UNESCO's Functions Outlined By Mr. G A. Ball

Chronicle (Levin), 18 March 1948, Page 3

UNESCO's Functions Outlined By Mr. G A. Ball

: ! A vast programme of work lay ahead of'TJNESCO and brief referefxce could h,e njade only taits mqst : importaht parts of recoiistruction ; ahd rehlbilitation ;and, ■ secondly/ ■ edweatibii '-and dommunicatibn', sdid Mr. ;G. A. Ball, 'of Horowhenua College, Zaddressing thi$ month's meeting ".of the Shannon School : Parents' and Teachers' Assqciatibn. As the recently retufned delegate from' -a .UNESCO Summer School, h'eld at :Sevres, a suburb of Paris, from July 21 to August 30, 1947, Mr, Ball spoke with authority and .simplicity. ' - . "UNESCO' b'elieves' that its most, ur'gent' duty is • to help " war' devastated countries to reconstruct. at least the- rudiments of their educational ahd cultural life," said Mr. Ball. "Throughout Europe and Asia there are thousands of schools reduced i? to ■ rubble and debris; • librariesf museums ' and laboratories have been •pillaged/ and wreckedj in'most places the barest minimum of equlpment is lacking; teachers have • been' killed or scattered. Under such conditions as these a whole generation of school : children "is being brought up "to build a new world-. Help miist be given, otherwise the evil of ignorance will add to the bitterness andresentment of peoples who cannot get adequate education for their children. "The-.cpst of this work of rehabilitation is too great for UNESCO I alone to bear. The main function ' of UNESCO is to stimulate the fiow of materials, money and services to areas needing. urgont help. The amount of money required for such materials and services is at least 100,000,000 dollars. UNESCO itself had been able to allocate only 434,000 dollars and for the rest must rely on the generosity of individuals and organisations interested in its work." Apart from its work of rehabilitation, UNESCO's ' main problems lay in the sphere of education and communications, continued' Mr. Ball. In its final' report the Programme CommisSion -had said: mJNESCO- will contribute to: peace and security by 1 promoting' coliaboration . among the natibns iri thfe preservation of men's knowledge -of themsblves, their world and each other, in the increase of knowledge through learning, science and the arts apd ,in the dis'semination of that knowledge through education and through communications generaHy." One of the most ambitious projects in UNESCO's programme for the disseniinatioh of knowledge was a world-wide attack on illiteracy, said Mr. Ball. "The; first part of this task is to ensure th'at'.the illiterates of the world, more thah half the entire population of the globe, are given a chance to learn to read and Write. Simultaneously there is to be a campaign to raise the basic minimum of education for all the peoples of the world. The underlying purpose of this I programme of fundamental educaj tion is to en&ble a man as an individual to live a fuller and happier life." Another task which UNESCO had undertaken was the fostering of education for international understanding. The programme of work drawn up for this purpose included th'e " promotion of international understanding through teachers' seminars, improved text books and teaching materials, a study of teaching tor international understanding in the schools of member states, work with international relations clubs, adult education groups, international study centres and the exchange of persohs across national frontiers. "It is obvious that mutual understanding between peoples depends on other factors also, for example, on freedom of communications," said Mr. Ball. "The basic faith nf

UNESCO is that if people know one another better, they will, in general, like one another better. If they can understand and share the cultures of other peoples they will less readily enter upon wars which > destroy those cultures." | The task of UNESCO improving communications was two-fold, he added. Firstly, it would help remove the barriers to travel and the free flow of cultural materials between countries. Secondly, it would establish services that would improve the cultural contacts between nations, for example, the setting up of a central international inter-library loan system, the establishment of special clearing houses for information about films and radio information, and the creation of adequate translation services so tha-t language differences might not offer so serious an obstacle to international understanding. Mr. Ball concluded with a description of the Summer School, at which the official languages were French and English. "UNESCO makes a strong appeal to the common people, of the world," added the speaker. "It needs the help and friendly co-operation of Governments, and it depends for its final success ,upon . the understanding of men and women in all walks of life in every member State. It oifers to every man some creative task, however small, in the huilding of the defences of peace." A keen interest in the affairs of UNESCO was evidenced in the question period, after which a most heartyr vote of thanks w7as

accorded Mr. Ball. Supper brought no respite to the, spirited discussionii • ' ,