c e n t e P e i r o A s e n c i o )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

21

C u l t u r e

it werenrsquot for the project SM Nandadasasays that many students like himself wouldeither go abroad to continue their studiesor tag along with foreign teams of ex-perts

woman in shorts sitting on the lap of a Bud-dha statue in the Dambulla Temple SriLankans are generally very discrete andwouldnrsquot dare show their knees in publiclet alone at a sacred place While questionssurround the circumstances in which thephoto was discovered it did set off a ma-jor scandal ldquoCertainly the great cosmicimage of the Buddha cannot be damagedin any wayrdquo read one editorial (The IslandNovember 18 1993) ldquobut it does illustratethe folly of encouraging jaded westernersin search of titillations to inundate SriLankardquo

After initially deciding to close the sitethe monks had a change of heart when tour-ist operators prophesied economic doomThe site would remain open free of chargeHowever the monks would run the showinstead of the CCF But about a year laterthe monks began charging foreigners about$160 on top of the pass sold by the CCFThat rate has now doubled while extracharges are also paid at an Anuradhapuramonastery For some the fees are a sign ofgreed Yet intentionally or not the monks

F ran ccedilo i s G i r aud o f F r an c e r e c e i v ed t heUNESCO P r i z e f o r PEACE EDUCAT IONa t Headqua r t e r s on De cembe r 10 HumanR i gh t s Day P romo t i ng ldquo an e s s en t i a l l ypo s i t i v e pedagogy rdquo G i r aud c r ea t ed t h ePea ce and G l oba l Unde r s t and i ng P r i z eand a l s o f ounded t he I n t e rna t i ona lSummer Un i ve r s i t i e s f o r P ea c e Wo r t h $25 000 t h e annua l UNESCO p r i z eha s been p r ev i ou s l y awa rded t o Pau l oF r e i r e R i gobe r t a Men chu Tum Mo the rTe re sa o f Ca l c u t t a and Ch i a r a Lub i c h

ldquoThere are still millions of people withdisabilities whose human rights areseriously limited or altogether de-niedrdquo stressed the Director-General ina joint statement issued with theInternational Labour Organization theUnited Nations and UNICEF onDecember 2 the International Day ofDISABLED PERSONSldquoAchieving an inclusive societydepends on the commitment ofcommunities and society as a whole towelcome lsquodifferencersquo and to takepractical stepsrdquo to include all peoplewith disabilities in every sphere of lifeThese steps include developinginclusive schools and assuring thateveryone has ldquoaccess to the samerange of work opportunities Nocountry can afford to turn its back on10 of its populationrdquo

may have found a way of distinguishingbetween cultural tourism sites and sacredplaces

T H E I N N E R S A N C T U M

R E C L I N I N G B U T N O T D E C L I N I N GI N P O L O N N A R U V A

( P h o t o copy R o b e r t P o l i d o r i P l a n e t )

( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

At Sigiriya Nandadasa is on his ownturf Strolling past a giant pair of stuccoand brick lionrsquos claws he climbs 100m upthe boulder to the lsquopainting galleryrsquo wherejust a few of the celestial maidens remainof a painted band believed to have been140 metres long Admiring their beautypilgrims scratched ldquograffitirdquo into the pol-ished rock face below with verses datinginto the 14th century even though the pal-ace was abandoned just 18 years after itwas built at the end of the fifth centuryAccording to Nandadasa tourism is notnew to Sigiriya but the money is ldquoArchae-ologists must get involved and even workas guides if we want to continuerdquo

But Nandadasa is overlooking thatthere are three points in the cultural trian-gle tourists archaeologists and the Bud-dhist community Many classified sites aremonasteries and dagobas ldquoprivatelyownedrdquo by the religious establishmentTechnically the Department of Archaeol-ogy is responsible for preserving and man-aging these sites while the monks take careof the spiritual domain But these fine-linesare often blurred

In November 1993 newspapers pub-lished the photograph of a young Austrian

The temple in Kandy for example wel-comes about 2000 visitors daily - one grouparrives with upturned palms filled with jas-mine and lotus petals while a second turnsup with a couple of coins and cameras Bothgroups pad into the temple barefoot wheremen in white sarongs play snake flutes andstand guard before the gilded gates of theinner sanctum But then the two divideWhile the paying visitors line up to get agood view the others lay their flowers be-side burning incense and rice offeringsKneeling with hands clasped at their lipsthey sway in prayer before bowing so lowthat their foreheads touch the ground At thedesignated hour drums sound and the sanc-tuary doors open Cameras flash and the linefiles past the golden box containing the HolyRelic of the Tooth The tour is over Thepaying visitors are gone leaving that sec-ond group to assure that what might be atourist attraction remains a sacred place tohonour their Lord Buddha

Amy OTCHETSri Lanka

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

Y o u t h

22

HAVING A BALLTwo and a half tonnes of sporting equipment lands in Togowith a programme to get kids off the streetThe ancient Greeks understood Sport isnrsquotjust a pastime or entertainment Itrsquos a wholeeducational discipline which moulds thecharacter just like mathematics or literaturetrains the mind Through the experience ofsharing of team spirit of learning fromfailure of effort and perseverance sport isa true university of life

Everyone who works with young peo-ple these days knows that sport can also bea way to keep aimless kids healthily busyout of trouble and away from violence

This is why UNESCO launched itsldquoHope and solidarity through ball gamesrdquoprogramme in 1993 to distribute sportingequipment to young people in difficult situ-ations ldquoThrough sports and collective ac-tivities the programme aims to get chil-dren and young people off the street andredirect them towards peaceful communityliferdquo explains the programmersquos creatorMarie-Joseacute Lallart

The project relies entirely on the gen-erosity of donors Equipment is given bycompanies like Adidas Nike Perrache andInter Sport and by sporting federations orprivate individuals At UNESCO headquar-ters in Paris volunteers help to receive andpass on the equipment Transport is pro-vided free by private companies govern-ments and even the International MilitarySports Council

Francersquos three-time Olympic athleticschampion Marie-Joseacute Peacuterec visitedTogo from November 28 to December2 to deliver two and a half tonnes ofballs sports shoes and T-shirts donatedby Reebok ldquoIt was me who got in touchwith UNESCOrdquo she said ldquoI wanted to

do something to promote sporting soli-darity in a big wayrdquo

Peacuterec was greeted by a large crowdwhen her plane landed Everyone recog-nized her in the street and the governmenttreated her as an honoured guest Sportsevents were organized to mark her visitand meetings were arranged with relevant

political officials such as the ministersof youth and sports and of internal af-fairs as well as regional prefects Peacuterechanded out some of the material to kids andyoung people in poor areas of Lomeacute theTogolese capital and Kara but most of itwent to various regions of the countrythrough intermediaries

Since 1993 the programme has col-lected some $10 million worth of sportsequipment and delivered it to countries re-covering from conflicts such as LebanonGuinea Rwanda Haiti Georgia Palestineand Angola

It was the first contact with theUNESCO programme for both Peacuterec andReebok and they are keen to do more Simi-lar initiatives are foreseen in Mali andEthiopia

ldquo Irsquom struck by the way some countriesin Africa for example are affected by com-munal divisionsrdquo says Peacuterec ldquoSport canjust be a way of getting to know each otherWhen you play together you make friendsBut perhaps I got into the project just be-cause I love making young peoplehappyrdquo she said at the end of a trip duringwhich she handed out a lot less shoes andshorts than the smiles and hugs she received

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

A N E Y E -O P E N E R

A N D AS M I L E F O R

P Eacute R E C I NT O G O

( P h o t o copyK a r i m B e n

S m a i l )

How can peop l e ldquoun l ea rn rdquo v i o l en tbehav i ou r Abou t 80 edu ca t i on expe r t sand gove rnmen t m in i s t e r s f r om 17Ca r i bbean and La t i n Amer i c an c oun t r i e sb ra i n s t o rmed s t r a t eg i e s a t a c on f e r en c eon EDUCAT ION FOR NON-V IOLENCE h e l d i n Cu ra cao (Ne the r l and s An t i l l e s ) De c embe r 10 -12 Look i ng a t t h e i n f l u en ce o f t h e med i a gende r r o l e s and imba l an ce s and t heimpa c t o f pove r t y pa r t i c i p an t s d eve l opeda r eg i ona l f r amework f o r a c t i on i ns c hoo l s f am i l i e s and c ommun i t i e s Re commenda t i on s i n c l uded s pe c i a l t e a che rt r a i n i ng p ee r p r og rammes f o r s t r e e tc h i l d r en and young o f f ende r s pa t e rn i t yl eave and s uppo r t f o r v i c t im s o f domes t i cv i o l en c e i n add i t i on t o t r ea tmen t f o r t h epe rpe t r a t o r s

With conventional classrooms ldquothebread and butter of educationrdquo theEFA 2000 bulletin looks at lessexpensive ways of providing themfrom Nepal to Mexico Reflecting onpast experience in which importedmaterials designs and labour alien-ated communities from their schoolshome-grown solutions arise withmultipurpose centres open day andnight

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

23

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine pub-lished by the United Nations Educational Scien-tific and Cultural Organization [tel (+33 1) 4568 16 73 fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54] Englishand French editions are produced at Paris Head-quarters the Spanish edition in cooperation withthe UNESCO Centre of Catalonia Mallorca 28508037 Barcelona Spain the Chinese edition incooperation with the Xinhua News Agency 57Xuanwumen Xidajie Beijing China the Portu-guese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO Avenida InfanteSanto No 42-5deg 1300 Lisbon Portugal

Editor-in-Chief R Lefort Associate editorsS Williams S Boukhari A Otchet N Khouri-Dagher Assistant Managing Editor CMouillegravere Spanish edition E Kouamou (Bar-celona) L Sampedro (Paris) Lay-out GTraiano F Ryan Circulation and SecretariatD Maarek

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCOWorkshops Distribution by UNESCOs special-ized services

H e r i t a g e

THE PLUNDER OF AFGHANISTANUNESCO sounds the alarm over the pillage of Afghanistanrsquoscultural heritageIn a war itrsquos not just bombs and rocketswhich destroy historical monuments and ar-chaeological sites Unscrupulous smugglersoften cause just as much devastation loot-ing museums and unfinished excavationsValuable objects are thus lost forever forthe public and for science

Afghanistan is no exception to the ruleAfter two decades of war smuggling hasbecome so bad in this country at the heart ofthe Silk Roads and so uniquely endowed withBuddhist Greek and Islamic relics that

UNESCO has sounded the alarm The WorldHeritage Committee at its 21st session inNaples on December 5 called on the Afghangovernment to ldquotake appropriate steps to pre-serve the countryrsquos cultural heritagerdquo

Kabul museum in the heart of a heav-ily-bombed area was partly destroyedearly on in the fighting and extensivelylooted by all sides from communists toMuslims And while official digs have beenbrought to a halt many unauthorized ex-cavations have since begun

ldquoThe objects stolen from the Kabul mu-seum have no market valuerdquo says PierreLafrance a former French ambassador toPakistan ldquoUnder national and interna-tional law they can be seized immediatelyInformed collectors wouldnrsquot risk handlingthemrdquo adds Lafrance who is also theformer president of SPACH the Associa-tion for the Preservation of Afghan Cul-tural Heritage Items from the museum arenevertheless traded in the bazaars ofPeshawar and some even turn up in privatecollections in Islamabad London and Tokyo

These days most items of any period fromAfghanistan come from illegal excavationsldquoThere have always been such digs becausethe country is very rich in relicsrdquo says BernardDupaigne head of the ethnology laboratoryat the Museacutee de lrsquoHomme in Paris ldquoBut sincethe war began smuggling has increased withthe lack of political control and the great his-torical and cultural value of the objects in-volvedrdquo

Unable to curb unauthorized digs theAfghan authorities prodded by UNESCO

and SPACH have begun to protect what re-mains of the Kabul museum SPACH spon-sored an inventory of the museum in thesummer of 1996 which showed that 70of the collections had disappeared The re-mainder was transferred to a safe place inthe basement of the Kabul Hotel under thesupervision of a government commission

The Talibans who seized power in 1996frightened the international community withthreats against the Buddhist heritage nota-bly the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan (seeSources no 90) But they have just passed alaw harshly punishing export of culturalproperty on grounds that it is part of thenational heritage

While the Afghan authorities are nowkeen to preserve public collections the prob-lem of illegal digs remains to be tackledThey are draining a cultural heritage whichas the recent UNESCO resolution notesldquobelongs not just to Afghanistan but to allof humanityrdquo

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

The W O R L D H E R I TA G E L i s t n ow i n -c l ude s 46 new s i t e s b r i ng i ng t he t o t a lnumbe r t o 552 i n 112 c oun t r i e s Mee t i ngi n Nap l e s ( I t a l y ) on De cembe r 4 t h eWor l d He r i t age Commi t t e e s e l e c t ed f o rt he f i r s t t ime s i t e s i n Dom in i c a E s t on i a Kenya and La t v i a and added ano the r t enin I ta ly su ch a s Pompe iuml Add i t i ons i n c ludeLumbin i the b i r thp la ce o f the Buddha inNepa l t he Ne the r l and s rsquo M i l l Ne two rk a tK i nde rd i j k - E l s hou t and t he Sunda rban smang rove f o r e s t i n Bang l ade sh

Gold jewellery from Colombia apriceless feather poncho from Peru and2000-year-old ceramic figurines fromMexico were part of one of the largestcollections of STOLEN ARTEFACTSreturned to their countries of originOn separate occasions Canadiancustoms officers seized 124 artefactsfrom two Americans trying to bringthem into Canada The authoritiesreturned the booty on November 281997 under the 1970 UNESCOconvention against illicit traffic incultural property

T H E M U S E U MC A N B E

R E P A I R E D B U T C A N I T SC O L L E C T I O N S

B E R E S T O R E D ( P h o t o copy

B e r n a r dD U P A I G N E )

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

C u l t u r e

18

OPPRESSION AND REVOLTThe Slave Route project attempts to give history its rightful dueon a divided island in the CaribbeanThe controversy surrounding the release ofthe film Amistad illustrates if there was everany need the importance of UNESCOrsquosSlave Route project (see box) Amistad thelatest mega-production of American film-maker Steven Spielberg tells the story of aslave revolt aboard the Spanish vessel ofthe same name Several well-known histo-rians contest the moviersquos view of Spainrsquosrole in the slave trade ldquoIt leaves the im-pression that the slave trade was treacherycommitted by detestable Latinos like theSpanish and Portuguese when for severalgenerations the British and to a lesser de-gree American captains and businessmenalso practised itrdquo reminds British historianHugh Thomas

The Slave Route project as defined by thescientific committee during the sessions inOuidah (Benin September 1994) Matanzas(Cuba December 1995) and Cabinda (An-gola November 1996) aims to study thecauses methods and consequences of thetransatlantic slave trade ldquoIt doesnrsquot justmean collecting historical anthropologicaland ethnological data but also and per-haps most of all it is about reviving thememory of the great human tragedies of theslave trade and slavery To wrench themfrom the past and transform them intoweapons against racism and violations ofhuman rights To use them to better under-stand the African diasporas Here for ex-ample in the Caribbean it is not possibleto understand the formation of our nationalidentities without taking into account theirAfrican rootsrdquo explains Hugo TolentinoDipp President of the projectrsquos Dominicancommittee he was one of the first profes-sors from Santo Domingo to study the Af-rican contribution to the formation of theDominican identity ldquoFrom the slave revoltto the participation of the blacks in the fight-ing during the Republican period the Afri-can influence cannot be disassociated fromthe fight for freedom equality and humanrightsrdquo he stresses

One of the worldrsquos most mixed-bloodnations the Dominican Republic buried itsAfrican roots for years The countryrsquos com-plex relationship with Haiti with which itshares the island of Hispaniola proved to

be an additional obstacle to the acknowl-edgement of this heritage For a long timethe political elite and the dominant ideol-ogy assumed that blacks and Haitians wereone and the same They also saw them asa threat to the ldquotrue Dominican identityrdquoconsidered part of the republicrsquos Hispanicheritage More recently during the 1994and 1996 electoral campaigns presiden-tial candidate Joseacute Francisco Pena Gomezwas the victim of racial attacks over hisblack and Haitian origins The incidents un-derline the importance of ldquoThe Slave Routerdquoin a country where the first African slavesarrived just nine years after ChristopherColumbus

As Tolentino notes ldquothe relationshipbetween master and slave engenderedlaws institutions rules of social behaviourand specific beliefsrdquo This contradictoryprocess translated into a ldquocultural sedimen-tation in the identity of these societies -layering the identity of oppression with thatof revolt but also with the fight for free-domrdquo Tolentinorsquos theory - which maintainsthat the prejudices and xenophobic ideolo-gies of certain groups were unable to blockthe mixing of origins that characterize thenational identities of old slave colonies- particularly applies to the DominicanRepublic

ldquoWhether it concerns work religion fes-tive activities art music cuisine or otherforms of expression syncretism and cul-tural synthesis shaped the particularitiesof these societiesrdquo The major challenge isto ldquobetter understand the role historicalconsciousness plays in the intimacy of na-tional identitiesrdquo An urgent task consider-ing that in most of these societies the de-scendants of African slaves live in condi-tions marked by poverty unemploymentsickness lack of education and social se-curity and an absence of real national soli-darity

To reach its objectives The SlaveRoute cannot restrict itself to exchangesbetween university researchers Culturalleaders artists and grassroots organizationsmust also participate Media awareness inthe various countries associated with theproject would enable it to reach the public

Unde r t h e banne r ldquoKn i t t i n g Na t i on sToge t he r rdquo a f a sh i on s how c ommerc i a lexh i b i t i o n and r ound - t ab l e a t Headqua r-t e r s f r om De cembe r 1 -5 h i gh l i gh t ed am i c r o - c r ed i t p r o j e c t f o r BOSN IANWOMEN i n s p i r ed by t h e G rameen Banki n Bang l ade sh O rgan i z ed by UNESCO t h e Wo r l d Bankand t he UN H i gh Commi s s i one r f o rRe fugee s t h e p r o j e c t ha s r a i s ed $4 7mfo r 2 200 l oan s t o i n t r odu ce kn i t t e d woven and embro i de r ed p r odu c t s t o t h ePa r i s f a sh i on ma rke t T he Wo r l d Bankhope s t o c r ea t e 10 000 new bu s i ne s s e s i nBo sn i a and He r zegov i na wh i c h maygene ra t e a s many a s 15 000 new j ob s

At the MERCOSUR summit on Decem-ber 15 Director-General FedericoMayor and Alvaro Ramos a repre-sentative of the Latin American free-trade institution and Foreign AffairsMinister of Uruguay signed aCO-OPERATION AGREEMENT inMontevideo before the presidents ofArgentina Bolivia Brazil ChileParaguay and UruguayUNESCO will work with these coun-tries to develop and implementprojects and assist in finding outsidefunding for them

R E V I V I N G A M E M O RY

A H E AV Y L E G A C Y

(Pho

to U

NESC

ONi

na L

evin

thal

)

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

19

C u l t u r e

at large and a website on the Internet wouldfacilitate exchanges between researchersand to allow them access to new documen-tary sources

The results expected of the projectseem promising particularly in the Carib-bean countries which are striving to offermore than their coconut-lined beaches andsunny skies To this end priority has beengiven to a proposition by the director ofthe Liverpool Museum (UK) RichardFoster for a census of museums and col-lections dedicated entirely or partially tothe slave trade and slavery In tandem thedevelopment of underwater archaeologicalresearch might add to museum collections

ldquoThe Port-au-Prince meet-ing (December 8-10) on theinsurrection of the night ofAugust 22 1791 in Saint-Domingue was not just ascientific event but a politi-cal successrdquo reportsDoudou Diegravene who di-rects UNESCOrsquos Divi-sion for InterculturalProjects like The SlaveRoute Prior to inde-pendence in 1803 Haitiwas known as Saint-Domingue The fact thatHaitirsquos President ReneacutePreacuteval personally re-

ceived a delegation of the seminarrsquos participants ldquounderscored the tremendous im-portance Haitians attach to the memory of this insurrection It forms the core of Haitianidentity and historyrdquo

ldquoThere are several reasons for turning back to this eventrdquo says Diegravene ldquoTo beginwith 1998 is the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in France and the Saint-Domingue revolt was a key factor triggering the process leading to abolitionrdquo Thisexplains why UNESCO declared August 23rd to be the International Day for theCommemoration of the Slave Trade and its Abolition ldquoWe need to show that it was thestruggle launched by slaves which ultimately led to the decision to abolish the slave traderdquo

While the insurrection is relatively well-known and documented the Port-au-Prince meeting explored new angles by notably asking why it became so im-portant symbolically when there were other revolts before it ldquoIt was the biggestand best organizedrdquo says Diegravene who also explains ldquothat it took on a very specialmeaning in light of the French Revolution which also contributed to itrdquo However theparticipants also pointed to the ambiguities vis-agrave-vis the slavesrsquo liberation onthe part of French revolutionaries pressured by colonists who were very activein the French National Convention (1792-1795)

ldquoThe force of the Saint-Domingue insurrection stems from the fact that it was basedon the use of African culture and religionrdquo explains Diegravene ldquoVoodoo welded Haitianslaves together by giving them a strong sense of spiritual motivation Blood-pacts boundthe slaves to the secret societies they created These societies also structured their revoltIt enabled them to transmit messages while they worked in the fields by song music anddance right under the noses of the slave owners who dismissed it all as just ceremonies ofsavages Haitian society is still profoundly marked by this culture of revolt All of theruling powers have used voodoo Haiti is a country with major political violence but alsoone with a very strong culture of resistancerdquo

Promoting ldquothe African vision ofinternational relationsrdquo nine Africanheads of state inaugurated the FEacuteLIXHOUPHOUEumlT BOIGNY Foundation forPeace Research in YamoussoukroDirector-General Federico Mayorjoined the leaders of Benin BurkinaFaso Congo Cocircte drsquoIvoire (the hostcountry) Gabon Niger NigeriaSenegal and Togo in signing adeclaration on December 5 whichnotably recommends creating a sub-regional early-warning system toprevent conflicts from explodingThe foundation is housed in a100000 m2 ultra-modern complexequipped with an internationaldocumentation and information centrewith UNESCOrsquos support

T h e ldquoR E N A I S S A N C E O F M O S C O W rdquocame t o l i f e a t Headqua r t e r s f r omDecembe r 17 t o 19 w i t h an exh i b i t i o n ont he Ru s s i an c ap i t a l a l ong w i t h a c on c e r tand f a sh i on s how on c l o s i ng n i gh t F r omembro i de r ed r obe s t o d e l i c a t e t ea - s e t s t h e exh i b i t i o n s h i f t e d t o t h e s p i r i t ua lw i t h g i l d ed r e l i g i ou s ob j e c t s f r om t hepe r s ona l c o l l e c t i on o f Ru s s i a rsquos Ho l yPa t r i a r c h wh i l e eng rav i ng s and pho t o st e s t i f i e d t o t h e c i t y rsquos a r c h i t e c t u r a lg r andeu r

Cuba is hoping to organize a ldquoCruise intothe Pastrdquo with the Guadeloupe committeeincluding stop-overs in the main ports andplaces associated with the slave trade in theCaribbean from Panama to Cuba

The project can also play an importantrole in developing cultural exchanges be-tween Africa and the wider African com-munity of the diaspora In short with a lit-tle imagination and by using the latest com-munication technologies ldquoThe Slave Routerdquocan offer a real contribution in eradicating thetraumas of an oppressive past

Jean-Michel CAROITSanto Domingo (Dominican Republic)

A LANDMARK REVOLT

T R A D I T I O N A L M U S C O V I T E H E A D - D R E S S( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

C u l t u r e

20

APPEASING THE SPIRITSThe promise and pitfalls of cultural tourism emerge with a majorcampaign restoring six World Heritage sites in Sri LankaRudyard Kiplingrsquos tales pale before BandaraBulankulamersquos childhood adventuresmagic even by Sri Lankan standards At sixhe braved the jungle to explore the ruins ofthe royal city of Anuradhapura founded 89years before the birth of Christ He watchedwild elephants saunter past colonnades aspilgrims appeased the spirits with jasminein crumbling shrines What looked like agrassy hill the boy knew to be a sealedchamber of ancient relics while a stonetrough could offer refuge after a spook fromsculpted Buddhas lurking in the vines

Today Bulankulame is a guide at hischildhood paradise now transformed intoone of the worldrsquos most expansive archaeo-logical sites spanning 40 km2 in a majorrestoration project of the Cultural Triangleby the Sri Lankan government andUNESCO A team of archaeologists aremapping Bulankulamersquos hiding places dis-covering that the secret trough is really theworldrsquos largest buffet stretching 30 metresto hold 5300 begging bowls of rice forhungry monks Workers spent years pull-ing up trees and grass to reveal theAbhayagiri Dagoba (stupa in Sinhala for achamber containing holy relics) once about106 metres high making it the tallest brickedifice of the ancient world

Central Cultural Fund (CCF) administeredby the Department of Archaeology In1996 65 of the funds came in the formof entrance fees with foreigners paying$35 for a pass to see all the sites (or $15for each visit)The campaign is scheduledto come to a close next year as the bulk ofexcavations are in the final phase

ldquoWersquove taken a proactive approach in-stead of leaving it up to government agen-cies to decide on how much to spend onpreserving heritagerdquo says SenakeBandaranayake Director-General of theCultural Triangle ldquoIn developing coun-tries there is often a lot of talk about thefunds needed but little consideration givento the structure That is what sets thisproject apart Wersquove created a partnershipbetween international public and privatesectorsrdquo

Nepa l rsquos Ka t hmandu va l l e y t h e G rea t Wa l li n Ch i na and a Saam i v i l l a ge we re t h esub j e c t s o f awa rd -w i nn i ng pho t og raph s i nt he I n t e rna t i ona l WORLD HER I TAGEPho t o Compe t i t i o n V i c en t e Pe i r o A s en s i oo f Spa i n Zhou Wanp i ng o f Ch i na andSwed i s h Ka t e Kauml r r be rg r e c e i v ed t hea w a r d s o n D e c e m b e r 1 6 F i r s t p r i z e - an a l l - expen s s e - pa i d t r i pa r ound t he wo r l d f o r two - wen t t o Pe i r owh i l e t h e o t he r two pho t og raphe r sr e c e i v ed i n t e r c on t i n en t a l t r i p s I n a l l 350 f i na l i s t s we r e s e l e c t ed f r om moret han 49 000 en t r i e s f r om 91 c oun t r i e s P r omo t i ng awa rene s s o f h e r i t age p r e -s e r va t i on t h e c on t e s t wa s o rgan i z ed byUNESCO rsquos Wo r l d He r i t age Rev i ew Ag fa Lu f t han sa and w i t h H i l t on Ho t e l

Will globalization leave us in amorality-free zone How can werespect cultural differences whilerecognizing a universal set of valuesAnd how can these values keep apacewith the changing problems and actorsof todayrsquos worldPhilosophers debated these questionsat the second meeting of the UNESCOUNIVERSAL ETHICS Project held inNaples Italy December 1 to 4 Theprojectrsquos findings to be published inthe coming six months will be thesubject of extensive electronic andconventional regional and disciplinaryconsultations

With his white cottage right beside the siteBulankulame keeps up with the latest dis-coveries while making a modest living guid-ing mostly foreign visitors Dreaming ofsomeday uncovering a tomb or palace ofAnuradhapurarsquos 118 kings (not one has beenfound) Bulankalume still fears that ldquocar-nival conservationrdquo will kill the spirit of thesite as busloads of tourists cruise in and out

For now the plague of mass tourism isunlikely to hit Sri Lanka as the bloody con-flict continues with the Tamil Tigers Andyet the island is a veritable shangri-la forthose looking for history and culture tocomplement white sand beaches shaded byswaying palms Recognizing this potentialthe Cultural Triangle was launched in 1980to promote cultural tourism in raisingmoney to restore six World Heritage sitesand to create jobs in the northern-centralarea of the island Contributions from pri-vate and public donors go directly into the

S H A N G R I - L A

With some $30m raised in total the resultsare impressive As was the case inAnuradhapura the medieval capitalPolonnaruva lay in undocumented ruinsswallowed by the jungle Today visitorsstroll along the elegant traces of royal pal-aces monasteries lotus ponds Hindushrines and some of the finest collectionsof Buddhist sculpture Further southSigiriya a fifth century palace carved in theform of a lion into a red boulder rises 200metres from the plain while the GoldenRock Temple of Dambulla has been rein-forced to shelter religious cave paintingsdating back to the 12th century And thenthere is the palace complex of Kandy en-trusted with the Holy Relic of the Tooth ofBuddha which is believed to have arrivedon the island in the fourth century hiddenin the chignon of an Indian princess

In all the Cultural Triangle has em-ployed more than 2000 labourers receiv-ing 129 ($215) rupees per day for skilledtasks and 112 ($185) for unskilled Sisiwho works at Kandy points out that thelow wages are compensated by the stabil-ity of steady work assured throughout therainy season when most jobs stop

ldquoBut you donrsquot see the biggest product- a new generation of empowered archae-ologistsrdquo says Bandaranayake pointing to160 post-graduate students in the field If

T H E B U D D H Arsquo S T O O T H

K AT H M A N D U rsquo S W I N N I N G W O R L D H E R I TA G E( P h o t o V i c e n t e P e i r o A s e n c i o )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

21

C u l t u r e

it werenrsquot for the project SM Nandadasasays that many students like himself wouldeither go abroad to continue their studiesor tag along with foreign teams of ex-perts

woman in shorts sitting on the lap of a Bud-dha statue in the Dambulla Temple SriLankans are generally very discrete andwouldnrsquot dare show their knees in publiclet alone at a sacred place While questionssurround the circumstances in which thephoto was discovered it did set off a ma-jor scandal ldquoCertainly the great cosmicimage of the Buddha cannot be damagedin any wayrdquo read one editorial (The IslandNovember 18 1993) ldquobut it does illustratethe folly of encouraging jaded westernersin search of titillations to inundate SriLankardquo

After initially deciding to close the sitethe monks had a change of heart when tour-ist operators prophesied economic doomThe site would remain open free of chargeHowever the monks would run the showinstead of the CCF But about a year laterthe monks began charging foreigners about$160 on top of the pass sold by the CCFThat rate has now doubled while extracharges are also paid at an Anuradhapuramonastery For some the fees are a sign ofgreed Yet intentionally or not the monks

F ran ccedilo i s G i r aud o f F r an c e r e c e i v ed t heUNESCO P r i z e f o r PEACE EDUCAT IONa t Headqua r t e r s on De cembe r 10 HumanR i gh t s Day P romo t i ng ldquo an e s s en t i a l l ypo s i t i v e pedagogy rdquo G i r aud c r ea t ed t h ePea ce and G l oba l Unde r s t and i ng P r i z eand a l s o f ounded t he I n t e rna t i ona lSummer Un i ve r s i t i e s f o r P ea c e Wo r t h $25 000 t h e annua l UNESCO p r i z eha s been p r ev i ou s l y awa rded t o Pau l oF r e i r e R i gobe r t a Men chu Tum Mo the rTe re sa o f Ca l c u t t a and Ch i a r a Lub i c h

ldquoThere are still millions of people withdisabilities whose human rights areseriously limited or altogether de-niedrdquo stressed the Director-General ina joint statement issued with theInternational Labour Organization theUnited Nations and UNICEF onDecember 2 the International Day ofDISABLED PERSONSldquoAchieving an inclusive societydepends on the commitment ofcommunities and society as a whole towelcome lsquodifferencersquo and to takepractical stepsrdquo to include all peoplewith disabilities in every sphere of lifeThese steps include developinginclusive schools and assuring thateveryone has ldquoaccess to the samerange of work opportunities Nocountry can afford to turn its back on10 of its populationrdquo

may have found a way of distinguishingbetween cultural tourism sites and sacredplaces

T H E I N N E R S A N C T U M

R E C L I N I N G B U T N O T D E C L I N I N GI N P O L O N N A R U V A

( P h o t o copy R o b e r t P o l i d o r i P l a n e t )

( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

At Sigiriya Nandadasa is on his ownturf Strolling past a giant pair of stuccoand brick lionrsquos claws he climbs 100m upthe boulder to the lsquopainting galleryrsquo wherejust a few of the celestial maidens remainof a painted band believed to have been140 metres long Admiring their beautypilgrims scratched ldquograffitirdquo into the pol-ished rock face below with verses datinginto the 14th century even though the pal-ace was abandoned just 18 years after itwas built at the end of the fifth centuryAccording to Nandadasa tourism is notnew to Sigiriya but the money is ldquoArchae-ologists must get involved and even workas guides if we want to continuerdquo

But Nandadasa is overlooking thatthere are three points in the cultural trian-gle tourists archaeologists and the Bud-dhist community Many classified sites aremonasteries and dagobas ldquoprivatelyownedrdquo by the religious establishmentTechnically the Department of Archaeol-ogy is responsible for preserving and man-aging these sites while the monks take careof the spiritual domain But these fine-linesare often blurred

In November 1993 newspapers pub-lished the photograph of a young Austrian

The temple in Kandy for example wel-comes about 2000 visitors daily - one grouparrives with upturned palms filled with jas-mine and lotus petals while a second turnsup with a couple of coins and cameras Bothgroups pad into the temple barefoot wheremen in white sarongs play snake flutes andstand guard before the gilded gates of theinner sanctum But then the two divideWhile the paying visitors line up to get agood view the others lay their flowers be-side burning incense and rice offeringsKneeling with hands clasped at their lipsthey sway in prayer before bowing so lowthat their foreheads touch the ground At thedesignated hour drums sound and the sanc-tuary doors open Cameras flash and the linefiles past the golden box containing the HolyRelic of the Tooth The tour is over Thepaying visitors are gone leaving that sec-ond group to assure that what might be atourist attraction remains a sacred place tohonour their Lord Buddha

Amy OTCHETSri Lanka

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

Y o u t h

22

HAVING A BALLTwo and a half tonnes of sporting equipment lands in Togowith a programme to get kids off the streetThe ancient Greeks understood Sport isnrsquotjust a pastime or entertainment Itrsquos a wholeeducational discipline which moulds thecharacter just like mathematics or literaturetrains the mind Through the experience ofsharing of team spirit of learning fromfailure of effort and perseverance sport isa true university of life

Everyone who works with young peo-ple these days knows that sport can also bea way to keep aimless kids healthily busyout of trouble and away from violence

This is why UNESCO launched itsldquoHope and solidarity through ball gamesrdquoprogramme in 1993 to distribute sportingequipment to young people in difficult situ-ations ldquoThrough sports and collective ac-tivities the programme aims to get chil-dren and young people off the street andredirect them towards peaceful communityliferdquo explains the programmersquos creatorMarie-Joseacute Lallart

The project relies entirely on the gen-erosity of donors Equipment is given bycompanies like Adidas Nike Perrache andInter Sport and by sporting federations orprivate individuals At UNESCO headquar-ters in Paris volunteers help to receive andpass on the equipment Transport is pro-vided free by private companies govern-ments and even the International MilitarySports Council

Francersquos three-time Olympic athleticschampion Marie-Joseacute Peacuterec visitedTogo from November 28 to December2 to deliver two and a half tonnes ofballs sports shoes and T-shirts donatedby Reebok ldquoIt was me who got in touchwith UNESCOrdquo she said ldquoI wanted to

do something to promote sporting soli-darity in a big wayrdquo

Peacuterec was greeted by a large crowdwhen her plane landed Everyone recog-nized her in the street and the governmenttreated her as an honoured guest Sportsevents were organized to mark her visitand meetings were arranged with relevant

political officials such as the ministersof youth and sports and of internal af-fairs as well as regional prefects Peacuterechanded out some of the material to kids andyoung people in poor areas of Lomeacute theTogolese capital and Kara but most of itwent to various regions of the countrythrough intermediaries

Since 1993 the programme has col-lected some $10 million worth of sportsequipment and delivered it to countries re-covering from conflicts such as LebanonGuinea Rwanda Haiti Georgia Palestineand Angola

It was the first contact with theUNESCO programme for both Peacuterec andReebok and they are keen to do more Simi-lar initiatives are foreseen in Mali andEthiopia

ldquo Irsquom struck by the way some countriesin Africa for example are affected by com-munal divisionsrdquo says Peacuterec ldquoSport canjust be a way of getting to know each otherWhen you play together you make friendsBut perhaps I got into the project just be-cause I love making young peoplehappyrdquo she said at the end of a trip duringwhich she handed out a lot less shoes andshorts than the smiles and hugs she received

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

A N E Y E -O P E N E R

A N D AS M I L E F O R

P Eacute R E C I NT O G O

( P h o t o copyK a r i m B e n

S m a i l )

How can peop l e ldquoun l ea rn rdquo v i o l en tbehav i ou r Abou t 80 edu ca t i on expe r t sand gove rnmen t m in i s t e r s f r om 17Ca r i bbean and La t i n Amer i c an c oun t r i e sb ra i n s t o rmed s t r a t eg i e s a t a c on f e r en c eon EDUCAT ION FOR NON-V IOLENCE h e l d i n Cu ra cao (Ne the r l and s An t i l l e s ) De c embe r 10 -12 Look i ng a t t h e i n f l u en ce o f t h e med i a gende r r o l e s and imba l an ce s and t heimpa c t o f pove r t y pa r t i c i p an t s d eve l opeda r eg i ona l f r amework f o r a c t i on i ns c hoo l s f am i l i e s and c ommun i t i e s Re commenda t i on s i n c l uded s pe c i a l t e a che rt r a i n i ng p ee r p r og rammes f o r s t r e e tc h i l d r en and young o f f ende r s pa t e rn i t yl eave and s uppo r t f o r v i c t im s o f domes t i cv i o l en c e i n add i t i on t o t r ea tmen t f o r t h epe rpe t r a t o r s

With conventional classrooms ldquothebread and butter of educationrdquo theEFA 2000 bulletin looks at lessexpensive ways of providing themfrom Nepal to Mexico Reflecting onpast experience in which importedmaterials designs and labour alien-ated communities from their schoolshome-grown solutions arise withmultipurpose centres open day andnight

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

23

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine pub-lished by the United Nations Educational Scien-tific and Cultural Organization [tel (+33 1) 4568 16 73 fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54] Englishand French editions are produced at Paris Head-quarters the Spanish edition in cooperation withthe UNESCO Centre of Catalonia Mallorca 28508037 Barcelona Spain the Chinese edition incooperation with the Xinhua News Agency 57Xuanwumen Xidajie Beijing China the Portu-guese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO Avenida InfanteSanto No 42-5deg 1300 Lisbon Portugal

Editor-in-Chief R Lefort Associate editorsS Williams S Boukhari A Otchet N Khouri-Dagher Assistant Managing Editor CMouillegravere Spanish edition E Kouamou (Bar-celona) L Sampedro (Paris) Lay-out GTraiano F Ryan Circulation and SecretariatD Maarek

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCOWorkshops Distribution by UNESCOs special-ized services

H e r i t a g e

THE PLUNDER OF AFGHANISTANUNESCO sounds the alarm over the pillage of Afghanistanrsquoscultural heritageIn a war itrsquos not just bombs and rocketswhich destroy historical monuments and ar-chaeological sites Unscrupulous smugglersoften cause just as much devastation loot-ing museums and unfinished excavationsValuable objects are thus lost forever forthe public and for science

Afghanistan is no exception to the ruleAfter two decades of war smuggling hasbecome so bad in this country at the heart ofthe Silk Roads and so uniquely endowed withBuddhist Greek and Islamic relics that

UNESCO has sounded the alarm The WorldHeritage Committee at its 21st session inNaples on December 5 called on the Afghangovernment to ldquotake appropriate steps to pre-serve the countryrsquos cultural heritagerdquo

Kabul museum in the heart of a heav-ily-bombed area was partly destroyedearly on in the fighting and extensivelylooted by all sides from communists toMuslims And while official digs have beenbrought to a halt many unauthorized ex-cavations have since begun

ldquoThe objects stolen from the Kabul mu-seum have no market valuerdquo says PierreLafrance a former French ambassador toPakistan ldquoUnder national and interna-tional law they can be seized immediatelyInformed collectors wouldnrsquot risk handlingthemrdquo adds Lafrance who is also theformer president of SPACH the Associa-tion for the Preservation of Afghan Cul-tural Heritage Items from the museum arenevertheless traded in the bazaars ofPeshawar and some even turn up in privatecollections in Islamabad London and Tokyo

These days most items of any period fromAfghanistan come from illegal excavationsldquoThere have always been such digs becausethe country is very rich in relicsrdquo says BernardDupaigne head of the ethnology laboratoryat the Museacutee de lrsquoHomme in Paris ldquoBut sincethe war began smuggling has increased withthe lack of political control and the great his-torical and cultural value of the objects in-volvedrdquo

Unable to curb unauthorized digs theAfghan authorities prodded by UNESCO

and SPACH have begun to protect what re-mains of the Kabul museum SPACH spon-sored an inventory of the museum in thesummer of 1996 which showed that 70of the collections had disappeared The re-mainder was transferred to a safe place inthe basement of the Kabul Hotel under thesupervision of a government commission

The Talibans who seized power in 1996frightened the international community withthreats against the Buddhist heritage nota-bly the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan (seeSources no 90) But they have just passed alaw harshly punishing export of culturalproperty on grounds that it is part of thenational heritage

While the Afghan authorities are nowkeen to preserve public collections the prob-lem of illegal digs remains to be tackledThey are draining a cultural heritage whichas the recent UNESCO resolution notesldquobelongs not just to Afghanistan but to allof humanityrdquo

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

The W O R L D H E R I TA G E L i s t n ow i n -c l ude s 46 new s i t e s b r i ng i ng t he t o t a lnumbe r t o 552 i n 112 c oun t r i e s Mee t i ngi n Nap l e s ( I t a l y ) on De cembe r 4 t h eWor l d He r i t age Commi t t e e s e l e c t ed f o rt he f i r s t t ime s i t e s i n Dom in i c a E s t on i a Kenya and La t v i a and added ano the r t enin I ta ly su ch a s Pompe iuml Add i t i ons i n c ludeLumbin i the b i r thp la ce o f the Buddha inNepa l t he Ne the r l and s rsquo M i l l Ne two rk a tK i nde rd i j k - E l s hou t and t he Sunda rban smang rove f o r e s t i n Bang l ade sh

Gold jewellery from Colombia apriceless feather poncho from Peru and2000-year-old ceramic figurines fromMexico were part of one of the largestcollections of STOLEN ARTEFACTSreturned to their countries of originOn separate occasions Canadiancustoms officers seized 124 artefactsfrom two Americans trying to bringthem into Canada The authoritiesreturned the booty on November 281997 under the 1970 UNESCOconvention against illicit traffic incultural property

T H E M U S E U MC A N B E

R E P A I R E D B U T C A N I T SC O L L E C T I O N S

B E R E S T O R E D ( P h o t o copy

B e r n a r dD U P A I G N E )

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

19

C u l t u r e

at large and a website on the Internet wouldfacilitate exchanges between researchersand to allow them access to new documen-tary sources

The results expected of the projectseem promising particularly in the Carib-bean countries which are striving to offermore than their coconut-lined beaches andsunny skies To this end priority has beengiven to a proposition by the director ofthe Liverpool Museum (UK) RichardFoster for a census of museums and col-lections dedicated entirely or partially tothe slave trade and slavery In tandem thedevelopment of underwater archaeologicalresearch might add to museum collections

ldquoThe Port-au-Prince meet-ing (December 8-10) on theinsurrection of the night ofAugust 22 1791 in Saint-Domingue was not just ascientific event but a politi-cal successrdquo reportsDoudou Diegravene who di-rects UNESCOrsquos Divi-sion for InterculturalProjects like The SlaveRoute Prior to inde-pendence in 1803 Haitiwas known as Saint-Domingue The fact thatHaitirsquos President ReneacutePreacuteval personally re-

ceived a delegation of the seminarrsquos participants ldquounderscored the tremendous im-portance Haitians attach to the memory of this insurrection It forms the core of Haitianidentity and historyrdquo

ldquoThere are several reasons for turning back to this eventrdquo says Diegravene ldquoTo beginwith 1998 is the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in France and the Saint-Domingue revolt was a key factor triggering the process leading to abolitionrdquo Thisexplains why UNESCO declared August 23rd to be the International Day for theCommemoration of the Slave Trade and its Abolition ldquoWe need to show that it was thestruggle launched by slaves which ultimately led to the decision to abolish the slave traderdquo

While the insurrection is relatively well-known and documented the Port-au-Prince meeting explored new angles by notably asking why it became so im-portant symbolically when there were other revolts before it ldquoIt was the biggestand best organizedrdquo says Diegravene who also explains ldquothat it took on a very specialmeaning in light of the French Revolution which also contributed to itrdquo However theparticipants also pointed to the ambiguities vis-agrave-vis the slavesrsquo liberation onthe part of French revolutionaries pressured by colonists who were very activein the French National Convention (1792-1795)

ldquoThe force of the Saint-Domingue insurrection stems from the fact that it was basedon the use of African culture and religionrdquo explains Diegravene ldquoVoodoo welded Haitianslaves together by giving them a strong sense of spiritual motivation Blood-pacts boundthe slaves to the secret societies they created These societies also structured their revoltIt enabled them to transmit messages while they worked in the fields by song music anddance right under the noses of the slave owners who dismissed it all as just ceremonies ofsavages Haitian society is still profoundly marked by this culture of revolt All of theruling powers have used voodoo Haiti is a country with major political violence but alsoone with a very strong culture of resistancerdquo

Promoting ldquothe African vision ofinternational relationsrdquo nine Africanheads of state inaugurated the FEacuteLIXHOUPHOUEumlT BOIGNY Foundation forPeace Research in YamoussoukroDirector-General Federico Mayorjoined the leaders of Benin BurkinaFaso Congo Cocircte drsquoIvoire (the hostcountry) Gabon Niger NigeriaSenegal and Togo in signing adeclaration on December 5 whichnotably recommends creating a sub-regional early-warning system toprevent conflicts from explodingThe foundation is housed in a100000 m2 ultra-modern complexequipped with an internationaldocumentation and information centrewith UNESCOrsquos support

T h e ldquoR E N A I S S A N C E O F M O S C O W rdquocame t o l i f e a t Headqua r t e r s f r omDecembe r 17 t o 19 w i t h an exh i b i t i o n ont he Ru s s i an c ap i t a l a l ong w i t h a c on c e r tand f a sh i on s how on c l o s i ng n i gh t F r omembro i de r ed r obe s t o d e l i c a t e t ea - s e t s t h e exh i b i t i o n s h i f t e d t o t h e s p i r i t ua lw i t h g i l d ed r e l i g i ou s ob j e c t s f r om t hepe r s ona l c o l l e c t i on o f Ru s s i a rsquos Ho l yPa t r i a r c h wh i l e eng rav i ng s and pho t o st e s t i f i e d t o t h e c i t y rsquos a r c h i t e c t u r a lg r andeu r

Cuba is hoping to organize a ldquoCruise intothe Pastrdquo with the Guadeloupe committeeincluding stop-overs in the main ports andplaces associated with the slave trade in theCaribbean from Panama to Cuba

The project can also play an importantrole in developing cultural exchanges be-tween Africa and the wider African com-munity of the diaspora In short with a lit-tle imagination and by using the latest com-munication technologies ldquoThe Slave Routerdquocan offer a real contribution in eradicating thetraumas of an oppressive past

Jean-Michel CAROITSanto Domingo (Dominican Republic)

A LANDMARK REVOLT

T R A D I T I O N A L M U S C O V I T E H E A D - D R E S S( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

C u l t u r e

20

APPEASING THE SPIRITSThe promise and pitfalls of cultural tourism emerge with a majorcampaign restoring six World Heritage sites in Sri LankaRudyard Kiplingrsquos tales pale before BandaraBulankulamersquos childhood adventuresmagic even by Sri Lankan standards At sixhe braved the jungle to explore the ruins ofthe royal city of Anuradhapura founded 89years before the birth of Christ He watchedwild elephants saunter past colonnades aspilgrims appeased the spirits with jasminein crumbling shrines What looked like agrassy hill the boy knew to be a sealedchamber of ancient relics while a stonetrough could offer refuge after a spook fromsculpted Buddhas lurking in the vines

Today Bulankulame is a guide at hischildhood paradise now transformed intoone of the worldrsquos most expansive archaeo-logical sites spanning 40 km2 in a majorrestoration project of the Cultural Triangleby the Sri Lankan government andUNESCO A team of archaeologists aremapping Bulankulamersquos hiding places dis-covering that the secret trough is really theworldrsquos largest buffet stretching 30 metresto hold 5300 begging bowls of rice forhungry monks Workers spent years pull-ing up trees and grass to reveal theAbhayagiri Dagoba (stupa in Sinhala for achamber containing holy relics) once about106 metres high making it the tallest brickedifice of the ancient world

Central Cultural Fund (CCF) administeredby the Department of Archaeology In1996 65 of the funds came in the formof entrance fees with foreigners paying$35 for a pass to see all the sites (or $15for each visit)The campaign is scheduledto come to a close next year as the bulk ofexcavations are in the final phase

ldquoWersquove taken a proactive approach in-stead of leaving it up to government agen-cies to decide on how much to spend onpreserving heritagerdquo says SenakeBandaranayake Director-General of theCultural Triangle ldquoIn developing coun-tries there is often a lot of talk about thefunds needed but little consideration givento the structure That is what sets thisproject apart Wersquove created a partnershipbetween international public and privatesectorsrdquo

Nepa l rsquos Ka t hmandu va l l e y t h e G rea t Wa l li n Ch i na and a Saam i v i l l a ge we re t h esub j e c t s o f awa rd -w i nn i ng pho t og raph s i nt he I n t e rna t i ona l WORLD HER I TAGEPho t o Compe t i t i o n V i c en t e Pe i r o A s en s i oo f Spa i n Zhou Wanp i ng o f Ch i na andSwed i s h Ka t e Kauml r r be rg r e c e i v ed t hea w a r d s o n D e c e m b e r 1 6 F i r s t p r i z e - an a l l - expen s s e - pa i d t r i pa r ound t he wo r l d f o r two - wen t t o Pe i r owh i l e t h e o t he r two pho t og raphe r sr e c e i v ed i n t e r c on t i n en t a l t r i p s I n a l l 350 f i na l i s t s we r e s e l e c t ed f r om moret han 49 000 en t r i e s f r om 91 c oun t r i e s P r omo t i ng awa rene s s o f h e r i t age p r e -s e r va t i on t h e c on t e s t wa s o rgan i z ed byUNESCO rsquos Wo r l d He r i t age Rev i ew Ag fa Lu f t han sa and w i t h H i l t on Ho t e l

Will globalization leave us in amorality-free zone How can werespect cultural differences whilerecognizing a universal set of valuesAnd how can these values keep apacewith the changing problems and actorsof todayrsquos worldPhilosophers debated these questionsat the second meeting of the UNESCOUNIVERSAL ETHICS Project held inNaples Italy December 1 to 4 Theprojectrsquos findings to be published inthe coming six months will be thesubject of extensive electronic andconventional regional and disciplinaryconsultations

With his white cottage right beside the siteBulankulame keeps up with the latest dis-coveries while making a modest living guid-ing mostly foreign visitors Dreaming ofsomeday uncovering a tomb or palace ofAnuradhapurarsquos 118 kings (not one has beenfound) Bulankalume still fears that ldquocar-nival conservationrdquo will kill the spirit of thesite as busloads of tourists cruise in and out

For now the plague of mass tourism isunlikely to hit Sri Lanka as the bloody con-flict continues with the Tamil Tigers Andyet the island is a veritable shangri-la forthose looking for history and culture tocomplement white sand beaches shaded byswaying palms Recognizing this potentialthe Cultural Triangle was launched in 1980to promote cultural tourism in raisingmoney to restore six World Heritage sitesand to create jobs in the northern-centralarea of the island Contributions from pri-vate and public donors go directly into the

S H A N G R I - L A

With some $30m raised in total the resultsare impressive As was the case inAnuradhapura the medieval capitalPolonnaruva lay in undocumented ruinsswallowed by the jungle Today visitorsstroll along the elegant traces of royal pal-aces monasteries lotus ponds Hindushrines and some of the finest collectionsof Buddhist sculpture Further southSigiriya a fifth century palace carved in theform of a lion into a red boulder rises 200metres from the plain while the GoldenRock Temple of Dambulla has been rein-forced to shelter religious cave paintingsdating back to the 12th century And thenthere is the palace complex of Kandy en-trusted with the Holy Relic of the Tooth ofBuddha which is believed to have arrivedon the island in the fourth century hiddenin the chignon of an Indian princess

In all the Cultural Triangle has em-ployed more than 2000 labourers receiv-ing 129 ($215) rupees per day for skilledtasks and 112 ($185) for unskilled Sisiwho works at Kandy points out that thelow wages are compensated by the stabil-ity of steady work assured throughout therainy season when most jobs stop

ldquoBut you donrsquot see the biggest product- a new generation of empowered archae-ologistsrdquo says Bandaranayake pointing to160 post-graduate students in the field If

T H E B U D D H Arsquo S T O O T H

K AT H M A N D U rsquo S W I N N I N G W O R L D H E R I TA G E( P h o t o V i c e n t e P e i r o A s e n c i o )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

21

C u l t u r e

it werenrsquot for the project SM Nandadasasays that many students like himself wouldeither go abroad to continue their studiesor tag along with foreign teams of ex-perts

woman in shorts sitting on the lap of a Bud-dha statue in the Dambulla Temple SriLankans are generally very discrete andwouldnrsquot dare show their knees in publiclet alone at a sacred place While questionssurround the circumstances in which thephoto was discovered it did set off a ma-jor scandal ldquoCertainly the great cosmicimage of the Buddha cannot be damagedin any wayrdquo read one editorial (The IslandNovember 18 1993) ldquobut it does illustratethe folly of encouraging jaded westernersin search of titillations to inundate SriLankardquo

After initially deciding to close the sitethe monks had a change of heart when tour-ist operators prophesied economic doomThe site would remain open free of chargeHowever the monks would run the showinstead of the CCF But about a year laterthe monks began charging foreigners about$160 on top of the pass sold by the CCFThat rate has now doubled while extracharges are also paid at an Anuradhapuramonastery For some the fees are a sign ofgreed Yet intentionally or not the monks

F ran ccedilo i s G i r aud o f F r an c e r e c e i v ed t heUNESCO P r i z e f o r PEACE EDUCAT IONa t Headqua r t e r s on De cembe r 10 HumanR i gh t s Day P romo t i ng ldquo an e s s en t i a l l ypo s i t i v e pedagogy rdquo G i r aud c r ea t ed t h ePea ce and G l oba l Unde r s t and i ng P r i z eand a l s o f ounded t he I n t e rna t i ona lSummer Un i ve r s i t i e s f o r P ea c e Wo r t h $25 000 t h e annua l UNESCO p r i z eha s been p r ev i ou s l y awa rded t o Pau l oF r e i r e R i gobe r t a Men chu Tum Mo the rTe re sa o f Ca l c u t t a and Ch i a r a Lub i c h

ldquoThere are still millions of people withdisabilities whose human rights areseriously limited or altogether de-niedrdquo stressed the Director-General ina joint statement issued with theInternational Labour Organization theUnited Nations and UNICEF onDecember 2 the International Day ofDISABLED PERSONSldquoAchieving an inclusive societydepends on the commitment ofcommunities and society as a whole towelcome lsquodifferencersquo and to takepractical stepsrdquo to include all peoplewith disabilities in every sphere of lifeThese steps include developinginclusive schools and assuring thateveryone has ldquoaccess to the samerange of work opportunities Nocountry can afford to turn its back on10 of its populationrdquo

may have found a way of distinguishingbetween cultural tourism sites and sacredplaces

T H E I N N E R S A N C T U M

R E C L I N I N G B U T N O T D E C L I N I N GI N P O L O N N A R U V A

( P h o t o copy R o b e r t P o l i d o r i P l a n e t )

( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

At Sigiriya Nandadasa is on his ownturf Strolling past a giant pair of stuccoand brick lionrsquos claws he climbs 100m upthe boulder to the lsquopainting galleryrsquo wherejust a few of the celestial maidens remainof a painted band believed to have been140 metres long Admiring their beautypilgrims scratched ldquograffitirdquo into the pol-ished rock face below with verses datinginto the 14th century even though the pal-ace was abandoned just 18 years after itwas built at the end of the fifth centuryAccording to Nandadasa tourism is notnew to Sigiriya but the money is ldquoArchae-ologists must get involved and even workas guides if we want to continuerdquo

But Nandadasa is overlooking thatthere are three points in the cultural trian-gle tourists archaeologists and the Bud-dhist community Many classified sites aremonasteries and dagobas ldquoprivatelyownedrdquo by the religious establishmentTechnically the Department of Archaeol-ogy is responsible for preserving and man-aging these sites while the monks take careof the spiritual domain But these fine-linesare often blurred

In November 1993 newspapers pub-lished the photograph of a young Austrian

The temple in Kandy for example wel-comes about 2000 visitors daily - one grouparrives with upturned palms filled with jas-mine and lotus petals while a second turnsup with a couple of coins and cameras Bothgroups pad into the temple barefoot wheremen in white sarongs play snake flutes andstand guard before the gilded gates of theinner sanctum But then the two divideWhile the paying visitors line up to get agood view the others lay their flowers be-side burning incense and rice offeringsKneeling with hands clasped at their lipsthey sway in prayer before bowing so lowthat their foreheads touch the ground At thedesignated hour drums sound and the sanc-tuary doors open Cameras flash and the linefiles past the golden box containing the HolyRelic of the Tooth The tour is over Thepaying visitors are gone leaving that sec-ond group to assure that what might be atourist attraction remains a sacred place tohonour their Lord Buddha

Amy OTCHETSri Lanka

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

Y o u t h

22

HAVING A BALLTwo and a half tonnes of sporting equipment lands in Togowith a programme to get kids off the streetThe ancient Greeks understood Sport isnrsquotjust a pastime or entertainment Itrsquos a wholeeducational discipline which moulds thecharacter just like mathematics or literaturetrains the mind Through the experience ofsharing of team spirit of learning fromfailure of effort and perseverance sport isa true university of life

Everyone who works with young peo-ple these days knows that sport can also bea way to keep aimless kids healthily busyout of trouble and away from violence

This is why UNESCO launched itsldquoHope and solidarity through ball gamesrdquoprogramme in 1993 to distribute sportingequipment to young people in difficult situ-ations ldquoThrough sports and collective ac-tivities the programme aims to get chil-dren and young people off the street andredirect them towards peaceful communityliferdquo explains the programmersquos creatorMarie-Joseacute Lallart

The project relies entirely on the gen-erosity of donors Equipment is given bycompanies like Adidas Nike Perrache andInter Sport and by sporting federations orprivate individuals At UNESCO headquar-ters in Paris volunteers help to receive andpass on the equipment Transport is pro-vided free by private companies govern-ments and even the International MilitarySports Council

Francersquos three-time Olympic athleticschampion Marie-Joseacute Peacuterec visitedTogo from November 28 to December2 to deliver two and a half tonnes ofballs sports shoes and T-shirts donatedby Reebok ldquoIt was me who got in touchwith UNESCOrdquo she said ldquoI wanted to

do something to promote sporting soli-darity in a big wayrdquo

Peacuterec was greeted by a large crowdwhen her plane landed Everyone recog-nized her in the street and the governmenttreated her as an honoured guest Sportsevents were organized to mark her visitand meetings were arranged with relevant

political officials such as the ministersof youth and sports and of internal af-fairs as well as regional prefects Peacuterechanded out some of the material to kids andyoung people in poor areas of Lomeacute theTogolese capital and Kara but most of itwent to various regions of the countrythrough intermediaries

Since 1993 the programme has col-lected some $10 million worth of sportsequipment and delivered it to countries re-covering from conflicts such as LebanonGuinea Rwanda Haiti Georgia Palestineand Angola

It was the first contact with theUNESCO programme for both Peacuterec andReebok and they are keen to do more Simi-lar initiatives are foreseen in Mali andEthiopia

ldquo Irsquom struck by the way some countriesin Africa for example are affected by com-munal divisionsrdquo says Peacuterec ldquoSport canjust be a way of getting to know each otherWhen you play together you make friendsBut perhaps I got into the project just be-cause I love making young peoplehappyrdquo she said at the end of a trip duringwhich she handed out a lot less shoes andshorts than the smiles and hugs she received

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

A N E Y E -O P E N E R

A N D AS M I L E F O R

P Eacute R E C I NT O G O

( P h o t o copyK a r i m B e n

S m a i l )

How can peop l e ldquoun l ea rn rdquo v i o l en tbehav i ou r Abou t 80 edu ca t i on expe r t sand gove rnmen t m in i s t e r s f r om 17Ca r i bbean and La t i n Amer i c an c oun t r i e sb ra i n s t o rmed s t r a t eg i e s a t a c on f e r en c eon EDUCAT ION FOR NON-V IOLENCE h e l d i n Cu ra cao (Ne the r l and s An t i l l e s ) De c embe r 10 -12 Look i ng a t t h e i n f l u en ce o f t h e med i a gende r r o l e s and imba l an ce s and t heimpa c t o f pove r t y pa r t i c i p an t s d eve l opeda r eg i ona l f r amework f o r a c t i on i ns c hoo l s f am i l i e s and c ommun i t i e s Re commenda t i on s i n c l uded s pe c i a l t e a che rt r a i n i ng p ee r p r og rammes f o r s t r e e tc h i l d r en and young o f f ende r s pa t e rn i t yl eave and s uppo r t f o r v i c t im s o f domes t i cv i o l en c e i n add i t i on t o t r ea tmen t f o r t h epe rpe t r a t o r s

With conventional classrooms ldquothebread and butter of educationrdquo theEFA 2000 bulletin looks at lessexpensive ways of providing themfrom Nepal to Mexico Reflecting onpast experience in which importedmaterials designs and labour alien-ated communities from their schoolshome-grown solutions arise withmultipurpose centres open day andnight

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

23

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine pub-lished by the United Nations Educational Scien-tific and Cultural Organization [tel (+33 1) 4568 16 73 fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54] Englishand French editions are produced at Paris Head-quarters the Spanish edition in cooperation withthe UNESCO Centre of Catalonia Mallorca 28508037 Barcelona Spain the Chinese edition incooperation with the Xinhua News Agency 57Xuanwumen Xidajie Beijing China the Portu-guese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO Avenida InfanteSanto No 42-5deg 1300 Lisbon Portugal

Editor-in-Chief R Lefort Associate editorsS Williams S Boukhari A Otchet N Khouri-Dagher Assistant Managing Editor CMouillegravere Spanish edition E Kouamou (Bar-celona) L Sampedro (Paris) Lay-out GTraiano F Ryan Circulation and SecretariatD Maarek

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCOWorkshops Distribution by UNESCOs special-ized services

H e r i t a g e

THE PLUNDER OF AFGHANISTANUNESCO sounds the alarm over the pillage of Afghanistanrsquoscultural heritageIn a war itrsquos not just bombs and rocketswhich destroy historical monuments and ar-chaeological sites Unscrupulous smugglersoften cause just as much devastation loot-ing museums and unfinished excavationsValuable objects are thus lost forever forthe public and for science

Afghanistan is no exception to the ruleAfter two decades of war smuggling hasbecome so bad in this country at the heart ofthe Silk Roads and so uniquely endowed withBuddhist Greek and Islamic relics that

UNESCO has sounded the alarm The WorldHeritage Committee at its 21st session inNaples on December 5 called on the Afghangovernment to ldquotake appropriate steps to pre-serve the countryrsquos cultural heritagerdquo

Kabul museum in the heart of a heav-ily-bombed area was partly destroyedearly on in the fighting and extensivelylooted by all sides from communists toMuslims And while official digs have beenbrought to a halt many unauthorized ex-cavations have since begun

ldquoThe objects stolen from the Kabul mu-seum have no market valuerdquo says PierreLafrance a former French ambassador toPakistan ldquoUnder national and interna-tional law they can be seized immediatelyInformed collectors wouldnrsquot risk handlingthemrdquo adds Lafrance who is also theformer president of SPACH the Associa-tion for the Preservation of Afghan Cul-tural Heritage Items from the museum arenevertheless traded in the bazaars ofPeshawar and some even turn up in privatecollections in Islamabad London and Tokyo

These days most items of any period fromAfghanistan come from illegal excavationsldquoThere have always been such digs becausethe country is very rich in relicsrdquo says BernardDupaigne head of the ethnology laboratoryat the Museacutee de lrsquoHomme in Paris ldquoBut sincethe war began smuggling has increased withthe lack of political control and the great his-torical and cultural value of the objects in-volvedrdquo

Unable to curb unauthorized digs theAfghan authorities prodded by UNESCO

and SPACH have begun to protect what re-mains of the Kabul museum SPACH spon-sored an inventory of the museum in thesummer of 1996 which showed that 70of the collections had disappeared The re-mainder was transferred to a safe place inthe basement of the Kabul Hotel under thesupervision of a government commission

The Talibans who seized power in 1996frightened the international community withthreats against the Buddhist heritage nota-bly the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan (seeSources no 90) But they have just passed alaw harshly punishing export of culturalproperty on grounds that it is part of thenational heritage

While the Afghan authorities are nowkeen to preserve public collections the prob-lem of illegal digs remains to be tackledThey are draining a cultural heritage whichas the recent UNESCO resolution notesldquobelongs not just to Afghanistan but to allof humanityrdquo

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

The W O R L D H E R I TA G E L i s t n ow i n -c l ude s 46 new s i t e s b r i ng i ng t he t o t a lnumbe r t o 552 i n 112 c oun t r i e s Mee t i ngi n Nap l e s ( I t a l y ) on De cembe r 4 t h eWor l d He r i t age Commi t t e e s e l e c t ed f o rt he f i r s t t ime s i t e s i n Dom in i c a E s t on i a Kenya and La t v i a and added ano the r t enin I ta ly su ch a s Pompe iuml Add i t i ons i n c ludeLumbin i the b i r thp la ce o f the Buddha inNepa l t he Ne the r l and s rsquo M i l l Ne two rk a tK i nde rd i j k - E l s hou t and t he Sunda rban smang rove f o r e s t i n Bang l ade sh

Gold jewellery from Colombia apriceless feather poncho from Peru and2000-year-old ceramic figurines fromMexico were part of one of the largestcollections of STOLEN ARTEFACTSreturned to their countries of originOn separate occasions Canadiancustoms officers seized 124 artefactsfrom two Americans trying to bringthem into Canada The authoritiesreturned the booty on November 281997 under the 1970 UNESCOconvention against illicit traffic incultural property

T H E M U S E U MC A N B E

R E P A I R E D B U T C A N I T SC O L L E C T I O N S

B E R E S T O R E D ( P h o t o copy

B e r n a r dD U P A I G N E )

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

C u l t u r e

20

APPEASING THE SPIRITSThe promise and pitfalls of cultural tourism emerge with a majorcampaign restoring six World Heritage sites in Sri LankaRudyard Kiplingrsquos tales pale before BandaraBulankulamersquos childhood adventuresmagic even by Sri Lankan standards At sixhe braved the jungle to explore the ruins ofthe royal city of Anuradhapura founded 89years before the birth of Christ He watchedwild elephants saunter past colonnades aspilgrims appeased the spirits with jasminein crumbling shrines What looked like agrassy hill the boy knew to be a sealedchamber of ancient relics while a stonetrough could offer refuge after a spook fromsculpted Buddhas lurking in the vines

Today Bulankulame is a guide at hischildhood paradise now transformed intoone of the worldrsquos most expansive archaeo-logical sites spanning 40 km2 in a majorrestoration project of the Cultural Triangleby the Sri Lankan government andUNESCO A team of archaeologists aremapping Bulankulamersquos hiding places dis-covering that the secret trough is really theworldrsquos largest buffet stretching 30 metresto hold 5300 begging bowls of rice forhungry monks Workers spent years pull-ing up trees and grass to reveal theAbhayagiri Dagoba (stupa in Sinhala for achamber containing holy relics) once about106 metres high making it the tallest brickedifice of the ancient world

Central Cultural Fund (CCF) administeredby the Department of Archaeology In1996 65 of the funds came in the formof entrance fees with foreigners paying$35 for a pass to see all the sites (or $15for each visit)The campaign is scheduledto come to a close next year as the bulk ofexcavations are in the final phase

ldquoWersquove taken a proactive approach in-stead of leaving it up to government agen-cies to decide on how much to spend onpreserving heritagerdquo says SenakeBandaranayake Director-General of theCultural Triangle ldquoIn developing coun-tries there is often a lot of talk about thefunds needed but little consideration givento the structure That is what sets thisproject apart Wersquove created a partnershipbetween international public and privatesectorsrdquo

Nepa l rsquos Ka t hmandu va l l e y t h e G rea t Wa l li n Ch i na and a Saam i v i l l a ge we re t h esub j e c t s o f awa rd -w i nn i ng pho t og raph s i nt he I n t e rna t i ona l WORLD HER I TAGEPho t o Compe t i t i o n V i c en t e Pe i r o A s en s i oo f Spa i n Zhou Wanp i ng o f Ch i na andSwed i s h Ka t e Kauml r r be rg r e c e i v ed t hea w a r d s o n D e c e m b e r 1 6 F i r s t p r i z e - an a l l - expen s s e - pa i d t r i pa r ound t he wo r l d f o r two - wen t t o Pe i r owh i l e t h e o t he r two pho t og raphe r sr e c e i v ed i n t e r c on t i n en t a l t r i p s I n a l l 350 f i na l i s t s we r e s e l e c t ed f r om moret han 49 000 en t r i e s f r om 91 c oun t r i e s P r omo t i ng awa rene s s o f h e r i t age p r e -s e r va t i on t h e c on t e s t wa s o rgan i z ed byUNESCO rsquos Wo r l d He r i t age Rev i ew Ag fa Lu f t han sa and w i t h H i l t on Ho t e l

Will globalization leave us in amorality-free zone How can werespect cultural differences whilerecognizing a universal set of valuesAnd how can these values keep apacewith the changing problems and actorsof todayrsquos worldPhilosophers debated these questionsat the second meeting of the UNESCOUNIVERSAL ETHICS Project held inNaples Italy December 1 to 4 Theprojectrsquos findings to be published inthe coming six months will be thesubject of extensive electronic andconventional regional and disciplinaryconsultations

With his white cottage right beside the siteBulankulame keeps up with the latest dis-coveries while making a modest living guid-ing mostly foreign visitors Dreaming ofsomeday uncovering a tomb or palace ofAnuradhapurarsquos 118 kings (not one has beenfound) Bulankalume still fears that ldquocar-nival conservationrdquo will kill the spirit of thesite as busloads of tourists cruise in and out

For now the plague of mass tourism isunlikely to hit Sri Lanka as the bloody con-flict continues with the Tamil Tigers Andyet the island is a veritable shangri-la forthose looking for history and culture tocomplement white sand beaches shaded byswaying palms Recognizing this potentialthe Cultural Triangle was launched in 1980to promote cultural tourism in raisingmoney to restore six World Heritage sitesand to create jobs in the northern-centralarea of the island Contributions from pri-vate and public donors go directly into the

S H A N G R I - L A

With some $30m raised in total the resultsare impressive As was the case inAnuradhapura the medieval capitalPolonnaruva lay in undocumented ruinsswallowed by the jungle Today visitorsstroll along the elegant traces of royal pal-aces monasteries lotus ponds Hindushrines and some of the finest collectionsof Buddhist sculpture Further southSigiriya a fifth century palace carved in theform of a lion into a red boulder rises 200metres from the plain while the GoldenRock Temple of Dambulla has been rein-forced to shelter religious cave paintingsdating back to the 12th century And thenthere is the palace complex of Kandy en-trusted with the Holy Relic of the Tooth ofBuddha which is believed to have arrivedon the island in the fourth century hiddenin the chignon of an Indian princess

In all the Cultural Triangle has em-ployed more than 2000 labourers receiv-ing 129 ($215) rupees per day for skilledtasks and 112 ($185) for unskilled Sisiwho works at Kandy points out that thelow wages are compensated by the stabil-ity of steady work assured throughout therainy season when most jobs stop

ldquoBut you donrsquot see the biggest product- a new generation of empowered archae-ologistsrdquo says Bandaranayake pointing to160 post-graduate students in the field If

T H E B U D D H Arsquo S T O O T H

K AT H M A N D U rsquo S W I N N I N G W O R L D H E R I TA G E( P h o t o V i c e n t e P e i r o A s e n c i o )

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

21

C u l t u r e

it werenrsquot for the project SM Nandadasasays that many students like himself wouldeither go abroad to continue their studiesor tag along with foreign teams of ex-perts

woman in shorts sitting on the lap of a Bud-dha statue in the Dambulla Temple SriLankans are generally very discrete andwouldnrsquot dare show their knees in publiclet alone at a sacred place While questionssurround the circumstances in which thephoto was discovered it did set off a ma-jor scandal ldquoCertainly the great cosmicimage of the Buddha cannot be damagedin any wayrdquo read one editorial (The IslandNovember 18 1993) ldquobut it does illustratethe folly of encouraging jaded westernersin search of titillations to inundate SriLankardquo

After initially deciding to close the sitethe monks had a change of heart when tour-ist operators prophesied economic doomThe site would remain open free of chargeHowever the monks would run the showinstead of the CCF But about a year laterthe monks began charging foreigners about$160 on top of the pass sold by the CCFThat rate has now doubled while extracharges are also paid at an Anuradhapuramonastery For some the fees are a sign ofgreed Yet intentionally or not the monks

F ran ccedilo i s G i r aud o f F r an c e r e c e i v ed t heUNESCO P r i z e f o r PEACE EDUCAT IONa t Headqua r t e r s on De cembe r 10 HumanR i gh t s Day P romo t i ng ldquo an e s s en t i a l l ypo s i t i v e pedagogy rdquo G i r aud c r ea t ed t h ePea ce and G l oba l Unde r s t and i ng P r i z eand a l s o f ounded t he I n t e rna t i ona lSummer Un i ve r s i t i e s f o r P ea c e Wo r t h $25 000 t h e annua l UNESCO p r i z eha s been p r ev i ou s l y awa rded t o Pau l oF r e i r e R i gobe r t a Men chu Tum Mo the rTe re sa o f Ca l c u t t a and Ch i a r a Lub i c h

ldquoThere are still millions of people withdisabilities whose human rights areseriously limited or altogether de-niedrdquo stressed the Director-General ina joint statement issued with theInternational Labour Organization theUnited Nations and UNICEF onDecember 2 the International Day ofDISABLED PERSONSldquoAchieving an inclusive societydepends on the commitment ofcommunities and society as a whole towelcome lsquodifferencersquo and to takepractical stepsrdquo to include all peoplewith disabilities in every sphere of lifeThese steps include developinginclusive schools and assuring thateveryone has ldquoaccess to the samerange of work opportunities Nocountry can afford to turn its back on10 of its populationrdquo

may have found a way of distinguishingbetween cultural tourism sites and sacredplaces

T H E I N N E R S A N C T U M

R E C L I N I N G B U T N O T D E C L I N I N GI N P O L O N N A R U V A

( P h o t o copy R o b e r t P o l i d o r i P l a n e t )

( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

At Sigiriya Nandadasa is on his ownturf Strolling past a giant pair of stuccoand brick lionrsquos claws he climbs 100m upthe boulder to the lsquopainting galleryrsquo wherejust a few of the celestial maidens remainof a painted band believed to have been140 metres long Admiring their beautypilgrims scratched ldquograffitirdquo into the pol-ished rock face below with verses datinginto the 14th century even though the pal-ace was abandoned just 18 years after itwas built at the end of the fifth centuryAccording to Nandadasa tourism is notnew to Sigiriya but the money is ldquoArchae-ologists must get involved and even workas guides if we want to continuerdquo

But Nandadasa is overlooking thatthere are three points in the cultural trian-gle tourists archaeologists and the Bud-dhist community Many classified sites aremonasteries and dagobas ldquoprivatelyownedrdquo by the religious establishmentTechnically the Department of Archaeol-ogy is responsible for preserving and man-aging these sites while the monks take careof the spiritual domain But these fine-linesare often blurred

In November 1993 newspapers pub-lished the photograph of a young Austrian

The temple in Kandy for example wel-comes about 2000 visitors daily - one grouparrives with upturned palms filled with jas-mine and lotus petals while a second turnsup with a couple of coins and cameras Bothgroups pad into the temple barefoot wheremen in white sarongs play snake flutes andstand guard before the gilded gates of theinner sanctum But then the two divideWhile the paying visitors line up to get agood view the others lay their flowers be-side burning incense and rice offeringsKneeling with hands clasped at their lipsthey sway in prayer before bowing so lowthat their foreheads touch the ground At thedesignated hour drums sound and the sanc-tuary doors open Cameras flash and the linefiles past the golden box containing the HolyRelic of the Tooth The tour is over Thepaying visitors are gone leaving that sec-ond group to assure that what might be atourist attraction remains a sacred place tohonour their Lord Buddha

Amy OTCHETSri Lanka

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

Y o u t h

22

HAVING A BALLTwo and a half tonnes of sporting equipment lands in Togowith a programme to get kids off the streetThe ancient Greeks understood Sport isnrsquotjust a pastime or entertainment Itrsquos a wholeeducational discipline which moulds thecharacter just like mathematics or literaturetrains the mind Through the experience ofsharing of team spirit of learning fromfailure of effort and perseverance sport isa true university of life

Everyone who works with young peo-ple these days knows that sport can also bea way to keep aimless kids healthily busyout of trouble and away from violence

This is why UNESCO launched itsldquoHope and solidarity through ball gamesrdquoprogramme in 1993 to distribute sportingequipment to young people in difficult situ-ations ldquoThrough sports and collective ac-tivities the programme aims to get chil-dren and young people off the street andredirect them towards peaceful communityliferdquo explains the programmersquos creatorMarie-Joseacute Lallart

The project relies entirely on the gen-erosity of donors Equipment is given bycompanies like Adidas Nike Perrache andInter Sport and by sporting federations orprivate individuals At UNESCO headquar-ters in Paris volunteers help to receive andpass on the equipment Transport is pro-vided free by private companies govern-ments and even the International MilitarySports Council

Francersquos three-time Olympic athleticschampion Marie-Joseacute Peacuterec visitedTogo from November 28 to December2 to deliver two and a half tonnes ofballs sports shoes and T-shirts donatedby Reebok ldquoIt was me who got in touchwith UNESCOrdquo she said ldquoI wanted to

do something to promote sporting soli-darity in a big wayrdquo

Peacuterec was greeted by a large crowdwhen her plane landed Everyone recog-nized her in the street and the governmenttreated her as an honoured guest Sportsevents were organized to mark her visitand meetings were arranged with relevant

political officials such as the ministersof youth and sports and of internal af-fairs as well as regional prefects Peacuterechanded out some of the material to kids andyoung people in poor areas of Lomeacute theTogolese capital and Kara but most of itwent to various regions of the countrythrough intermediaries

Since 1993 the programme has col-lected some $10 million worth of sportsequipment and delivered it to countries re-covering from conflicts such as LebanonGuinea Rwanda Haiti Georgia Palestineand Angola

It was the first contact with theUNESCO programme for both Peacuterec andReebok and they are keen to do more Simi-lar initiatives are foreseen in Mali andEthiopia

ldquo Irsquom struck by the way some countriesin Africa for example are affected by com-munal divisionsrdquo says Peacuterec ldquoSport canjust be a way of getting to know each otherWhen you play together you make friendsBut perhaps I got into the project just be-cause I love making young peoplehappyrdquo she said at the end of a trip duringwhich she handed out a lot less shoes andshorts than the smiles and hugs she received

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

A N E Y E -O P E N E R

A N D AS M I L E F O R

P Eacute R E C I NT O G O

( P h o t o copyK a r i m B e n

S m a i l )

How can peop l e ldquoun l ea rn rdquo v i o l en tbehav i ou r Abou t 80 edu ca t i on expe r t sand gove rnmen t m in i s t e r s f r om 17Ca r i bbean and La t i n Amer i c an c oun t r i e sb ra i n s t o rmed s t r a t eg i e s a t a c on f e r en c eon EDUCAT ION FOR NON-V IOLENCE h e l d i n Cu ra cao (Ne the r l and s An t i l l e s ) De c embe r 10 -12 Look i ng a t t h e i n f l u en ce o f t h e med i a gende r r o l e s and imba l an ce s and t heimpa c t o f pove r t y pa r t i c i p an t s d eve l opeda r eg i ona l f r amework f o r a c t i on i ns c hoo l s f am i l i e s and c ommun i t i e s Re commenda t i on s i n c l uded s pe c i a l t e a che rt r a i n i ng p ee r p r og rammes f o r s t r e e tc h i l d r en and young o f f ende r s pa t e rn i t yl eave and s uppo r t f o r v i c t im s o f domes t i cv i o l en c e i n add i t i on t o t r ea tmen t f o r t h epe rpe t r a t o r s

With conventional classrooms ldquothebread and butter of educationrdquo theEFA 2000 bulletin looks at lessexpensive ways of providing themfrom Nepal to Mexico Reflecting onpast experience in which importedmaterials designs and labour alien-ated communities from their schoolshome-grown solutions arise withmultipurpose centres open day andnight

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

23

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine pub-lished by the United Nations Educational Scien-tific and Cultural Organization [tel (+33 1) 4568 16 73 fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54] Englishand French editions are produced at Paris Head-quarters the Spanish edition in cooperation withthe UNESCO Centre of Catalonia Mallorca 28508037 Barcelona Spain the Chinese edition incooperation with the Xinhua News Agency 57Xuanwumen Xidajie Beijing China the Portu-guese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO Avenida InfanteSanto No 42-5deg 1300 Lisbon Portugal

Editor-in-Chief R Lefort Associate editorsS Williams S Boukhari A Otchet N Khouri-Dagher Assistant Managing Editor CMouillegravere Spanish edition E Kouamou (Bar-celona) L Sampedro (Paris) Lay-out GTraiano F Ryan Circulation and SecretariatD Maarek

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCOWorkshops Distribution by UNESCOs special-ized services

H e r i t a g e

THE PLUNDER OF AFGHANISTANUNESCO sounds the alarm over the pillage of Afghanistanrsquoscultural heritageIn a war itrsquos not just bombs and rocketswhich destroy historical monuments and ar-chaeological sites Unscrupulous smugglersoften cause just as much devastation loot-ing museums and unfinished excavationsValuable objects are thus lost forever forthe public and for science

Afghanistan is no exception to the ruleAfter two decades of war smuggling hasbecome so bad in this country at the heart ofthe Silk Roads and so uniquely endowed withBuddhist Greek and Islamic relics that

UNESCO has sounded the alarm The WorldHeritage Committee at its 21st session inNaples on December 5 called on the Afghangovernment to ldquotake appropriate steps to pre-serve the countryrsquos cultural heritagerdquo

Kabul museum in the heart of a heav-ily-bombed area was partly destroyedearly on in the fighting and extensivelylooted by all sides from communists toMuslims And while official digs have beenbrought to a halt many unauthorized ex-cavations have since begun

ldquoThe objects stolen from the Kabul mu-seum have no market valuerdquo says PierreLafrance a former French ambassador toPakistan ldquoUnder national and interna-tional law they can be seized immediatelyInformed collectors wouldnrsquot risk handlingthemrdquo adds Lafrance who is also theformer president of SPACH the Associa-tion for the Preservation of Afghan Cul-tural Heritage Items from the museum arenevertheless traded in the bazaars ofPeshawar and some even turn up in privatecollections in Islamabad London and Tokyo

These days most items of any period fromAfghanistan come from illegal excavationsldquoThere have always been such digs becausethe country is very rich in relicsrdquo says BernardDupaigne head of the ethnology laboratoryat the Museacutee de lrsquoHomme in Paris ldquoBut sincethe war began smuggling has increased withthe lack of political control and the great his-torical and cultural value of the objects in-volvedrdquo

Unable to curb unauthorized digs theAfghan authorities prodded by UNESCO

and SPACH have begun to protect what re-mains of the Kabul museum SPACH spon-sored an inventory of the museum in thesummer of 1996 which showed that 70of the collections had disappeared The re-mainder was transferred to a safe place inthe basement of the Kabul Hotel under thesupervision of a government commission

The Talibans who seized power in 1996frightened the international community withthreats against the Buddhist heritage nota-bly the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan (seeSources no 90) But they have just passed alaw harshly punishing export of culturalproperty on grounds that it is part of thenational heritage

While the Afghan authorities are nowkeen to preserve public collections the prob-lem of illegal digs remains to be tackledThey are draining a cultural heritage whichas the recent UNESCO resolution notesldquobelongs not just to Afghanistan but to allof humanityrdquo

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

The W O R L D H E R I TA G E L i s t n ow i n -c l ude s 46 new s i t e s b r i ng i ng t he t o t a lnumbe r t o 552 i n 112 c oun t r i e s Mee t i ngi n Nap l e s ( I t a l y ) on De cembe r 4 t h eWor l d He r i t age Commi t t e e s e l e c t ed f o rt he f i r s t t ime s i t e s i n Dom in i c a E s t on i a Kenya and La t v i a and added ano the r t enin I ta ly su ch a s Pompe iuml Add i t i ons i n c ludeLumbin i the b i r thp la ce o f the Buddha inNepa l t he Ne the r l and s rsquo M i l l Ne two rk a tK i nde rd i j k - E l s hou t and t he Sunda rban smang rove f o r e s t i n Bang l ade sh

Gold jewellery from Colombia apriceless feather poncho from Peru and2000-year-old ceramic figurines fromMexico were part of one of the largestcollections of STOLEN ARTEFACTSreturned to their countries of originOn separate occasions Canadiancustoms officers seized 124 artefactsfrom two Americans trying to bringthem into Canada The authoritiesreturned the booty on November 281997 under the 1970 UNESCOconvention against illicit traffic incultural property

T H E M U S E U MC A N B E

R E P A I R E D B U T C A N I T SC O L L E C T I O N S

B E R E S T O R E D ( P h o t o copy

B e r n a r dD U P A I G N E )

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

21

C u l t u r e

it werenrsquot for the project SM Nandadasasays that many students like himself wouldeither go abroad to continue their studiesor tag along with foreign teams of ex-perts

woman in shorts sitting on the lap of a Bud-dha statue in the Dambulla Temple SriLankans are generally very discrete andwouldnrsquot dare show their knees in publiclet alone at a sacred place While questionssurround the circumstances in which thephoto was discovered it did set off a ma-jor scandal ldquoCertainly the great cosmicimage of the Buddha cannot be damagedin any wayrdquo read one editorial (The IslandNovember 18 1993) ldquobut it does illustratethe folly of encouraging jaded westernersin search of titillations to inundate SriLankardquo

After initially deciding to close the sitethe monks had a change of heart when tour-ist operators prophesied economic doomThe site would remain open free of chargeHowever the monks would run the showinstead of the CCF But about a year laterthe monks began charging foreigners about$160 on top of the pass sold by the CCFThat rate has now doubled while extracharges are also paid at an Anuradhapuramonastery For some the fees are a sign ofgreed Yet intentionally or not the monks

F ran ccedilo i s G i r aud o f F r an c e r e c e i v ed t heUNESCO P r i z e f o r PEACE EDUCAT IONa t Headqua r t e r s on De cembe r 10 HumanR i gh t s Day P romo t i ng ldquo an e s s en t i a l l ypo s i t i v e pedagogy rdquo G i r aud c r ea t ed t h ePea ce and G l oba l Unde r s t and i ng P r i z eand a l s o f ounded t he I n t e rna t i ona lSummer Un i ve r s i t i e s f o r P ea c e Wo r t h $25 000 t h e annua l UNESCO p r i z eha s been p r ev i ou s l y awa rded t o Pau l oF r e i r e R i gobe r t a Men chu Tum Mo the rTe re sa o f Ca l c u t t a and Ch i a r a Lub i c h

ldquoThere are still millions of people withdisabilities whose human rights areseriously limited or altogether de-niedrdquo stressed the Director-General ina joint statement issued with theInternational Labour Organization theUnited Nations and UNICEF onDecember 2 the International Day ofDISABLED PERSONSldquoAchieving an inclusive societydepends on the commitment ofcommunities and society as a whole towelcome lsquodifferencersquo and to takepractical stepsrdquo to include all peoplewith disabilities in every sphere of lifeThese steps include developinginclusive schools and assuring thateveryone has ldquoaccess to the samerange of work opportunities Nocountry can afford to turn its back on10 of its populationrdquo

may have found a way of distinguishingbetween cultural tourism sites and sacredplaces

T H E I N N E R S A N C T U M

R E C L I N I N G B U T N O T D E C L I N I N GI N P O L O N N A R U V A

( P h o t o copy R o b e r t P o l i d o r i P l a n e t )

( P h o t o U N E S C O M C l a u d e )

At Sigiriya Nandadasa is on his ownturf Strolling past a giant pair of stuccoand brick lionrsquos claws he climbs 100m upthe boulder to the lsquopainting galleryrsquo wherejust a few of the celestial maidens remainof a painted band believed to have been140 metres long Admiring their beautypilgrims scratched ldquograffitirdquo into the pol-ished rock face below with verses datinginto the 14th century even though the pal-ace was abandoned just 18 years after itwas built at the end of the fifth centuryAccording to Nandadasa tourism is notnew to Sigiriya but the money is ldquoArchae-ologists must get involved and even workas guides if we want to continuerdquo

But Nandadasa is overlooking thatthere are three points in the cultural trian-gle tourists archaeologists and the Bud-dhist community Many classified sites aremonasteries and dagobas ldquoprivatelyownedrdquo by the religious establishmentTechnically the Department of Archaeol-ogy is responsible for preserving and man-aging these sites while the monks take careof the spiritual domain But these fine-linesare often blurred

In November 1993 newspapers pub-lished the photograph of a young Austrian

The temple in Kandy for example wel-comes about 2000 visitors daily - one grouparrives with upturned palms filled with jas-mine and lotus petals while a second turnsup with a couple of coins and cameras Bothgroups pad into the temple barefoot wheremen in white sarongs play snake flutes andstand guard before the gilded gates of theinner sanctum But then the two divideWhile the paying visitors line up to get agood view the others lay their flowers be-side burning incense and rice offeringsKneeling with hands clasped at their lipsthey sway in prayer before bowing so lowthat their foreheads touch the ground At thedesignated hour drums sound and the sanc-tuary doors open Cameras flash and the linefiles past the golden box containing the HolyRelic of the Tooth The tour is over Thepaying visitors are gone leaving that sec-ond group to assure that what might be atourist attraction remains a sacred place tohonour their Lord Buddha

Amy OTCHETSri Lanka

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

Y o u t h

22

HAVING A BALLTwo and a half tonnes of sporting equipment lands in Togowith a programme to get kids off the streetThe ancient Greeks understood Sport isnrsquotjust a pastime or entertainment Itrsquos a wholeeducational discipline which moulds thecharacter just like mathematics or literaturetrains the mind Through the experience ofsharing of team spirit of learning fromfailure of effort and perseverance sport isa true university of life

Everyone who works with young peo-ple these days knows that sport can also bea way to keep aimless kids healthily busyout of trouble and away from violence

This is why UNESCO launched itsldquoHope and solidarity through ball gamesrdquoprogramme in 1993 to distribute sportingequipment to young people in difficult situ-ations ldquoThrough sports and collective ac-tivities the programme aims to get chil-dren and young people off the street andredirect them towards peaceful communityliferdquo explains the programmersquos creatorMarie-Joseacute Lallart

The project relies entirely on the gen-erosity of donors Equipment is given bycompanies like Adidas Nike Perrache andInter Sport and by sporting federations orprivate individuals At UNESCO headquar-ters in Paris volunteers help to receive andpass on the equipment Transport is pro-vided free by private companies govern-ments and even the International MilitarySports Council

Francersquos three-time Olympic athleticschampion Marie-Joseacute Peacuterec visitedTogo from November 28 to December2 to deliver two and a half tonnes ofballs sports shoes and T-shirts donatedby Reebok ldquoIt was me who got in touchwith UNESCOrdquo she said ldquoI wanted to

do something to promote sporting soli-darity in a big wayrdquo

Peacuterec was greeted by a large crowdwhen her plane landed Everyone recog-nized her in the street and the governmenttreated her as an honoured guest Sportsevents were organized to mark her visitand meetings were arranged with relevant

political officials such as the ministersof youth and sports and of internal af-fairs as well as regional prefects Peacuterechanded out some of the material to kids andyoung people in poor areas of Lomeacute theTogolese capital and Kara but most of itwent to various regions of the countrythrough intermediaries

Since 1993 the programme has col-lected some $10 million worth of sportsequipment and delivered it to countries re-covering from conflicts such as LebanonGuinea Rwanda Haiti Georgia Palestineand Angola

It was the first contact with theUNESCO programme for both Peacuterec andReebok and they are keen to do more Simi-lar initiatives are foreseen in Mali andEthiopia

ldquo Irsquom struck by the way some countriesin Africa for example are affected by com-munal divisionsrdquo says Peacuterec ldquoSport canjust be a way of getting to know each otherWhen you play together you make friendsBut perhaps I got into the project just be-cause I love making young peoplehappyrdquo she said at the end of a trip duringwhich she handed out a lot less shoes andshorts than the smiles and hugs she received

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

A N E Y E -O P E N E R

A N D AS M I L E F O R

P Eacute R E C I NT O G O

( P h o t o copyK a r i m B e n

S m a i l )

How can peop l e ldquoun l ea rn rdquo v i o l en tbehav i ou r Abou t 80 edu ca t i on expe r t sand gove rnmen t m in i s t e r s f r om 17Ca r i bbean and La t i n Amer i c an c oun t r i e sb ra i n s t o rmed s t r a t eg i e s a t a c on f e r en c eon EDUCAT ION FOR NON-V IOLENCE h e l d i n Cu ra cao (Ne the r l and s An t i l l e s ) De c embe r 10 -12 Look i ng a t t h e i n f l u en ce o f t h e med i a gende r r o l e s and imba l an ce s and t heimpa c t o f pove r t y pa r t i c i p an t s d eve l opeda r eg i ona l f r amework f o r a c t i on i ns c hoo l s f am i l i e s and c ommun i t i e s Re commenda t i on s i n c l uded s pe c i a l t e a che rt r a i n i ng p ee r p r og rammes f o r s t r e e tc h i l d r en and young o f f ende r s pa t e rn i t yl eave and s uppo r t f o r v i c t im s o f domes t i cv i o l en c e i n add i t i on t o t r ea tmen t f o r t h epe rpe t r a t o r s

With conventional classrooms ldquothebread and butter of educationrdquo theEFA 2000 bulletin looks at lessexpensive ways of providing themfrom Nepal to Mexico Reflecting onpast experience in which importedmaterials designs and labour alien-ated communities from their schoolshome-grown solutions arise withmultipurpose centres open day andnight

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

23

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine pub-lished by the United Nations Educational Scien-tific and Cultural Organization [tel (+33 1) 4568 16 73 fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54] Englishand French editions are produced at Paris Head-quarters the Spanish edition in cooperation withthe UNESCO Centre of Catalonia Mallorca 28508037 Barcelona Spain the Chinese edition incooperation with the Xinhua News Agency 57Xuanwumen Xidajie Beijing China the Portu-guese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO Avenida InfanteSanto No 42-5deg 1300 Lisbon Portugal

Editor-in-Chief R Lefort Associate editorsS Williams S Boukhari A Otchet N Khouri-Dagher Assistant Managing Editor CMouillegravere Spanish edition E Kouamou (Bar-celona) L Sampedro (Paris) Lay-out GTraiano F Ryan Circulation and SecretariatD Maarek

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCOWorkshops Distribution by UNESCOs special-ized services

H e r i t a g e

THE PLUNDER OF AFGHANISTANUNESCO sounds the alarm over the pillage of Afghanistanrsquoscultural heritageIn a war itrsquos not just bombs and rocketswhich destroy historical monuments and ar-chaeological sites Unscrupulous smugglersoften cause just as much devastation loot-ing museums and unfinished excavationsValuable objects are thus lost forever forthe public and for science

Afghanistan is no exception to the ruleAfter two decades of war smuggling hasbecome so bad in this country at the heart ofthe Silk Roads and so uniquely endowed withBuddhist Greek and Islamic relics that

UNESCO has sounded the alarm The WorldHeritage Committee at its 21st session inNaples on December 5 called on the Afghangovernment to ldquotake appropriate steps to pre-serve the countryrsquos cultural heritagerdquo

Kabul museum in the heart of a heav-ily-bombed area was partly destroyedearly on in the fighting and extensivelylooted by all sides from communists toMuslims And while official digs have beenbrought to a halt many unauthorized ex-cavations have since begun

ldquoThe objects stolen from the Kabul mu-seum have no market valuerdquo says PierreLafrance a former French ambassador toPakistan ldquoUnder national and interna-tional law they can be seized immediatelyInformed collectors wouldnrsquot risk handlingthemrdquo adds Lafrance who is also theformer president of SPACH the Associa-tion for the Preservation of Afghan Cul-tural Heritage Items from the museum arenevertheless traded in the bazaars ofPeshawar and some even turn up in privatecollections in Islamabad London and Tokyo

These days most items of any period fromAfghanistan come from illegal excavationsldquoThere have always been such digs becausethe country is very rich in relicsrdquo says BernardDupaigne head of the ethnology laboratoryat the Museacutee de lrsquoHomme in Paris ldquoBut sincethe war began smuggling has increased withthe lack of political control and the great his-torical and cultural value of the objects in-volvedrdquo

Unable to curb unauthorized digs theAfghan authorities prodded by UNESCO

and SPACH have begun to protect what re-mains of the Kabul museum SPACH spon-sored an inventory of the museum in thesummer of 1996 which showed that 70of the collections had disappeared The re-mainder was transferred to a safe place inthe basement of the Kabul Hotel under thesupervision of a government commission

The Talibans who seized power in 1996frightened the international community withthreats against the Buddhist heritage nota-bly the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan (seeSources no 90) But they have just passed alaw harshly punishing export of culturalproperty on grounds that it is part of thenational heritage

While the Afghan authorities are nowkeen to preserve public collections the prob-lem of illegal digs remains to be tackledThey are draining a cultural heritage whichas the recent UNESCO resolution notesldquobelongs not just to Afghanistan but to allof humanityrdquo

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

The W O R L D H E R I TA G E L i s t n ow i n -c l ude s 46 new s i t e s b r i ng i ng t he t o t a lnumbe r t o 552 i n 112 c oun t r i e s Mee t i ngi n Nap l e s ( I t a l y ) on De cembe r 4 t h eWor l d He r i t age Commi t t e e s e l e c t ed f o rt he f i r s t t ime s i t e s i n Dom in i c a E s t on i a Kenya and La t v i a and added ano the r t enin I ta ly su ch a s Pompe iuml Add i t i ons i n c ludeLumbin i the b i r thp la ce o f the Buddha inNepa l t he Ne the r l and s rsquo M i l l Ne two rk a tK i nde rd i j k - E l s hou t and t he Sunda rban smang rove f o r e s t i n Bang l ade sh

Gold jewellery from Colombia apriceless feather poncho from Peru and2000-year-old ceramic figurines fromMexico were part of one of the largestcollections of STOLEN ARTEFACTSreturned to their countries of originOn separate occasions Canadiancustoms officers seized 124 artefactsfrom two Americans trying to bringthem into Canada The authoritiesreturned the booty on November 281997 under the 1970 UNESCOconvention against illicit traffic incultural property

T H E M U S E U MC A N B E

R E P A I R E D B U T C A N I T SC O L L E C T I O N S

B E R E S T O R E D ( P h o t o copy

B e r n a r dD U P A I G N E )

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents

A l l a r t i c l e s a r e f r e e o f c o p y r i g h tr e s t r i c t i o n s a n d c a n b e r e p r o d u c e d

U N E S C O S O U R C E S

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

Y o u t h

22

HAVING A BALLTwo and a half tonnes of sporting equipment lands in Togowith a programme to get kids off the streetThe ancient Greeks understood Sport isnrsquotjust a pastime or entertainment Itrsquos a wholeeducational discipline which moulds thecharacter just like mathematics or literaturetrains the mind Through the experience ofsharing of team spirit of learning fromfailure of effort and perseverance sport isa true university of life

Everyone who works with young peo-ple these days knows that sport can also bea way to keep aimless kids healthily busyout of trouble and away from violence

This is why UNESCO launched itsldquoHope and solidarity through ball gamesrdquoprogramme in 1993 to distribute sportingequipment to young people in difficult situ-ations ldquoThrough sports and collective ac-tivities the programme aims to get chil-dren and young people off the street andredirect them towards peaceful communityliferdquo explains the programmersquos creatorMarie-Joseacute Lallart

The project relies entirely on the gen-erosity of donors Equipment is given bycompanies like Adidas Nike Perrache andInter Sport and by sporting federations orprivate individuals At UNESCO headquar-ters in Paris volunteers help to receive andpass on the equipment Transport is pro-vided free by private companies govern-ments and even the International MilitarySports Council

Francersquos three-time Olympic athleticschampion Marie-Joseacute Peacuterec visitedTogo from November 28 to December2 to deliver two and a half tonnes ofballs sports shoes and T-shirts donatedby Reebok ldquoIt was me who got in touchwith UNESCOrdquo she said ldquoI wanted to

do something to promote sporting soli-darity in a big wayrdquo

Peacuterec was greeted by a large crowdwhen her plane landed Everyone recog-nized her in the street and the governmenttreated her as an honoured guest Sportsevents were organized to mark her visitand meetings were arranged with relevant

political officials such as the ministersof youth and sports and of internal af-fairs as well as regional prefects Peacuterechanded out some of the material to kids andyoung people in poor areas of Lomeacute theTogolese capital and Kara but most of itwent to various regions of the countrythrough intermediaries

Since 1993 the programme has col-lected some $10 million worth of sportsequipment and delivered it to countries re-covering from conflicts such as LebanonGuinea Rwanda Haiti Georgia Palestineand Angola

It was the first contact with theUNESCO programme for both Peacuterec andReebok and they are keen to do more Simi-lar initiatives are foreseen in Mali andEthiopia

ldquo Irsquom struck by the way some countriesin Africa for example are affected by com-munal divisionsrdquo says Peacuterec ldquoSport canjust be a way of getting to know each otherWhen you play together you make friendsBut perhaps I got into the project just be-cause I love making young peoplehappyrdquo she said at the end of a trip duringwhich she handed out a lot less shoes andshorts than the smiles and hugs she received

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

A N E Y E -O P E N E R

A N D AS M I L E F O R

P Eacute R E C I NT O G O

( P h o t o copyK a r i m B e n

S m a i l )

How can peop l e ldquoun l ea rn rdquo v i o l en tbehav i ou r Abou t 80 edu ca t i on expe r t sand gove rnmen t m in i s t e r s f r om 17Ca r i bbean and La t i n Amer i c an c oun t r i e sb ra i n s t o rmed s t r a t eg i e s a t a c on f e r en c eon EDUCAT ION FOR NON-V IOLENCE h e l d i n Cu ra cao (Ne the r l and s An t i l l e s ) De c embe r 10 -12 Look i ng a t t h e i n f l u en ce o f t h e med i a gende r r o l e s and imba l an ce s and t heimpa c t o f pove r t y pa r t i c i p an t s d eve l opeda r eg i ona l f r amework f o r a c t i on i ns c hoo l s f am i l i e s and c ommun i t i e s Re commenda t i on s i n c l uded s pe c i a l t e a che rt r a i n i ng p ee r p r og rammes f o r s t r e e tc h i l d r en and young o f f ende r s pa t e rn i t yl eave and s uppo r t f o r v i c t im s o f domes t i cv i o l en c e i n add i t i on t o t r ea tmen t f o r t h epe rpe t r a t o r s

With conventional classrooms ldquothebread and butter of educationrdquo theEFA 2000 bulletin looks at lessexpensive ways of providing themfrom Nepal to Mexico Reflecting onpast experience in which importedmaterials designs and labour alien-ated communities from their schoolshome-grown solutions arise withmultipurpose centres open day andnight

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

23

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine pub-lished by the United Nations Educational Scien-tific and Cultural Organization [tel (+33 1) 4568 16 73 fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54] Englishand French editions are produced at Paris Head-quarters the Spanish edition in cooperation withthe UNESCO Centre of Catalonia Mallorca 28508037 Barcelona Spain the Chinese edition incooperation with the Xinhua News Agency 57Xuanwumen Xidajie Beijing China the Portu-guese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO Avenida InfanteSanto No 42-5deg 1300 Lisbon Portugal

Editor-in-Chief R Lefort Associate editorsS Williams S Boukhari A Otchet N Khouri-Dagher Assistant Managing Editor CMouillegravere Spanish edition E Kouamou (Bar-celona) L Sampedro (Paris) Lay-out GTraiano F Ryan Circulation and SecretariatD Maarek

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCOWorkshops Distribution by UNESCOs special-ized services

H e r i t a g e

THE PLUNDER OF AFGHANISTANUNESCO sounds the alarm over the pillage of Afghanistanrsquoscultural heritageIn a war itrsquos not just bombs and rocketswhich destroy historical monuments and ar-chaeological sites Unscrupulous smugglersoften cause just as much devastation loot-ing museums and unfinished excavationsValuable objects are thus lost forever forthe public and for science

Afghanistan is no exception to the ruleAfter two decades of war smuggling hasbecome so bad in this country at the heart ofthe Silk Roads and so uniquely endowed withBuddhist Greek and Islamic relics that

UNESCO has sounded the alarm The WorldHeritage Committee at its 21st session inNaples on December 5 called on the Afghangovernment to ldquotake appropriate steps to pre-serve the countryrsquos cultural heritagerdquo

Kabul museum in the heart of a heav-ily-bombed area was partly destroyedearly on in the fighting and extensivelylooted by all sides from communists toMuslims And while official digs have beenbrought to a halt many unauthorized ex-cavations have since begun

ldquoThe objects stolen from the Kabul mu-seum have no market valuerdquo says PierreLafrance a former French ambassador toPakistan ldquoUnder national and interna-tional law they can be seized immediatelyInformed collectors wouldnrsquot risk handlingthemrdquo adds Lafrance who is also theformer president of SPACH the Associa-tion for the Preservation of Afghan Cul-tural Heritage Items from the museum arenevertheless traded in the bazaars ofPeshawar and some even turn up in privatecollections in Islamabad London and Tokyo

These days most items of any period fromAfghanistan come from illegal excavationsldquoThere have always been such digs becausethe country is very rich in relicsrdquo says BernardDupaigne head of the ethnology laboratoryat the Museacutee de lrsquoHomme in Paris ldquoBut sincethe war began smuggling has increased withthe lack of political control and the great his-torical and cultural value of the objects in-volvedrdquo

Unable to curb unauthorized digs theAfghan authorities prodded by UNESCO

and SPACH have begun to protect what re-mains of the Kabul museum SPACH spon-sored an inventory of the museum in thesummer of 1996 which showed that 70of the collections had disappeared The re-mainder was transferred to a safe place inthe basement of the Kabul Hotel under thesupervision of a government commission

The Talibans who seized power in 1996frightened the international community withthreats against the Buddhist heritage nota-bly the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan (seeSources no 90) But they have just passed alaw harshly punishing export of culturalproperty on grounds that it is part of thenational heritage

While the Afghan authorities are nowkeen to preserve public collections the prob-lem of illegal digs remains to be tackledThey are draining a cultural heritage whichas the recent UNESCO resolution notesldquobelongs not just to Afghanistan but to allof humanityrdquo

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

The W O R L D H E R I TA G E L i s t n ow i n -c l ude s 46 new s i t e s b r i ng i ng t he t o t a lnumbe r t o 552 i n 112 c oun t r i e s Mee t i ngi n Nap l e s ( I t a l y ) on De cembe r 4 t h eWor l d He r i t age Commi t t e e s e l e c t ed f o rt he f i r s t t ime s i t e s i n Dom in i c a E s t on i a Kenya and La t v i a and added ano the r t enin I ta ly su ch a s Pompe iuml Add i t i ons i n c ludeLumbin i the b i r thp la ce o f the Buddha inNepa l t he Ne the r l and s rsquo M i l l Ne two rk a tK i nde rd i j k - E l s hou t and t he Sunda rban smang rove f o r e s t i n Bang l ade sh

Gold jewellery from Colombia apriceless feather poncho from Peru and2000-year-old ceramic figurines fromMexico were part of one of the largestcollections of STOLEN ARTEFACTSreturned to their countries of originOn separate occasions Canadiancustoms officers seized 124 artefactsfrom two Americans trying to bringthem into Canada The authoritiesreturned the booty on November 281997 under the 1970 UNESCOconvention against illicit traffic incultural property

T H E M U S E U MC A N B E

R E P A I R E D B U T C A N I T SC O L L E C T I O N S

B E R E S T O R E D ( P h o t o copy

B e r n a r dD U P A I G N E )

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents

U N E S C O S O U R C E S N o 9 7 J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 8

P L A N E T

23

UNESCO SOURCES is a monthly magazine pub-lished by the United Nations Educational Scien-tific and Cultural Organization [tel (+33 1) 4568 16 73 fax (+33 1) 45 68 56 54] Englishand French editions are produced at Paris Head-quarters the Spanish edition in cooperation withthe UNESCO Centre of Catalonia Mallorca 28508037 Barcelona Spain the Chinese edition incooperation with the Xinhua News Agency 57Xuanwumen Xidajie Beijing China the Portu-guese edition in cooperation with the PortugueseNational Commission for UNESCO Avenida InfanteSanto No 42-5deg 1300 Lisbon Portugal

Editor-in-Chief R Lefort Associate editorsS Williams S Boukhari A Otchet N Khouri-Dagher Assistant Managing Editor CMouillegravere Spanish edition E Kouamou (Bar-celona) L Sampedro (Paris) Lay-out GTraiano F Ryan Circulation and SecretariatD Maarek

Photoengraving and printing in UNESCOWorkshops Distribution by UNESCOs special-ized services

H e r i t a g e

THE PLUNDER OF AFGHANISTANUNESCO sounds the alarm over the pillage of Afghanistanrsquoscultural heritageIn a war itrsquos not just bombs and rocketswhich destroy historical monuments and ar-chaeological sites Unscrupulous smugglersoften cause just as much devastation loot-ing museums and unfinished excavationsValuable objects are thus lost forever forthe public and for science

Afghanistan is no exception to the ruleAfter two decades of war smuggling hasbecome so bad in this country at the heart ofthe Silk Roads and so uniquely endowed withBuddhist Greek and Islamic relics that

UNESCO has sounded the alarm The WorldHeritage Committee at its 21st session inNaples on December 5 called on the Afghangovernment to ldquotake appropriate steps to pre-serve the countryrsquos cultural heritagerdquo

Kabul museum in the heart of a heav-ily-bombed area was partly destroyedearly on in the fighting and extensivelylooted by all sides from communists toMuslims And while official digs have beenbrought to a halt many unauthorized ex-cavations have since begun

ldquoThe objects stolen from the Kabul mu-seum have no market valuerdquo says PierreLafrance a former French ambassador toPakistan ldquoUnder national and interna-tional law they can be seized immediatelyInformed collectors wouldnrsquot risk handlingthemrdquo adds Lafrance who is also theformer president of SPACH the Associa-tion for the Preservation of Afghan Cul-tural Heritage Items from the museum arenevertheless traded in the bazaars ofPeshawar and some even turn up in privatecollections in Islamabad London and Tokyo

These days most items of any period fromAfghanistan come from illegal excavationsldquoThere have always been such digs becausethe country is very rich in relicsrdquo says BernardDupaigne head of the ethnology laboratoryat the Museacutee de lrsquoHomme in Paris ldquoBut sincethe war began smuggling has increased withthe lack of political control and the great his-torical and cultural value of the objects in-volvedrdquo

Unable to curb unauthorized digs theAfghan authorities prodded by UNESCO

and SPACH have begun to protect what re-mains of the Kabul museum SPACH spon-sored an inventory of the museum in thesummer of 1996 which showed that 70of the collections had disappeared The re-mainder was transferred to a safe place inthe basement of the Kabul Hotel under thesupervision of a government commission

The Talibans who seized power in 1996frightened the international community withthreats against the Buddhist heritage nota-bly the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan (seeSources no 90) But they have just passed alaw harshly punishing export of culturalproperty on grounds that it is part of thenational heritage

While the Afghan authorities are nowkeen to preserve public collections the prob-lem of illegal digs remains to be tackledThey are draining a cultural heritage whichas the recent UNESCO resolution notesldquobelongs not just to Afghanistan but to allof humanityrdquo

Nadia KHOURI-DAGHER

The W O R L D H E R I TA G E L i s t n ow i n -c l ude s 46 new s i t e s b r i ng i ng t he t o t a lnumbe r t o 552 i n 112 c oun t r i e s Mee t i ngi n Nap l e s ( I t a l y ) on De cembe r 4 t h eWor l d He r i t age Commi t t e e s e l e c t ed f o rt he f i r s t t ime s i t e s i n Dom in i c a E s t on i a Kenya and La t v i a and added ano the r t enin I ta ly su ch a s Pompe iuml Add i t i ons i n c ludeLumbin i the b i r thp la ce o f the Buddha inNepa l t he Ne the r l and s rsquo M i l l Ne two rk a tK i nde rd i j k - E l s hou t and t he Sunda rban smang rove f o r e s t i n Bang l ade sh

Gold jewellery from Colombia apriceless feather poncho from Peru and2000-year-old ceramic figurines fromMexico were part of one of the largestcollections of STOLEN ARTEFACTSreturned to their countries of originOn separate occasions Canadiancustoms officers seized 124 artefactsfrom two Americans trying to bringthem into Canada The authoritiesreturned the booty on November 281997 under the 1970 UNESCOconvention against illicit traffic incultural property

T H E M U S E U MC A N B E

R E P A I R E D B U T C A N I T SC O L L E C T I O N S

B E R E S T O R E D ( P h o t o copy

B e r n a r dD U P A I G N E )

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents

About 200 representatives of womenrsquos associations will meet in Marseilles (France) on February 19 for the

Forum of MEDITERRANEAN WOMEN which will notably include a round-table on the theme

ldquoWomen Science and Technologyrdquo Within the framework of the MOST Programme (Management of Social

Transformations) the ASIA PACIFIC MIGRATION Research Network will hold its second in-

ternational meeting in Hong Kong from February 28 to March 5 to debate various immigration and emigration

policies About 200 representatives of education ministries studentsrsquo and teachersrsquo associations non-

governmental organizations and the private sector will meet in Beirut (Lebanon) from March 2-6 to draw up a

Draft Plan of Action for HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ARAB STATES Governmen-

tal experts will review propositions concerning the HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE during a con-

sultation at Headquarters March 5 to 9 International WOMENrsquoS DAY will be marked through-

out the United Nations system on March 8 Within the framework of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) a meeting at Headquarters from March 15 to 16 will gather oceanographers from major

scientific institutes to devise and refine sustainable ways of managing LARGE MARINE ECO-

SYSTEMS which involves such legally complicated issues as monitoring and conserving fish stocks strad-

dling exclusive econmic zones of the sea About 200 scientists from various disciplines will compare their

research to better understand how climate change affects plankton and the subsequent impact on fish stocks

during a meeting also organized through the IOC on GLOBAL OCEAN ECOSYSTEM DY-

NAMICS at Headquarters March 17-20

How can we remove some of the major obstacles to learning OUR NEXT DOSSIER will present a

series of initiatives enabling people to overcome the barriers of time age distance culture and poverty

through ldquoLearning Without Frontiersrdquo

L O O K I N G A H E A D

SOURCESU N E S C O

(Dates and places are subject to change)

• Contents