The NZ National Commission for UNESCO is pleased to partner with UNICEF NZ and youth-led NGOs such as 350, Generation Zero, Global Poverty Project, NZYD, P3 and UN Youth to organise a series of youth consultations on the Rio + 20 Conference on Sustainable Development.
There are consultations planned in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with more to be added soon.
If you are interested in participating, you can register here.
For more information, contact Vicki Soanes at
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International Women's Day March 8, 2012
the rights of women must be protected
Too often marginalised, women living in rural settings face steep challenges to the exercise of their human rights, their personal development and the pursuit of their aspirations. Across the world, this is weakening societies and holding back their development. Tackling this problem is the goal of the 2012 International Women’s Day.
The rights of rural women must be protected, and their aspirations must be supported. International Women’s Day is a chance for all to take a stand against this form of discrimination and marginalisation that weakens all of our societies.
Click here to read about UNESCO's efforts to support women's rights, and to read the full message from UNESCO Director General Mme Irina Bokova on International Women's Day 2012.
Voices of children to screen at nz film archives
Press Release
VOICES OF CHILDREN– to screen at NZ Film Archive on the anniversary of February 22nd earthquake
Voices of Children is a 20 minute film in which Christchurch children tell earthquake stories.
When Christchurch suffered a succession of devastating earthquakes, AC Productions director and producer Anna Cottrell, a former Cantabrian, experienced the horror and sadness from afar.
“I saw my hometown with its broken heart and felt helpless. But when I heard or read children’s accounts I saw their optimism and wanted to record those stories on film.”
Voices of Children is an edited version of many hours of children’s stories. Anna Cottrell did not want to film children who were grieving or whose families were grieving over lost loved ones but to focus on children whose optimism and humour gave glimpses of a brighter future.
With funds from the Families Commission and the National Commission for UNESCO New Zealand, Anna made three trips to Christchurch to record children’s accounts - initially for the archives and the web.
“I decided to edit a short film because through it all, children’s optimism, resilience and quirky humour shine through. At this time of profound sadness for many people Voices of Children – children’s stories give us all hope,” she says.
For more information:
Anna Cottrell AC Productions Ltd P 04 475 3147 M 0274 575 695
The UNESCO Contestable Activities Fund or UCAF is available for NZ projects that engage with two or more of UNESCO's mandated programme areas: Education; Natural Sciences; Social & Human Sciences; Culture; Communications & Information. Successful projects will be those that advance the National Commission's strategic objectives as outlined in the National Commission's Strategic Plan.
2010-2011 is the UN International Year of Youth and in support of the year, applications that will benefit young people will receive priority. Applications Close: 30 April 2011
"Te Ahi Kaa: through our eyes" was supported by UCAF last year
“As we mark the 170th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the hope is that New Zealanders continue to consider the Treaty as a living document,” says NZ National Commission for UNESCO chairman, Bryan Gould.
“New Zealanders should continue to learn about the Treaty and what it means for our country and future.”
Last year the commission launched a Treaty of Waitangi web resource that has been a popular resource for New Zealanders.
The commission’s Social Science sub commission works closely with the Human Rights Commission to explore and document connections between international human rights agendas and issues raised by the Treaty – including the relevance of the Treaty for people of different ethnicities – in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ancient Polynesian navigators were the first to explore and then settle the great Pacific Ocean – a vast expanse that covers a third of the earth’s surface. Their journeys began a millenia before the arrival of the first European explorers in the 16th Century.
Next week in Porirua, north of Wellington, New Zealand, the awe-inspiring achievements of ancient Polynesian explorers and scientists will be remembered during a week of “Mata Ora” celebrations hosted by the Society for Maori, Astronomy, Research and Tourism and the NZ National Commission for UNESCO.
The event is also part of celebrations to mark the International Year of Astronomy 2009 - "a gobal effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO to help citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day and night time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.
The first Polynesian voyagers used indigenous scientific astronomical knowledge, harnessing the night sky and the environment to guide them across 162 million square kilometres of ocean. Their journeys and settlements stretch from South East Asia and Melanesia in the West, to Hawaii in the north, Rapanui or Easter Island in the East and Aotearoa New Zealand in the South. To this day, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific while separated by the largest ocean on earth, remain linked to one another through language, culture and history.
“As we mark the 170th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the hope is that New Zealanders continue to consider the Treaty as a living document,” says NZ National Commission for UNESCO chairman, Bryan Gould.
“New Zealanders should continue to learn about the Treaty and what it means for our country and future.”
Last year the commission launched a Treaty of Waitangi web resource that has been a popular resource for New Zealanders.
The commission’s Social Science sub commission works closely with the Human Rights Commission to explore and document connections between international human rights agendas and issues raised by the Treaty – including the relevance of the Treaty for people of different ethnicities – in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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