Fourth report to the Consultative Assembly

Report | Doc. 696 | 15 September 1957

Thesaurus

1 INTRODUCTION

1. This Memorandum contains information on' the activities of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the period from August 1956 to July 1957 inclusive. It deals mainly with those activities likely to interest Representatives to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, and it also takes account of the suggestion in paragraph 12 of Resolution 77, adopted by the Assembly at its Seventh Ordinary Session, that the Director-General should indicate those questions where the aid and support of the Council of Europe might be particularly useful to him. A general survey of UNESCO activities is given in the Director-General's Report for 1956, which will shortly be published for distribution to UNESCO Member States; a report on the same activities for the first four months of 1957 was submitted to the Executive Board of UNESCO at its 48th Session (Document 48 EX/29).

2. The Director-General has taken note of Resolution 118 (1957) and is grateful to the Consultative Assembly for the help which it affords to UNESCO by adopting Recommendations addressed to the Committee of Ministers with the object of furthering the programme approved by the General Conference of the Organization. He has taken particular note of Recommendations 126 (adArocating that all Member States of the Council of Europe become full members of the International Bureau of Education), 127 (on the International Computations Centre), 128 (on the participation of the Council of Europe in the UNESCO project entitled " Mutual Appreciation of Eastern and Western Cultural Values ") and 129 (on the work of the UNESCO Institute for Social Sciences at Cologne).

2 General

3. At its ninth Session, held at New Delhi from 5th November to 5th December 1956, the General Conference decided to admit Tunisia and Morocco as Member States and took formal note of the accession of Sudan. Tunisia signed the Constitution and deposited its instruments of ratification on 7th November 1956, Morocco on the same date and Sudan on 26th November 1956. In addition, under Article II, paragraph 3, of the Constitution, the General Conference admitted the Federation of Nigeria as an Associate Member, on the proposal of the United Kingdom Government, dated 25th October 1956. The declaration of withdrawal from membership of the Government of the Union of South Africa became effective on 31st December 1956; the number of UNESCO Member States in August 1957 was therefore seventy-nine.

4. The principal work of the Conference was the discussion and adoption of the programme and budget for the 1957/1958 Financial Year. A total budget of 23,849,355 dollars for the two years was approved, an increase of two million dollars over the amount for the previous financial year. Three major projects were placed on the programme : extension of primary education in Latin America (601,895 dollars for the two years), arid zone research (486,632 dollars), and mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values (839,209 dollars).

5. Projects carried out at the instance of UNESCO have been still further streamlined, with the result that appropriations under this head declined from 6,100,431 dollars in 1955 to 5,297,000 dollars in 1957/1958, in a budget which rose in the aggregate by 10 %. The reduction has operated to the benefit of priority activities, of which the principal are fundamental education, the teaching of social sciences and their application to problems of economic and social progress, preservation of the cultural heritage of mankind, the cultural aspects of community development, the free flow of information and the improvement of means and techniques of information and, finally, the exchange of persons. The appropriations under the programme of participation in the activities of Member States, inaugurated in 1954, rose from 1,099,330 dollars in 1955/1956 to 1,876,000 dollars in 1957/1958.

6. The total funds allotted to UNESCO's continuing share in the United Nations Technical Assistance Programme amounted in 1957 to 4,667,600 dollars. A number of European States, which are not receiving UNESCO aid under the United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance, have requested assistance under the UNESCO Participation Programme. The following countries will benefit by such help in 1957/1958 : Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Yugoslavia and the Scandinaviancjountries (regional group). Assistance will take the form of the services of experts and the granting of fellowships in such fields as child and adult education, co-operation with young people, peaceful uses of atomic energy, teaching of social sciences, preservation and restoration of cultural property, teaching of arts and handicrafts, development of libraries and museums and development of information services (journalism, sound broadcasting, television).

7. Among other resolutions of a general nature, the General Conference adopted Resolution 7.2, inviting Member States to make the necessary arrangements to improve co-ordination, at the national level, between the governmental services responsible for relations with UNESCO and the services responsible for cultural relations, and to develop liaison between UNESCO and national cultural relations services. A study of existing cultural relations between countries which have national services for that purpose will accordingly be carried out by the UNESCO Secretariat, for the information of the next session of the General Conference. A second meeting of directors of such services, similar to that which took place in December 1955, is scheduled for June-July 1958. The agenda will include, inter alia, a study of improvements in co-operation between the national cultural relations services and UNESCO, as well as an examination of the part played by such services in carrying out the major project on mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values.

8. As a contribution to the development of peaceful co-operation (Resolution 7.7), the General Conference likewise invited Member States to initiate and encourage, by means of bilateral action, the establishment of relations aimed at increasing mutual understanding between countries with differing economic, social and educational systems, scientific institutions and cultural traditions; to this end, it requested Member States to encourage the exchange of persons and the establishment of direct relations between institutions active in these fields.

3 Education

3.1 Co-operation with international educational organisations

9. The XXth International Conference on Public Education, jointly sponsored by UNESCO and the International Bureau of Education (I. B. E.), took place at Geneva in July 1957; seventy-two countries were represented. The Conference unanimously adopted two recommendations addressed to Ministries of Education and dealing respectively with an increase in school building and with teacher training. The 1958 Conference will be mainly concerned with primary school curricula.

10. The following countries which are Members of the Council of Europe are also Members of I. B. E. : Austria, Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece and Italy.

11. UNESCO continues to grant annual subsidies to various non-governmental organisations which are especially active in the educational field, such as the International Association of Universities, the International Federation of Workers' Educational Associations, the Joint [Committee of International Teachers' Federations, the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession and the New Education Fellowship. The last-named co-operated with the Secretariat in arranging an international conference on " Constructive education and mental health at home, at school and in the community " (Utrecht, July/August 1956).

3.2 Higher education

12. The International Universities Bureau (the Secretariat of the International Association of Universities) published in September 1957, a work entitled " Documents on the Equivalence of University Degrees ", which contains a wealth of information on almost all aspects of equivalence, particularly in the countries of Western and Mediterranean Europe. The Bureau is also preparing an " International Universities Guide ", to appear in 1958, and proposes to carry out a study on higher education and the public services.

13. Contacts between the UNESCO Secretariat and the university world are maintained by various means, such as the Science Co-operation Offices and the issue of periodic inventories of the equipment used in science teaching. The collection entitled " Teaching in the Social Sciences " is intended for higher educational establishments. Similarly, 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 from the offer of UNESCO university fellowships for regional studies. The Secretariat departments concerned, in order to take account of all these activities, have set up a Universities Committee for the co-ordination and joint examination of curricula.

3.3 Adult education

14. With due regard to the criteria suggested by the Consultative Committee on Adult Education at its meeting of September 1955, priority has been given to special projects for the development of adult education, and to experimental seminars designed to improve teacher training or to imbue general teaching methods with a bias towards international understanding. On these lines, therefore, UNESCO has afforded financial and technical assistance towards a number of international seminars, such as that convened at Bangor in September 1956 by the United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO on the subject " The Universities and Adult Education ". A study group was also organised at Bucharest in May 1957, by the World Federation of United Nations Associations, on " Methods and techniques of Adult Education ", with special reference to teaching about the United Nations and the specialised agencies. Lastly, a European study course on Adult Education, jointly sponsored by the Polish Government and UNESCO, will be held at Warsaw in September 1957.

3.4 UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg

15. As part of its programme this Institute arranges meetings of experts to collect authoritative opinions on educational reform, school curricula from the point of view of their relationship with child development and society, teacher training and similar important questions. In March 1957 the Institute held a meeting of experts on " Examinations and other means of evaluation in education ". Educationists from thirteen countries attended the meeting, at which the outline of a major survey of the subject was drafted in detail. The survey will be completed this year and published by the Institute in English, French and German. The Institute also convened a meeting of experts on physics and natural science curricula in schools. In 1956 it published in English a work on " School Psychology Services ", by Dr. W. D. Wall, which will be translated into French and German. For the last three years the Institute has been publishing a quarterly bulletin in German, English and French, the International Review of Education.

3.5 UNESCO Institute for Youth (Gauting, Munich)

16. The programme of this Institute was defined by a special mission of three experts who, in July 1955, were given the task of assessing its achievements to date. The programme calls for its development into a " Youth Centre" of pronounced international character, for meetings, lectures and seminars to encourage international understanding and co-operation among young peoples, the main emphasis being on the training of youth leaders, leisure activities and education out of school. An international seminar for young teachers was held at Gauting in 1956 in co-operation with the Hamburg Institute and the German National Commission for UNESCO; its subject was the orientation of teaching towards international understanding. A seminar on the leisure time activities of rural youth was also held in cooperation with the Hamburg Institute in March 1957; its programme comprised the following items : a survey of such activities, their promotion and their cultural and social value, and special studies on the role of sport, drama, music, films, radio and photographic clubs. Participants from ten countries attended, namely Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

4 Natural Sciences

4.1 Development of international scientific co-operation

17. UNESCO has continued to help international scientific organisations in their efforts to promote co-operation by scientists and laboratories. It has provided technical and financial assistance to various councils and international scientific associations, particularly the Special Committee for the International Geophysical Year, for which it has made available a credit of 50,000 dollars. UNESCO aid has enabled a large number of meetings, symposia and ; congresses to be held and numerous works to be published.

4.2 Peaceful uses of atomic energy

18. The UNESCO programme in this field has concentrated on organising an international conference on the use of radio-isotopes in scientific research. The conference will be held from 9th to 20th September 1957, and about 1000 scientists from many countries will attend. During the two weeks which it is intended to last, over 250 papers will be discussed. Evening lectures will be arranged to enable a wider public to benefit from the presence of so many highly-qualified scientists in Paris.

4.3 International Computation Centre

19. Under the auspices of UNESCO and the Italian Committee of the International Computation Centre, a meeting of ex]Derts took place at Rome in October 1956, to study the functions, organisation and equipment of the future Centre. The experts recommended the expansion of the Italian Committee into an international preparatory committee and the immediate establishment of a provisional international computation centre which would assume, to the fullest extent practicable, the functions ultimately devolving on the Centre.

20. A preliminary meeting of the preparatory committee was held in Paris in April 1957, when the Statute of the Provisional Centre was drafted. Interested countries may become members of the Provisional Centre either by ratifying the Convention establishing the International Computation Centre, or by paying their contribution direct to the Provisional Centre. It would be desirable for the largest possible number of European countries (apart from Belgium and Italy which have already ratified the Convention) to accede to this Institution, the need for which is being increasingly felt in proportion as automatic computation methods and automation in general develop. The programme of the Provisional Centre has been defined and put into operation during 1957.

21. The Committee further recommended that UNESCO, in co-operation with the provisional International! Computation Centre, should convene a scientific conference on mechanical calculation methods and the automatic processing of information. The conference might take place in Paris in 1959, and would be the first to be called in this field by an international organisation. The proposal, supported by the representative of the Federal Republic of Germany and various American organisations (Joint Computation Committee), was adopted and will shortly be put into effect.

4.4 Marine sciences

22. The International Advisory Committee on Marine Sciences will meet at Bangkok in November 1957, simultaneously with the Pacific Science Congress, which enjoys a large subsidy from UNESCO. At both meetings it is intended to study the possibility of constructing an océanographie vessel for marine research. The vessel would be built by a group of States and would have inter-governmental status.

23. UNESCO has begun a study on the disposal of radio-active waste by immersion in the seas, and also on the scientific definition of the Continental Shelf; the latter question is of considerable importance now that changes in the legal status of ocean surfaces and the sea bed are about to be discussed.

5 Social sciences

5.1 UNESCO Institute for Social Science at Cologne (Federal Republic of Germany)

24. The UNESCO General Conference decided, for 1957, to grant a subsidy of 42,000 dollars to the Social Science Institute at Cologne. The special working group appointed by the Executive Board is continuing its study of the future status of the Institute and will submit its final proposals to the Board in the spring

25. In 1956-1957, the Institute published several Reports dealing with the first international Seminar on family research, held at Cologne in 1954, a study of the social and political participation of women in German life, a bibliography on manpower mobility in thirteen European countries and a summarised Report on the same subject (the text of the two last-named publications was prepared by the European Coal and Steel Community). The third International Seminar on family research took place at Cologne in August 1956. Research designed to evaluate the work of small study groups and on common ideas about foreigners are nearly completed, while the project concerning the social problems raised by cultural frontiers is continuing.

26. The Institute has carried out research on phenomena connected with leisure; the UNESCO Institute for Education at Hamburg and the UNESCO Institute for Youth at Gaut-ing, together with several other European research organisations, are lending their assistance. The current long-term development programme of the Institute at Cologne includes plans for close co-operation with UNESCO studies on the social aspects of industrialisation and urbanisation; the Institute further plans to launch an international public opinion poll, other schemes of a demographic character and research on the social problems presented by technical changes in industry.

5.2 Peaceful co-operation

27. Some mention was made of the initial preparation of studies on peaceful co-operation, in the Assembly's Document 531 of 1956 (paragraph 42). Two general subjects were selected : " Theory and historical evolution of the concept of peaceful co-operation and coexistence " and " Economic relations between countries of different economic and social systems ". In 1957-1958 the programme will be carried out as follows : an initial meeting will deal with the legal difficulties raised by the negotiation and application of trade agreements between countries with differing economic structures; a second meeting will be concerned with the legal problems affecting nationalised undertakings, from the standpoint both of international law and of national legislation. It is also intended that the International Association of Legal Science, which is to co-operate closely in the arrangements for the first two meetings, will devote further study to the principle of sovereignty in international relations, as the legal basis for co-operation between States with different structures, and the pre-eminence of Law in international relations as the basis of peaceful inter-State co-operation. In its turn the International Sociological Association will organise discussions on " possible effects on peaceful co-operation of the differing values of societies with different economic and social systems". Finally, negotiations are proceeding with the International Political Science Association and the International Economic Association to enlist their help in other studies.

5.3 Social problems raised by the peaceful utilisation of atomic energy

28. UNESCO is endeavouring to secure the assistance of various international scientific bodies in studying the present state of public opinion and attitudes towards the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Two or three countries and various groups, particularly the younger generation, have been singled out for study, in order to obtain a clear insight into the predominant hopes and fears which underlie their thinking and to give the education and information services some indication of the proper course to follow in this respect. The International Association of Legal Science has been asked to study present national and international legislation on atomic questions and to ascertain what revision and amendments such legislation would require in the event of the implementation of a large-scale atomic energy programme for peaceful ends.

5.4 Local government

29. A questionnaire drawn up by UNESCO, relating to various types of local government, has been submitted by the International Union of Local Authorities (I. U. L. A.), as an experiment, to its national sections in Austria, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America; the text has since been amended in the light of suggestions received, and the revised questionnaire circulated to all local and regional sections of I. U. L. A. Fourteen national reports have reached UNESCO. On the basis of the information thus assembled it has been decided to have three monographs prepared on local government in Sweden, Yugoslavia and Thailand; they will appear in 1957 and 1958. Another monograph will deal with a fourth country still to be selected.

5.5 Social science terminology

30. Social science specialists have been insisting for a long time past on the urgency of publishing unilingual dictionaries of social science. A preliminary enquiry has shown that it would be possible, with the help of linguistic groups in various countries, to draft works of this kind containing definitions of most of the essential terms used in the various social sciences. Two dictionaries are in course of preparation, one in English and the other in French. Working parties set up in the United Kingdom and the United States of America are compiling some 1200 definitions for the English dictionary. At the request of the French Government, UNESCO has granted a subsidy, under the Participation Programme, to the Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris, which is responsible for co-ordinating the results of parallel work being carried out by groups in the French language areas of Belgium, France and Switzerland. Similar work has also been done, on an experimental basis, in German and Spanish, but this has been of restricted proportions for lack of funds. It is hoped that Member States concerned will afford unreserved assistance to this project in their respective linguistic areas.

6 Cultural Activities

6.1 International conventions

31. The Convention and Protocol on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, adopted at The Hague in April 1954, came into force on 7th August 1956, that is to say, three months after five instruments of ratification had been deposited. The Convention has now been ratified by thirteen States [(1) Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Burma, Peoples Republic of Bulgaria, Ecuador, France, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, San Marino, Ukranian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Socialist Soviet, Republics and Yugoslavia.], including France, which is a Member of the Council of Europe. By the terms of the Convention, the Contracting Parties undertake to protect cultural property on their own territory or that of the other Parties. The Protocol, which has been ratified by eleven States, is more specifically designed to prohibit the export of cultural property from occupied territory.

32. As at 31st July 1956, 27 States, of which seven are Members of the Council of Europe [(2) Austria (2nd April 1957), France, Federal Republic of Germany, Iceland (18th September 1956), Italy (24th October 1950), Luxembourg and the United Kingdom (27th June 1957). The dates in parenthesis indicate ratifications deposited since last year.], had deposited their instruments of ratification or accession to the Universal Copyright Convention.

6.2 Rights called " Neighbouring on " Copyright

33. UNESCO is actively continuing its work on rights called " neighbouring on " copyright. In October 1956, an agreement on the joint procedure for drafting an international instrument in this field was concluded by the Director-General with the Director-General of the International Labour Office and the Director of the Bureau of the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Union). The Agreement was approved by the UNESCO General Conference at its last Session, as well as by the governing bodies of the two other inter-governmental organisations concerned.

34. In order to complete preparation of the documentary material for submission to States under the terms of the tripartite agreement just mentioned, the Director-General of UNESCO and the Director of the Berne Union Bureau appointed a Committee of twenty-one experts, eighteen of whom were nominated by twelve Governments (seven of them European). Meeting in Monaco from 4 th to 13th March 1957, the Committee unanimously adopted a draft Agreement on the protection of certain rights called neighbouring on copyright, an explanatory statement and four voeux. These texts, together with a document prepared by a Committee of Experts convened by the Director-General of I. L. 0., were transmitted to Governments for comment in August 1957. Meanwhile, the Secretariat of the Union is continuing to study the legal and economic aspects of neighbouring rights.

6.3 International Agreement on the Exchange of Publications

35. In response to the decision of the General Conference (9C/Resolution 4.33), the Secretariat has prepared a draft Convention on exchanges of publications. Two separate Conventions covering official and non-official publications have been prepared. Member States have been invited to submit their observations on the draft, which was communicated to them in July 1957. An intergovernmental Committee of Experts will meet in 1958 to adopt the final text for presentation to the Tenth Session of the General Conference.

6.4 International Centre for the study of the preservation and restoration of cultural property

36. The Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of his Government, and the Director-General of UNESCO signed an Agreement on 28th April between Italy and UNESCO setting up an International Centre, at Rome, for the study of the preservation and restoration of cultural property.

6.5 Dissemination of works of art

37. The exhibitions of colour reproductions of works of art are continuing their tour among Member States; the exhibition of Persian miniatures was recently shown in France, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg. The exhibition dealing with 2,000 years of Chinese painting has been shown in Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. UNESCO continues to improve its catalogues of reproductions, and the fourth edition of the catalogue of colour reproductions of pre-1860 paintings is now at the printer's.

6.6 Recorded music

38. Some new records appeared in 1956 in the series " Universal Collection of Recorded Popular Music ", published by the Archives Internationales ale Musique populaire, Geneva, under the auspices of the International Music Council and with UNESCO financial aid. The collection now comprises forty on-the-spot recordings of examples of the traditional musical culture of various continents : Africa (six records); America (one); Asia (seven); Europe (twenty-six).

6.7 Translations

39. The programme of translations of representative literary works is continuing. UNESCO's object in publishing them is to spread a knowledge of great works outside countries where the author's language is spoken. A full table of works which have so far appeared was published in the UNESCO review Courier in June 1957. Details given include the original titles of the translated works, the original language and the nature of the work, the publisher and the sale price of the translation. Similar particulars are given of works in course of preparation. Among the most important works published with UNESCO help since last year may be mentioned Snow Country by Yasumari Kawa-bata (Japan), Anthology of Japanese Literature and Modern Japanese Literature, edited by Donald Keene, and the Anthology of Ibero-American Poetry.

40. The preparatory work on the ninth volume of the Index Translationum, an annual international bibliography of translations appearing in all fields, has continued, and the volume will be printed towards the end of 1957. Volume 8 appeared in February 1957.

6.8 Publication on the role of classical studies

41. The enquiries begun in 1955/1956 on the place of the classics and humanities in the cultural life of present-day communities and on the role of classical studies in education will be completed in 1957/1958. The results will be published in 1959, in the form of a work containing the replies of the National Commissions of Member States for UNESCO, together with comments and suggestions by appropriate international non-governmental organisations.

6.9 Cultural life of communities

42. Enquiries were held in 1955 and 1956 into the part played in present-day cultural life and education by the cultural traditions which are the classical heritage of every people. UNESCO has also granted aid to the Organising Committee of the Geneva Rencontres Internationales, which took as its subject in September 1956 " The Old and the New : the Dispute between Classicists and Modernists in the World of Today ". Prominent persons from different countries took part in lectures and public discussions on this subject. The record of these talks was published in February 1957 (editions de la Baconniere, Neuchatel). The Chairman and General Secretary of the Geneva Rencontres Internationales were again consulted with regard to the talks to be held in September 1957, for which the subject " Europe and the World " has been selected.

6.10 Co-operation with Non-governmental Cultural Organisations

43. Various international non-governmental organisations dealing with cultural activities continue to receive UNESCO subsidies under decisions taken by the General Conference and Executive Board at their Ninth and Forty-fifth Sessions respectively. They include the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic studies, the International Theatre Institute, the International Music Council, the International Association of Plastic Arts and the International Council of Museums.

6.11 Major project : Mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values

44. This project, adopted in December 1956 by the Ninth Session of the General Conference, was brought to the knowledge of the Consultative Assembly during the third part of its Eighth Ordinary Session, and in connection therewith the Assembly adopted Recommendation 128 (1957). The Cultural Experts of the Council of Europe were also informed of it, and the presence at the UNESCO General Conference of members of the Committee of Cultural Experts or of the Assembly's Cultural Committee has helped to enlighten the Council of Europe on the principal considerations leading to the adoption of the project.

45. The major project will be carried out over a period of ten years. The co-operation of specialists and the adoption of systematic courses of study for schools and the general public are the means by which it is hoped to achieve the declared objective of promoting a better mutual understanding among Eastern and Western peoples of their respective cultural values. This is not a new activity for UNESCO, which since its foundation has made similar efforts in many fields of culture; but by investing them with the character of a major project, current endeavours to bring about a rapprochement between East and West will be given renoved impetus and better cohesion. UNESCO Member States can usefully play an active part in a co-ordinated scheme of this kind, particularly if they also belong to the Council of Europe, which already has a long tradition in the field of cultural exchanges.

46. The Advisory Committee, which was set up for two years to advise the Director-General on the preparation and execution of the project, met for the first time in April 1957; it prepared a programme of work for 1957-1958, which was approved with slight amendments by the Executive Board at its 48th Session, in June 1957, and communicated to all Member States (CL/1222). It was decided, in particular, that during the first two years attention would chiefly be focussed on activities likely to lead, in Western nations, to a more precise knowledge of the cultural values of the East. However, the project as a whole continues to be characterised by the spirit of reciprocity reflected in its title.

47. Member States may find it convenient to base their action on suggestions communicated to them by the Secretariat with the approval of the Executive Board and appended to the working programme. UNESCO will assist them in preparing national programmes by supplying technical advice and other services at all times. In addition, it will encourage international consultations, undertake social science studies on the reciprocal influence of modern Eastern and Western cultures and encourage exchanges of scientists and distinguished lecturers.

48. A meeting of experts will be taking place in Asia in 1958 to consider the presentation of the West in Asiatic textbooks and other teaching equipment. Asian countries will be invited to submit papers on the educational problems raised in their schools by an improved knowledge of the West. Further, UNESCO will, in 1958, provide travel opportunities for both Eastern and Western teachers so that each may obtain direct information about social, cultural and educational conditions in the others' territory.

49. The subject of cultural co-operation between East and West will be given priority in the standing information programme (covering press, radio and visual means), with the object of influencing public opinion in participating Member States. Youth organisations and adult education bodies will also be invited to take part in the programmes, which will be designed for the general public.

50. The programme of translating representative works of Arabic, Persian, Indian, Chinese and Japanese cultures will be developed in co-operation with Member States and in consultation with the appropriate non-governmental organisations, particularly the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies. Similarly, films, exhibitions and reproductions of works of art will help to spread greater knowledge of the artistic talents of different peoples.

51. Lastly, the Secretariat will endeavour to encourage exchanges of works between Eastern and Western museums, either as long-or short-term loans or as gifts. The idea originating with the Council of Europe, whereby an Asian country would be offered a museum incorporating a collection of Western works of art, should be studied with all the attention it deserves.

6.12 Mass communication

52. UNESCO's efforts to promote the free flow of information have been mainly directed at the international circulation of news and materials of an educational, scientific and cultural character, methods to facilitate travel for educational purposes, studies designed to interest public opinion in problems arising in this field, the expansion of information media and the teaching of journalism.

53. As mentioned in an earlier report (Document 366, paragraphs 69 to 70), UNESCO took the initiative in preparing an International Agreement on the importation of materials of an educational, scientific or cultural character. The Agreement took effect on 21st May 1952, by which date the Secretary-General of the United Nations had received the instruments of ratification of ten States. The number has now risen to twenty, among them Greece, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In addition, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are applying the Agreement by decree.

54. 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. Twelve States are now parties to the agreement, including Denmark, Greece and Norway, which are Members of the Council of Europe.

55. Proposals designed to encourage the free flow of information by the wider use of postal communications have been transmitted to UNESCO Member States, which were asked to support such of the proposals as met with their approval at the Fourteenth Congress of the Universal Postal Union to be opened at Ottawa in August 1.957. Almost all the proposals have already been supported by certain Governments; thus the Arab Postal Union, during its Congress at Tripoli, in February 1957, decided to submit twelve of them to the Ottawa Congress.

56. UNESCO has taken further steps to facilitate the movement of persons by suggesting to the International Air Transport Association that reduced air travel rates might be granted to students and similar categories of persons. The suggestion is to be considered in April at a technical conference of the airlines and subsequently at the IATA General Assembly in September.

6.13 Training of journalists

57. In April 1956 UNESCO called a meeting of experts to consider professional training in journalism. The most important recommendation to come out of the meeting was that advocating the creation, in co-operation with UNESCO, of regional centres for advanced courses in this subject (also designed for journalists employed in radio and television). In response to this suggestion, the University of Strasbourg, after obtaining the French Government's support, decided to establish the first regional centre, known as the International Centre for Advanced Journalistic Teaching. The University, in collaboration with UNESCO, called a second meeting of experts in December 1956, which was attended by representatives from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, the United Kingdom and the United States.

58. The meeting defined the tasks of the Centre as follows : advanced training of teachers from schools of journalism attached to universities and information services, the improvement of teaching methods and the organisation of seminars for specialised journalists and teachers in schools of journalism. It was decided that the curriculum would include courses in general culture, as well as specialist courses on information techniques. The various subjects will be studied in seminars lasting about six weeks, the first of them taking place in October 1957.

6.14 International centre of films for youth

59. As a result of efforts by UNESCO extending over several years, an international centre of films for youth was established at Brussels in March 1957. The functions of the centre are inter alia, to ensure international co-ordination in the field of recreational films for children and adolescents, and to act as a clearing-house for documentary material to be used by such national centres as may be set up in any country. It will publish an Information Bulletin.

6.15 Exchanges of persons

60. UNESCO has continued its task of co-ordinating information on international exchanges of persons for educational, scientific and cultural purposes, and has issued a large number of relevant publications, among the most important being :

60.1 The annual handbook entitled Study Abroad, which contains information on all categories of scholarships and fellowships for research and further education. Volume IX is now in the press.

60.2 Travel Abroad — Frontier Formalities. A fresh contract has been concluded with the International Union of Official Travel Organisations (I. U. 0. T. 0.). Revised texts have been published for twenty-two countries, and information continues to be assembled on reduced-fare journeys for youth organisations and the like.

60.3 Vacations Abroad. Volume IX appeared in March 1957.

60.4 Workers Abroad. Volume III appeared in February 1957; its distribution to employers' associations, trade unions and co-operatives has taken place with the assistance of the International Labour Office.

61. UNESCO has continued to provide workers and young people with opportunities for foreign travel. More than one thousand European workers have profited by travelling scholarships to visit other European countries. Fellowships have also been granted to youth leaders to enable them to attend congresses or international conferences in countries other than their own.