The opening speaker, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, has served
for the past five years as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General
and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.
Ambassador Chowdhury, who is also a special friend and honorary patron of CTAUN,
warmly welcomed the assembled educators.
He spoke of his own excitement at arriving every day in “this house of peace, the world parliament, the place in which we endeavor—day in and day out—to make this world a better place.” He expressed his whole-hearted appreciation and thanks to the educators at the conference. “It is you who are truly part of the process. You are the key part of today’s meetings, which wouldn’t happen without you. Not only you, but educators everywhere…who have the …dedication to tell about our work.” The main concern is to respond to the magnitude of the crises and to be even better prepared for their effects on the next generation.
One of Ambassador Chowdhury’s roles is to advocate and mobilize support for a particular group of least-developed and developing countries at the U. N., and he devoted much of his talk to the difficulties facing these nations that are particularly vulnerable because of special deficits in development, location and geography. He pointed out that on paper they are doing well, but they need much more in terms of what the U. N. can do. Each is hardworking and making its best efforts, and once on their own feet they will be partners in globalization. However, we cannot leave them behind because otherwise they will slow down the progress of all. Ambassador Chowdhury said that achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 is a reality only if we concentrate on these under-developed countries and that there is a way to go to get the indicators up.
During this session Ambassador Chowdhury used these nations to illustrate critical characteristics and special concerns of youth in crisis, noting especially the high proportion of attention needed for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the heart of their problems are the young people under the age of eighteen, who make up 49 percent of the population in these countries, compared to only 21 percent in industrialized nations. In every area these countries have the worst indicators, and in each of them the young people are the most burnt. They are the ones most apt to suffer from HIV/AIDS. Forty percent of the population lives on less than one dollar a day. Child mortality is highest in eighteen of the least developed states. Where there are armed conflicts, currently half of the U. N. peacekeeping operations are in underdeveloped or emerging countries. Their young people are most likely to be conscripted as child soldiers or be affected by issues of unemployment and economic instability.
Ambassador Chowdhury asked, therefore, that we educators focus on issues that affect young people. “We like to say they are our future…I believe it is very important to remember that they are our present. Their issues, their concerns, will continue to affect us today and tomorrow. So it is very important that we involve them…. We also, and first, need to involve young people in discussions about children and youth in crisis…. Without their engagement we will not be able to make our future stable and secure.” He went on to point out that in many countries, both developed and developing, there are youth parliaments, and from these we can see what are their own interests. It is very important that the young people grow up with a sense of their own communities and how they can contribute to the running of their own communities. It is also very important to let the young people to grow up with a sense of human solidarity. In spite of our differences, we are all part of the human race. Ambassador Chowdhury continued, “We use the term ‘the global village.’ That is, I believe, the most essential element in ensuring a better future for all of us, and when we have that sense of human solidarity amongst us, we also should remember that understanding, tolerance, respect for diversity are absolutely essential to build a world where there is a culture of peace.”
He concluded by saying that the United Nations works in partnership with what educators do, and that it is essential to let people, whether in schools or in other settings, know what the U. N. does. The universal goal of good is aligned with the principles of the U. N., making one entity of all of us striving to make the world a better place. “I greet again all of you for participation in this conference, and I convey greetings from all of us, from the Secretary General down to the youngest of our colleagues and from my own self.” |
