Fifth Report to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe from the UNESCO
Report
| Doc. 1010
| 02 July 1959
1 INTRODUCTION
1. This Report contains information on the activities of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for the period from August 1957 to June 1959 inclusive. It deals mainly with those activities likely to interest members of the Consultative Assembly.
2. The Director-General noted with satisfaction Resolution 147 (1958) of the Consultative Assembly concerning, in particular, the UNESCO Major Project "Mutual Appreciation of Eastern and Western Cultural Values", and the suggestions contained therein for a Council of Europe contribution to the Project. These suggestions have been the subject of consultations between the Secretariats of both organisations; they have made it possible to select the features of this contribution which will form part of the presentation of European cultural values to the public, young people, educational circles, institutes of art and large museums in the East. For this reason this memorandum has drawn particular attention to the progress of the Major Project : Orient-Occident.
1.1 General
3. The Tenth Session of the General Conference took place in Paris from 4th November to 5th December 1958, in UNESCO's new Headquarters, which had been formally inaugurated on 3rd November. The Conference was mainly concerned with the discussion and adoption of the Programme and Budget for 1959-1960, on the basis of the Director-General's proposals and in the light of the Executive Board's recommendations.
1.2 Programme and Budget for 1959-1960
4. The General Conference voted a budget of $25,970,463 for the two years. This represents an increase of $3,290,825 by comparison with the previous financial period. The programme lies within the framework evolved by the General Conference at its two previous sessions (Montevideo, 1954; New Delhi, 1956), by virtue of the designation of five priority areas, the definition of categories of general activities and special activities, the establishment of a programme of participation in the activities of Member States, arid the initiation of Major Projects. This programme contains no fundamental innovation but tends to consolidate the progress made during the last few years, while opening the way to certain extensions and improvements. The criteria and conditions applicable to the granting of aid to Member States have been revised, and increased funds have been assigned for cultural activities and the Major Project on mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values.
5. The General Conference adopted no new Major Project, but decided to undertake or intensify activities in certain particularly urgent or important fields. Thus UNESCO will, in different regions of the world, lay stress upon the planning of education; in tropical Africa it will study the needs in primary, secondary and technical education and will organise a series of meetings with a view to the extension of secondary, technical and professional education.
6. In accordance with the wishes expressed by the Commission on Human Rights, UNESCO will intensify its work for the achievement of equality of educational opportunity. The General Conference instructed the Director-General to submit to it at its eleventh session (1960) draft recommendations and a draft international convention concerning various aspects of discrimination in education.
7. UNESCO, aware of the difficulties experienced by many countries in dealing with the problems created by a shortage of scientific and technical personnel, will expand its programme for the teaching of the natural sciences, by supplying increased aid to its Member States and by organising, in 1960, a regional conference in tropical Africa.
8. The General Conference was also concerned with the need for intensifying the training of social scientists (economists, sociologists, demographers and statisticians), and for this purpose authorised substantial support for the regional institutions of higher education and research set up by UNESCO in Asia and Latin America. Tbe General Conference assigned high priority to the problems connected with the social implications of technical progress and industrialisation and with urbanisation.
9. Finally, it was decided that new efforts would be made, in co-operation with the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies concerned, to help the under-developed countries to develop their media of information.
10. The Conference also continued its normative action by adopting two international conventions on international exchange of publications and a recommendation to Member States with regard to the international standardisation of educational statistics. As noted above, it decided that UNESCO would prepare international regulations concerning discrimination in education.
11. It was also decided that a draft recommendation to Member States, concerning the most effective ways of making museums accessible to the public as a whole, would be submitted to the next session of the General Conference, which woidd likewise have to decide upon the desirability of preparing a recommendation for the safeguarding of the beauty and the character of the landscape.
12. The Secretariat will have to study, for the next session of the General Conference, the question of preparing a draft convention on international co-operation in the field of science and technology, as well as the problem of the obstacles to the import and export of works of art for cultural purposes.
13. Finally, the Secretariat will continue to study the possibility of an international regulation for facilitating the travel of persons engaging in educational, scientific or cultural activities.
14. The foregoing will show that, in drawing up the Organisation's programme, the General Conference endeavoured to deal with the needs of the various regions of the world —and particularly the needs of Africa, as regards primary, secondary, technical and scientific education, the education of girls, and cultural activities.
1.3 Education
15. The XXIst International Conference on Public Education organised jointly by the International Bureau of Education (I.B.E.), an intergovernmental organisation, and UNESCO was held in Geneva in July 1958. Seventy-one States were represented and two Resolutions were adopted, on the preparation of primary school curricula and on educational opportunities in rural areas.
16. The XXIInd International Conference on Public Education will be held in Geneva from 6th to 15th July 1959. It will consider the selection and use of textbooks in primary schools and measures for promoting the training of technical and scientific staff. This question, the importance of which should not be underestimated, should be of interest to all countries, whatever their level of technical development may be.
17. The International Bureau of Education has just printed a booklet containing the 47 Recommendations adopted by these International Conferences since 1934. The first nine conferences were convened by the I.B.E. itself and those which followed by the I.B.E. and UNESCO in conjunction. Although they are not conventions, these Recommendations, being passed by duly accredited Government representatives, should not be confused with mere wishes.
18. These Recommendations, besides establishing basic principles, are designed to give practical technical directives on essential points and thus to permit action by the participating States and international organisations.
2 Higher Education
19. In various spheres, the efforts of UNESCO have been directed towards the development of higher education. Whereas the Education Department maintains contacts with the university world as a whole, particularly through the International Universities Bureau, the other Departments promote certain types of research in the exact, natural, social and human sciences, give Member States the advice and assistance of experts in general questions of university organisation and administration, and facilitate exchanges of university students and teachers. It is noteworthy that the programme of the Social Sciences Department falls largely within the field of higher education. This teaching occupies an important place in connection with exchanges of persons, as may be seen from the publications Study Abroad and Teaching Posts Abroad and fromt he offer of UNESCO university fellowships for regional studies.
2.1 Universities
20. The International Universities Bureau (the Secretariat of the International Association of Universities) receives a subvention from UNESCO and operates at UNESCO Headquarters as a documentation service and information service, a centre for university co-operation, a reference library and documentation centre and a publishing house. The Association now includes 282 universities and other institutions of higher education in 65 countries, together with associated members, of which the European Universities Committee is one. In 1958, in addition to its quarterly Bulletin the Bureau distributed in co-operation with W.H.O. and F.A.O. a World Directory of Medical Schools and an International Directory of Institutions for Higher Education in Agriculture. In 1959 it has also published an International Handbook of Universities as well as new editions of the International List of Universities and Inter-university Organisations. It has also been engaged in a study relating to university research institutes concerned with the mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values. A contract has been signed with UNESCO for a study of formal programmes of co-operation between university institutions, and another for the preparation of a series of studies on "the University and Public Life", which are to serve as a basic document for the I.U.A. Congress to be held in Mexico City in 1960.
3 Educational Statistics
21. At its Ninth Session (1956) the General Conference thought it desirable to prepare international regulations for the standardisation of educational statistics. After study by highly-qualified experts a special inter-governmental Committee put forward a draft Recommendation, which was approved by the Tenth Session of the Conference on 3rd December 1958 and circulated to all Member States for submission to the competent national authorities. These may take whatever legislative or other steps may be required to give effect within their own territories to the principles and norms formulated in the Recommendation. The Recommendation contains definitions which should be used in statistics relating to the following; illiteracy, the educational attainment of the population, educational institutions, pupils, teachers, grades etc. and other educational matters.
4 UNESCO Institute for Education (Hamburg)
22. Two expert meetings were held in March 1958 at the UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg. The first brought together experts from fourteen countries on evaluation in education. The second was a meeting of the International Study Group on Children's Play. The Hamburg Institute also organised at Fana (Norway), in August 1958, a seminar for young teachers on education for international understanding, in collaboration with the Danish and Norwegian National Commissions. 25 people from 18 European countries attended this seminar, which was the fourth on this theme organised by the Hamburg Institute.
5 UNESCO Youth Institute (Gauting-Munich)
23. The programme of the UNESCO Youth Institute at Gauting provides in 1958-59 for expert meetings or seminars on the civic education of girls, grounding in economics, sport for young people in country districts, leisure-time activities and the mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values. With the help of the National Commission of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Institute organised a seminar in March 1958 on means of developing mutual understanding among young people in India and Europe. This was attended by 30 people from 12 countries.
6 Exact and Natural Sciences
24. The work of UNESCO under this head covers the improvement of scientific documentation, the promotion and teaching of science, a contribution to scientific research, and continued regional activities in the field of natural sciences.
25. The fields of scientific research which are to receive priority are arid lands, which constitute a Major Project, the humid tropical zone, marine sciences, cell biology, new sources of energy and electronic computation. At its last Session, the General Conference also approved a programme for basic research in nuclear physics, inter-disciplinary brain research and, with the collaboration of the United Nations, exploration of extra-terrestrial space.
26. The Advisory Committee on Marine Sciences held its third session in Paris in September 1958, when it gave an opinion on UNESCO's role in promoting oceanic exploration, particularly with the aid of an international océanographie vessel. The General Conference decided (Resolution 2.42) to convene an inter-governmental conference in 1960 to consider and adopt measures for joint operation by interested Member States of international research and training vessels. This conference will be held in Denmark. During the preparatory period, UNESCO is to ask Member States to make available their own océanographie research facilities.
27. UNESCO has continued its work of encouraging cell biology research with the help of the appropriate international organisations. In 1960 a symposium will be held on "The immediate and low level effects of small closes of ionizing radiations".
28. In the course of its regional scientific activities for 1959, UNESCO has held twenty-three symposia and training courses in various parts of the world. A seminar on Mediterranean synoptic meteorology was held in Rome in November and December 1958 by UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organisation with the assistance of the Italian meteorological services. It was attended by two representatives from each of the Mediterranean countries. The International Atomic Agency, in collaboration with the French National Institute for Nuclear Sciences and Techniques, is to organise from 6th to 10th July 1959 a course on atomic energy and its scientific and technical training problems. This will be held at Saclay.
29. In response to a request by the United Nations General Assembly in 1958, UNESCO was associated with the United Nations, the Specialised Agencies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency in carrying out an investigation into the main trends of scientific research in the exact and natural sciences, the dissemination of scientific knowledge and their peaceful applications. This work may later form the basis for international action.
7 International Computation Centre
30. Previous reports have described the background to the Convention establishing an International Computation Centre in Rome and to the decision to set up a provisional international Centre pending the entry into force of the Convention. This instrument has so far been ratified by six Member States : Belgium, Ceylon, France, Italy, Japan and Mexico. It is hoped that the ten ratifications necessary for the entry into force of the Convention will be forthcoming by the end of 1959. The provisional international Centre came into existence in September 1957 and began work in January 1958. It is not a substitute for national organisations or private firms which have modern electronic computing equipment of their own, but helps countries which have no such equipment in their territory to obtain the necessary services and does work for the United Nations Specialised Agencies. The Centre is now linked with a network of national laboratories with which a large-scale programme for scientific research and the training of specialists has been put in hand.
31. The United Nations, the International Telecommunications Union and the European Nuclear Research Organisation have asked the provisional Centre to carry out computing work on their behalf, and the Centre has already made some calculations for the F.A.O. In 1959 the Centre embarked upon the publication of an international repertory of computation laboratories; it is also preparing a multilingual glossary of terms used in numerical information processing.
32. The Executive Board of the Centre —-composed of representatives of countries which have ratified the Convention—has agreed to the conclusion of contracts for the installation of electronic computers which will be installed as soon as the Centre is placed on a permanent basis.
33. The Director-General merely wishes to express the hope that as many European countries as possible (in addition to Belgium, France and Italy) will join this institution. He has already noted, in Resolution 147 (1958) of the Assembly, the Committee of Ministers' decision concerning the Recommendation previously adopted by the Consultative Assembly on this subject.
34. The potentialities of electronic computers are rapidly leading to a change in the whole aspect of many contemporary scientific and technical problems. In order to study these problems, an international non-governmental conference on numerical information processing was held in Paris, under UNESCO auspices from 15th to 20th June 1959, in pursuance of one of the provisions of Resolution 2.41 (contribution to scientific research) of the General Conference. Papers on the use of electronic machines and on the new mathematical and technical problems raised by machines were discussed by the Conference which was attended by 1,800 specialists from 37 countries. Its acts will be published in 1960. This was the occasion for the establishment of a new non-governmental organisation, to be known as the International Federation for the Numerical Processing of Information, whose Statutes will enter into force after 1st January 1960, when at least seven national associations have confirmed their accession. The new organisation will have its headquarters in Brussels. It will prepare for the holding of a second international conference in 1963.
35. UNESCO has continued to help international non-governmental scientific bodies in their work on behalf of co-operation between scientists and laboratories. Annual grants totalling about 250,000 dollars are made to organisations of this kind specialising in all branches of the exact sciences (medical sciences, astronomy, geophysics, mathematics, chemistry, physics etc.). UNESCO thus helps them to make the voice of their members heard and receives information, advice and technical collaboration in return.
8 Cultural Activities Major Project on Mutual Appreciation of Eastern and Western Cultural Values
36. For the Major Project on Mutual Appreciation of Eastern and Western Cultural Values, 1957 was a year devoted to consultations, preliminary investigations and the launching of activities. During 1958, without prejudice to the principle of "reciprocity" on which the whole Major Project is based, special emphasis continued to be laid on familiarising the Occident with the Eastern cultural values. The programme adopted by the General Conference for 1959-1960 involves no radical changes in the general policy of the project; stress will be placed on fuller development of the activities of Member States and international non-governmental organisations.
37. The Advisory Committee for the Major Project, which held its second session in February 1958, devoted some of its meetings to a general discussion on the basic concepts of the Major Project. It incorporated the results of its debates in a Joint Declaration, which UNESCO has circulated widely. In this Declaration the Committee analyses the present situation as regards relations between the peoples of the Orient and the Occident, draws attention to certain psychological factors which may make mutual understanding difficult, and defines the point of view and methods which should be adopted for exchanges in the sphere of cultural values.
38. The third session of the Advisory Committee was held in May 1959 and considered problems connected with drawing up the programme for 1961-62.
39. A great interest was aroused by the Major Project in Member States. At present 37 Special Committees have been created. The methods of implementing the Project were re-examined at two Regional Conferences of National Commissions—the one for the Arabic-speaking countries, held in Fez (Morocco) from 27th to 30th January, and the one for the countries of the Western Hemisphere, held at San José (Costa Rica) in June 1958. The second Meeting of Directors of National Cultural Relations Services, which took place at UNESCO House in October 1958, also devoted a considerable proportion of its time to discussing the role of national cultural relations services in the execution of the Major Project.
40. Some countries have started off with preliminary studies. Others have organised big conferences designed to kindle the interest of large sections of the public in the Major Project. Others again have undertaken or developed very full publications programmes, covering booklets, collections of works giving an introduction to other cultures, and series of translations of representative works.
41. In several countries, the first effects of the Major Project are to be seen in educational life, where certain new University Departments have been established, general cultural courses reorganised, and research on cultural values encouraged. Particularly noteworthy is the action taken in many countries at the school level, and especially in secondary schools; such activities include the study of curricula with a view to their adjustment to the aims of the Major Project, the improvement of textbooks and teaching materials, the preparation of new readers and teaching aids, the introduction of experimental programmes in certain schools, the organisation of teachers' seminars and discussion groups. In various countries, exchanges of persons with countries belonging to another cultural region have been extended; above all, an effort has been made to take advantage of the visits of foreign fellowship-holders to conduct experiments and cultural exchanges by means of direct firsthand contacts.
42. Another form of activity to which many Member States have given their attention is the organisation of various intellectual and artistic events, historical or comparative exhibitions, concerts and plays or ballet. Mention should also be made of the broadcasting or television programmes, film festivals, press articles and, in some cases, the organisation of co-ordinated campaigns for East-West understanding to ensure that the various activities designed to inform the general public produce the maximum impact. Lastly, joint programmes have been prepared by groups of two or more countries for bilateral or multilateral exchanges concerning their cultural values.
43. In order to ensure the regular circulation of news about Member States and various organisations associated with the Major Project, and UNESCO's work, together with advice, suggestions and bibliographical and other data, UNESCO began to publish a bimonthly liaison bulletin, entitled Orient-Occident, in 3 editions (English, French and Spanish) which have a wide circulation.
44. UNESCO's work has developed in three main directions : studies and research, education in school and out of school, and programmes for the general public.
45. Under basic studies and research, three international symposia have been held : on "Modern Man in the Orient and the Occident", in Brussels from 26th June to 3rd July 1958; on "Religion and Thought in East and West— a Century of Cultural Exchange", in Tokyo from 27th to 31st August 1958; and on "Musical Expression in the Orient and the Occident", at UNESCO House from 24th to 30th October 1958.
46. The Secretariat is at present preparing, in collaboration with non-governmental organisations, for the conversations which are to be held in 1959-60 on "The social applications of Eastern and Western philosophical doctrines", "Eastern and Western cultures and traditions" and "The great religions and the problems of the present-day world".
47. The contribution of the various branches of the social sciences was discussed by a special Committee of Experts convened for the purpose at Calcutta (India) in January 1959. This group recommended that two series of studies be undertaken : firstly, general studies designed to give the non-specialised public in the Occident an idea of certain aspects of current changes in cultural values in Eastern societies; and secondly, research on methods of interpreting the values of one culture to people belonging to a different culture. On the basis of these suggestions, a first series of studies has been undertaken on the subject of changes in the status of women and in family structure in various parts of the East. Further, UNESCO has now asked specialists in four Eastern and Western countries to undertake, in their respective countries, sample studies on methods of communication between different cultures.
48. With the purposes of the Project in mind, UNESCO has developed its activities for the encouragement and co-ordination of the exchange of persons and the circulation of information in that field. Furthermore, in 1958, it awarded twenty-five fellowships, at the proposal of the Member States concerned, to enable research workers to visit countries in another cultural region in order to learn more about various aspects of those countries' culture.
49. In the field of education, the most important event was the organisation in Tokyo, from 22nd September to 4th October 1958, of an international meeting of experts on the improvement, as regards the treatment of Western countries, of the textbooks and teaching materials of Asian countries. This meeting was attended by educators from many Eastern and Western countries. In 1956, UNESCO had organised a first international committee of experts on the treatment of Asia in Western textbooks and teaching materials. The recommendations of this meeting and the one in Tokyo will help to guide the work of the Organisation and its Member States in the years to come.
50. The International Advisory Committee on the School Curriculum, at its third session held at UNESCO House from 29th September to 10th October 1958, devoted part of its time to the improvement of school curricula with a view to promoting mutual understanding between the Orient and the Occident. The ground had been prepared for this meeting by earlier discussions, including those of the European Conference on Secondary Education Curricula, organised at Sevres (France) from 8th to 19th April 1958.
51. At the proposal of the Member States concerned, UNESCO awarded 24 travel grants under the Project to persons holding responsible positions in their respective countries in connection with school and out-of-school education. UNESCO gave assistance to the National Commissions of Cambodia, Iraq, Japan and the Philippines for the preparation of booklets on the national culture of those countries, designed for secondary school pupils of other nationalities.
52. A course of studies on the implementation of the Major Project in Indian secondary schools and teachers' training colleges was held in Bombay from 26th February to 2nd March 1959 by the Indian National Commission with the assistance of UNESCO. A regional seminar for Latin America, designed for associated schools applying a programme of education for international understanding, was held at Quito from 30th March to 5th April 1959. It adopted a series of recommendations on the part which secondary schools and teachers' training colleges can play in carrying out the Major Project.
53. Non-governmental organisations of educationists have been closely associated with the work of UNESCO, particularly the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession, which has made an important contribution to the Major Project.
54. In the field of adult education, a pilot programme comprising series of lectures, a travelling exhibition, and discussions on Eastern cultures and the difficulties encountered in trying to understand them, was carried out by a group formed at Oxford University. The Catholic International Union for Social Service, the International Alliance of Women, the National Commission of Israel and international trade union organisations organised or prepared international conferences and seminars in Brussels, Athens and Tel-Aviv, in order to associate leaders of adult education, and particularly workers' education movements, with the efforts to secure better understanding between the Orient and the Occident, and, with that end in view, to give them some additional training.
55. A course for European and Asian trade unionists was organised by the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions at Saigon in January 1959. Another was held at Florence in May 1959 under the auspices of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions for the purpose of an exchange of views on the values underlying Eastern and Western trade union movements.
56. With regard to youth movements, ten "associated enterprises" conducted by international non-governmental organisations have received support and assistance from UNESCO. The primary aim of these enterprises is to encourage young people to recognise the basic values of their own culture and to set exchanges in motion between Eastern and Western countries. International meetings of leaders of youth movements have also made it possible to study the future development of programmes designed to give young people a share in the execution of the Project. One of these meetings was held in May 1959 at Chamonix to prepare a concerted study of the values cherished by Eastern and Western youth. This study will be the focus of interest for the activities of youth organisations in 1959-60 in connection with the Major Project.
57. With regard to activities directly affecting the general public, UNESCO has first of all continued its efforts to give the widest possible publicity to the Project through the main communication media—the press, radio, television and films. Two numbers of the UNESCO Courier—those of July and December 1958—were devoted to the Project's themes.
58. An illustrated booklet has been published in English and French. It is entitled East and West—Towards Mutual Understanding (Orient et Occident : Peuvent-ils se comprendre?) and is designed principally for the Western public.
59. Besides producing and distributing many prototype radio programmes, UNESCO, in co-operation with various international broadcasting associations and those responsible for "cultural" programmes at different radio stations, has begun a study of the problems involved in developing exchanges of broadcasts between Eastern and Western stations.
60. Lists of films giving a picture of Eastern cultural values have been drawn up with the help of specialised bodies and the juries of various festivals. Filmstrips and television programmes have been produced and distributed. A pictorial album of photographs for exhibition, together with the explanatory comments, has been assembled for schools and the general public, illustrating, on a comparative basis, the ways of life most characteristic of Eastern and Western cultural values.
61. UNESCO has invited outstanding people in various Member States to tour countries belonging to a cultural region other than their own, in order to give lectures on the values of their own culture, and to take part in debates and radio roundtable discussions. The first of these tours was made by Professor Hideo Kishimoto of Tokyo University, a specialist in the comparative study of religions, who visited Europe and the United States of America towards the end of the year 1958.
62. During 1958, UNESCO continued to collaborate with the International Commission for the Translation of Classics in Beirut, the University of Teheran and the National Commissions of the Member States concerned in the programme for the translation of classics in the Oriental series (Arabic, Persian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Pakistan, Viet-Namese and non-Russian literatures of the-USSR). This work is steadily expanding.
63. A meeting of publishers of collections of world classics was organised at UNESCO House from 22nd to 24th September 1958; twenty-one publishers belonging to seven different countries made a joint study of measures likely to encourage the publication of translations of Eastern classics in low-priced popular collections of world classics.
64. An exhibition on the interdependence of Eastern and Western cultures, which was entitled "East-West, Encounters and Influences over Fifty Centuries of Art", was shown at the Musée Cernuschi in Paris with the assistance of the International Council of Museums and the national and local authorities.
65. The six series of travelling exhibitions of colour reproduction of works of art, prepared in previous years, have continued to tour Member States and have been used frequently in the programmes launched by the latter under the Project. A new exhibition on "Water Colours of Eastern and Western Art" has been produced and began to circulate during the last three months of the year. Three new albums of colour reproductions in the UNESCO World Art Series were published in 1958, namely U. S. S. R.—Early Russian Icons and Mexico—Pre-hispanicPaintings and Japan: early examples of Buddhist art.
66. UNESCO has continued its efforts to encourage contemporary Eastern and Western artists by making works chosen in consultation with the great art "Biennales" widely known through reproductions. A detailed study of the development of contemporary Japanese art is at present being conducted by the International Association of Art Critics. Similarly, the International Music Council has been asked to help, in co-operation with broadcasting organisations, in spreading a wider knowledge of the works of contemporary Eastern and Western composers.
8.1 Other Cultural Activities
67. A second meeting of Directors of national cultural relations services was held in Paris from 28th to 31st October 1958. It was attended by 110 delegates from 60 countries, 9 observers from 7 countries and observers from 3 intergovernmental organisations, including the Council of Europe. The meeting discussed the general principles of cultural relations and the particular contribution of Member States' cultural relations services to UNESCO's East-West Major Project. A third meeting will be held immediately before the Eleventh Session of the General Conference, in November 1960.
68. Reference was made in the introduction to a draft international recommendation on the most effective means of rendering museums accessible to everyone. This draft has been prepared by the Secretariat in cooperation with the International Council of Museums and will be submitted to the Eleventh Session of the General Conference.
69. The Secretariat has also undertaken to collect information on national laws and practices for the protection of certain particularly striking features of the landscape of Member States, with a view to submitting the question to the next session of the General Conference, which will study the desirability of preparing a recommendation on tins question.
9 International Exchanges
70. A study is to be made, in collaboration with the International Association of Plastic Arts, of the obstacles still remaining to the import and export of works of art for cultural purposes.
71. In response to an invitation issued by the Economic and Social Council at its 26th Session (Resolution 695, XXVI), the General Conference of UNESCO decided at its Tenth Session to embark, in collaboration with the United Nations, the interested Specialised Agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency and certain other organisations, upon a survey of international relations and exchanges in the fields of education, science and culture. The Director-General was instructed to prepare draft recommendations for separate and joint action for promoting further international co-operation in these fields. Regional intergovernmental organisations, including the Council of Europe, have been asked to co-operate in providing the necessary information.
72. The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property has now been set up in Rome. Its Statutes came into force on 10th May 1958 and it began operations on 1st March 1959. Its main functions are to compile study and disseminate information on the scientific and technical problems of preserving and restoring cultural property and to assist in the training of research workers and technicians. UNESCO will contribute to the costs of the Centre for its first four years of existence. Thirteen Governments have so far deposited formal declarations of accession with the Secretariat (Austria, Ceylon, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia).
10 International Conventions
73. The Convention and Protocol for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict, which were signed at The Hague in May 1954, entered into force on 7th August 1956. The Convention has now been ratified by 29 States, three of them members of the Council of Europe : France (17th June 1957), Italy (9th May 1958) and the Netherlands (October 1958). At its Tenth Session the General Conference of UNESCO again appealed to Member States to become parties to the Convention (Resolution 4.31) and authorised the Director-General to convene a meeting of representatives of the High Contracting Parties during 1959 or 1960. The Director-General has informed Member States that, if the Executive Board decides in favour at its session in November 1959, he intends to hold this meeting in mid-1960. Those States will be able to attend which have deposited an instrument of ratification or accession at least three months before the date fixed for the meeting. If the majority of the High Contracting Parties are represented, steps may be taken to revise the Convention and its rules of execution.
74. By 30th June 1959, 31 States, including 8 members of the Council of Europe
Note, had deposited their instruments of ratification or accession for the Universal Copyright Convention.
10.1 Rights of performers, recorders and broadcasters (*' neighbouring" rights to copyright)
75. The work for the preparation of international regulations to protect the rights of performers, recorders and broadcasters (neighbouring rights) have been continued in co-operation with the International Labour Organisation and the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Union). More than 40 States, including six Member States of the Council of Europe, have made observations and suggestions on the draft texts submitted to them in July 1957. The Executive Board of UNESCO, having examined at its 54th Session (June 1959) suggestions put forward by the International Labour Organisation after consultations with UNESCO and the Berne Bureau, decided upon the convening of a single intergovernmental conference jointly by the International Labour Organisation, the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and UNESCO, with a view to the preparation and adoption of an international agreement on the protection of certain rights of performers, recorders and broadcasters ("neighbouring" rights) and that the draft international instrument and the report to be submitted to the intergovernmental conference would be prepared by a Committee of Experts convened jointly by the above three organisations.
11 International Conventions on Exchange of Publications
76. The General Conference at its Tenth Session adopted two conventions on the expansion and development of exchanges of publications : a Convention concerning the International Exchange of Publications, and a Convention concerning the Exchange of Official Publications and Government Documents between States, which have been sent to Member States for ratification or acceptance.
77. The adoption of the Conventions was the culmination of over ten years of efforts to bring up to date the Brussels Convention of 1886 which, in view of changes that have taken place in the world during the last seventy years no longer has sufficient force to promote and regulate such exchanges. In accordance with a decision taken by the General Conference of UNESCO at it Ninth Session (New Delhi, 1956), two draft instruments on this subject were sent to Member States for comments and reviewed by an intergovernmental committee of technicians and experts which met in Brussels in June 1958.
78. The Committee agreed that two separate conventions should be submitted to the General Conference for adoption :
a a convention relating to exchanges of publications between both governmental bodies and non-governmental organisations of an educational, scientific or cultural nature which are non-profit making;
b and a convention relating solely to exchanges of official publications and documents between Governments.
Each contains articles dealing with the scope and method of exchanges, the role of the exchange services, the responsibilities of exchange partners, transport charges, rates and conditions of transport, customs and other facilities, etc.
79. The Convention concerning the International Exchange of Publications provides that the following publications may be considered appropriate articles to be exchanged, for use but not for resale :
a publications of an educational, legal, scientific and technical, cultural and informational nature;
b publications covered by the Convention concerning the exchange of official publications and government documents between States.
With respect to this Convention, the Brussels Committee felt that, because of the mixed nature of the exchanges contemplated, the obligation of Contracting States could be no more than an undertaking to encourage such exchanges. The Committee hoped that UNESCO would later study the possibility of bringing audio-visual material, when it was not of a commercial character, within the benefits of the Convention. Alternative means of carrying out the functions of a national exchange service are provided for in the Convention but the Committee felt that the fullest use of the National Exchange Service or Authority is desirable in order that the maximum benefits of other articles relating to customs, transport, etc., could be obtained. The Committee also felt that non-governmental organisations which may benefit from the Convention should be of an educational, scientific and technical, or cultural — but not commercial — nature.
80. With regard to the Convention concerning the Exchange of Official Publications and Government Documents between States the Brussels Committee was opposed to any provision for making exchange obligatory, in view of the great differences in the number of such publications and documents issued by States, and their different needs for the material of other States. The Committee preferred a wording which would enable the Contracting States to determine by mutual agreement the type of publications they desired to exchange.
81. Though certain kinds of publications and documents
Note are enumerated in the Convention as coming within the scope of the exchange, it was felt that, in view of the impossibility of finding a formula acceptable to all States, the determination of the official publications or government documents to be made available should be left to each Contracting State. While not insisting that all exchanges should be carried out through the National Exchange Service, the Committee was of the opinion that the national exchange services, or other competent authority, should be given the necessary powers to obtain the material for exchange and the financial provision necessary to carry out its functions. As to the normal method of implementing the Convention, the Committee was of the view that this should be done by mutual arrangement between the national exchange services or other competent authorities of Contracting States, but provision is made in the Convention for the more formal method of bilateral agreement when it was deemed appropriate.
12 Information
82. The previous Report (Document 696, para. 53) gave particulars for July 1957 of ratifications or accessions in connection with the Agreement on the importation of materials of an educational, scientific or cultural character (20 States, including Greece, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Since that date 11 States, including 7 further Members of the Council of Europe, have deposited instruments of ratific-cation or accession : Austria (12th June 1958), Belgium (31st October 1957), France (14th October 1957), Federal Republic of Germany (9th August 1957), Luxembourg (31st October 1957), Netherlands (31st October, 1957) and Norway (2nd April 1959).
83. The Agreement for facilitating the international circulation of visual and auditory materials of an educational, scientific and cultural character became operative on 12th August 1954. 12 States are now parties to the Agreement, including Denmark, Greece, and Norway, which are Members of the Council of Europe.
84. The previous Report also mentioned that proposals designed to encourage the free flow of information by the wider use of postal communications had been transmitted to UNESCO Member States for possible submission to the XlVth Congress of the Universal Postal Union, held in Ottawa from August to October 1957. Some of these proposals were adopted by the Congress. In April 1958 the Director-General of UNESCO sent a circular letter to all Member States enclosing a document drawing their attention to those decisions of the XlVth Congress of the Universal Postal Union which were of particular interest for the free flow of information. 22 Member States, among them Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, have given details of the measures they have taken in this field.
85. In pursuance of a Resolution adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO at its Eighth Session, the Secretariat has received from 34 Member States, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Norway, information on the facilities granted to persons engaged in educational, scientific or cultural work desirous of travelling for purposes connected with such work. At its Tenth Session the General Conference again urged Member States to grant such facilities.
86. Under a contract signed with UNESCO, the International Centre of Films for Children, Brussels, was commissioned to carry out certain clearing house activities in this field. It publishes a regular information bulletin and has continued its efforts to promote the creation of national centres. It held a General Assembly in Brussels on 18th September 1958. At that date eight national centres had been formed, and it was expected that some fifteen would be in existence by the end of the year. The General Assembly was followed by an international presentation of children's films, which lasted from 19th to 23rd September. 20 countries agreed to participate in this event and sent film programmes. Six specialists were invited to view the showings and to prepare a joint report. In addition to these specialists, the presentation was attended by a large number of persons engaged in the field of children's films.
87. The International Centre for Higher Education in Journalism, Strasbourg, received assistance from UNESCO in organising a second refresher course, which was held from 3rd to 29th November 1958. The course was attended by 47 students from 27 countries — more than double the number attending the precedingyear's course. Nine UNESCO fellowship-holders studying journalistic training attended the course as part of their programme of studies.
