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Mr Koichiro Matsuura makes an address in Moscow on the preservation of cultural diversity

2009-28-07 (Moscow)

Mr Koichiro Matsuura, UNESCO Director-General, made an address at the guest house of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the project World’s “Golden” Lectures on July 22, 2009. Dedicated to the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity, his address highlighted Russia’s honourable contribution to the International Year of Languages.

The central event of the International Year of Languages in Russia was the international conference, Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Cyberspace (Yakutsk, July 2008), organized on the initiative and with active participation of the Russian IFAP Committee and its working body, the Interregional Centre of Library Cooperation. The conference received support from the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Ministry of Culture, the UNESCO Moscow Office and the Russian National Commission for UNESCO. The forum was highly appreciated by the international professional community and qualified as one of the year’s principal events in Yakutia.

Mr Matsuura highly evaluated Russia’s desire to preserve cultural diversity. “The Russian Federation has clearly demonstrated its resolve to safeguard its cultural diversity. The active engagement of the Russian authorities, universities and NGOs in the International Year of Languages 2008 is further proof of the country’s attachment to its living heritage,” he said.

He stressed the importance of the Russian language in world culture: “UNESCO is proud to include Russian, which is spoken by 300 million people in more than 80 countries, among its six official working languages.”

Mr Matsuura also mentioned illiteracy as one of the crucial contemporary problems. Combat against it is essential, he said. 800 million people, mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are illiterate. UNESCO is planning to reduce the number of illiterates by 2015. The UNESCO Director General called nations not to cut budget allocations to education.

He delivered his lecture during a visit to Moscow on July 20-23, 2009, organized on the invitation of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to take part in the first meeting of the High Level Group on Interreligious Dialogue under the UNESCO Director General. The group is being established to implement a Russian initiative for consultations between religious leaders and the United Nations system. It promises to be effective in settling topical international problems in the sphere of intercultural relations, connected to religious clashes, defamation of religions, and wartime threats to religious shrines.

Mr Matsuura met with President Dmitry Medvedev during the visit, addressed a reception in honour of the 15^th anniversary of the UNESCO Moscow Office, and took part in the presentation of his book Changing World, New Challenges.

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Рус / English Contacts Documents IFAP Russian Committee Major International Projects Publications UNESCO IFAP Search Find!		« prev \| News list \| next » Mr Koichiro Matsuura makes an address in Moscow on the preservation of cultural diversity 2009-28-07 (Moscow) Mr Koichiro Matsuura, UNESCO Director-General, made an address at the guest house of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the project World’s “Golden” Lectures on July 22, 2009. Dedicated to the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity, his address highlighted Russia’s honourable contribution to the International Year of Languages. The central event of the International Year of Languages in Russia was the international conference, Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Cyberspace (Yakutsk, July 2008), organized on the initiative and with active participation of the Russian IFAP Committee and its working body, the Interregional Centre of Library Cooperation. The conference received support from the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Ministry of Culture, the UNESCO Moscow Office and the Russian National Commission for UNESCO. The forum was highly appreciated by the international professional community and qualified as one of the year’s principal events in Yakutia. Mr Matsuura highly evaluated Russia’s desire to preserve cultural diversity. “The Russian Federation has clearly demonstrated its resolve to safeguard its cultural diversity. The active engagement of the Russian authorities, universities and NGOs in the International Year of Languages 2008 is further proof of the country’s attachment to its living heritage,” he said. He stressed the importance of the Russian language in world culture: “UNESCO is proud to include Russian, which is spoken by 300 million people in more than 80 countries, among its six official working languages.” Mr Matsuura also mentioned illiteracy as one of the crucial contemporary problems. Combat against it is essential, he said. 800 million people, mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are illiterate. UNESCO is planning to reduce the number of illiterates by 2015. The UNESCO Director General called nations not to cut budget allocations to education. He delivered his lecture during a visit to Moscow on July 20-23, 2009, organized on the invitation of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to take part in the first meeting of the High Level Group on Interreligious Dialogue under the UNESCO Director General. The group is being established to implement a Russian initiative for consultations between religious leaders and the United Nations system. It promises to be effective in settling topical international problems in the sphere of intercultural relations, connected to religious clashes, defamation of religions, and wartime threats to religious shrines. Mr Matsuura met with President Dmitry Medvedev during the visit, addressed a reception in honour of the 15^th anniversary of the UNESCO Moscow Office, and took part in the presentation of his book Changing World, New Challenges. « prev \| News list \| next »

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