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In this issue

Message from the Director 1

Web news of the week 2

Events of the week 2

Meetings 3,4,5,6

From the office 7

Special Events 7,8

Message from the Director I attended last week, in the company of the Director-General of UNESCO Ms. Irina Bokova, the Global Dialogue on Happiness Forum (GDH) in Dubai from 11 to 14 February 2017. During the forum local and international dignitaries, experts, educators and business leaders discussed health and happiness; public policy and happiness; education and happiness; sustainability and happiness; and individual happiness. It struck me how important it is to make happiness a driver for sustainable development. The focus on GDP is not necessarily resulting in human happiness and there is the need to start looking as well at GNH (gross national happiness) as a driver in shaping inclusive sustainable growth leaving no one behind as per one of the fundamental principles of agenda 2030. The focus should not be only on the material development but human development. The Eastern African region joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Radio Day in Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and the United Republic of Tanzania. The event was an important opportunity to celebrate the impact of this powerful communication media in Africa, but also to appropriate the medium better, under the theme ‘Radio is You’. The regional office and national office in Dar es Salaam also concluded successfully the Ministerial SDG4 Regional Forum for Eastern Africa from 15 to 16 February 2017 in Dar Es Salaam, together with the Ministry of Education of Tanzania and the SDG4 co-conveners (ILO, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, UNHCR and the World Bank). Ministers of Education in Eastern Africa and partners from 13 Member States (Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) met in Dar es Salaam to ask ourselves what is our education system producing for the future we want? What is the character of our continent to march forward to an inclusive sustainable development? What do leaders need to know and do for students, teachers and the education system as a whole? The answers to these questions lie in a multi sectoral approach. This why all the sectors' participation was necessary demonstrating that SDG4 is linked to all SDGs and should be implemented in an integrated manner within UNESCO. The regional office also organized a Regional Meeting of National Commissions for UNESCO in Eastern Africa. The meeting was an important moment to listen to concrete opportunities to work together, plan ahead for the rest of 2017 and mobilize National Commissions for its support for the Sustainable Development Goals. The events of last week, shows the importance of reflecting on how we can work together for meaningful development for the transformation of communities and the African continent. The future we need to build together should be people centred development which can guarantee prosperity for all, peace, well-being and happiness. The expectations are many and high! Let us together make that meaningful change happen while leaving no child, boy or girl, man or woman behind. Africa rising to challenge ourselves, our leaders and the young people for the future we need-- peace and happiness for all and to all.

Ann Therese Ndong Jatta

Weekly Newsletter

UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa

Issue 14: 13th to 17th February 2017

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Web news of the week

Radio is YOU! Celebrating World Radio Day in Kenya

More Women Engineers, More Passion for Sciences!

Radio in Rwanda Provides a Platform for Public Participation

UNESCO Organizes Consultative Meeting on Identity, Violence and Social Cohesion in Kenya

Empowering young people from Uganda and South Sudan in International Peace and Security in Education

Events of the week

Kenya

20 to 24 Feb 2017

Regional Workshop for UNDAF Roll Out Countries in Nairobi

21 to 27 Feb 2017

Sida mission to community radios in Kenya, within the framework of the project Empowering Local Radios with ICTs in Nairobi

Madagascar

20 Feb 2017

Workshop for the validation of tools for distance learning for teachers in primary school at the national institute of professional training in Antananarivo

21 to 22 Feb 2017

2nd Dialogue session between journalists and the security forces in Antananarivo

Training on Ethics for Journalists in Antananarivo

Rwanda

21 to 27 Feb 2017

Sida mission to community radios in Rwanda, within the framework of the project Empowering Local Radios with ICTs in Kigali

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Meetings International Day of Women and Girls in Science in Nairobi 11 Feb 2017

UNESCO in collaboration with NACOSTI, the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, of the Government of Kenya, and the African Women in Science and Engineering (AWSE), organized a round-table discussion on “Gender equality in Science: myths, reality and future perspectives” on the occasion of the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, at the UN Complex in Nairobi. The conference gathered members of the academic community,

women scientists, chemistry, physics and biology teachers, engineering and mathematics lecturers from and other University professors from the University of Johannesburg, Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi, Catholic University of Eastern Africa among others; the Forum for Women Educationalists (FAWE), the private sector including Safaricom – the Mobile Telephone provider and Kenya Airways; to share their experiences and discuss ideas to promote science among women and encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

World Radio Day Celebrations 13 Feb 2017

Nairobi, Kenya

On Monday 13 February, the World Radio Day 2017 was organized in Kenya by UNESCO, in collaboration with the Media Council of Kenya and the Communications Authority in Kenya. The celebration gathered the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, the Communications

Authority of Kenya, the Ministry of Information and Communications and several local Kenyan community radios, including Koch FM, Bulala FM, Baliti FM, Kwale Ranet FM, Mugambo FM and Saliti FM. The objective of the day was to raise greater awareness among the public and the media of the importance of the radio; to encourage decision

makers to establish and provide access to information through radio, as well as to enhance networking and international cooperation among broadcasters. Kenya is celebrating 90 years of radio.

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Kigali, Rwanda

In Rwanda, the event was held under the theme

Public participation: “Radio is You!, It was the first

time that Rwanda joined the rest of the world to

celebrate Radio. The event was organised by the

Rwanda Media Commission (RMC) and the Rwanda

Community Radio Network (RCRN), in partnership

with UNESCO and with the financial support of the

Government of Sweden. The celebrations brought

together media stakeholders from Rwanda, Kenya

and Uganda comprised of electronic and print media representatives, the academia from

journalism institutions, senior representatives from the Government of Rwanda, Rwanda

journalists’ association, High Media Council of Rwanda and development partners

including representatives from the Embassy of Sweden in Rwanda and UNESCO.

Juba, South Sudan

UNESCO Organizes Consultative Meeting on Identity, Violence and Social Cohesion in Nairobi 13 Feb 2017

On Monday 13 February, UNESCO, with the support of UNDP held a consultative meeting on countering identity-based violence and promoting social cohesion in Kenya as a means to contribute to the reduction of internal factionalism, ethnic sectarianism, and violent extremism. The meeting brought together about 50 interested partners, including academics and researchers, lawmakers, institutions working to promote social

South Sudan marked the sixth anniversary of UNESCO World Radio Day in Juba. Radio stations and media stake holders joined the rest of the world to mark the World Radio Day. The main event took place at Midean Rainbow football grounds in Juba with a live broadcasting decentralised to different stations through Eye Radio and South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation. The event highlighted the importance of audience engagement policies - to ensure that all voices are heard in line with this year’s theme “Radio is you”.

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cohesion and national integration, students and youth representatives, civil society and UN agencies, to brainstorm on this subject, and begin to define the way forward. The meeting is part of UNESCO’s contribution to the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), in reflecting on the promotion of a peaceful and socially cohesive society, with an emphasis on conflict prevention in Kenya and the wider Eastern Africa region. The event discussed the root causes of divisions within Kenya’s cultural identity, and plotted how those divisions may be countered with positive unifying messaging of Kenyan cultural diversity, heritage and traditions, through policy dialogues and advocacy campaigns. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/nairobi/about-this-office/single-view/news/unesco_organizes_consultative_meeting_on_identity_violence/

Workshop for the validation of the orientation framework and curriculum organization in Antananarivo 14 to 15 Feb 2017 As part of the implementation of the Education Sector Plan, the Ministry of National Education organized a 2-day long workshop for the validation of the orientation framework and curriculum organization on 14 and 15 February for a national reform in education. A hundred representatives in education, including those from Regional Directorates for

Education and School districts from every region in Madagascar, gathered to evaluate and approve the framework. The proposal of the framework defines the basic education system, for free and compulsory quality education for all Malagasy children up until the age of 15. It mainly presents basic skills acquired at every step of the 3 educational cycles, the language of instruction, and the exit profiles. This orientation framework will be implemented in the Education Sector Plan by the end of the month of

February, a national strategic document for education written by the three representative ministries for education: the ministry of national education, the ministry of higher education and the ministry of Employment, Technical and professional Education and Training.

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Press conference on training of investigative journalists in Antananarivo 16 Feb 2017 UNESCO organized a press conference to announce the upcoming capacity-building training for investigative journalists for the project 'Democratic Institutions, Representative and Credible’ in Madagascar. A series of training courses and mentoring for investigative journalists will be held during two years on 7 different themes. The training also aims at producing an independent magazine. Implemented by UNDP, OHCHR and UNESCO and funded by the Peacebuilding Fund, the project aims to strengthen public confidence in public institutions through support to accountability institutions. It also aims to combat corruption, create spaces for dialogue between citizens and elected officials, and provide access to information. UNESCO hosts SMSG Meeting in Nairobi 17 Feb 2017

On Friday 17 February 2017 UNESCO Regional Office hosted the bimonthly Somalia Media Support Group (SMSG) meeting that brought together the UN Agencies, World Bank, INGOs, and other media development partners supporting the Somali Media Sector. The well attended meeting discussed among other things, the media freedom and access to information during the recent

elections in Somalia and upcoming elections in Somaliland, initiatives towards establishment of national mechanism for media monitoring and reporting in Somalia, an M & E framework for the SMSG, capacity building to strengthen the Somali media coverage of the drought in the country, updates on media incidents and how to coordinate support to the implementation of the Somalia Federal media strategy pillars. Following this meeting, UNESCO was tasked with convening two smaller working groups to develop the Public Service Ethos for Somalia and finalization of the M & E Framework for the SMSG.

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From the Office

Courtesy visit to UNESCO by Dr. Dagnar Kopcanova 15 Feb 2017

Special Events Birthdays Vitalice Ochieng 22 Feb Rahel Belay 23 Feb

On Wednesday 15 February 2017 Dr. Dagnar Kopcanova from Slovakia paid a courtesy visit to the UNESCO Regional Office in Eastern Africa. Dr. Dagnar is a member of the Slovak Commission of UNESCO and was received by the Officer in Charge Mr. Mika Odido.

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New member of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa Gaia Paradiso 13 Feb 2017

Miss Gaia Paradiso joined the Communication and Information team of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa this week as an International UNV in Public Information. Gaia worked as UN Fellow in Communication and Information at UNESCO Regional Office for West Africa in Dakar, Senegal (2016) and previously as collaborator in Institutional Relations and Communications at the United Nations World Tourism Organization in Madrid, Spain (2015). She looks forward to meeting the UNESCO regional team and to productively work together with all colleagues to increase UNESCO’s visibility in the region.