The Director-General welcomes Faroes as a new Associate Member of UNESCO

• © UNESCO/A. Wheeler

On 12 October 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, welcomed Faroes as the seventh Associate Member of UNESCO, and the first from Europe. This accession follows the request by the Government of Denmark, and with it, UNESCO’s membership now stands at 200, one of the highest in the United Nations system.

In his statement to the 35th session of UNESCO’s General Conference, the Foreign Minister of the Faroe Islands, Mr Jorgen Niclasen, expressed the gratitude of his government and the hope that, by becoming an associate member of UNESCO, Faroes will participate actively in the Organisation’s work in the field of education, science, culture and communication. He recalled that his country had developed a modern society based on knowledge, with a highly developed educational system. He also mentioned the precious cultural heritage, which included in particular the Faroese mother tongue.

The Director-General held a bilateral meeting with the Minister and congratulated him on becoming the 200th Member of UNESCO. Mr Matsuura ensured Mr Niclasen of UNESCO’s willingness to cooperate with his country in all of the Organization’s fields of competence, notably in the field of culture, a priority for Faroes.

Following this meeting, UNESCO’s Deputy Director-General, Mr Marcio Barbosa, held talks with the Minister and his delegation to explore the best course of action in establishing this cooperation. Mr Barbosa explained, in particular, the objectives and mechanism of the World Heritage Convention, which protects not only cultural but also natural heritage, and described the Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage. He suggested that Faroes explore the possibility of seconding an associate expert to UNESCO and proposed that, if Faroes so whished, an exploratory mission could be organized by UNESCO to Faroes in order to further define fields of cooperation.

• Auteur(s):La Porte-parole
• Source:Flash Info N° 200-2009
• 14-10-2009