11

(iii) Projects Division When the Projects Division of Mass Communications came up for discussion the New Zealand delegate made a long and critical analysis of the working plan for 1949 and of the- administrative conception on which it was based. " The most fruitful field in mass communications," he said, " must be, for some time to come, the collection and' distribution of information about work that is being done throughout the world." He gave several examples of useful work, and ended by suggesting that the entire conception of a " Production Committee " should be examined and revised. Much support was given the New Zealand delegation. France and Belgium in particular expressed agreement. The Acting-Head of the Mass Communications Department then made a long statement in which he dealt mainly with the points raised by New Zealand. He said that the " ideas bureau" had been replaced by a small committee of experts whose task was to initiate production. In a survey of more recent activities he argued that the Projects Division now had much useful work in progress and that it was overcoming early difficulties of staff and organization. .At the third meeting of the Sub-Commission, New Zealand accepted these assurances, but supported a proposal made by the ' United Kingdom that the emphasis should be moved from production .inside the Division to production outside, especially through eminent writers who could be commissioned to provide features of high quality. The programme resolutions were finally adopted, although further attacks were made on the Projects Division by France and Belgium when the Sub-Commission report was placed before the full Programme and Budget Commission. The New Zealand delegation believes that the work of this department will need a careful scrutiny at the next General Conference. Evidence of sound and practical work will be required if the large budgetary allocation is to be justified. Education The Sub-Commission on Education had comparatively tranquil meetings. There was general agreement with the clearing-house activities described in the working plan as the department's central interest. Delegates followed one another in expressions of approval and it was clear that UNESCO's achievements in education had made a favourable impression. The only controversial issue was the number of seminars to be held in 1949. After a long discussion of various resolutions and amendments both in the Sub-Commission and in the full Programme Commission it was finally agreed that