Top story of SHS Views n°18: Dialogue between researchers and policy-makers
8. 10. 2007 | 3974 visits
This issue of the UNESCO SHS quarterly magazine covers topical issues from October to December 2007:
· Dossier - Dialogue between researchers and policy-makers: what is the role of UNESCO?
Today´s policy-makers face the difficult task of tackling complex issues in a rapidly changing social environment. Whether it is meeting internationally agreed human development objectives, such as the Millennium Development Goals, or coping with the challenges of fast-paced social transformations, policy-makers increasingly rely on the knowledge and expertise generated in academic research communities. Conversely, social scientists and researchers depend on feedback from policy-makers to make sure that their work remains relevant to the real-world issues that affect their communities. Unfortunately, dialogue between these two worlds does not occur naturally, as demonstrated by the vast archive of ineffective policies designed in total disregard for existing social science knowledge. UNESCO, with its unique intellectual mandate, has taken up the task of bringing together researchers and policy-makers in order to build the capacities of Member States to meet their core responsibility of ensuring the welfare of their citizens. The initiative is called the Management of Social Transformations, or MOST for short, and it is carried out by the Social and Human Sciences Sector.
· Interview with Juan Somavia: "Decent Work is everybody´s business"
As the 20th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated on October 17 2007, the Director General of the International Labour Organization stresses the challenge of making work decent for all. According to him, the international labour crisis is one of the greatest current security threats and should be everybody´s business.
· Social Transformations: Young people at the heart of UNESCO´s General Conference
In order to narrow the gap between young people and an international organization as complex as UNESCO, with its numerous partners and networks, constant efforts are necessary. The UNESCO Youth Forum, which is an integral part of the General Conference, and regional youth forums are a necessary part of this process.
Also in SHSViews N°18:
Ethics
· 3rd Ethics and Bioethics Day for West and Central Africa
· Bioethics: towards a more effective UN
· Teaching bioethics: a world programme to be tested in 2008
Human Rights
· Reinforcing research on gender
· Manilla leads a world women´s research network
· News from the Coalition of Cities against Racism
Philosophy
· Celebration of World Philosophy Day in Turkey
Social Transformations
· An initiative to support the Horn of Africa
· Rugby World Cup: UNESCO in the scrum
· News on Anti-doping and Physical Education
· International migration: summer school in Moscow
A New Feature!: Readers´ Forum
· "How Man spread over the Earth", by Olzhas Suleimenov, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Kazakhstan to UNESCO
Publications
· The rights of migrant workers in Europe and Africa
· Cultural diversity from a comparative social sciences perspective
· The heritage of migrants in museums around the world
· Addressing human trafficking in Benin and Togo
· Which environmental ethics?
· Who owes what to the very poor?
· Rationality or rationalities?
Calendar from September to December 2007
Events planned for the month of October 2007:
2-3 October: International seminar dedicated to the establishment of a National Bioethics Committee. Yerevan, Armenia.
5-6 October: International Conference - "The role of the Constitutional Court and Human Rights Defender in human rights protection issues". Yerevan, Armenia.
8 October: 7th Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for City Professionals. Seminar on "New professional skills: challenges for training. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
28-31 October: Official Launching of UNESCO´s Coalition of Cities against Discrimination in Asia and the Pacific at the 2nd World Congress of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). Jeju, Republic of Korea.
30 October: Extra-ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO´s MOST Programme. Paris, France.
More events can be found on www.unesco.org/shs/agenda.
· Dossier - Dialogue between researchers and policy-makers: what is the role of UNESCO?
Today´s policy-makers face the difficult task of tackling complex issues in a rapidly changing social environment. Whether it is meeting internationally agreed human development objectives, such as the Millennium Development Goals, or coping with the challenges of fast-paced social transformations, policy-makers increasingly rely on the knowledge and expertise generated in academic research communities. Conversely, social scientists and researchers depend on feedback from policy-makers to make sure that their work remains relevant to the real-world issues that affect their communities. Unfortunately, dialogue between these two worlds does not occur naturally, as demonstrated by the vast archive of ineffective policies designed in total disregard for existing social science knowledge. UNESCO, with its unique intellectual mandate, has taken up the task of bringing together researchers and policy-makers in order to build the capacities of Member States to meet their core responsibility of ensuring the welfare of their citizens. The initiative is called the Management of Social Transformations, or MOST for short, and it is carried out by the Social and Human Sciences Sector.
· Interview with Juan Somavia: "Decent Work is everybody´s business"
As the 20th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated on October 17 2007, the Director General of the International Labour Organization stresses the challenge of making work decent for all. According to him, the international labour crisis is one of the greatest current security threats and should be everybody´s business.
· Social Transformations: Young people at the heart of UNESCO´s General Conference
In order to narrow the gap between young people and an international organization as complex as UNESCO, with its numerous partners and networks, constant efforts are necessary. The UNESCO Youth Forum, which is an integral part of the General Conference, and regional youth forums are a necessary part of this process.
Also in SHSViews N°18:
Ethics
· 3rd Ethics and Bioethics Day for West and Central Africa
· Bioethics: towards a more effective UN
· Teaching bioethics: a world programme to be tested in 2008
Human Rights
· Reinforcing research on gender
· Manilla leads a world women´s research network
· News from the Coalition of Cities against Racism
Philosophy
· Celebration of World Philosophy Day in Turkey
Social Transformations
· An initiative to support the Horn of Africa
· Rugby World Cup: UNESCO in the scrum
· News on Anti-doping and Physical Education
· International migration: summer school in Moscow
A New Feature!: Readers´ Forum
· "How Man spread over the Earth", by Olzhas Suleimenov, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Kazakhstan to UNESCO
Publications
· The rights of migrant workers in Europe and Africa
· Cultural diversity from a comparative social sciences perspective
· The heritage of migrants in museums around the world
· Addressing human trafficking in Benin and Togo
· Which environmental ethics?
· Who owes what to the very poor?
· Rationality or rationalities?
Calendar from September to December 2007
Events planned for the month of October 2007:
2-3 October: International seminar dedicated to the establishment of a National Bioethics Committee. Yerevan, Armenia.
5-6 October: International Conference - "The role of the Constitutional Court and Human Rights Defender in human rights protection issues". Yerevan, Armenia.
8 October: 7th Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for City Professionals. Seminar on "New professional skills: challenges for training. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
28-31 October: Official Launching of UNESCO´s Coalition of Cities against Discrimination in Asia and the Pacific at the 2nd World Congress of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). Jeju, Republic of Korea.
30 October: Extra-ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO´s MOST Programme. Paris, France.
More events can be found on www.unesco.org/shs/agenda.