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Network Link - MARCH 2013

Welcome!

  

This past month, UNESCO has recognised some outstanding UK professionals and organisations for their work in education, culture and the sciences.

On 28 March UK Scientist Professor Pratibha Gai was honoured at an awards ceremony as the 2013 European Laureate at the annual L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards.
Professor Pratibha follows UK Professor Frances Ashcroft who won the award for Europe in 2012.

The Arab British Centre has been named one of the winners of the 2013 UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture, the first organisation to receive the prize.

The UKNC supports these and other exceptional individuals and organisations in applying for UNESCO prizes and accreditations. You can read more about the UKNC's role with regards UNESCO prizes and accreditations here.

If you missed one of the previous editions of Network Link, don't forget that they're available from our website. If you have been sent Network Link by a colleague, you can also sign-up to the distribution list directly.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

James Bridge

Chief Executive, UK National Commission for UNESCO  

 
In This Issue
Updates on our work
UNESCO News for the UK
Announcements
 
 
 
News from the Network

News and events from the UK UNESCO Network  

Have news or an event you would like included in the next UKNC update? Email [email protected] 

 

 

Latest UKNC Policy Briefs 
 

See the full policy brief series here

 

 

UNESCO Events

Key forthcoming UNESCO events 

 

UNESCO Publications

Selection of recent UNESCO publications

 

 
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WorkUpdates on our work
 
The latest UKNC policy brief provides an account of the current status of ESD across the UK. It draws on evidence from independent experts from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (education is a devolved responsibility in the UK) and sets out some of the characteristics of best practice and an analysis of future opportunities for enhancing the core role of education and learning in the pursuit of a more sustainable future. Several recommendations are made for both the UK and UNESCO.
 

 

English Riviera tour shows Global Geopark in action

 

Delegates tour Berry Head, part of English Riviera Global Geopark

 

This month, a one-day tour of the English Riviera Global Geopark in Torbay included stops at its top sites of Kents Cavern, the Geoplay Park at Paignton and Berry Head in Brixham. The visit, which was supported by the UKNC, showcased some of the innovative attractions which engage visitors and locals in the region's unique geological heritage. The UKNC was represented on the tour by its Non-Executive Director for Natural Sciences, Dr Beth Taylor and UKNC staff member Ian White.

 

The English Riviera is part of a global network of Geoparks across 27 countries, which brings the UK's unique geological offerings to the international stage. There are currently seven Global Geoparks in the UK, all of which are members of the Global Network of Geoparks (GGN) assisted by UNESCO. The UKNC is currently contributing to a review of how to strengthen UNESCO's relationship with this network.

 

The visit was preceded by the third annual UK Geoparks Forum meeting, also held at the English Riviera Global Geopark. 

 

 Read on...

 

Arab British Centre wins 2013 UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture

 



The Arab British Centre (UK) has been named a winner of the 2013 UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture. The prize recognises individuals and organisations which have contributed, through artistic, intellectual or promotional work, to the development and dissemination of Arab culture in the world.

The Arab British Centre is an independent charitable organisation which works to improve understanding of the Arab world. The Centre endeavours to dispel negative stereotyping concerning Arab culture and society through roundtable debates and cultural programmes.

As part of its mandate, the UKNC reviewed and endorsed the British Arab Centre's application, as well as supported them during the application process.

    

 Read on... 

 

Professor Pratibha Gai

On 28 March UK Scientist Professor Pratibha Gai was honoured as the 2013 European Laureate at the annual L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards ceremony. The $100,000 award celebrates the outstanding achievements of women in science and is recognised as one of the premier international science awards. Professor Gai, who is Professor of Chemistry and Physics at the University of York, was chosen for modifying her electron microscope so that she was able to observe chemical reactions occurring at surface atoms of catalysts.

To promote the achievements of Professor Gai and the four other exceptional women scientists from around the world who have been named 2013 Laureates, a 5-story tall banner will be displayed on the L'Oreal UK and Ireland head office in Hammersmith, London.

 

The recent UKNC policy brief, What could be the contribution of the UNESCO Social and Human Sciences sector?, has now been released in both Spanish and French. These translations will encourage an even wider audience to read the brief and consider its recommendations on the future of UNESCO's work in the social and human sciences.

 
 NewsUNESCO News for the UK
Liverpool ASPnet school takes part in UN event on abolition of slavery 

The Blue Coat School in Liverpool, a UNESCO Associated School (ASPnet), represented the UK in the 5th Annual Global Student Video conference on the abolition of slavery. The event, which was themed "Forever Free: Celebrating Emancipation", linked 500 students from UNESCO Associated Schools in Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, the US and UK with other students at UN Headquarters in New York.

The live interactive forum, for students aged 15 to 18, commemorates the UN International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. During the video conference students made presentations on the theme using theatrical re-enactments, poetry, music, statements and readings from historical texts. The event was webcast live on Facebook and the UN website.

 
Bradford City of Film launches outdoor cinema season

 

Bradford UNESCO City of Film is celebrating the joy of cinema for all with a series of six free Saturday morning matinee screenings in the run up to and throughout Bradford International Film Festival. The landmark City Park in Bradford will be transformed into a huge outdoor cinema from Saturday 30th March.

 

AnnouncementsAnnouncements 
Cool it Schools launches Hot Water Competition

 

2013 is the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation and time to make everybody aware of water and why it's so critical to everyday life.

 

Cool it Schools are inviting young people and students between the age of 4 and 25 to make a 'bite-size' film on the subject of water. The winning films will be screened and prizes given at the Hot Water Awards taking place at the British Film Institute on London's famous South Bank on November 26th 2013.