Tag: UNESCO

UNESCO: National Programme Officer (multiple countries)

“JobNational Programme Officer, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France (but positions are based in  multiple countries). Deadline: varies.

Multiple positions available in different countries:

Sri Lanka, deadline: 8 July 2024. Must be a national of Sri Lanka.

Interventions for this project will be guided by the data for Sri Lanka from UNESCO’s Framework for Enabling Intercultural Dialogue which shows that whilst many of the preconditions for intercultural dialogue to thrive towards peacebuilding objectives are strong in the country, comparing favourably to the world average – including horizontal equality, freedom of expression, and governance and citizenship – challenges remain in critical areas, including as relates to inclusion and representation, social cohesion, and to a lesser extent leadership and organization.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan, deadline 5 July 2024. Must be a national of Uzbekistan.

Quito, Ecuador, deadline 8 July 2024. Must be a national of Ecuador.

The focus of the Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS) at UNESCO is to foster inclusive societies and economies, and to ensure the ethical development of emerging technologies, including of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In November 2021, UNESCO’s Member States adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, a global standard aimed at leveraging the positive impact of AI while addressing its inherent risks. Getting AI governance right is one of the most consequential challenges of our time, and countries around the world are now in the process of implementing the Recommendation, with UNESCO supporting them through various capacity-building efforts. In addition, SHS strives to accomplish its fundamental humanist mission that calls for enhancing the efforts against racism and discrimination, deploying the power of sports for social inclusion, promoting intercultural dialogue and supporting youth empowerment and gender equality. SHS collaborates with Member States to advance UNESCO’s 2017 Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers, focusing on the protection of scientists and enhancing the science-policy nexus via the Management of Social Transformation (MOST) programme.

UNESCO Internships (Various Locations)

Professional OpportunitiesVarious internships, UNESCO, various locations around the world. Deadlines: various.

UNESCO offers internships at multiple levels, and in multiple offices around the world. Here are a few examples:

Office of the Director-General Internships
Paris, France, 1-6 months, deadline: 30 June 2024

Under the authority of the Cabinet Coordination Officer, and under the supervision of one of the Director-General’s advisors, the intern will assist the Advisor in preparing files on subjects related to the fields of competency of UNESCO (education, science, culture, social and human sciences and communication). In this way, the intern will gain knowledge of UNESCO’s working environment and operations (including its mandate and cooperation with specialized UN agencies). They will also develop an understanding of UNESCO’s interactions with other international institutions (the United Nations system and the 2030 Agenda).

All Sectors/Bureaus Internships
Headquarters, Field Offices, and Institutes, 1-6 months, deadline: 31 December 2024

An internship with UNESCO will give you experience of the daily working environment of the United Nations specialized agency. You will be working in a team from one of the Programme Sectors or Central Services (the support services) of the Organization, at Headquarters, in one of the Field Offices, or in a Category I Institute. You will be part of a team in which you will be exposed to a range of colleagues, making a meaningful contribution to the work of the team and the Organization. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to improve an array of technical and professional skills in a multi-cultural environment. Interns carry out a variety of tasks, depending on the team in which they are working and the particular needs at the time. Activities will vary depending on the requirements of the assignment, and the specific Terms of Reference and learning objectives will be provided by the supervisor with whom you will be working.

There are also internships available specifically in the Communication and Information Sector, or in the Education Sector.

UNESCO: Programme Specialist (France)

“JobProgramme Specialist, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France. Deadline: 13 June 2024.

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences Sector (ADG/SHS), strategic guidance from the Director for Research, Ethics and Inclusion and direct supervision of the Chief of Inclusion, Rights, and Intercultural Dialogue Section, the Programme Specialist is responsible for analyzing, implementing and monitoring projects and activities within the inclusion, rights and intercultural dialogue Section, leading work to promote dialogue for social cohesion, resilience, accountability, civic empowerment and conflict transformation; and contributing to work to enhance social and gender inclusion through the empowerment of vulnerable and marginalised communities and the fight against racism and discrimination.

The incumbent, working within the frameworks of UNESCO’s Medium Term Strategy (C/4), the approved Programme and Budget (C/5) and global development plans such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will guide the technical development of sectional, cross-sectional and divisional projects and activities, financed by core and voluntary funding; provide recommendations on project feasibility and possible collaborations; engage with substantive developments in relevant technical fields; and manage relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to provide expert technical advice.

UNESCO Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads Photo Contest 2024

Photo ContestYouth Eyes on the Silk Roads Photo Contest, UNESCO, Paris, France. Deadline: 14 July 2024.

The annual Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads International Photo Contest offers an exciting opportunity for young people from all over the world to capture their understanding of the shared heritage of the Silk Roads through the lens of their camera. As the visual arts, and in particular photography, are so often used by today’s youth as a powerful tool for communication and self-expression, images have the potential to play a significant role in raising awareness of the key issues facing our contemporary world and help promote peace and understanding. The photo contest provides an opportunity for young people to connect with one another in a digital space and share their creativity and vision for our future.

Organized within the framework of the UNESCO Silk Roads Programme, and in line with the objectives of the UNESCO Youth Programme, by UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector, the 2024 edition of the Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads photo contest is open for entries from 2 May to 14 July 2024. The Silk Roads are an expansive region composed of a network of maritime and land routes. Originating in East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia the Silk Roads cross the Central Asian sub-continent, the Russian steppe, the Iranian and Anatolian plateaus, and the Arabian Peninsula. They also stretch through North Africa and Northeast Africa, from Tanzania to Morocco. Additionally, they pass through Eastern and Southern Europe, before reaching France and the Iberian Peninsula.

The Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads Photo Contest is an opportunity for young people who live or have travelled within these regions to share their perceptions and further their understanding of the common cultural heritage and pluralistic identities emerging from the interactions and exchanges taking place along the Silk Roads. The contest encourages the use of photography to extend these cultural interactions and encounters in the contemporary world, to foster mutual understanding and promote peace amongst the diverse populations encompassed by the Silk Roads.

The contest is divided into two age categories: 14-17 year olds, and 18-25 year olds. For the 6th edition of the contest this year participants are invited to submit their photographs that best encapsulate the shared heritage of the Silk Roads the theme of “Life Celebrations”. The Selection Committee members will then examine these submissions and select the winners from each of the age categories. Examples of some of the very best photographs from the previous contests can be found here.

First place winners will receive a professional camera. Second place winners will receive a semi-professional camera, and the prize for third place will be a standard-model digital camera. Around 60 of the best photos from the contest will appear in a professional photo album “Youth Lens on the Silk Roads” and might be showcased in exhibitions held worldwide.

UNESCO International Forum on the Futures of Education 2024 (Republic of Korea)

EventsUNESCO International Forum on the Futures of Education, Suwon – Gyeonggido, Republic of Korea, 2-4 December 2024.

(So far, very little information is available describing this event, beyond the announcement of the date, and that it will be in person rather than online. What has been published is information about what has led to the event.)

In November 2021, the International Commission on the Futures of Education issued a report titled “Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education” following a two-year worldwide consultation and reflection facilitated by UNESCO. This Center was one of the organizations consulted; see the report of our conclusions. Basically we argued that they needed to include intercultural dialogue as one of their goals.

CID Poster 14: 10 Ideas

The full UNESCO report, Reimagining our Futures Together, is available as well.

6th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue (Azerbaijan)

Events6th World Forum on Intercultural dialogue, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1-3 May 2024.

The 6th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, operating under the theme “Dialogue for Peace and Global Security: Cooperation and Interconnectivity,” is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, co-sponsored by the government of Azerbaijan, UNESCO, UNAOC, and other organizations. The primary objective is to explore the critical intersections between dialogue facilitation, cooperative frameworks, leadership efficacy, and the complex dynamics of interconnectedness, all in the service of advancing global peace and security. A number of the panels are being recorded, and are being made available on UN Web TV.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz participated in the first of these World Forums, and wrote about it at the time, including photos.

International Jazz Day 2024

Events

International Jazz Day, as established by UNESCO in 2011, occurs every year on April 30.

International Jazz Day, proclaimed by the UNESCO General Conference in 2011, is a global celebration of jazz music held annually on 30 April. It aims to raise awareness on the role of jazz as an educational tool and as a force for creativity, dialogue and intercultural exchange, and highlights how jazz:

  • breaks down barriers and creates opportunities for mutual understanding and tolerance;
  • is a vector of freedom of expression;
  • brings people together in celebration and reduces tensions between individuals, groups, and communities;
  • encourages artistic innovation, improvisation, new forms of expression, and inclusion of traditional music forms into new ones; and
  • stimulates intercultural dialogue and empowers young people from marginalized societies.

UNESCO e-Platform on ICD

Resources in ICD“ width=

UNESCO created an e-platform for intercultural dialogue in 2018, which recent followers may not have noticed. It is designed to be “a global collaborative hub” intended “to promote good practices  from all over the world, that enable to build bridges between people from diverse backgrounds in order to create more inclusive societies through mutual understanding and respect for diversity.”

One section presents a concepts glossary, explaining terms from intercultural dialogue to cultural identity to intercultural citizenship. These will be particularly familiar to all those who have previously read Intercultural Competences: A conceptual and operational framework from 2013, which I drafted for UNESCO (with many contributions by others named in the notes), as they all come directly from that publication.

Another section provides good practices for a wide range of topics, intended to serve as models. CID Posters and several publications (Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue and Constructing Intercultural Dialogues) have been accepted for inclusion.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

UNESCO: Multiple Positions (Multiple Countries)

“JobMultiple positions, UNESCO, based in multiple countries. Deadline: 31 October 2023.

UNESCO is currently advertising multiple positions, not only in France but around the world:

Education Programme Specialists are responsible for programme and project work, advice, research and knowledge management, networking, partnerships and resource mobilization for the Education Programme of the UNESCO Office in that country.

 

UNESCO Intercultural Competencies for Peacemaking VI

“UNESCO”

Sixth Regional Expert Consultations on Intercultural Competencies for Peacemaking: North America, UNESCO, 29 September 2023, 15:00 to 17:00 GMT+2, (Paris, France, but online).

UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector has launched the UNESCO Series of Regional Expert Consultations on Intercultural Competencies for Peacebuilding. Through these consultations, UNESCO aims to explore the potential of the development of intercultural and socio-emotional skills to serve as an enabler for peace in fragile, conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts.

The sixth, and final, regional edition in a series of online expert consultations will focus on North America and will be held on Friday 29 September 2023, from 15:00 to 17:00 GMT+2 (via Zoom). The sixth edition will bring together experts and practitioners to discuss the main challenges to intercultural understanding in the region, the role of intercultural skills in building trust among different parties, and ways of improving intercultural competence to better promote peacebuilding efforts, paying particular attention to the role of women and youth.

To register for the online event, please click here.