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On behalf of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU), I would like to welcome you to our homepage.
UNESCO was created with the goal of achieving sustainable development through education, science and culture and, on the basis of that, establishing a culture of peace and eradication of poverty all over the world. The Korean National Commission was established in 1954 in order to realize this founding ideology within Korean society.
At the time, Korea was among the poorest nations in the world in terms of war, poverty, and the high illiteracy rate. |
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I can still remember studying from textbooks that were published with the support of UNESCO in elementary school fifty years ago. Now, we not only stand among the advanced nations in the world and enjoy material prosperity, but our country and our national commission endeavor to provide support to impoverished countries in Africa and Asia.
During my four-year term, I plan to focus my efforts on promoting creativity. Above all, whether it is in the fields of education, social and human sciences, culture, or publishing and communications, UNESCO's core task is to be a source of creativity.
First, I plan to take a creative and practical approach to the Education for All program, which represents one of UNESCO's core values. By developing programs that are customized to individual nations and designed to increase linguistic, mathematical and financial abilities based on a combination of primary and technical education, and by giving our young people a leading role in carrying out these programs, we emphasize the importance of fostering local experts around the world through service.
Next, I plan to focus on Educational for Sustainable Development (ESD), which is another of UNESCO's core values. Emphasized in UNESCO's mid-term strategy (2008-2013), ESD must be understood from a holistic perspective and an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses the academic fields of education, science, environmental studies, literature, the humanities, and so on. ESD is a mandatory task for all of us living in the current era of "Green Growth."
In addition, I will do my best to implement a more creative approach to environmental and ecological programs, scouting of candidates for registration to the World Heritage List, Ethics of Science and Technology, and preservation of digital heritage.
Mutual cooperation and information exchange with other national commissions and concerned partners is vitally important to the success of these goals. My sincere hope is that this homepage will fulfill the goals and ideals of UNESCO, and enable us to collaborate more effectively with national commissions and partners.
Dong-seok Min
Secretary-General
Korean National Commission for UNESCO |
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