[Discussion] Symposium on UNESCO's History

[sule tarakcioglu]

*Symposium on UNESCO's History*

Call for expressions of interest

Context:

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the adoption of UNESCO's
Constitution, (16th November 1945), UNESCO is organizing an
international symposium in Paris, in November 2005, in cooperation with
the Institute for Political Sciences in Paris, the University
Panth=E9on-Sorbonne (Paris I) and the Centre for History and Economics at
Cambridge University (United Kingdom).

This symposium is part of a larger programme to support research on
UNESCO's history and encourage critical and multidisciplinary reflection
on the history of the Organization and its past orientations, activities
and results. This programme, the "UNESCO History Project", was launched
by the Director-General of UNESCO on 30th April 2004 (for more
information, please consult
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/circulars/cl3710.pdf).

The History Project is a five-year programme; its orientations will be
influenced by the expressions of interests and ideas, in particular
those coming from the research community.

Project description

The objective of the symposium is to inspire and catalyze research on
topics relating to the history of the Organization. Rather than
providing official answers and final conclusions, the symposium aims at
multiplying approaches to UNESCO's history in a critical and pluralistic
spirit. Furthermore, the symposium will try to foster a better
understanding of the way in which the Organization's action, seen from
the periphery rather than from the centre, has been perceived and
experienced by the different actors concerned.

UNESCO therefore invites students and researchers with backgrounds in
different disciplines, including history, political sciences, the study
of international relations, cultural studies, international law,
anthropology and sociology, to express their interest by suggesting
papers, themes or approaches for the symposium or in the wider context
of the history project. Examples of themes and issues that could be
raised at the symposium are: the origins of UNESCO, the role of the
Organization in broader contexts, such as the Cold War and the process
of decolonization, human rights, normative and standard-setting actions,
cultural diversity, sustainable development, cultural and natural
heritage, education for all and reflections on the mandate, values and
"philosophy" of UNESCO.

All suggestions for themes and topics are welcome. *Please send your
response, preferably before 20th September 2004*, to the coordinator of
the UNESCO History Project, Mr. Jens Boel, Chief Archivist, UNESCO
(e-mail: j.boel@unesco.org). Replies received after this deadline, but
before 1st December 2004, can still be taken into consideration in the
planning of the symposium.

Programme of work

The symposium is expected to last for two days. It could include four
main sessions, three of which would focus on the institutional,
political and intellectual history of UNESCO, respectively. The topic of
the fourth session would be the identification of new, major research
themes. This final session would be the conclusion of the Symposium and
should therefore aim at opening perspectives for research works during
the period 2005-2010.

The proceedings of the symposium will be published as the first volume
of a series of publications that will present the results of the History
Project. With this end in view, a scientific committee will be
established after the symposium to ensure the follow up on the
activities, promote historical research on the Organization and,
depending on the resources available, award study grants to students and
young researchers. An oral history programme could also be launched.
UNESCO will attempt to mobilize extrabudgetary resources from Member
States and foundations in order to finance these research and
publication activities.

A presentation of results and a general evaluation of the outcomes of
the project could take place at the International Congress on Historical
Sciences in 2010.

	Jens Boel
UNESCO History Project
7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, FRANCE
+33 1 45 68 19 50
+33 1 45 68 56 17
Email: j.boel@unesco.org <mailto:j.boel@unesco.org>