Background and Preparations

A number of documents, position papers and a resolution of the UNESCO General Conference (see Publications in Resources - right column) provide background and context for UNESCO’s contributions to the Johannesburg Summit.

The nature of the preparatory process had been such that UNESCO and the other agencies of the United Nations system have been led to adopt a flexible approach to determining how to most usefully contribute to the Summit.

It was only at PrepComs 2 and 3 that the broad themes of the Summit began to become clear. It is for this reason that the Organization’s specific contribution to the Summit was still being finalized at the time that this document was being written (mid-April 2002).

Sustainable development is an overarching concept that cuts across all UNESCO’s major programme areas. For this reason, the Director-General established an intersectoral Task Force on Sustainable Development to promote and coordinate UNESCOwide preparation for the Johannesburg Summit.

A UNESCO position paper entitled “Enhancing Global Sustainability, Position Paper and Proposals by UNESCO to the third session of the Preparatory Committee for WSSD” was prepared and widely circulated at PrepCom 3 as well as to Permanent Delegations, National Commissions, and NGOs in formal relations with UNESCO. This position paper – based largely on the Medium-Term Strategy – highlights six areas of particular relevance for UNESCO action with regard to WSSD:

educating for sustainability;

promoting and applying science for sustainable development: science policies and capacity-building;

developing ethical principles and guidelines for sustainable development;

sustaining the world’s freshwater and marine resources and their supporting ecosystems (including small island developing states);

ensuring sustainable development through cultural diversity;

contributing to sustainable development through the media and information and communication technologies.