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1948 NEW ZEALAND

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave

By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington.—l94B.

THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., FROM 5 NOVEMBER TO 4 DECEMBER, 1947. The Right Hon. Peter Fraser, P.C., C.H., Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs, Wellington, New Zealand. Sir, — We have the honour to submit the report of the New Zealand delegation to the Second General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, held in Mexico, D.F., from 5 November to 4 December, 1947. We should like to thank you for the honour you did us in appointing us as delegates to this important Conference. We have, &c., C. E. BEEBY, Chairman of Delegation. D. FORSYTH, Delegate. L. McPHEE, Delegate. J. A. D. NASH, Delegate. BACKGROUND The main task of the Second General Conference of UNESCO, which met in Mexico City from 5 November to 4 December, 1947, was to lay down a detailed and definite programme of work for the immediate future. The preliminary Conference, held in London two years earlier, had written the Constitution, which then had to be accepted by Member States. The First General which took place in Paris in November-December, 1946, had set up the administrative mechanism, passed a budget of $6,000,000, and

( 1 ) Reported in External Affairs Publication No. 36.

formulated a programme that was very general in character and that, unfortunately, had little relation to the budgetary provisions. The Mexico City Conference had to study this Paris programme in the light of the first year's working, and make such alterations as should appear necessary. It was obvious to the New Zealand delegation, even before it arrived in Mexico, that these modifications would have to be radical. CONSTITUTION OF THE CONFERENCE The Conference was attended by about nine hundred delegates, experts, advisers, and observers. The biggest delegation was that from the United States of America, which contained some sixty persons. The United Kingdom delegation numbered twenty-six, the Australian ten, the Canadian fifteen, and the South African six. New Zealand was represented by four delegates— C. E. Beeby, Director of Education (Chairman of Delegation). D. Forsyth, Headmaster, Dunedin North Intermediate School, and late President of the New Zealand Educational Institute. Miss L. McPhee, Information officer at the New Zealand High Commissioner's Office, London, temporarily attached to the Education Department as Secretary of the Acting UNESCO National Commission in New Zealand. J. A. D. Nash, Scientific Liaison Officer at the New Zealand Legation in Washington. During the Conference four new member States were admitted to UNESCO—Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Switzerland. For Austria the occasion was of particular significance, since UNESCO is the first agency of the United Nations to which she has been admitted since the War. The ceremony was not without its dramatic quality. In the course of the Conference the delegates of Salvador and Uruguay announced that their respective countries had adopted the Constitution of UNESCO. By the end of the Conference there were forty-one member States, as against thirty-one at the end of the Paris Conference. The additional ten member States are—Austria, Colombia, Cuba, Hungary, Italy, Liberia, Luxemburg, Salvador, Switzerland, Uruguay. Twelve States that are not members were represented by observers— Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Monaco, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Siam, Sweden, Yugoslavia. The United Nations had a strong team of eight observers, and various international organizations, including the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the World Health Organization sent official observers.

ORGANIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE The Committees concerned with the mechanism of the Conference were— Credentials Committee (Chairman : M. Uzgoren (Turkey) ). A select committee of ten members. Nominations Committee (Chairman : Mr Sydney Pierce (Canada) ). This was composed of the leaders of all delegations, and its function was to nominate the officers of the Conference, and six members of the Executive Board to replace those retiring in accordance with the Constitution. It also had to nominate some one to take the place on the Executive Board rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr Archibald McLeish (United States of America). Its nominations were — President : His Excellency Senor Manuel Gual Vidal, Secretary of Education, Mexico. Vice-Presidents: M. Wierblowski (Poland). M. Joseph Aboukater (Lebanon). Professor Paulo de Berredo Carneiro (Brazil). M. Camille Huysmans (Belgium). Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (India). The Hon. William Benton (United States of America). Dr Luis E. Valcarcel (Peru). Executive Board (seven seats out of total of eighteen): Dr Stanislas Arnold (Poland). Dr Encurnacion Alzona (Philippines). Professor Chen Yuan (China), (sitting member). Dr Martinez Baez (Mexico), (sitting member). Sir John P. R. Maud (United Kingdom), (sitting member). Dr E. Ronald Walker (Australia), (sitting member). Dr George B. Stoddard (United States of America), to replace Mr Archibald McLeish for the remainder of his term of office, expiring in 1949. Competition for the seats on the Executive Board was strong, and when nominations were put to the vote at a plenary session, Dr Alzona was replaced by Professor Benjamin Carrion (Ecuador). The remaining nominees were appointed. Dr Walker was elected Chairman of the Executive Board on 24 November. He succeeded Dr Vincent Dore of Canada. Committee on Procedure (Chairman: Mr David Hardman, M.P. United Kingdom) ).

New Zealand was represented by Miss McPhee. The Committee set out to review the rules of procedure adopted at the Paris Conference. Its report will be referred to member States for consideration before the next General Conference. General Committee. —This was the steering Committee of the Conference, and was composed of the President, Vice-Presidents, and the Chairmen of Commissions and Committees. Dr Beeby was a member. The main discussions of the Conference were planned to take place in the two Commissions— A. The Programme and Budget Commission. (Chairman : Dr C. E. Beeby (New Zealand) ). Since the leader of the New Zealand delegation was elected Chairman of this Commission, it was necessary for one of the other delegates always to be present as a voting member. A Budget Sub-Commission was set up under the chairmanship of Dr J. C. Kielstra (Netherlands). B. The Administrative and 'External delations Commission. (Chairman : Dr Han Lih-Wu (China)) Miss McPhee represented New Zealand. This organization of Commissions caused some serious initial complications for the Conference. The Administrative and External Relations Commission had a lengthy but limited task, and its worst delays resulted from the difficulty of securing a quorum due to the number of meetings running concurrently. The Programme and Budget Commission for the first few days threatened to break down entirely under the complexity of the work assigned to it. A brief statement of its procedural problems may serve as a guide to future delegations and will also illustrate some of the fundamental difficulties of the whole Organization. At the First General Conference in Paris, programme and budget were dealt with by two different Commissions, with the result that the correspondence between programme projects and budget items was largely illusory. To make matters worse, the real work of the Programme Commission was done in six sub-commissions, each dealing with a separate field of activity. Groups of specialists tended to get together in a sub-commission, without the restraining influence of less enthusiastic outsiders, and to present to the Commission a fully developed plan, which might have no relation to the plans of other sub-commissions, but which no layman had the temerity at that stage to challenge seriously.

In order to avoid these difficulties at Mexico City the Executive Board suggested that there should be only one Commission dealing with programme and budget, and that the only sub-commission should be a Budget Sub-Commission concerned with costing the separate projects referred to it by the full Commission. It was foreseen, however, that this concentration of functions in one Commission would have the effect of reducing the number of active and voting members of the Conference, and that the leading part in such major discussions would probably be taken by administrators and budget experts. That might have the unfortunate effect of relegating to a secondary and silent position the large number of eminent scholars, scientists, educationists, and men of letters accompanying many delegations. So the Executive Board suggested that there be set up fifteen " working parties," dealing with the following subjects—1. Reconstruction, 2. Fundamental Education, 3. Education, 4. Exchange of Persons, 5. Museums, 6. Mass Media, 7. Libraries and Documentation, 8. Arts and Letters, 9. Philosophy and Humanities, 10. Social Sciences, 11. Copyright, 12. Natural Sciences, 13. Education for International Understanding, 14. National Commissions, 15. Relations with Germany (which eventually met as part of the External Relations Commission). These working parties, according to the Board, were not to be in any sense sub-commissions of the Programme Commission. They were not to be encouraged to pass resolutions for submission to the Commission, and they were, in effect, to be thought of as gatherings of experts to discuss topics of common interest without the formality of a business meeting and without the necessity of presenting more than a very general report on the trend of their discussions. That they were not to be considered as an integral part of the main Conference mechanism is shown by the fact that the time-table allowed working parties forty-five half-days for their meetings (three for each party) spread out through the whole period

of the Conference. Many of them, therefore, could not complete their discussions before the topics in which they were specially interested were dealt with by the full Programme Commission. On paper this was a very commendable scheme, and was in general terms adopted by the Conference. But it soon proved quite unworkable. The experts and scholars, assembled in working parties, insisted on thinking of themselves as sub-commissions and on passing resolutions and putting forward programme plans for consideration by the full Commission. One important country went so far as to insist that, if the distinguished scholars who formed part of its delegation were not permitted to take a direct part in the main Conference deliberations in this way, the whole delegation might be compelled to withdraw. As a result, the plenary session passed a resolution that no topic was to be discussed by the Programme and Budget Commission until a report on it had been received from the appropriate working party or parties. This in effect turned working parties into sub-commissions, and the Conference, as a result of its efforts to avoid six sub-commissions, found itself faced with fifteen, which, by subdivision, soon became twenty. The situation seemed hopeless, and two or three days of complete frustration followed, but the problems were eventually solved piecemeal by many administrative devices. It must be admitted, however, that the programme, greatly improved though it is, still shows signs of what one might term its multiple parentage. We feel strongly that the experiment must not be repeated. The combining of programme and budget matters in one Commission is essential; but it may be necessary in future conferences to return to the system of programme sub-commissions used at the Paris Conference. A unified programme, we believe, can be achieved only by careful preparation by the Secretariat beforehand and by the presentation to the Conference of a tight and closely-knit draft programme for its consideration. Some division into sectional interest groups is inevitable at such a conference, and division matters little if the basic programme documents given to them have the inner unity that comes from having passed at some stage through one mind. Small delegations such as ours found it particularly difficult to cover all the working parties. Mr Nash was freest for this work, and took a full part in the working parties on science, libraries, and museums. Mr Forsyth specialized in education, fundamental education, social science, and National Commissions. Miss McPhee had time for only one working party —reconstruction. For the rest, the New Zealand delegation had to concentrate on the two Commissions. We would strongly recommend that any future delegations have secretarial assistance. The sheer burden of managing papers at a conference is too much for busy delegates to carry.

OPENING SESSION The Director-General opened the debate in the plenary session with his report on activities during 1947. He pointed out that it was only at the Executive Board meeting in April, 1947, that final approval was given for the programme and budget for the year, so that his report covered only four months of actual work. He expressed himself as pleased, however, with the progress made in the time. One of his greatest difficulties had been in finding men and women of first-rate standing and ability to take all the key positions in the Organization. The details of the Director-General's report can best be dealt with later in this report under the heading of " Programme." In their opening speeches many leaders of delegations, particularly those from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the British Dominions, and the Scandinavian countries, strongly expressed the view that the programme should be reduced to more workable proportions. With this point of view the New Zealand delegation was in complete agreement. The leader of the delegation said that the people of New Zealand were not expecting miracles of UNESCO, but there were three questions to which he knew they would want answers : Has UNESCO an efficient organization, which has within it the nucleus of a completely first-rate staff? What is it doing to solve its most urgent problem—the reconstruction of education, science, and culture in the war-devastated countries ? And has it a programme that is crisp, precise, and practical, a programme thought out in terms of ways and means and not just in terms of desirable ends ? " The greatest danger facing UNESCO," he said, " appears to New Zealand to be that of attempting to cover far too much ground and covering it too thinly. We believe that UNESCO will show wisdom and strength not by the number of projects we can initiate, but by the number we can leave untouched in these early years." He said that, whilst New Zealand, in common with all small countries, is feeling the strain on finances and personnel which international responsibility entails, yet her main reason for pressing for a reduction in the programme was not financial. " The limiting factor in UNESCO's programme of activities for the next two years will not be money —the limiting factor will be the energy, time, and mental grasp of the Director-General and his half-dozen closest colleagues. They and they alone can unify the many separate projects and fuse them into a positive programme of action . . . We feel strongly that the solution is not more money and staff, but a more manageable programme." He conveyed to the Conference the New Zealand Government's offer to provide £15,000 for UNESCO fellowships

and bursaries to bring to this country selected scholars, research workers, and administrators from war-devastated countries. The offer was most enthusiastically received. We were conscious not only in the opening session, but also in subsequent discussions, that the various member States are placing their main emphasis on very different parts of the programme. As one American commentator has said, " It is possible to distinguish' four expectations, to which UNESCO must adjust its growing activities. There is, first, the expectation of the war-devastated countries that UNESCO will help them in the urgent task of educational and cultural reconstruction, without which they will not be able to carry their share of responsibility in co-operative activities. Secondly, the so-called " undeveloped " countries look to UNESCO to assist in bringing them abreast of other areas in educational advance and the application of science. Third, there are those who expect UNESCO to forward the developments of the arts and sciences for the enrichment of all and the general welfare of mankind. Fourth, and finally, we in the United States particularly view UNESCO as the agency to promote the search for a common ground of understanding, and to fortify the cause of peace and security by the aid of the world resources of educational, scientific, and cultural co-operation." None of these four aspects of UNESCO's work can be entirely neglected, but it is inevitable, in an Organization that is both so young and so far-reaching, that different countries and different individuals should see them blended in very different proportions. A further difficulty is that, whilst the majority of delegates think that UNESCO should concentrate on " stimulating," " encouraging," and " promoting " (to use words that occur regularly throughout the programme) work by other agencies, there is a strong minority who believe that it can only remain live and vigorous if it carries out certain projects on its own account. These diversities of opinion are reflected in the programme for 1948, which is, we think, still too big and diffuse. With intellectual leaders of forty countries each pressing for his own favourite projects, it was not possible by any normal democratic means to produce a programme as compact and unified as any one would wish. It would be wrong to be unduly discouraged by this. With realistic leadership from the Director-General and a judicious admixture of imagination and critical common-sense in the Secretariat, the differences will be resolved more easily in practice than in theory. By the end of 1948 it should be seen quite clearly which projects are impracticable and which are likely to produce solid results within a reasonable period. It is necessary constantly to remind ourselves that UNESCO is a

great experiment in a new and unmapped world : it would be surprising, and even a little ominous, if we felt that every judgment of direction could be made on a priori grounds. Some of UNESCO's problems will simply have to be worked out in practice over the next year or two, and we must be patient. The wonder is that is has gone so far in so short a time. It is important to remember that UNESCO is just one year old. Any success that the Mexico City Conference achieved from the opening sessions onwards may be attributed in no small part to the fact that, even more than in Paris, its distinguishing feature was an underlying feeling of friendliness and goodwill. Obviously, if this did not exist in UNESCO, one could scarcely expect to find it in any United Nations agency, and, without it, UNESCO would fail miserably; but it is easy to take for granted a phenomenon which is not too common now in international negotiations. It is perhaps not being too unrealistic to wonder if this is the first fruit of UNESCO —a new kind of goodwill amongst its members which is not official or doctrinaire, but warm and personal and friendly. There were, of course, strong differences of opinion, a few of them really heated; and at times there was evidence of the ideological differences, the national and regional rivalries, that characterize the world of to-day. But at no time after the first few days was there any doubt that a working agreement could be found. Russia, of course, has not yet seen fit to join UNESCO, but other nations of Eastern Europe, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, have joined, taken seats on the Executive Board, and made useful contributions to the work of the Organization. Even from the point of view of world politics, it is surely not without significance that as many fields as possible should be kept open, where countries with widely different philosophies can work amicably on common tasks. PROGRAMME AND BUDGET COMMISSION The programme is so extensive and detailed that it is impossible in this report to give more than a general outline and a selected sample of individual projects. The full Programme Report (Conference Document 2C/Cl/23) has been duplicated by the Education Department and is available free to all interested organizations. The Budget Report (2C/125) and the " Report of the Director-General on the activities of the Organization in 1947 " (2C/4) can be seen in the Education Department, Wellington. In the account that follows we shall try to give, under each programme heading, a brief preliminary statement of actual achievements up to the time of the Conference.

The Programme Report falls into six chapters—Chapter I: Reconstruction Resolutions concerned with educational, scientific, and cultural reconstruction in the war-devastated countries. Chapter II: Communication Those parts of the programme which seek to increase understanding across national boundaries by various means—first, through visits and exchange of persons ; secondly, through radio, films, and the press ; thirdly, through libraries, books, and publications. Chapter III: Education Includes " Fundamental Education," or the education of backward peoples. Chatter IV: Cultural Interchange Includes, first, a group of resolutions in the fields of arts and letters ; secondly, work on translation and collection of classics and great books; thirdly, resolutions in the fields of philosophy and the humanities ; and, fourthly, museums. Chapter V: Human and Social Relations Resolutions relating to fields of study and action which are the common concern of social scientists, humanists, and philosophers. Chapter VI: Natural Sciences Resolutions relating to man's knowledge and control of nature. Chapter I: Reconstruction It will be recollected that UNESCO is not a direct relief agency and that its main functions in this field are, first, to stimulate and, secondly, to make more effective, efforts at the national level. A considerable amount of work has already been done, Obviously the first thing to do was to discover the dominant needs of each war-devastated country. Field-workers were sent, during 1947, to Austria, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Poland, and Yugoslavia to carry out detailed inquiries, particularly into the needs of education. Other inquiries were made, mostly by correspondence, into the most clamant needs of libraries and museums in a wide range of countries. The results of these surveys have been made available to the European Economic Commission of the United Nations, and the Economic Commission for the Far East. Such UNESCO publications as " The Book of Needs," and a monthly illustrated " Reconstruction Newsletter," have made the salient needs known in member States. A particularly interesting field survey was made into the technical needs in film, press, and radio in twelve countries : Belgium, China,

Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, Holland, Luxemburg, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, and Yugoslavia. The results were published in a substantial report, " Technical Needs in Mass Media " (2C/8). At a meeting called by UNESCO in May, and attended by representatives of fifty-five international organizations and four specialized agencies of the United Nations, a constitution was drawn up for an emergency body, the Temporary International Council for Educational Reconstruction (TICER), to co-ordinate all activities concerned with educational and cultural reconstruction. It is hoped to form National Councils to co-operate with TICER as soon as possible. UNESCO itself carried out relief activities in a limited sphere. It has, for instance, purchased a large number of workshop units, specially constructed to enable technical schools and scientific faculties to construct much of their own apparatus and to repair apparatus damaged during the war. These have been distributed in China, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Philippines. UNESCO has also collected great numbers of books and periodicals for wardevasted libraries. Youth Service Camps have been supplied with appropriate libraries. It is the national bodies associated with UNESCO, however, that have done the bulk of the work on reconstruction. The people of the United States of America have been particularly generous, and the American Commission for International Educational Reconstruction has announced contributions to its funds of over $100,000,000. The United Kingdom has given over half a million books, and its film industry and its press have offered between them fifteen fellowships to permit persons from war-devastated countries to study techniques in those industries in Britain. Australia and Canada have made contributions of various kinds, and, as stated earlier, the New Zealand Government has offered UNESCO fellowships valued at £15,000. France has offered twenty fellowships, Belgium and the Netherlands five each, and considerable sums for fellowships have been given by such organizations as Rotary International and the American Chemical Society. The Reconstruction Programme for 1948 instructs the DirectorGeneral to work in the closest co-operation with the United Nations and its other specialized agencies, and to continue to provide the Secretariat for TICER in order to bring about the co-ordination of all voluntary efforts. Member States are asked to avoid at all costs duplication between the UNESCO appeal and the. United Nations Appeal for Children (UNAC), and to arrange joint national appeals wherever possible. UNESCO will continue to survey both the needs of recipient countries and the potentialities of donor countries

&nd to bring the available aid to the places where it is most needed. It is obvious that, without a central intelligence service of this type, the best-intentioned efforts might become chaotic. UNESCO will also go on producing material suitable for national campaigns, particularly films and illustrated pamphlets. (It may be noted, in passing, that a most moving film, " Hungry Minds," produced by the Canadian Film Board for the Canadian Council for Reconstruction through UNESCO, is already in the New Zealand National Film Library, and is being widely circulated.) The Secretariat will, within the limit of allocated funds, itself purchase books and equipment to meet particularly urgent needs not covered by national agencies. It will assist the organization of national book-exchange and distribution centres. As a longer-range project UNESCO is planning to have intensive studies made of the peculiar educational problems of war-handicapped children, and to collect information on the most significant attempts already made to solve those problems. Chapter II: Communication A. Exchange of Persons A central service for the exchange of persons has been set up in UNESCO House under its own Director. Although its immediate task has been to co-operate with the Reconstruction Section in organizing fellowships, its long-range function will be to act as a world clearing-house of information on the exchange of persons. During 1948, in co-operation with member States, it will prepare a comprehensive report on the number, character, and conditions of fellowships and scholarships throughout the world. This survey will show where the gaps occur, and UNESCO will try to have them filled. It will itself give a small number of fellowships, but will concentrate in the main on stimulating the necessary action by Governments and private organizations. For the first time scholars in every country will have a world picture of the travel and research facilities open to them. UNESCO is also to undertake study of the barriers to travel, such as the difficulties of currency exchange and the restrictive laws of member States, and to take such action as lies within its power to reduce them. It will try to secure bilateral and multilateral conventions between member States. B. Mass Communications Apart from its useful report on technical needs in war-devastated countries, and various preliminary inquiries and conferences, this section does not appear to have achieved any concrete results in 1947.

It was perhaps too much to expect that it should, although one could have wished that its own contacts with the press had been more effective. Its programme for 1948, however, is a much more vigorous one. The Conference quickly realized that its aim of increasing international understanding amongst the ordinary people of the world is to be achieved more rapidly and directly through films, radio, and press than in any other way. So it was decided to set up immediately a UNESCO Production Unit. Its object will be either to bring about the production of, or itself to produce, articles, films, and radio programmes that will not just explain what UNESCO and its allied agencies are doing, but will also bring vividly to the notice of the world the special achievements of individual nations in the fields of education, science, and culture. Four major themes will be chosen in 1948, and the Production Unit will concentrate on having them simultaneously presented by press, film, and radio in member States. There does seem some hope that this programme, wisely administered, will tend to create tolerance and understanding and some common experience amongst the peoples of the world. To ensure co-operation between the Production Unit and national broadcasting organizations, UNESCO will call, early in the year, a meeting of a Radio Programme Committee with representatives from eighteen countries. It will also try to bring about multilateral agreements between national broadcasting authorities for the production and exchange of programmes, and will join in the operation of a United Nations world radio network if one is established. National Commissions in member States are to be asked to set up working committees in each medium to assist in the production and distribution of films, articles, and radio programmes in line with UNESCO's policy. The Commission on Technical Needs in Mass Communications will extend its survey this year to cover the Far East and Central and South America. UNESCO will continue its systematic study of the obstacles to free flow of information and of methods of removing them, and will assist the United Nations in preparing for the Conference on Freedom of Information. It will also try to have generally accepted an international convention to facilitate the circulation of visual and auditory material of an educational or scientific character. C. Libraries, Books, and Publications UNESCO's activities in these fields during 1947 seem to have been largely of a technical and bibliographical nature. It took over the library of the International Institute of Intellectual Co-operation, and established a UNESCO Bulletin for Libraries, which has been mainly concerned up to the present with problems of rehabilitation.

International library work can, of course, never be spectacular. UNESCO's chief task is to set up a central clearing-house of information, a type of service upon which librarians are more dependent than are most other specialists. Jointly with the Library of Congress, it will carry out a survey of bibliographic services, and will encourage in every way possible the production of national union catalogues, complete national bibliographies, and manuals on library techniques. In order to assist countries with relatively undeveloped library services, UNESCO will during this year arrange for a European library school to conduct a summer school for working librarians, and will assist with staffing and finance. It will also promote and aid financially an inaugural meeting of an International Council of Archivists. It was decided to give assistance with the rehabilitation of the unique, ex-German Library of Archaeology, Art, and Art History in Italy. The Director-General has been instructed to explore all possible means of encouraging the inexpensive production of books and periodicals, and also to begin, on a limited experimental basis, an international book coupon scheme to enable " soft" currency countries to buy books from " hard " currency areas. A committee of experts is being convened to study the possibility of establishing inter-governmental agreements on the exchange of publications. A meeting of an expert committee on science abstracting will be held early in 1948 in preparation for an International Conference on Science Abstracting to be held later in the year. Similar inquiries will be made into abstracting services in other fields such as medicine and the social sciences. D. Copyright A committee of experts on copyright met in Paris in 1947, and laid down a plan for a fuller study by UNESCO of copyright problems. Other international bodies, of course, are also interested in copyright, but it is felt that UNESCO represents a point of view and a set of cultural interests that are extremely important and that are covered by no other organization. A periodical bulletin on copyright is to be issued to keep these interests to the fore. Chapter III: Education Some disappointment was expressed at the rather meagre results so far achieved in the educational programme, and educationists at the Conference feared that this very important division of UNESCO's work was in danger of being relatively neglected, largely owing to the fact that there was no one on the Secretariat with direct

and unified authority over all educational activities. A resolution was passed urging the Director-General to combine the whole education programme under a single administrative head. Most progress has been achieved in the " Fundamental Education " project, although we feel that even here there has been a lack of real direction. In the first place, there is still some uncertainty as to the scope of the project. It was early realized that a bare attack on illiteracy was not of itself sufficient to contribute to peace and security, but, as soon as a wider interpretation of the term " fundamental education " was admitted, it threatened to develop a connotation as wide as " education " itself. A truer and more intelligible title for the project, in our opinion, would be " Education of Backward Peoples." There seems some uncertainty, also, as to the part UNESCO should play in the " pilot projects." Unless UNESCO can ensure that, in each pilot project, methods are tried out that have universal significance and that would not be possible without the Organization's assistance, the whole scheme would seem to have limited value. We are, however, convinced that there is a job of first-rate importance to be done here. Early in the year UNESCO, with the help of a committee of experts, published the book, " Fundamental Education : Common Ground for all Peoples," which, in spite of some obvious defects, is a very significant contribution, which has aroused wide interest throughout the world. Two regional study conferences on fundamental education were held during 1947, one at Nanking in September, where New Zealand was represented by Mr William Parsonage, Officer for Islands Education, and one in Mexico in conjunction with the General Conference. C. E. Beeby attended part of this second one. Both regional conferences were marked by considerable enthusiasm, but, owing to lack of adequate leadership and preparation, they were not outstandingly successful on the technical side. As a first step in its programme on education for international understanding, UNESCO conducted for six weeks at Sevres, near Paris, a seminar on this topic. Seventy-nine teachers from thirty-one different countries attended the seminar. Mr G. A. Ball, a New Zealand teacher, who was with the Boy Scout Contingent in Europe, took part. Other activities of the Education Section include the setting-up of an Expert Committee on Educational Statistics, the publication of a study, " The Care of War-handicapped Children," and, in conjunction with the International Bureau of Education, the sponsoring of the Tenth International Conference of Public Instruction, which met in Geneva in July with representation from forty-two countries.

In 1948 UNESCO plans to co-operate with member States in the establishment of four " pilot projects " in fundamental education, one in a small area in China (for which the Nanking Conference was preparatory), one in Haiti, one in British East Africa, and one in an area to be determined by the Executive Board. The British East African project will be of special interest, since portion of it will be carried out in conjunction with the well-known ground-nut development scheme in Tanganyika. Except in the case of Haiti (where for very special reasons some financial assistance will be given and a local Director appointed), UNESCO will not bear any of the direct cost of these pilot projects. It will, however, attach an expert consultant to each project, and will provide, and, if need be, pay for, special new educational materials (books, films, film-strips, &c.) which are to be tried out experimentally in the project. We are convinced that there is a very great need for such a central service. Interesting experiments in fundamental education are being carried out in many parts of the world, including our own island territories, but there is no co-ordination between them, and, indeed, no method whereby any country can find out what the others are doing. A great deal of money and effort is being wasted throughout the world educating backward peoples by methods that are inefficient and out-of-date. A panel of expert consultants will be formed to give assistance and advice to any member State faced with the problem of educating backward peoples. In adult education UNESCO will make itself a clearing-house of information on methods and techniques, will produce material on international affairs for adult study groups, and will hold a conference for leaders in adult education for international understanding. It will also call a meeting of university representatives to consider such matters as the equivalence of degrees, a plan for an international association of universities, and the establishment in certain universities of international departments consisting of scholars, professors, and educators from foreign countries. During 1948 four seminars in education will be held, each in a different region, but open to educationists from all member States. The topics will include youth organizations, the education of teachers, childhood education, and (at a seminar to be run in conjunction with the United Nations) education about the United Nations and its specialized agencies. A draft convention is to be prepared under the terms of which member States may agree, within the limits of their constitutional powers, to direct the programmes of their respective education systems at all levels to the end of international peace and security. In 1946

the New Zealand delegation suggested a scheme for the elimination of dangerous national bias from school text-books ; this, we hope, will be proceeded with more vigorously in 1948 than it was in 1947. The education programme also includes such other activities as the setting-up of a clearing-house service for the international exchange of good quality reproductions of visual works of art, of recorded music, and of films dealing with the arts. UNESCO will support with technical advice and a limited secretariat, the International Theatre Institute, which, it is hoped, will be formed this year as a result of a meeting of experts called in 1947. It will take preliminary steps towards the establishment of an International Music Institute. It will develop as a centre for the exchange, between national journals and reviews, of articles within its sphere of interest. It will ask its member States to make more widely available in good translations their classics in literature, philosphy, and science. It will do what it can to remove various obstacles, such as heavy customs dues, that prevent the international exchange of original works of art. It will facilitate the exchange of museum staffs and of exhibition material. On the analogy of the successful International Council of Scientific Unions it will help to establish an international council of associations concerned with philosophy and the humanistic studies. Chapter V: Human and Social Relations For this section, as for Education, difficulty has been experienced in finding a suitable person as head, and so the results achieved during 1947 were not great. The projects included in the section, moreover, are particularly complex and hard to handle. Their difficulty is only matched by their importance. The United States delegates regarded as exceptionally important the inquiry into the " tensions affecting international understanding," an inquiry that will involve an interlocking system of researches into such problems as the distinctive characteristics of various national cultures, the conceptions and misconceptions which the people of one nation entertain of other nations, the influence of modern techniques of altering mental attitudes, the tensions arising from technological developments and the resulting shift of populations, and the human and social problems that have arisen from recent developments in international collaboration. In this vast and shifting field UNESCO's main functions will be to work out the broad pattern of researches needed, discover which are already under way or completed in different parts of the world, encourage various universities and research centres to undertake those not already covered, and collate and popularize the results as they come in. Our first reaction to this project was one of mild scepticism, but, after further inquiries,

we have become convinced that the need for extending knowledge in this field is so pressing that UNESCO is justified in undertaking the project, though its limits may seem hazy and the methods to be adopted may be as yet far from obvious. Chapter VI: Natural Sciences It was in the Natural Science Section that UNESCO made most progress during 1947, partly because the Section had a very able and vigorous head, and partly because the natural sciences are already partially organized at the international level. The amount of work done within a few months was most heartening. Three Field Service Co-operation Offices have already been established, one in the Far East (Nanking), one in the Middle East (Cairo), and one in Latin America (temporarily at Rio de Janeiro). The function of these offices is to maintain contact between the scientists and technologists in the scientifically " dark " areas of the world with their colleagues working in the main centres of learning and research. Already a steady flow of requests for information is reaching the headquarter's Secretariat from these liaison offices, and is duly directed to appropriate persons and institutions in various parts of the world. After the signing of a formal agreement with the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), an ICSU Office was established in UNESCO House. With assistance from UNESCO, new unions were formed during the year for Crystallography, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and History and Philosophy of Science. UNESCO made grants totalling $231,319 through ICSU, as a result of which no fewer than 143 separate projects were undertaken during 1947. Some five hundred scientists were helped, directly or indirectly, to travel on international work from nearly every country in the world; sixty-one important scientific meetings were made possible ; seventynine publications were assisted; international scientific laboratories were helped to recover their footing; and international stockrooms and collections were established. The most ambitious single science project is in the Amazon Basin. There are many scientific problems involved in living in this area, problems that are common to all regions falling within the tropical forest belt. Although their solution might open up great areas of the earth's surface for settlement and for the supply of food and natural products, no large-scale and comprehensive plan of research has ever been undertaken in the Amazon Basin, largely because of the multitude of national interests involved. There are nine countries

whose territories comprise the area, and it has needed the stimulation of an independent international organization to bring them together to do a piece of work that is in their common interest. During 1947, following on decisions taken at the Paris UNESCO Conference, the Brazilian Government convened a Commission at Belem do Para to consider the establishment of an International Hylean Amazon Institute. It was attended by representatives of all nine countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, British Guiana, French Guiana, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela), together with delegates from the United States of America, the Inter-American Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the Pan-American Union, the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the World Health Organization. This Commission presented a report to the Mexico City Conference, which instructed the DirectorGeneral to take steps to set up an Inter-Hylean Amazon Institute. Early this year he will call a meeting of a Council, composed of the representatives of all the nations and organizations just mentioned, together with representatives of any other country that may be interested. Without any financial commitments beyond 1948, UNESCO will grant to the Council of the Institute sums necessary for preparation for the Council meeting, and will make available the services of the Field Science Co-operation Office in Latin America. The Director-General will also negotiate with the interested Governments and organizations concerning the future financing of the Institute, and will report to the Third General Conference. Brazil, we understand, has already earmarked the income from a large capital sum towards the support of the Institute. The New Zealand delegation had, to begin with, some doubts about the project, and pressed hard on the one hand to have UNESCO's liabilities limited, and, on the other, to have the liabilities of the interested countries closely defined. We are now satisfied that the arrangement finally decided upon is as tight as could be reasonably expected, and that, so long as UNESCO's part is confined to acting as a " starter," the end results may well be out of all proportion to the small expenditure incurred by the Organization. The scientific findings of the Institute will, of course, be made freely available to all member States. The scientific delegates from all countries were most enthusiastic over the whole project. As another of its scientific projects for 1948 UNESCO will convene in Paris a conference of expert delegates from countries and international organizations interested in the establishment and maintenance of high altitude stations, but it will not meet the expenses of delegates. It will extend its policy of making grants-in-aid to international scientific and technical organizations, and will continue

to act as a world clearing-house of information on such topics as scientific apparatus, measures towards standardization, abstracting, and other scientific documentation, scientific films, and the exchange of scientists. It will prepare a world register of scientists and scientific institutes. It will co-operate with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in the forthcoming conference on the conservation and utilization of natural resources. General It will be seen that there is some basis for our fear that the programme of UNESCO is still much too wide. We believe, however, that there is within this programme a solid core of practical projects that are eminently worth while, and that wise administration in the Secretariat and steady pressure from the more realistic member States can, within a year or two, reduce the programme to workable proportions. We feel much happier about it than we did before the Mexico Conference. BUDGET SUB-COMMISSION (Chairman : Dr J. C. Kielstra, Netherlands) The Programme and Budget Commission tried, early in its sessions, to fix a global figure for the budget. The Director-General asked for sß£ million for 1948, exclusive of any contributions to the Revolving Fund. Amounts suggested by various delegations varied from this sum down to $6 million. The New Zealand delegation, with many others, felt itself unable to support either extreme, the lower because it would cripple the Organization, and the higher because it was thought that the Secretariat was not yet sufficiently organized to justify any great expansion of activities. It was decided at an early plenary session to fix a ceiling of $8 million, but to defer deciding on a definite global figure until after the programme had been considered in detail and, if possible, priced item by item. The main tasks of the Budget Sub-Commission were to put a " price tag " on every programme item, to fix priorities where they were not fixed by the full Commission, to eliminate any projects that might bring the total expenditure above the ceiling figure, and to reduce overhead expenditure. In an Organization so young and so complex it proved extremely difficult in the short time available to give a definite figure for the cost of every programme item, but the Sub-Commission, with the assistance of the Secretariat, did a very creditable piece of work and produced a Budget that was a great improvement on that passed in Paris. The global figure, as finally recommended by the Commission and passed by the plenary session,

was $7,682,637. The full budget is contained in Conference Document 2C/125 ; it is sufficiently detailed to ensure adequate control of expenditure. ADMINISTRATION AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMISSION A. Administration Much of the work of this Commission was of a detailed and domestic nature, and, though it was of great importance to the efficient running of the Organization, it would not be of interest if given at great length here. Staff Matters There was first of ail a group of problems connected with staff matters. Some concern was expressed at the unequal geographical distribution of the staff, of whom a disproportionate number came from France, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Resolutions were passed urging the Director-General to secure a more equitable representation of other countries and cultures. The New Zealand delegate initiated a lengthy debate on the uneven balance of staffing as between different sections of the programme, and also as between programme activities on the one hand and general administration on the other. The Commission was insistent that there should be the greatest possible concentration of funds and personnel on actual programme work. The Director-General was instructed to make, before 31st March, a complete review of the experience, qualifications, achievements, and salaries of present staff members, with a view to replacing any who do not measure up to the desirable high standard. It was the Commission's opinion that there should be no great expansion of staff during 1948. The Staff Regulations were reviewed by the Commission, special attention being paid to scales of salaries and allowances. Financial Matters Lengthy consideration was given to the report of the Executive Board on the financial administration of the Organization, and to the attached auditors' reports. It appeared that the financial administration of the Preparatory Commission (which went out of existence in December, 1946) was anything but satisfactory, but that steps had been taken during 1947 to give every assurance of orderly administration of the Organization. Amendments were made to the Financial Regulations designed to improve internal control. The Secretariat was commended for the greatly improved financial statements presented in 1947.

The scale of contributions of member States had to be reconsidered in view of the increased membership of UNESCO. New Zealand's contribution, which, under the 1947 scale amounted to 0-61 per cent., is, for 1948, 058 per cent. The biggest single contribution, 41-88 per cent., is made by the United States of America. New Zealand, together with the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, India, and Egypt, will make her contributions in sterling. The Paris Conference established a " Revolving Fund" of $3 million, which was, in effect, an interest-free loan by member States to enable the Organization to meet its commitments early in the financial year before any States had been able to make their regular contributions. Only $1 million of this was called for in 1947. The Mexico Conference decided to ask for another $1 million during 1948, payments being in the same ratio as contributions to the 1948 Budget. B. External Relations Regional Offices A full discussion took place on the advisability of establishing regional offices of UNESCO. The possibility of some measure of decentralization had been considered since the days of the Preparatory Commission; and the first meeting of the Co-ordination Committee of the United Nations and the specialized agencies had ■ discussed, in February, 1947, the setting-up of combined United Nations Regional Centres. It had been decided that such a development would be premature. The discussion in Mexico City centred round the offer of Cuba to provide a building and $lO,OOO annually towards the cost of a regional office in Havana to serve as a UNESCO focal point for Latin America. The New Zealand delegate combined with others to oppose recommendations to the General Conference for the setting-up of regional centres at this stage, on the grounds that it was necessary to be assured that the headquarters in Paris was adequately staffed and efficiently administered before dissipating money and staff in local regions. It was also argued that it would be a mistake to set up regional offices before being completely assured that there was sufficient real work for them to do in addition to the work which might be better done by National Commissions. She voted for the resolutions finally adopted by the Commission, which made provision for further consideration of the whole question by the Executive Board, and omitted any reference to Cuba. The Cuban delegate reopened at the plenary session the question of establishing a regional office in

Havana, and the General Conference, after a vigorous debate, accepted additions to the Commission's resolutions, and passed the following resolutions by a vote of 28 to 2:— 1. To establish, as soon as possible, after consultation with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, regional offices or centres of UNESCO, in order to further the aims of the Organization and to co-ordinate the activities of National Commissions in the major geographical regions of the world. 2. The representatives of UNESCO who conduct the consultation should place before the United Nations and specialized agencies the generous offer of the Cuban delegation made at the second session of the General Conference of UNESCO, as well as the expression of views of delegations to the Conference on the value of opening a regional office in Cuba. 3. That the Executive Board should consider the matter and report to the third session of the General Conference, which shall determine the geographical regions of the world in which the establishment of such offices or centres will best contribute to the aims of the Organization. 4. That, pending the establishment of such regional offices or centres, — (a) The Executive Board is instructed to consider immediately the possibility of establishing at least one such office or centre during 1948, bearing in mind the needs of different regions as well as facilities likely to be available, in those regions, and especially those available at Havana through the offer of the Cuban Government mentioned in paragraph 2. (b) The Director-General is instructed to arrange during 1948 for extended visits of key UNESCO officials to several geographical regions of the world with a view to assisting in the establishment and development of National Commissions. Resolutions were passed enabling UNESCO, on request, to provide teams of experts to member States, on terms mutually agreed upon, to study and. report on specific problems coming within the Organization's sphere of interest. delations with Germany One of the most controversial problems before the Commission was that of UNESCO's relations with Germany. The United Kingdom delegation submitted a memorandum drawing attention to the fact that the Allied Control Authority in Germany had asked UNESCO to state in what ways the Organization would be prepared to help in respect of German education. On the United Kingdom motion, the following resolution was passed by the Commission: — " That the Director-General be instructed to enter into negotiations . with the appropriate allied authorities in Germany in order to ascertain the ways in which the objectives of UNESCO may be promoted in, and in relation to, Germany, and be empowered to incur reasonable expenditure within the approved budget for 1948 in respect of such activities as may be approved by the Executive Board, always provided that the activities are undertaken in agreement with the appropriate Allied Authority in Germany."

The motion was passed by 17 to 1, the dissentient being the Polish delegate. When the motion came before the full Conference there was a misunderstanding as to the meaning of a Polish amendment, and some heat was engendered. Finally, the motion was passed by 17 to 1, with the words " activities " changed to " surveys and possible experiments." The Czechoslovakian delegate voted against it, and the Polish delegates were not present for the vote. delations with Japan No difficulty was experienced in having a motion passed concerning relations with Japan—■ " That the Director-General be asked to consult with the appropriate Allied Authorities in order to collect information regarding Japanese education, its trends and tendencies, and to ascertain the ways in which the objectives of UNESCO may be promoted in and in relation to Japan, and be empowered to incur reasonable expenditure within the approved budget for 1948 in respect of such activities as may be approved by the Executive Board, always provided that the activities are undertaken in agreement with the appropriate Allied Authorities." It is understood that certain Japanese writers, scientists, and educators have already formed a " UNESCO Co-operative Association " to create an understanding within Japan of the aims, ideals, and programme of UNESCO, and to prepare for the time when a Japanese National Commission for UNESCO may be possible. Trust Territories Reports were made to the Commission both by the DirectorGeneral and by a United Nations observer of the arrangements made during 1947 for UNESCO to advise the United Nations on educational, scientific, and cultural problems arising in trust territories and non-self-governing territories. The Director-General was instructed to pay special attention during 1948 to this aspect of UNESCO's work. National Commissions and Co-operating Bodies Article VII of the UNESCO Constitution makes provision for the setting up in member States of National Commissions or National Co-operating Bodies. The Paris Conference adopted a resolution urging those member States which had not yet set up National Commissions or Co-operating Bodies to take the necessary action to establish them. Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Haiti, India, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the United States of America have all set up National Commissions. The United Kingdom has created specialized Co-operating Bodies for all the main fields of UNESCO's activities, together with a " Central Committee for

UNESCO " to co-ordinate their work. Co-operating Bodies have also been set up in Australia. In New Zealand the Government has adopted the recommendations of the UNESCO Interim Committee for the establishment of a permanent National Commission of UNESCO. The final section of this report describes the activities of the Acting National Commission, and the Constitution of the permanent Commission is printed as an Appendix. The delegates at the Mexico City Conference nearly all, at one time or another, stressed the importance of National Commissions. " UNESCO without National Commissions," said the Polish delegate, "is like grass without roots." " UNESCO in action," said another delegate, " should increasingly come to mean member States in action." Speaker after speaker pointed out that, to be effective, UNESCO requires not only the support of member Governments, but also the full and active co-operation in its programme of the representatives of education, science., and culture in each country. More than that, it needs the understanding of the man in the street, and he can be reached only through the National Commissions or other co-operating bodies. Apart from their functions as advisers to their Governments and to national delegations to Conferences, their most important task is to win public support for the programme of UNESCO, and to enlist the aid of individuals and organizations in carrying out those parts of the programme that can be effective only at the national level. A Working Party on National Commissions brought down a series of resolutions for the consideration of the Administrative and External Relations Commission. These resolutions were designed to promote the establishment of National Commissions in countries where they do not yet exist, to strengthen existing national organizations, and to improve their relationship with UNESCO and with one another. The following resolutions were adopted by the General Conference : " The General Conference—- " 1. Requests member States which have not yet established National Commissions or Co-operating Bodies to take action at the eadiest possible date in implementing Article VII of the Constitution. "2. Instructs the Director-General to grant member States all assistance, other than financial assistance, which they may require in order to establish National Commissions or Co-operating Bodies. "3. Instructs the Director-General to arrange for a meeting of representatives of National Commissions and Co-operating Bodies during or at the close of future General Conferences. "4. Instructs the Director-General to present to National Cooperative Organizations precise suggestions on the help which they might give to implement the programme adopted by the General Conference.

"5. Authorizes the Director-General, under the provisions of Article VII, paragraph 3, of the Constitution, to delegate at the request of a member State, a member of the Sectetariat to serve temporarily with the National Co-operative Organization at the expense of that State in order to assist in the development of its work. "6. Resolves that a periodical Newsletter be prepared by the Secretariat including all available information on national co-operative machinery in member States for distribution to all member States, National Commissions, and other interested circles. " 7. Resolves that every effort be made for senior officials of the Organization, in connection with other travel, to visit at their request member States where National Co-operative machinery has not yet been established or where it is in an early stage of development. "8. Resolves that on request from member States all relevant UNESCO documentation should be sent directly by the Secretariat to the National Commissions and Co-operative Bodies of member States in addition to the documentation normally distributed to the appropriate Government Agencies. " 9. Resolves that the proceedings of the Working Party on National Commissions and Co-operating Bodies be published in a concise form for distribution to member States. "10. Resolves that at an appropriate time in the future the DirectorGeneral should encourage regional Conferences of representatives of National Co-operative Organizations to study the problems arising in each region with reference to the world-wide programme of UNESCO, and should so arrange the dates of these Conferences that no overlapping shall occur between these and other conferences in the field of education, science, and culture. It is understood that UNESCO will not meet the expenses of such conferences. "11. Recommends that, upon request from the United Nations General Assembly, National Commissions or Co-operating Bodies cooperate within the limits of their resources in encouraging the teaching about the Charter, structure, and activities of the United Nations, and that efficient channels of communication be established for this purpose between UNESCO, the National Commissions, or Co-operating Bodies, and the appropriate departments of the United Nations." Relations with the United Nations Resolutions were passed which were designed to bring about the closest possible co-ordination between UNESCO on the one hand and the United Nations and its various specialized agencies on the other : " The General Conference—- " 1. Calls upon members to take measures to ensure on the national level a co-ordinated policy of their delegations to UNESCO, the United Nations, and the different specialized agencies, in order that full cooperation may be achieved between the Organization and the specialized agencies, and, in particular, to instruct their representatives in the Economic and Social Council, and other organs of the United Nations, as well as in the governing bodies of the other specialized agencies, to use every effort to ensure the common study of reports, programmes of operation, and budgets or budgetary estimates referred to in paragraph 3 of this resolution ;

" 2. Requests the Director-General to give constant attention to the factor of the relative priority of programme projects in consultation with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, and to consider as a matter of urgency the further steps which should be taken to develop effective co-ordination of the programmes of UNESCO, the United Nations, and its organs, and the specialized agencies ; " 3. Instructs the Director-General to present each year to the session of the Economic and Social Council preceding the opening of the regular session of the General Assembly, a report on the past activities of the Organization, as well as a preliminary programme of operations for the subsequent fiscal year, in order to enable UNESCO, in consultation with the Economic and Social Council and other specialized agencies, to promote the most efficient and practical use of the resources of the United Nations and the specialized agencies, by recommendations concerning the definition of responsibility for a specific project and concerning priorities for action ; "4. Instructs the Director-General to transmit the budget or budgetary estimates of UNESCO for 1949, and for each year thereafter, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the earliest possible date, previous to the next session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, in order that the Secretary-General may incorporate these budgets or budgetary estimates as information annexes in his annual budget estimates for transmission to the General Assembly, together with such summaries as he may deem appropriate and useful; " 5. Instructs the Director-General to consult with the United Nations and the specialized agencies through the Co-ordination Committee and in consultation with the Advisory Committee, in order to prepare recommendations for the third session of the General Conference concerning—- " {a) Measures for achieving greater uniformity in presentation of the budgets of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies with a view to providing a basis for comparison of the several budgets ; " (b) The fiscal year and schedule of meetings of the specialized agencies in their relation to the procedures envisaged in paragraph 3 above; " (c) The feasibility of improved budgetary co-ordination between the United Nations and the specialized agencies. " 6. Instructs the Director-General, in consultation with the United Nations and the specialized agencies through the Co-ordination Committee, and, where appropriate, the Advisory Committee, to promote the development of similar budgetary, administrative, and financial practices in the United Nations and the specialized agencies." Matters of Dispute Some publicity was given in the press to certain topics that led to spirited debates and, at times, to tensions. There was a tendency to " highlight" these topics in a Conference where many of the important matters under discussion were technical in nature and so had little publicity value. Yet it would be as well to mention here these matters of dispute, and to record the line taken by the New Zealand Delegation.

Location of the Third General Conference The Executive Board recommended to the General Conference, " That, in view of the urgent need to economize resources and to avoid interruption of the work of the Organization, the third session should be held at the Headquarters of the Organization in Paris, France." Nevertheless, the leader of the Lebanese delegation warmly pressed an invitation to hold the 1948 Conference in Beirut. He promised the best possible technical facilities, and proved to the satisfaction of most delegates that, owing to the lower cost of living, it would be more economical to send delegations to Beirut than to Paris. Above all, he pleaded for the stimulation and understanding that a UNESCO Conference in Lebanon would bring to educators, scientists, scholars, and artists of the whole Arab world. He was strongly supported by the delegates of France, Egypt, India, South Africa, and many Latin-American countries. Delegates who, while expressing appreciation of the generous invitation given, yet spoke equally stronglv in favour of Paris as the site of the Conference, included those of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, and New Zealand. The heavy cost was stressed of shifting a proportion of the Secretariat from Paris to Beirut, and the New Zealand delegate said that, quite apart from financial considerations, he must reluctantly oppose the Beirut proposal because of its interference with the work of the Secretariat during a most crucial year, when every minute and every ounce of energy would be needed to carry out the programme. The Director-General estimated that the" holding of the Conference in Beirut would mean a 10 per cent, loss of time and energy. The voting was 20 to 10 in favour of the Beirut amendment. Before the substantive vote was taken, the leader of the Canadian delegation, who had voted against Beirut, suggested that, in view of the feeling of the meeting, the invitation of the Lebanese delegate be accepted unanimously. This was done. Although New Zealand opposed the Beirut proposal, and, indeed, had, the year before, opposed the holding of the 1947 Conference in Mexico on grounds of expense and loss of efficiency, it was impossible for us to ignore the fact that the cultural life of LatinAmerica had been quickened and enriched by the choice of Mexico as the site for the Conference. Senor Manuel Gual Vidal told us that six months before the Conference only a few intellectuals and officials knew what " UNESCO " stood for. Yet before the Conference was over all the people we met—teachers, clerks, taxi-drivers, waiters, shop-assistants, school-children, and peasants in remote villages—were, within the limits of their understanding, aware of the significance of UNESCO, and had a faith in the Organization

which to us, who were struggling with its technical imperfections, was touching and not a little chastening. On the other hand, the representatives of forty-eight countries came away from Mexico with a new appreciation of its problems, with a new respect for its cultural traditions and achievements, and, in the case of those from other continents, with some little insight into the mind of Latin-America, which is so essentially different from our own. We believe that, in view of the urgent need for building up an efficient administrative machine, we were right in voting against the Beirut proposal for 1948 ; but we are aware that a General Conference of UNESCO, apart from the resolutions it passes, is in itself an educational event of special significance to the region of the world in which it is held. We incline to the view that, after 1948, full Conferences should be held only every two or three years, perhaps in varying centres, and that in the intervening years smaller business meetings, or meetings of an enlarged Executive Board, should be held in Paris. This is a proposal that will quite possibly come up at Beirut. It was felt by many delegates that the strain of big annual conferences is too great both on the Secretariat and on the smaller member States. Official and Working Languages The designation of any language as " official" merely means that the UNESCO Constitution must be printed in that language. The five official languages prior to this Conference were English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. The delegate of India moved that Hindustani be made an official language. His motion was passed, with an amendment to the effect that the official language of any member State would become an official language of the Organization upon the request of the member State concerned. A much more difficult situation was created when the LatinAmerican delegates made a strong effort to have Spanish adopted as a " working " language, which would have involved its use at all conferences, and would have necessitated all UNESCO papers and publications appearing in Spanish as well as in English and French. The New Zealand delegate voted against the adoption of Spanish as a working language, partly because of the additional expense involved, and partly because of the frustration and waste of time that would inevitably result from a tiresome series of consecutive translations at meetings. Feeling ran high. The motion to adopt Spanish was lost, and a United Kingdom resolution was passed suggesting to the Executive Board that it look into the matter further in co-operation with the Co-ordinating Committee of the United Nations and its specialized agencies.

" War-mongering " Early in the Conference the Polish delegate introduced a lengthy motion which began with a preamble " condemning energetically all war propaganda," and continued, " The Conference appeals to the Organization of the United Nations to undertake such legal steps which would put the free flow of ideas exclusively at the disposal of the support of the friendly co-operation among nations, and which would paralyse the activities inimical to that co-operation." There was a lengthy discussion on this motion, the Polish delegate maintaining in essence that " the work of UNESCO cannot be divorced from politics." His chief opponent, the leader of the United States of America delegation, argued, " UNESCO should be the last Organization to stumble into the pitfalls of censorship, repression, and restriction. Here is the essential difference. One line of the Polish resolution makes compromise impossible." After a series of resolutions and counter-resolutions had run the gamut of committees and sub-committees, the General Conference finally passed the following resolution : " Solemn Appeal against the Idea that War is inevitable "A " The representatives of Education, Science, and Culture, meeting together at Mexico City at the UNESCO General Conference : " Aware of the responsibilities imposed upon them by the Constitution of the Organization to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law, for human rights, and the fundamental freedom of the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language, or religion; " Concerned at the dangers to peace resulting from currents of thought conducive to the idea that another war is inevitable ; " Troubled by the indifference, resignation, and even calm acceptance which such currents of thought meet in certain sections of public opinion; " Address a solemn appeal to all who are concerned for the dignity of man and the future of civilization, particularly educationists, scientists, artists, writers, and journalists throughout the world; " Adjure them to denounce the pernicious idea that war is inevitable ; " To act as the mouthpiece of the conscience of the nations, refusing collective suicide; " To combat, by every means in their power, surrender to fear and every form of thought or action which may threaten a just and lasting peace; "B " Whereas the General Conference of UNESCO has adopted unanimously the resolution initiated by the French delegation appealing to educationists, scholars, artists, writers, and journalists throughout the

world to combat, by every means in their power, surrender to fear and to every form of thought or action which may threaten a just and lasting peace, and " Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted unanimously the resolution of November 3, 1947, requesting the government of each Member to take appropriate steps within its constitutional limits to promote, by all means of publicity and propaganda available to them, friendly relations among nations based upon the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and to encourage the dissemination of all information designed to give expression to the undoubted desire of all peoples for peace, " The General Conference sees no need to consider further resolutions on this subject." ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Much of the success of the Conference was due to the quite extraordinary hospitality of the Mexican Government and people. We are deeply appreciative of the care they took to provide us with the best working conditions and of the generosity with which they catered for the all too few hours of leisure that the Conference left us. We should like to take this opportunity of expressing to the Mexican Government our thanks for their kindness and our sincere admiration of the rich and ancient culture which their generosity made it possible for us to glimpse. To the delegates of more countries than we can name, and to Dr Huxley and his staff, we are grateful for generous help and much forbearance. NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO Although the matter does not come strictly within the title of this report, it would be convenient to make here a brief statement on the development of the New Zealand National Commission since the report of the delegation to the Paris Conference was published in August, 1947. That report recorded the setting-up of a UNESCO Interim Committee in September, 1946. One of the functions of the Committee was " to study the need for a permanent UNESCO National Commission and to report thereon to the Government." The Committee, at its second meeting held in July, 1947, drafted a Constitution for a permanent National Commission for UNESCO, and recommended its acceptance to the Government. On September 24, 1947, Cabinet approval was given to the proposals of the Interim Committee, and the Committee was asked to carry on as an Acting National Commission until the fully constituted Commission was set up. The Committee was concerned to arrange for a scheme of representation of non-State bodies active in the fields of education,

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science, and culture, that would allow them the maximum participation in the work of the Commission. Direct representation did not seem possible since it would have meant the expansion of the Commission to an unworkable size and the exclusion of many bodies whose co-operation was essential to the work of UNESCO in New Zealand. The proposals finally adopted, which are set out in the Constitution printed as an Appendix to this report, have been approved by many of the most important educational, scientific, and cultural bodies in New Zealand. At its meeting in February, 1948, the Acting Commission considered formal applications from eight important bodies for recognition as national co-operating bodies of the Commission, and recommended to the Minister of Education that they be recognized. Since February, a number of other bodies have applied for recognition, and it is expected that, by the end of April, most of the organizations interested in UNESCO's fields of work will have made their applications. The Acting Commission is of the opinion that the permanent Commission should be established well in advance of the next General Conference of UNESCO ; and, to enable this to be done, June 1, 1948, has been fixed as the final date for accepting nominations from co-operating bodies of persons from amongst whom the Minister will select seven members of the National Commission. The UNESCO Interim Committee held its first meeting in September, 1946. The programme proposals for 1947 were considered, and resolutions were passed which served as a guide to the delegation to the Paris Conference. At the second meeting, held in July, 1947, the Committee heard the reports of the delegates to the Conference, considered the implications for New Zealand of the programme adopted for 1947, made specific recommendations for action on a number of important matters and programme items, and referred others to specialized bodies for investigation. The first meeting of the Acting National Commission was held in October, 1947. The Commission considered the progress report on the 1947 programme of UNESCO. It examined the programme for 1948 proposed by the Executive Board for the consideration of the General Conference, and framed recommendations for the guidance of the New Zealand delegates. This meeting also made recommendations concerning the New Zealand UNESCO Reconstruction Fellowship Scheme, which were later approved in principle by the Government. The agenda of the second meeting, held in February, 1948, included the consideration of reports of the New Zealand delegates to the Mexico City Conference, detailed examination of the 1948 programme, recommendations for action within

New Zealand on this programme, consideration of the claims of Various organizations for recognition as national co-operating bodies of the permanent Commission, the administration of the Fellowship programme, and a discussion on steps to be taken to bring about a better understanding of the United Nations and its agencies in New Zealand. Article 111 of the Constitution of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO provides for Government consultation with the Commission on the appointment of New Zealand delegates to UNESCO Conferences. The Interim Committee recommended the appointment of delegates to the recent Conference, and their recommendations were accepted by the Government.

APPENDIX CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO I. The New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO shall consist <of fifteen members — (a) A representative of each of the Departments of Education, Scientific and Industrial Research, and Internal Affairs, and of the National Broadcasting Service; (b) Seven persons appointed by the Minister of Education from among those persons nominated by the approved national co-operating organizations referred to below ; (/) Four persons appointed by the Minister of Education on the recommendation of the members appointed under (a) and (b) above. 11. The Director of Education, as the representative of the Education Department, shall be the Chairman of the National Commission. 111. The functions of the National Commission shall be—(a) To advise the Government of New Zealand on matters relating to UNESCO and on all matters referred to the Commission by the Minister; (b) To act in a consultative capacity with regard to the appointment of the New Zealand delegates to the General Conferences of UNESCO ; (c) To act in an advisory capacity to the delegations of New Zealand to the General Conferences of UNESCO ; (d) To serve as an agency of liaison with orgamizations, institutions, and individuals in New Zealand interested in the activities of UNESCO ; (e) To promote an understanding of the general objectives of UNESCO on the part of the people of New Zealand. IV. Organizations interested in UNESCO shall be entitled to apply to the National Commission for recognition as co-operating bodies, and the National Commission shall be empowered to recommend organizations to the Minister for such recognition.

V. The National Commission, before recommending any organization for recognition as a co-operating body, shall be required to satisfy itself that—(a) The organization is a national body in the sense of having Dominion responsibilities ; (b) The purposes of the organization are in harmony with the purposes of UNESCO as set out in the UNESCO Constitution; (c) The object of the organization is the promotion of education, science, or culture ; (d) The organization is willing to serve the cause of international co-operation in its field and is prepared, if necessary, to spend some proportion of its funds for this purpose. VI. (a) It shall be a recommendation to co-operating bodies that in making nominations for membership of the National Commission they select persons not so much for their capacity to represent them in any narrow sense as for their knowledge and experience in the organization's field of activity, their interest in international co-operation, and their capacity to deliberate on policy and administration at a high level; (b) Co-operating bodies shall be required to furnish with all nominations citations of the nominee's qualifications and experience. VII. The National Commission is strongly recommended in general to refer projects for action to existing organizations, rather than to attempt to establish new functional bodies ; for certain specific projects, however, the Commission shall be empowered where it deems it necessary to set up ad hoc committees comprising representatives of two or more co-operating bodies. VIII. Co-operating bodies shall be entitled to submit to the National Commission proposals for action on any matter within the field of UNESCO's activity. IX. The National Commission shall welcome and assist the formation of regional committees by local representatives of co-operating bodies and others interested ; and the Commission shall be empowered to take the initiative in the formation of such bodies. X. Except as otherwise provided under (b) and below, — (a) The term of office of members of the National Commission appointed under I (b) above shall be four years, and the term of office of members appointed under I (?) above shall be two years. Members shall be eligible for appointment for a second term, but shall not serve consecutively for more than two terms. (b) Three of the members of the first National Commission appointed under I (b) shall retire after service for two years, the members who shall retire being decided by the drawing of lots at the first meeting of the National Commission ; (c) In the event of the death or resignation of a member of the National Commission appointed under I (b) or I (c), the National Commission shall be empowered to nominate a person to fill the vacancy for appointment by the Minister. Any person thus appointed shall hold office only for the remainder of the term for which his predecessor was appointed.

XI. The Government shall furnish the National Commission with a. permanent Secretariat attached to the Education Department; the Executive Officer of the Secretariat shall be a person of high calibre and qualifications with status and salary commensurate with the importance and responsibilities of the position; the Executive Officer shall be responsible to the Chairman of the National Commission. XII. Adequate finance shall be provided under the Item " UNESCO " within the Education vote to cover expenditures incurred under the headings—{a) The National Contribution to UNESCO, (b) Delegations to UNESCO Conferences, (/) Secretariat, . (d) Publicity and miscellaneous.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (578 copies), £52 10s.

By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington. —1948.Price Is.]

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-15

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-15

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-15

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-15

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-15

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-15

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATION TO THE SECOND GENERAL CONFERENCE HELD IN MEXICO, D.F., 5 NOVEMBER-4 DECEMBER, 1947 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1948 Session I, A-15

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