Participation of the Council of Europe in UNESCO projects concerned with the "mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values"

Recommendation 128 (1957)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

(seeDoc. 611, draft Recommendation presentedby the Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions and ExplanatoryMemorandum by Mme Rehling) ThisRecommendation was adopted by the Assembly at its 37th Sitting, on 11th January1957

The Assembly,

Having learnt withsatisfaction that at the General Conference of UNESCO in New Delhi the project"mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values" was included inthe programme of UNESCO as one of the three major projects of that Organisation;

Considering it of the highest importance that the countries ofEurope should be aware of the need for presenting Europe as a cultural whole tothe other regions of the world ;

Considering that the Council ofEurope's contribution should take the form of schemes jointly organised byEuropean countries which should transcend national particularism and as far aspossible illustrate the unity of Europe,

Recommends that theCommittee of Ministers should associate the Council of Europe as closely aspossible with the implementation of the UNESCO project concerned with "mutualappreciation of Eastern and Western cultural values", in particular by theadoption of the following measures :

a to holdone or more European art exhibitions in Eastern countries, making use in thisconnection of the experience gained with the Council of Europe exhibitions inBrussels, Amsterdam and Rome ;

b to organise in Europecourses of European studies for nationals of Eastern countries ;

c to organise in one or more Eastern countries courses of one or moreweeks duration devoted to the "presentation of the European idea", at whicheminent Europeans would give lectures on the fundamental aspects of Europeanculture ; this programme might be supplemented by other manifestations ofEuropean culture ;

d to send a representative of the Councilof Europe to the meeting which will be taking place in 1958, under the auspicesof UNESCO, for the purpose of considering how the subject of Westerncivilisation should be dealt with in Asian textbooks.