AUSTRIAN COMMISSION FOR UNESCO

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ANNUAL

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www.unesco.at

AUSTRIAN COMMISSION FOR UNESCO

ANNUAL 2009

GLOSSARY AHS (BG, BRG) ARGE ASP ASPnet BDA BKA BM BMeiA

Allgemeinbildende höhere Schule / Academic Secondary School Arbeitsgemeinschaft / Working Group Associated Schools Project / UNESCO-Schul-Projekt Associated Schools Project Network / UNESCO-Schul-Netzwerk Bundesdenkmalamt / Federal Monuments Office Bundeskanzleramt / Federal Chancellery BundesministerIn / Federal Minister Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten / Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs BMG Bundesministerium für Gesundheit / Federal Ministry for Health BMLFUW Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft / Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management BMASK Bundesministerium für Arbeit, Soziales und Konsumentenschutz / Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection BMWFJ Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Familie und Jugend / Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth BMUKK Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur / Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture BMWF Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung / Federal Ministry of Science and Research CIGEPS Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport / Zwischenstaatlicher Ausschuss für Leibeserziehung und Sport COMEST World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology / Weltkommission für Ethik in Wissenschaft und Technologie DG Director-General / Generaldirektor ESD Education for Sustainable Development / Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung HAK Handelsakademie / business school HR Hofrat HS Hauptschule / General Secondary School ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites / Internationaler Rat für Denkmalpflege IFAP Information for All Programme / Information für Alle Programm IGCP International Geological Correlation Programme / Internationales Geologisches Korrelationsprogramm IHP International Hydrological Programme / Internationales Hydrologisches Programm IYA Internationales Jahr der Astronomie / International Year of Astronomy MAB Man and the Biosphere / Der Mensch und die Biosphäre Programm MoW Memory of the World Programm / „Gedächtnis der Menschheit“ Programm MR Ministerialrat NGO Non-governmental organisation / Nichtregierungsorganisation ÖAW Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften / Austrian Academy of Sciences OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development / Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung UN United Nations / Vereinte Nationen ECE Economic Commission for Europe / Wirtschaftskommission für Europa ÖUK Österreichische UNESCO-Kommission / Austrian Commission for UNESCO PIAAC Studie über die Kompetenzen Erwachsener und die Anforderungen im Informationszeitalter / Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies SG Secretary-General / Generalsekretärin UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation / Organisation der Vereinten Nationen für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur UNESCO-ARGE UNESCO-Arbeitsgemeinschaft / UNESCO-Association

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

FOREWORD

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60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AUSTRIAN COMMISSION FOR UNESCO

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ACTIVITIES 2009

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EDUCATION 1. Basic Education – Education for All 2. Follow-up to the UN World Conference against Racism 3. Education for Sustainable Development 4. Arts Education 5. UNESCO Schools

14 14 17

SCIENCE 1. Natural Sciences 2. Social Sciences

18 18 20 22 25

CULTURE 1. Cultural Diversity 2. World Heritage 3. Intangible Cultural Heritage 4. Protection of cultural property

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COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION 1. Information for All Programme – IFAP 2. Press Freedom 3. Memory of the World

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YOUTH

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INTERNATIONAL YEARS

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THE P.R. STRATEGY

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35TH UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

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CO-OPERATIONS

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PATRONAGE

40 40 43 50 50 50 51

APPENDIX Facts and Figures Advisory Panels and Working Groups Austrian UNESCO World Heritage sites Austrian Biosphere Reserves Austrian Entries in the Memory of the World Register Austrian Membership in UNESCO’s International Committees/Councils Austrian Experts with UNESCO Austrian UNESCO Chairs

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FOREWORD states members and headquarters to harmonise their p.r. activities in the future and pursue selected activities on a joint basis. The synergies thus released will certainly lead to a multiplication of results and greater visibility for UNESCO.

Eva NOWOTNY President

Wolfgang WALDNER Vice-President

Gabriele ESCHIG Secretary-General

In 2009, a change occurred in the leadership of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO (ÖUK): after six years of working in an honorary capacity as President and Vice-President respectively, Johann Marte and Marianne Popp retired from their offices. For their successors, the ÖUK General Assembly appointed Eva Nowotny, a retired ambassador, and Wolfgang Waldner, the director of MuseumsQuartier Wien. We wish to take this opportunity to once again thank Marianne Popp and Johann Marte for their unremitting dedication and tireless commitment to ÖUK over the past six years. Not only did they give us their valuable work and support us in our efforts to reestablish the Commission and develop it in qualitative as well as quantitative terms, but they also extended their objective and constructive cooperation to the Commission’s management and Secretariat as well as ensuring a collegial approach in their communication with board members and experts from Austria and abroad. They will both continue to contribute to the Commission in their new capacity of honorary members. Thank you! Two international initiatives launched by ÖUK, while perhaps appearing to be small in their scale, nevertheless are well suited to have major consequences: On 13–17 May, an international workshop was held in Vienna, which for the first time provided representatives from National Commissions in Europe and Africa with an opportunity to discuss their strategies and activities regarding p.r. work and publication policy with officials from the UNESCO Secretariat. Four working groups dealing, respectively, with “Information materials – experiences of public information at a national level”, “Outreach to networks, partnerships and media relations”, “Associated public information measures – focus: international days & years & decades” and “Joint public information campaign – focus: intangible heritage” came to the conclusion that there is sufficient willingness and potential for

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Supported by the European Culture Capital Linz09, UNESCO, BMUKK, BMeiA and KulturKontakt Austria, ÖUK organised an intercultural workshop on “Arts Education” in cooperation with the Senegalese Commission for UNESCO and VIDC Moving Culture, held in Vienna and Linz on 13 –23 September 2009. Managed by Oswald Seitinger from Austria and Madiyou Touré from Senegal, this extraordinary project on arts education offered 28 art teachers and students from Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Slovenia, Hungary, France, Germany and Austria an opportunity to immerse themselves in modern African and European art. The project aimed to investigate the relevance of contemporary art for general education and the goals of UNESCO’s Road Map for Art Education. A film crew from the BMUKK accompanied the workshops, excursions, discussions and visits to exhibitions for the duration of the event. The Arts Education Workshop will be continued in Dakar, Senegal, in May 2010, where the Art Biennial Dak’Art 10 will provide the framework for the creative workshops. The project is planned to be presented as a best practice example to the UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education to be held in Seoul in late May 2010. The multiple instances of success achieved by Austria at UNESCO’s 35th General Conference were, i.a., due to the proactive contributions of ÖUK: Austria was voted into the International Coordinating Council of the Programme on Man and the Biosphere with 111 votes, and into the IGBC (Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee) with 105 votes. It is also a new member of the Intergovernmental Council of MOST (Management of Social Transformations Programme). Currently, Austria is present in five intergovernmental programmes run by UNESCO. A novelty was the attendance of a youth (Igor Mitschka, Chairman of the Youth Advisory Panel of ÖUK) as a member of the Austrian delegation. A resolution to facilitate youth participation in human rights programmes, initiated by him and prepared with the help of the Austrian delegation, was adopted with only minor changes. At the national level, key activities could be successfully continued: in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and thanks to the additional financial support granted by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research,

L’Oréal Austria and ÖUK once again awarded four fellowships to young female scientists. And for the fifth time in a row, education projects that met the criteria of the ÖUK Advisory Panel “Education for Sustainable Development and Global Learning” were, in a public ceremony, awarded the distinction of becoming Austrian Decade Projects. Austria’s participation in the large OECD adult education study PIAAC has taken another step forward: Austria continued its contribution to developing the study, and in 2010 the first field tests will be carried out, in which Austria will participate. “Biodiversity is life” is the motto of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 which was proclaimed at the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 December 2006 (Resolution 61/203). The UN Secretariat for the Biodiversity Convention acts as the lead manager for the Year’s activities, UNESCO being one of the main international partners in implementing the Year. Cooperating with the Umweltdachverband, the umbrella organisation of environmental groups, ÖUK produced three posters on the subject, with a print run of 36,000 copies. We invite all interested parties to visit the home pages www.biologischevielfalt.at and www.cbd.int/ 2010 and to actively contribute to the Year of Biodiversity. Upon her return from parental leave on 1 July 2009, Mona Mairitsch has once again been active at the Commission as its Deputy Secretary-General and coordinator for culture and communication/information. After Dina Yanni left in 2009, Eva Stiermayr assumed her position as scientific staff of the National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage, a position which she fills with commitment and conscientiousness

Eva Nowotny, President

equal to that of her predecessor. In 2009, ÖUK continued its well-established practice of employing interns: in their months working for the Commission Jochen Schwarz, Christian Bahoo, Sarah Prehsler, Nadine-Gabriele Lauterbach, Alexander Schiestl, Tim Grunwald and Natalja Salnikova gained insights in and experience of the sectors covered by ÖUK and through their highly motivated work proved to be of great value to the Secretariat, especially with regard to research and organisational tasks. We wish to take this opportunity to once again express our appreciation of their dedication to our work. At last and as always we want to thank all those who have helped and encouraged us in 2009: the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture, the Federal Ministry of Science and Research, the Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, the Federal Ministry for Health, the Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth, the Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs, L’Oréal Austria, the Municipality of Vienna, KulturKontakt Austria and Arbeitskreis Wachau which, together with ÖUK, organised the World Heritage sites Conference of 2009. Particular mention should also be accorded to the support extended by Austria Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit Privatstiftung through its three-year financing of the research project on “Traditional and complementary healing methods in Austria”. Special thanks are also due to the many experts active in a honorary capacity in the advisory panels and other bodies set up by ÖUK, whose work is so essential to our capability to fulfil our mandate.

Wolfgang Waldner, Vice-President

Gabriele Eschig, Secretary-General

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60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AUSTRIAN COMMISSION FOR UNESCO events held in 1954 and 1956 for teachers, people working in adult education, librarians and museum experts. ÖUK also launched Austria-Edition, a series of books and other writings by renowned artists and scientists, including “Die Kunst des menschlichen Zusammenlebens” by Hans Thirring, “Atomenergie und Frieden” by Ilse Meitner and Otto Hahn, and “Der Künstler und die Gesellschaft” by Thomas Mann. Gift vouchers granted by UNESCO made it possible to purchase valuable scientific and educational tools between 1951 and 1955, including an X-ray laboratory for the University of Vienna Chemical Institute. Austrian artists received stipends to buy needed materials. Such grants, which had accumulated to some US$ 100,000 by 1952, were handled by ÖUK. General Assembly of the ÖUK, 20 September 1955 at the Austrian Academy of Science. At the speakers desk: UNESCO DG Evans

UNESCO was one of the first international organisations which was joined by Austria in 1948, long before Austria became a member of the United Nations in 1955. That era pulsed with the momentum of a new political, economic and cultural beginning and the search for a new, positive identity. Such a new start also encompassed an active role pursued by Austria in international organisations and in global politics. Just one year later, the Federal Ministry of Education published an ordinance (issued on 30 June 1949 and effective as of 14 September 1949) governing the establishment of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO in the Federal Law Gazette 211/49. Through this act, a national commission was set up pursuant to Article VII of UNESCO’s Charter “in order to connect with the work of the Organisation the main national groups interested in the problems of education, science and culture”. The Ordinance, initially designed as a provisional arrangement and precursor of a law, continued to be the effective basis for the Austrian Commission for UNESCO (ÖUK) for more than 50 years – a fate not untypical for Austria. ÖUK became operational in 1950, acting as a representative body of scientists, artists, educators and civil servants who were interested in UNESCO’s goals and willing to put them into practice. In the 1950s, the Commission established its focus on the organisation of exhibitions, further education workshops as well as branch offices and working groups in the Austrian Länder, the first of which were formed in Tyrol and Upper Austria. In 1953 it organised a much-discussed exhibition at the Vienna Museum of Applied Arts which outlined problems encountered by UNESCO and displayed reproductions of modern works of art on its panels. “Living in a global community” and “Museum and education” were the subjects of one-week

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Up to the mid 1970s, ÖUK’s chief focus was on intellectual activities in Austria, of which its numerous publications bear eloquent testimony. Over the next years and decades it was the European as well as international outlook which informed ÖUK’s work. Favoured by Austria’s geographical location, ÖUK was able to undertake a major role in efforts at EastWest collaboration under UNESCO’s umbrella in the 1980s. Following the fall of the Iron Curtain, ÖUK boosted its NorthSouth cooperation in the 1990s, concentrating on Africa and the Caribbean countries. Thanks to the new communication and information technologies, ÖUK no longer meets with any actual “boundaries” when it comes to exchanging information, although due to its strategic remit as a platform for domestic coordination and networking ÖUK has retained its historically grown links to its traditional partner countries. STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY All national commissions are charged with getting civil society to involve itself with the work of UNESCO. This is where ÖUK has truly come into its own. In addition to fostering regular cooperation, ÖUK has been able to proactively support civil society bodies in establishing themselves and developing their activities. ÖUK has also been highly successful in drawing international institutes to Austria with the help of UNESCO. During the 1960s, these included the European Coordination Centre for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences and the Austrian Documentation Centre for Media and Communication Research (ADAMAC), which operated as key centres for East-West cooperation during the Cold War period but lost their functions once the blocs had crumbled and have since been dissolved. MEDIACULT was set up in 1969, on the initiative of several high-ranking international organisations such as the International Music Council and the International Theatre Institute which joined forces with UNESCO with a view to exploring the effect of new media technologies on cultural development

and translating its findings into culture policies and modern educational concepts. In 1971, UNESCO signed an agreement with the Austrian Standards Institute, thus founding the International Information Centre for Terminology INFOTERM which is still active in the fields of multilingualism of content, standardisation as a foundation for content quality and content management as a vital element of modern management methods. In 1987, the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Schlaining, assisted by ÖUK and several other European UNESCO commissions, established the European University Centre for Peace Studies (EPU). The two bodies were awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 1995. By the 1990s, ÖUK was able to extend a helping hand in founding the International Institute for Information Design (IIID) and the Austrian Society for Communication and Development KommEnt. It also helped Hope 87, an international NGO to promote youth employment in developing countries, to achieve official NGO status with UNESCO, which has since become a regular collaborator of UNESCO. In 2007 and 2008, two new UNESCO chairs were established with the help of ÖUK: the UNESCO Chair for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for South-Eastern Europe at Karl Franzens University in Graz, and the UNESCO Peace Studies Chair at the University of Innsbruck. Another UNESCO Chair for Multilingual Transcultural Communication in the Digital Age at the Vienna University Centre for Translation Studies was approved by UNESCO in early 2010.

CURRENT REMIT / NEW CHALLENGES As reflected in UNESCO’s constitution and the charter of the national commissions, ÖUK today focuses on a number of functions: extending advice to Austria’s federal and state governments with regard to UNESCO matters, acting as an information and clearing point, operating as an interface between UNESCO, experts, institutions and NGOs in Austria, and contributing to the implementation of decisions and international programmes of UNESCO in Austria. After operating within its provisional legal structure for more than 50 years, ÖUK was divested from the federal administrative organisation and set up as a non-profit association in 2001, which made it necessary to concentrate its remit and adjust it to increasingly scarce resources. Today, ÖUK perceives its tasks to be in developing long-term expertise and optimally using the national and international networks of UNESCO. These include, on a global scale, more than 190 national commissions, the UNESCO schools, UNESCO chairs, biosphere reserves, intergovernmental science programmes and the network of over 800 UNESCO world heritage sites. These networks make a substantial contribution to facing up to and coping with the political and social hazards of globalisation. They involve knowledge transfer, innovative concepts, especially with regard to educational issues, the development of global ethic standards, commitment on the part of governments to follow universal guidelines in cultural and communication policies and the promotion of global science cooperation. Improving UNESCO’s visibility by targeted p.r. work, lobbying for Austria’s participation in international UNESCO programmes and contributing to the implementation of international treaties are further vital charges undertaken by ÖUK to the best of its ability. It is only when those responsible in the political and administrative bodies extend proper commitment to decisions made at an international level that these will be implemented nationally, regionally and locally. We see it as our foremost task to encourage and support this process.

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ACTIVITIES 2009 EDUCATION

“Education for All”, the programme to implement the UN’s Literacy Decade (2003 –2012) and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) were the focal point of UNESCO’s work in the field of education in 2009. ÖUK concentrated on the following themes in 2009: – basic education – Education for All – follow-up to the UN World Conference Against Racism and intercultural education for peace – education for sustainable development – cultural education – UNESCO schools (ASPnet)

1. BASIC EDUCATION – EDUCATION FOR ALL The preparatory phase for Austria’s endeavours to participate in the 3rd OECD PIAAC study (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) was continued in 2009. The first field tests are set to take place in 2010. The first official surveys within the study are planned for 2011. For the immediate future, the Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture (BMUKK) plans to set up an Austrian National Committee to accompany the study. Since 2007, Austria has been making substantial contributions to developing the study in its capacity of member of the Board of Participating Countries. The study’s findings are expected to be published in 2013.

2. FOLLOW-UP TO THE UN WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM (DURBAN 2001) – INTERCULTURAL PEACE EDUCATION

ration of youths and multipliers. Youth and cultural centres, schools and civil society organisations from eight countries (Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Netherlands and Turkey) are partners of the initiative. The project, funded by the Anna Lindh Foundation, aims to foster a dialogue between young people of different social and cultural roots: participants are students of state and private schools, as well as disadvantaged youths and minorities. Encounters between participants who work and talk with each other are intended to help them critically review their own values, reduce prejudices and foster respect for divergent opinions. In this, theatre plays and texts are central to the concept. Theatre trainers from the eight partner countries met in the autumn of 2009 for a preparatory meeting, to get to know each other and develop a mutual understanding of the project and the diverse activities and roles assigned to participants. They also prepared a first draft programme for the international training workshop in Vienna (25 –30 April

Following the successful international school project “EUROMED School Forum 2+2” (2006 –2008), ÖUK and the Intercultural Centre, cooperating with the BMUKK and the Israeli UNESCO Commission once again launched an ambitious project to bring together schools from Mediterranean states and EU member states for a joint three-year project. Entitled “ARTiculating Values: Young People Act in EuroMed”, the project aims to actively counteract racism by the coope-

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© Interkulturelles Zentrum

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PROJECT “ARTICULATING VALUES: YOUNG PEOPLE ACT IN EUROMED” (2009–2011)

Preparatory meeting for “ARTiculating Values”

ACTIVITIES 2009

3. EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN DECADE 2005 –2014

ÖUK EXPERT PANEL FOR THE UN DECADE The ÖUK Expert Panel on “Education for Sustainable Development and Global Learning” met twice in 2009, on 13 March and 9 October. Within the scope of granting UN Decade Project status to activities in Austria (see Annual Report for 2007), another 13 projects were included in 2009, conferring upon them the right to use the international logo of the UN Decade. The fifth and sixth rounds of awards were celebrated jointly with the municipality of Wr. Neudorf at its Franz Fürst Leisure Centre on 2 October. The opening address was held by the town’s mayor Christian Wöhrleitner. Words of welcome were given by deputy mayor Josef Tutscheck, ÖUK Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig, Manfred Wirtitsch from the BMUKK and Peter Iwaniewicz (BMLFUW). Helmuth Hartmeyer (ADA), who chairs the ÖUK Expert Panel, presided over the presentation of awards. Once again, as in the previous years, the international award was seen by project initiators as an important sign of appreciation for their work. The practice of conferring the award at the location of one of the prize projects was again felt to be of advantage: it drew considerable media attention to the projects and made it possible to disseminate information on the award to a large range of recipients. In order to document prize projects and accord them their due attention, ÖUK will publish a brochure on previous awards in cooperation with BMUKK, BMLFUW and BMWF early in 2010. On 13 March, ÖUK organised an expert meeting on “Ethic underpinnings of education for sustainable development”. Considering the ever stronger associations of the sustainability concept with ethics, religion and values, ÖUK invited Jürg Minsch from minsch sustainability affairs and Margit Leuthold from respect – Institute for Integrative Tourism and Development to discuss this trend. Jürg Minsch explored the proposi-

© Foto Kraus

2010). The workshop serves as a platform for participants to meet each other as well as encounter creative forms of expression in courses on theatre, writing and broadcasting. The object is to have participants share their experience with classmates, friends and families back home and develop texts and plays to be performed in schools and communities. The project is also designed as a contribution to the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures 2010. For further information see: www.iz.or.at

UN Decade awards, 5th and 6th rounds

tion that the regulatory idea of “sustainable development” can be derived from the relationship with fundamental social values and concepts such as liberty, democracy, open society and human rights. Margit Leuthold examined links between transcendence and an individual’s ethic disposition towards the world and their world experience. On 28 May, an event entitled “Half the distance: stocktaking midway through the Education for Sustainable Development Decade” took place in Salzburg. Several organisations active in the ESD field presented their work. Helmuth Hartmeyer, chair of the ÖUK Expert Panel, reported on the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development and presented the Bonn Declaration. Between 16 and 18 December, representatives from all European Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs) assembled for their third meeting, this time in Graz. At its opening event “GLOCALISATION – Bridging levels of action. How human rights and education for sustainable development affect you locally and globally”, Matthias Eck discussed how the decade is implemented in Austria and presented the work of UNESCO

Seminar on “Ethic underpinnings of education for sustainable development”; from left: Helmuth Hartmeyer, Margit Leuthold, Jürg Minsch

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ACTIVITIES 2009 and ÖUK with regard to education for sustainable development. The meeting was organised by RCE Education for Sustainable Development Graz-Styria.

responsibility of the media who are requested to make ESD ever more present in the public mind. Finally, the Declaration makes it abundantly clear that education for sustainable development is of equal importance in all regions of the world.

AUSTRIAN OFFICE FOR THE UN DECADE On 24 November, the Austrian Office for the UN Decade hosted a meeting on “Sustainable consumption: how to do it and concepts for education”. Katrin Triebswetter from the Austrian Institute for Youth Research presented a study on “Opportunities and limits of a sustainable lifestyle among youths in Austria” commissioned by the BMLFUW. Niklas Schinerl from Greenpeace and Michael Bilharz from the Federal Environmental Office in Dessau presented papers, followed by a presentation of educational projects on the subject of “sustainable consumption” in a “market of opportunities”. ÖUK was represented by Matthias Eck.

UNESCO WORLD CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, Bonn, Matthias Eck

Held on 31 March to 2 April in Bonn, the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development was organised by UNESCO, the German Commission for UNESCO and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research midway through the first half of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The conference had set itself four goals: highlighting the relevance of ESD to all of education, promoting international exchange on ESD, carrying out a stock-taking of the implementation of the UN Decade, and developing strategies for the way ahead. The conference assembled over 900 participants from 150 countries, among them 50 ministers plus representatives of UNESCO and UNESCO regional offices. Opening addresses were given by Annette Schavan, German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Nicholas Burnett, UNESCO’s Assistant DirectorGeneral for Education, and Graça Machel, former Minister of Education for Mozambique. Accompanying the conference were numerous workshops to exchange best practices and make contact with other participants. The preliminary report on the Decade’s implementation was presented, and the conference adopted the so-called Bonn Declaration with consensus. This Declaration, actually a statement and call for action, consists of two parts: the first emphasises the importance of education for sustainable development, and the second comprises an action plan for the second half of the UN Decade. Chiefly it calls for a reorientation of education systems worldwide to ensure a humane future, integrating ESD in teacher training, textbooks and curricula and granting children a voice in all of this. The Declaration also advocates educational measures to combat climate change, and it emphasises the

Austria showed a considerable presence at the conference, sending ten delegates. In addition, Austrian organisations showcased their activities: the ESD Office, represented by Ms. Steurer and Ms. Höller, operated a separate booth to highlight Austrian ESD activities. Clemens Mader (RCE, University of Graz) presented a paper to a special event on “Regional Centres of Expertise for Education for Sustainable Development – Lessons and Ways Ahead”. Another special event, on “Synergies between Intangible Cultural Heritage and ESD”, was organised by ÖUK together with UNESCO, where Maria Walcher (ÖUK, National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage) held the opening address and Matthias

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UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, Bonn. Special event: Synergies between Intangible Cultural Heritage and ESD. From left: Maria Walcher (National Agency), Konai Thaman (University of the South Pacific)

ACTIVITIES 2009 Eck (ÖUK) anchored the event. The latter was voted into the Conference Drafting Group where he contributed to the drafting of the final declaration

4. ARTS EDUCATION

International Arts Education Workshop LINZ09 – Dak’Art10

Arts Education to be held in Seoul in May 2010. As a European event to prepare for the conference, a symposium on “Arts Education – Culture Counts” was held from 30 November to 1 December, where Austria was represented by Alfred Fischl (BMUKK), Barbara Neundlinger (KulturKontakt Austria) and Michael Wimmer (Educult). Participants in the symposium presented their national developments in arts and cultural education. They prepared a paper, to serve as the European contribution to the conference, which names specific measures which, if implemented, will improve the standing of arts education. On 20–21 May, Lyme Regis in the United Kingdom hosted the world heritage education conference “Making Sense of our Sites”, which Matthias Eck attended on behalf of ÖUK. The object of the conference was to obtain contributions for a publication on best practices in world heritage education for the United Kingdom. Plans are to distribute this publication on a global scale. Austria presented its brochure “World heritage for young people in Austria” which was published by ÖUK on behalf of BMUKK in 2007 (see Annual Report for 2007).

© German Commission for UNESCO

Having supported a successful international workshop on “Arts Education” already back in 2006 (see Annual Report for 2006), ÖUK organised an intercultural “Arts Education Workshop” on 13–23 September, in collaboration with the Senegalese Commission for UNESCO and VIDC Moving Culture. Managed by Oswald Seitinger from Austria and Madiyou Touré from Senegal, this extraordinary project on arts education was supported by Linz in its capacity of European Culture Capital of 2009, UNESCO, BMUKK, BMeiA and KulturKontakt Austria. Attended by 12 art teachers and 12 students from Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Slovenia, Hungary, France, Germany and Austria, the workshop offered participants an opportunity to immerse themselves in modern African and European art. The project aimed to investigate the relevance of contemporary art for general education and the goals of UNESCO’s Road Map for Art Education. A rich programme of themes, techniques and methods, and the collaboration with curators, artists and art institutions offered exciting insights into theory and practice. Participants made good use of the cultural offer available in Linz. Senegalese artist Mara Niang ran a performance workshop utilising every-day objects from the participants’ environment. As a symbol of their joint existence, conceptual artist and art teacher Reinhold Rebhandl used a tent as a canvas both for discussion and individual design. Bella Volen, artist and world champion of body painting, really got under the skin of participants by turning them into works of art. Unusual was a fitting attribute not just for the programme but also for the range of participants. The varied regional context demonstrated that while arts education has a great potential everywhere, teachers in Western Africa are faced with entirely different challenges than those in Europe. The ten-day project was arranged so that teachers and students enjoyed equal opportunities in their experiences. Apart from a basic knowledge of art, no artistic background was required from participants. A film crew from the BMUKK accompanied the workshops, excursions, discussions and visits to exhibitions for the duration of the event. The Arts Education Workshop will be continued in Dakar, Senegal, in May 2010, where the Art Biennial Dak’Art 10 will provide the framework for the creative workshops. The Working Group on Arts Education met on 23 April, exchanging reports on significant developments in the field and discussing preparations for the World Conference on

Symposium “Arts Education – Culture Counts”, Berlin

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ACTIVITIES 2009 5. UNESCO SCHOOLS

on good practices. The conference concluded with the adoption of recommendations for a new ASPnet strategy for 2010– 2014 from a European point of view.

UNESCO SCHOOLS IN AUSTRIA The network of Austrian UNESCO schools continued to grow in 2009. New additions are Höhere Lehranstalt für wirtschaftliche Berufe Frohsdorf, Hauptschule 2 Mondsee, Gymnasium Brigittenau in Vienna, BG/ BRG Klusemannstrasse in Graz and BORG Honauerstrasse in Linz, which have been officially awarded the status of UNESCO schools by Paris, so that the Austrian ASPnet now consists of 62 schools. The deeds were presented by coordinator Friederike Koppensteiner in cheery ceremonies full of zest. Another 16 schools are currently candidates for inclusion, which means that they are being monitored for two school years. The FORUM newsletter, this year dedicated to “mutual discoveries”, made the International Year of Astronomy 2009 one of its key subjects. A major communication platform is provided by www.unescoschulen.at, a homepage that serves a dedicated community and is used by teachers for a brisk exchange of opinions and ideas.

Presentation of Certificates: HS 2 Mondsee

The European meeting of ASPnet schools was held in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 20–24 June. Matthias Eck participated on behalf of ÖUK. The programme comprised workshops on subjects such as human rights education and world heritage education as well as excursions to the Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem and the Old Town of Jerusalem. At an evening dedicated to human rights, Ishai Menuchin (Ben Gurion University) and Dan Yakir (Legal Council, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel) talked about the human rights situation in Israel. Klaus Hüfner from Freie Universität Berlin emphasised in his paper the importance of attitudes to human rights, pointing out the problem that there is no uniform definition of human rights. The event offered national ASPnet coordinators an opportunity to exchange information

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Participants of the Annual Meeting of Austrian UNESCO-Schools

The 2009 Annual Meeting (held in Graz on 4–6 November) was guided by the motto “Cultural heritage – culture of values”. The keynote speech on “Astronomy – cultural heritage of humanity” was held by Max E. Lippitsch from Karl Franzens University in Graz. Gabriele Sauberer, Executive Secretary of TermNet and chairperson of the Austrian IFAP National Committee, presented the findings of a questionnaire on information competence at Austrian UNESCO schools. Participants once again had a choice of three workshops: “Culture of human rights: human rights education and human rights learning in school” (Raimund Pehm, Freie Waldorfschule Innsbruck), “Child philosophy” (Daniela Camhy, University of Graz) and “Playdecide”, a strategic game for Aids education (ScienceCenter-Network). A lecture combined with a tour of the city organised by Hasso Hohmann provided teachers with an opportunity to learn more about the world heritage properties found in Graz. A “Market of Opportunities” served as a platform for UNESCO School coordinators to present their latest school projects and discuss in greater depth the experience gained from them. The conference report was extended to include a number of project reports, doubling as the second issue of the FORUM newsletter. In order to encourage p.r. activities at schools, ÖUK collaborated with the Umweltdachverband to produce three posters on the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 for distribution at, i.a., all Austrian UNESCO schools. Contacts between school coordinators in Germany, Switzerland and Austria have flourished, thanks to their mutual attendance of annual meetings, such as the one in Wittenberg in September 2009, and are to be further enhanced by a meeting in Vienna planned in 2010.

ACTIVITIES 2009 HIGHER EDUCATION The World Conference on Higher Education held in Paris on 5–8 July was a discourse on “The new dynamics of higher education and research for societal change and development”. Austria was proactively included in its preparations by delegating a member (Barbara Weitgruber from the BMWF) to the programme committee for the European and North American Region. At the UNESCO Forum on Higher Education in the Europe Region, held in Bucharest in late May, Federal Minister Johannes Hahn had chaired a discussion on “Main challenges for higher education – views from ministers”. At the World Conference itself, key subjects of the discussion were the role of universities in providing education for sustainable development and in fighting poverty, as well as higher education in Africa. Conference participants identified future strategies for higher education and took stock of developments since 1998 (when the first World Conference on Higher Education had been held). The Austrian delegation was headed by Federal Minister Johannes Hahn. Other participants were Friedrich Faulhammer, various experts from the BMWF, University President Wolfgang Schütz from the Conference of Universities, and Reinhold Gruber from the development aid division of BMeiA. From 2010 on, Austria will contribute to the UNESCO portal on higher education institutions. This online portal offers access to information on state-recognised bodies of higher education, providing students, employers and other interested parties with information on the status of universities and their quality assurance procedures, supplied and updated by the responsible agencies in each participating country.

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ACTIVITIES 2009 SCIENCE

All scientific programmes run by UNESCO concentrate on fostering sustainable and environmentally friendly development. The objective is to preserve biological diversity and natural resources, to promote social and economic development and to safeguard regional cultural values. For the natural and social sciences, achieving this aim requires more interdisciplinary cooperation, for which UNESCO biosphere reserves offer an excellent starting point: better dissemination of research findings to a wider public, and improved incorporation of scientific results in political decision-making processes are key features of such reserves. In order to reduce the gap between industrialised and developing countries in terms of research and access to knowledge, UNESCO focuses on the development and extension of international scientific networks.

1. NATURAL SCIENCES In Austria, the three science programmes MAB (Man and the Biosphere), IHP (International Hydrological Programme) and IGCP (International Geoscience Programme) are run by a national committee each, all of which are domiciled at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and funded by the Federal Ministry of Science and Research. During the reporting year, € 685,000.– were furnished to the three national committees for projects.

MAB (MAN AND THE BIOSPHERE) The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme aims for international collaboration in environmental research. It develops scientific and application-oriented foundations for the natural and social sciences, which serve the long-term safeguarding of natural resources and the diversity of species. The aim is to ensure sustained development in relations between humans and their environment – to set up a balance between protecting biological diversity, promoting economic and social development and preserving cultural values. The UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BSR) are used as trial runs for various models of such a development. In Austria, six regions have so far been granted the status of a “UNESCO Biosphere Reserve” (see Appendix). In 2009, Austria (represented by Günter Köck, coordinator of

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the international scientific programmes run by the Austrian Academy of Sciences) was re-elected by the 35th UNESCO General Conference for another four-year term at the International Coordinating Council (ICC) of the Man and the Biosphere Programme and will thus be proactively contributing to the development and coordination of the programme at an international level up to 2013.

MAB IN AUSTRIA The MAB National Committee coordinates the scientific projects of the MAB Programme carried out by Austria. Since 2003, the focus has been on Austrian Biosphere Reserves (see also www.biosphaerenparks.at). ÖUK defines its chief tasks as offering complementary education and public relations work. In 2009, the MAB National Committee held two sessions, discussing, i.a., the contribution made by the Austrian Biosphere Reserves to the International Year of Biodiversity 2010. Further to ongoing projects, five new one-year projects involving international cooperation were approved in 2009: collaboration schemes with existing or projected biosphere reserves in Greece, the Czech Republic, Germany, Chile and Ethiopia. The Greek project is run in close cooperation with UNESCO’s BRESCE Regional Office in Venice. The Committee also decided to fund two MAB Young Scientist awards each from the 2009 and 2010 budgets. At present, 13 projects are actively pursued in Austria. For more detailed information see www.oeaw.ac.at/deutsch/forschung/programme/mab.html .

© Günter Köck

© Günter Köck

ACTIVITIES 2009

Experts Meeting on “Climate change and arctic sustainable development: scientific, social, cultural and educational challenges”

21st session of MAB-ICC – International Coordinating Council of the MAB-Programme

On 3 –6 March, international experts met in Monte Carlo under the aegis of UNESCO to discuss “Climate change and arctic sustainable development: scientific, social, cultural and educational challenges”. Günter Köck, together with some 40 other experts on the Arctic attending the event upon invitation by UNESCO Director-General Matsuura and organised under the patronage of Prince Albert II, discoursed, i.a., on the position of the MAB Programme within the scope of international Arctic research. Günter Köck also acted as the Austrian delegate to the 21st session of the MAB International Coordinating Council which assembled in Jeju in the Republic of Korea on 25–29 May. The conference accepted into its proceedings the Austrian call for the rapid development of strategies to handle “first-generation” biosphere reserves (i.e. those that cannot be converted in line with the standards of Seville and the Madrid Action Plan), as well as a proposal, supported by other ICC member states, to create a new category for “old” biosphere reserves that can look back on a long tradition of research. The EuroMAB Network meeting was held in Slovakia on 27– 30 October. Austrian delegates were Günter Köck, Ruth

Moser (Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve), Gerfried Koch (Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve) and Xenidis Lazaros (Social Ecology Institute, Klagenfurt). The meeting aimed to develop a EuroMAB strategy that would contribute to the global network of biosphere reserves and to implementing the Madrid Action Plan (2009 –2013), and to exchange best practices in the field of sustainable development. The discussion highlighted the need for EuroMAB to have a structured steering system with rules and procedures, to be assured of longterm financing and to improve its networking with other international initiatives. The MAB Secretariat offered to support a steering body, to consist of Slovakia, Turkey, Sweden, the Russian Federation and Canada, for a transition period. Attendants also decided to follow up on the meeting through the online platform of the MAB Community.

EuroMAB Network meeting

NEWS FROM THE BIOSPHERE RESERVES An exhibition on the migrating routes of the Walser people was ceremoniously opened at the HausWalserstolz at Sonntag on 16 May. It portrays the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve and explains the concept of biosphere reserves, zones, key concerns and projects. The focus of the show is on a three-dimensional logo of the biosphere reserve which provides not only information on the reserve but also entertaining and exciting aspects for children and grown-ups alike. Short comments by locals and others, together with a wealth of photographs, combine to give visitors an idea of the variety of the region. The show’s guide is B. Burmenta, an eloquent marmot. The exhibition is essentially self-explanatory although guided tours are offered as well. Officially opened on the same day, the HausWalserstolz hosts, in addition to the exhibition, the dairy-making facilities of the dairy cooperative Sennereigenossenschaft Sonntag, a catering sector which, i.a., sells regional cheeses, a shop of

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ACTIVITIES 2009

© Biosphärenpark Management Großes Walsertal

meeting in Slovakia offered an opportunity to strengthen international collaboration and develop a project to cooperate with the Dolni Morava Biosphere Reserve. Work was continued on the viticultural project. Based in the thermal region and following a stock-taking exercise of vineyard structures, the project ventured upon its first implementation efforts jointly with the vintners. In addition, awards were for the first time given to the best vineyards. The Biodiversity Day of 2009 was held in Pfaffstätten, drawing an enthusiastic crowd of over 2,500 visitors. Experts found more than 1,200 species of animals and plants, among them many new discoveries and rarities. For more information see www.bpww.at.

HausWalserstolz

IHP (INTERNATIONAL HYDROLOGICAL PROGRAMME)

regional products and an desk supplying information for tourists and on the biosphere reserve. The house acts as a central contact point for locals and guests at the Grosses Walsertal. It was built in a joint venture with Sennereigenossenschaft Sonntag and the Grosses Walsertal Regional Planning Association, with funding from the Leader 07-13 programme. For more information see www.grosseswalsertal.at.

The “Hydrology of Austria” programme is the Austrian contribution to UNESCO’s “International Hydrology Programme” (IHP). In 2009, the National Committee held two sessions, and presented the new scientific magazine eco.mont, which focuses on research in alpine reserves (biosphere reserves, national parks, nature parks, etc.). Its editors are Günter Köck and Axel Borsdorf. The Committee approved altogether seven new research projects. For information on current projects please visit: www.oeaw.ac.at/english/forschung/programme/hydrologie.html.

© Biosphärenpark Wienerwald

The Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve set upon developing management plans for core zones, defining targets, measures and a management tool. These plans provide transparency, secure legal titles and assure a sound decision-making process. The inclusion of major players in the overall process facilitates its acceptance and is crucial for successful implementation. For the second time the reserve organised a training course for biosphere reserve guides, which encompassed building awareness for sustainable development, the dissemination of facts on the Vienna Woods Reserve and their illustration along best practice examples. The 2009 EuroMAB

2009 Biodiversity Day at the Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve, Pfaffstätten. The photo shows experts together with Biosphere Reserve Director Gerfried Koch, Lower Austrian Environmental Councillor Stephan Pernkopf and Mayor Christoph Kainz of Pfaffstätten.

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IGCP (INTERNATIONAL GEOSCIENCE PROGRAMME) The International Geoscience Programme, established in 1973, supports earth science cooperation projects within UNESCO-defined research priorities. These include, i.a., quaternary geology, engineering and environmental geology, sedimentology, mineral deposits, geochemistry, geophysics, and structural geology. The National Committee held two sessions in 2009, approving two new research projects. Currently, six projects are run in Austria within the framework of the IGCP. More details can be found at www.oeaw.ac.at/english/ forschung/programme/programme.html. In September, the Austrian launch of the Via GeoAlpina was celebrated at Dellach/Carinthia, together with the opening of the new Geopark Karnische Alpen. The Via GeoAlpina project was initiated in Austria by Werner Piller and Günter Köck in 2008, together with the national Via Alpina Secretariat at Österreichischer Alpenverein, a mountaineering association, and implemented by a group of geologists from six Alpine countries (Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria). The goal was to disseminate the amazing findings gained by the earth sciences during the International Year of Planet Earth. Via GeoAlpina is an international project and one of the milestones of the International Year. Meanwhile,

ACTIVITIES 2009 all countries touching upon the European Alps are encompassed by the project. The Austrian part of the Via GeoAlpina spans the Geopark Karnische Alpen, the Triassic Park Steinplatte, the Koralm Kristall Trail and GeoLine Gams.

2. SOCIAL SCIENCES

Starting in 2006, the Austrian Academy of Sciences has been offering to online-publish the project reports of all projects funded from national and international research programmes (such as MAB, IHP, IGCP, Alpenforschung). Accorded an ISBN number and DOI code, they are distinguished from the mass of “grey” literature and are thus “genuine” publications that are citable and open to internet search. The publications can be accessed online through: http://epub.oeaw.ac.at/ forschungsprogramme.

Sponsored by ÖUK, the Austrian Centre of Philosophy with Children organised an international conference on “Creativity – Thinking – Philosophy” held in Graz on 15 –18 October. The international event concentrated on creativity and thinking because the ability of creative and critical thinking and of developing innovative approaches are competences of fundamental importance for individual and societal development. The conference served as a platform to present and review research and practical projects, including methods to practise philosophy with children and youths. Every second Saturday at Cafe Korb, the First Vienna Philosophers’ Café looks into the issue of “Returning philosophy to the public – getting the public to ask philosophical questions”. The meeting of 21 November, held under the patronage of ÖUK to celebrate the International Day of Philosophy, discussed “principle and reality”. For ÖUK its SecretaryGeneral Gabriele Eschig attended the event.

L’ORÉAL FELLOWSHIP FOR YOUNG WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN AUSTRIA

© L‘OREAL

The third tender for fellowships awarded to young women scientists in Austria, launched by L’ORÉAL Austria, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, was won by Claudia Wascher, Michaela Aigner, Christina Lexer and Katja Sagerschnig. Same as last year, two of the four fellowships are financed by the Federal Ministry of Science and Research. At the award ceremony which took place at the Theatre Hall of the Austrian Academy of Sciences on 16 November, Gabriele Eschig, Secretary-General of ÖUK, emphasised that UNESCO has since its foundation accorded science and research a special place for their importance for human development and promoting peace, and has therefore been supporting women in science for a long time. For UNESCO it is the model character which makes the public laudation of the outstanding performance of young women scientists so important.

PHILOSOPHY

From left: Michaela Aigner, Christina Lexer, Margit Fischer, Richard Höllmüller, Katja Sagerschnig, Günther Burkert-Dottolo, Claudia Wascher, Marianne Popp, Gabriele Eschig.

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ACTIVITIES 2009 CULTURE

In the UNESCO programme and budget for the two-year period of 2008–2009, the main emphasis of the cultural sector is on protecting and promoting cultural diversity, preserving and safeguarding the tangible as well as intangible cultural heritage and fostering intercultural dialogue. In conformity with these goals, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO has defined its key activities as implementing the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the World Heritage Programme and the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted in 2003, and on supporting Austrian efforts to protect cultural property.

1. CULTURAL DIVERSITY Through the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005) the international community of states has taken a major step in international cultural policy. By their political commitment, signatories obtained a basis in international law that recognises their sovereign right to an autonomous cultural policy and state cultural promotion and that defines cultural policy as part of public development cooperation. The Convention entered into force in March 2007. By the end of 2009 it had acquired 104 state signatories plus the European Community. The greatest effort in 2009 was directed, at both national and international level, to achieve implementation. Austria accords great importance to the Convention, and it has been able to contribute proactively to the international implementation process by being voted into the Intergovernmental Committee and through the work of ÖUK.

NATIONAL LEVEL Austria was one of the first EU Member States to ratify the Convention in December 2006. The Convention is thus binding under international law upon federal, state and local governments and for the country’s international cooperation, and it is also effective within the country itself in that existing national law needs to be interpreted in the light of the Convention.

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ÖUK WORKING GROUP ON “CULTURAL DIVERSITY” Already back in 2004, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO set up a working group to accompany the Convention. Consisting of experts, artists and culture workers, their interest groups and representatives of the federal and state governments (see Appendix), the Working Group is considered a major platform to foster a dialogue among all players and levels that operates transparently and on a collaborative basis. In 2009, the Working Group extended its membership and concentrated on implementing the Convention, for which purpose the BMUKK made available to ÖUK € 25,000.– through its Department IV.9. This grant allowed updating the 2005 version of the information folder on the Convention and republishing it under the title of “Cultural diversity. At no/all/what cost?”. To this end, the Working Group obtained and edited contributions by civil society members to develop the operational guidelines of the Convention, commissioned a catalogue of measures to implement the Convention in Austria and organised its second closed meeting in Krems. At its 13th and 14th meetings in March and June respectively, the Working Group drew on its consultative brief to prepare the fourth and fifth meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee in Paris and the second Conference of Parties, drafting a comment that was incorporated in Austria’s statements to the meeting.

ACTIVITIES 2009 SYMPOSIUMS AND MEETINGS On 5– 6 March, ÖUK joined forces with EU XXL and Ludwig Laher and, drawing on the support of the BMUKK, invited experts to Krems for a second closed meeting on the Convention. Within the frame of the EU XXL Film Festival, the call was answered by Andreas Baum, Zuzana Brejcha, Mercedes Echerer, Harald Huber, Ludwig Laher, Peter Rantasa, Gerhard Ruiss, Georg Schöllhammer, Frank Stahmer, Klaus Unterberger and Renate Welsh-Rabady, as well as Norbert Riedl and Anna Steiner as observers, plus Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig on behalf of ÖUK. The object of the meeting was to identify areas where action within the meaning of the Convention is required. Starting out from the results of the first such meeting, its successor again concentrated on evaluating the call for action and progress in the fields formerly identified. The group drafted a concluding declaration addressed to the political decision-makers in Austria and outlining key measures to implement the Convention. These include: establishment of a national contact point for the effective coordination of the cross-disciplinary field of cultural diversity, compliance with the statutory cultural programming obligations of the Austrian broadcasting company ORF, improved funding of free broadcasting stations, social security for artists, extension of the copyright laws, solutions for the socalled Google case, intensifying cultural cooperation with less developed countries and simplified procedures in granting residence permits to artists from LDCs. On behalf of the experts, ÖUK sent the final declaration to all appropriate ministers as well as cultural politicians at Länder level. Following the definition of culture as being a cross-disciplinary matter, the BMUKK together with ÖUK organised an interministerial roundtable on 6 November which assembled several officials from ministries responsible for education, foreign affairs, law, internal affairs and science as well as representatives from the Federal Chancellery. ÖUK President Eva Nowotny and Michael Franz welcomed participants, and Mona Mairitsch introduced them to the Convention. This was followed by a discussion of its national implementation which highlighted links to the competences of those present and identified fields for national implementation. In line with ÖUK’s information brief, its experts attended numerous events to talk about the Convention. Mona Mairitsch gave a lecture on the Convention to the Summer Academy for Cultural Management held by the University of Vienna on 7 September. On 22–23 June, the BMUKK organised a meeting at the Vienna Urania on the subject of “Precarious perspectives? On the social situation of creative professionals”. As specified in the Diversity Convention, it is necessary to have optimal conditions so that a lively art and culture

scene can develop. The conference thus investigated the social situation of artists in Austria who are typically faced with precarious jobs and uncertain income perspectives. Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig attended the meeting on behalf of ÖUK.

INTERNATIONAL AND EU LEVEL By the end of 2009, 104 states and the European Union had ratified the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Cultural Diversity. No other UNESCO instrument has so far been able to gather so many states parties in such a short period, thus highlighting the importance accorded by the international community to this subject. At international as well as EU level, 2009 was dedicated chiefly to implementing the Convention. The Intergovernmental Committee, established to direct, accompany and monitor the Convention and consisting of 24 states, met for the fourth time. Austria had a mandate of member of the Committee until mid of 2009, and was thus able to actively participate in drawing up the operational guidelines to implement the Convention. The Second Ordinary Session of the Conference of Parties was held in June to adopt the Operational Guidelines prepared so far and elect the new members of the Committee.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE AND CONFERENCE OF PARTIES The Intergovernmental Committee met in Paris on 23 –25 May, in order to finalise the Operational Guidelines for implementing the Convention. Austria being a member of the Committee, was represented by a delegation made up of officials from the BMeiA (Ambassador Helene Steinhäusl, Envoy Sabine Staffelmayer and Isabell Ladiges), the BMUKK (Yvonne Gimpel) and ÖUK (Mona Mairitsch). Negotiations centred around the drafting of Operational Guidelines for preferential treatment of developing countries, consultations on alternative financing sources for the Fund and on measures to improve visibility. Thanks to the careful preparatory work and numerous earlier meetings of the EU and the Francophone Group chaired by Austria, work on the draft Operational Guidelines could proceed rapidly and reached the finalisation stage. It was possible to incorporate many Austrian concerns in the draft. Austria’s commitment both in the run-up to and during the meetings was clearly visible and certainly also to a large extent due to ÖUK’s preparatory work. The Guidelines still unresolved – improving visibility of the Convention, information exchange, transparency, awareness building, and a fund-raising strategy for the international Fund – are to be completed by 2011. To this end, the Intergovernmental Com-

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ACTIVITIES 2009 mittee met in Paris for its 5th session on 7–11 December. Austria (which is no longer a member of the Committee) attended the session as an observer, dispatching Ambassador Steinhäusl from the Permanent Delegation in Paris, Yvonne Gimpel on behalf of BMUKK and Veronika Ratzenböck from the ÖUK Working Group. The Second Ordinary Session of the Conference of Parties taking place in Paris on 15–18 June concentrated on adopting those Operational Guidelines that had been completed and on electing half the members of the Intergovernmental Committee. Austria, whose mandate ended in 2009, ran against France, Canada, Finland and Portugal for one of the two seats in Group I, but had to give way to Canada and France. The Conference was preceded by the U40-World Forum “Cultural Diversity 2030” held in Paris on 12–14 June, organised by the German Commission for UNESCO and supported by the BMUKK through ÖUK. U40 is an international platform for young leaders that is interested in “Cultural Diversity 2030”. Young experts from all parts of the world, among them Yvonne Gimpel and Rostam Neuwirth from Austria, discussed the Convention’s implementation process and developed proposals for presentation to the representatives of the states parties.

CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS Invited by the BMUKK, the Working Group on Cultural Diversity and Globalisation (WGCD&G) of the International Network for Cultural Policy INCP met in Vienna on 25–26 February. It assembled 45 delegates from 20 countries for an exchange of opinions and positions and to prepare the March meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee in Paris. The traditional exchange with representatives of civil society organisations included Working Group members Mercedes Echerer, Peter

INCP/WGCD&G meeting in Vienna

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Rantasa and Georg Schöllhammer for a discussion with government members. ÖUK was present in the form of Mona Mairitsch and Ludwig Laher, a writer, expert and active member of the Working Group. On 23 October, a meeting of the European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity was held in Paris. Austria, which joined the global network of Coalitions, delegated Peter Rantasa, member of the Working Group. In addition to a general exchange of information and discussion of Coalition-specific issues, the meeting dealt with supplementary protocols to EU trade agreements with third-party states and the drafting of a national inventory of cultural policies and best practices.

2. WORLD HERITAGE Austria acceded to the World Heritage Convention in 1992 and has eight World Heritage sites on the international List (see Appendix). Activities by UNESCO and its member states increasingly focus on endeavours to implement the World Heritage Convention and comply with the obligations set out in it. Accordingly, ÖUK continued its efforts to foster cooperation between the Austrian bodies responsible for the national heritage and the Austrian World Heritage sites in 2009. At its 33rd session, held in Seville on 22–30 June, the World Heritage Committee accepted another 13 sites to its World Heritage List, among them the Dolomites (Italy), the ruins of Loropéni (Burkina Faso), the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal (United Kingdom) and the Sacred City of Caral-Supe (Peru). These new additions bring up the total to 890 sites in 148 countries. Although successful countermeasures made it possible to remove the Walled City of Baku in Azerbaijan from the list of endangered properties, three new entries had to be added to it: the Barrier Reef in Belize, the historical monuments of Mtskheta in Georgia and the Los Katíos National Park in Colombia. For the second time in the List’s history, a site was removed from it: the Dresden Elbe valley in Germany where the Committee found the construction of the Waldschlößchen bridge incompatible with the valley’s World Heritage status. In its opinion, the building of a four-lane bridge destroys what is unique about the site: “the symbiosis of a natural landscape, landscape design and utilisation, urban

ACTIVITIES 2009 construction and architecture which resulted in the creation of an integral landscape within the city of Dresden”. The Austrian application to extend the Graz site to Schloss Eggenberg was referred by the Committee, which recommended to supplement, improve and resubmit it. The session’s agenda also included reports on the maintenance situation of the Austrian World Heritage sites of Graz, Salzburg, Vienna, Schönbrunn and Fertö/Neusiedler See. To prepare for the Committee session, BMUKK organised a coordinating meeting on 9 June, which was attended by Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig on behalf of ÖUK.

AUSTRIAN WORLD HERITAGE SITES CONFERENCE The endeavours to network Austrian World Heritage sites entered into by ÖUK in 2004 were successfully continued in 2009. Upon invitation by the Wachau Site and ÖUK, the 5th Austrian World Heritage sites Conference was held at Weißenkirchen/Wachau on 28–29 October. Officials from the eight Austrian properties, BMUKK and the Federal Monuments Office, experts from ICOMOS Austria and ÖUK (President Eva Nowotny, Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig and Mona Mairitsch) attended the conference which this year was held under the motto of “World cultural heritage landscapes – the equal importance of nature, landscape and architecture” and opened by Mayor Toni Bodenstein from the market town of Weißenkirchen, Barbara Schwarz as the chair of the Wachau Working Group and mayor of Dürnstein, and President Eva Nowotny. In addition to exchanging information, a single issue dominated discussions: the clash of a given legal framework, planning tools, the complex network of competences and actual practice. Participants agreed that a comprehensive and national solution by way of a law would be an improvement on the current situation. ÖUK was asked to work towards anchoring the world heritage in Austrian law,

Officials responsible for World Heritage meet at Weißenkirchen

creating sturdier structures and obtaining sufficient funds. To this end, a first meeting was held between BMUKK and ÖUK on 18 November which agreed on concrete steps to pursue. For the first time, the Conference offered a venue for tourism officers of the World Heritage sites and regions to meet for one morning with representatives from BMWJ, BMASK and BMUKK to discuss options for closer cooperation in tourism and labour market policy. Elisabeth Udolf-Strobl from BMWFJ addressed the importance of tourism for World Heritage sites; Roland Hanak from BMASK gave an overview of labour market policy in Austria, its institutional framework and funding schemes run by it; and Bruno Maldoner from BMUKK discussed the importance of and conflicts between preservation, World Heritage and tourism.

CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA, MEETINGS The World Heritage site of Hallstatt/Dachstein - Salzkammergut hosted an international meeting on “World heritage and tourism” on 3 – 5 June. Opened by President Eva Nowotny on behalf of ÖUK, the conference dealt with the risks and opportunities of tourism for World Heritage sites. One of the numerous experts delivering papers was Arthur Pedersen from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, who talked about tourism management and sustainable tourism at World Heritage sites, while Bruno Maldoner from BMUKK discussed Austrian World Heritage sites.

Participants of the 5th Austrian World Heritage sites Conference

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ACTIVITIES 2009 PLANNED APPLICATIONS Following a proposal by the Swiss Federal Cultural Office, Austria joined the Alpine countries (France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland) which are preparing the transnational submission of prehistoric lake dwellings for inscription in the World Heritage List under the lead management of Switzerland. The remains of settlements along the shores of Alpine lakes count among the foremost archaeological cultural properties in Europe. The special aqueous and marshy environment has helped preserve organic matter such as timber, textiles or plant seeds in an excellent condition. In 2009, Christian Mayer (an archaeologist at the Federal Monuments Office) and Cyril Dworsky (triton, Österreichische Gesellschaft für Feuchtboden- und Unterwasserarchäologie) were charged with preparing the application. Seven or eight projects in Upper Austria and Carinthia are considered for inscription. The national application is to be submitted to UNESCO in 2010. Further preparatory work was carried out by Schabl und Partner OEG Geoinformationswesen, commissioned by BMUKK and under ÖUK’s administration, on a survey of the Limes Romanus on the present territory of Austria, correlated with regional planning as exemplified by Tulln, as part of the transnational property “Frontiers of the Roman Empire”.

tries. In addition to providing general information on the Convention and its implementation, the publication discusses the use of the name and logo, and describes in great detail the inscription procedure as well as extensions and changes to the boundaries of existing sites. Several chapters are devoted to the Convention’s implementation in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria. The Austrian chapters were supplied by Franz Neuwirth, Gabriele Eschig, Mona Mairitsch, Bettina Rossbacher and Dina Yanni.

3. INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE In March 2009, the Austrian Parliament and Federal Council resolved to ratify the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The ratification deed was lodged with UNESCO Paris on 8 April, making Austria the 112th state party to the Convention. By the end of 2009, the Convention counted 118 states parties, among them 20 EU member states and three EU candidates (Croatia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Within ÖUK, the National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage is charged with handling all matters involving the intangible cultural heritage.

P.R. ACTIVITIES AND AWARENESS-RAISING INTERNATIONAL LEVEL Throughout 2009, ÖUK was kept busy with intense p.r. and awareness-raising activities, due not least to controversial construction projects at various World Heritage sites. Thus, Mona Mairitsch, ÖUK coordinator for the World Heritage, on numerous occasions provided information to journalists and other interested parties, and held lectures such as the one given on 7 September to the Summer Academy for Culture Management at the University of Vienna. ÖUK also furnished comments and forewords to some publications on the World Heritage, such as President Eva Nowotny for “Wien – Innere Stadt. Weltkulturerbe und lebendiges Zentrum” and Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig for “10 Jahre UNESCO-Welterbe Graz” published by the City of Graz. The “World Heritage Manual” published jointly by the UNESCO Commissions for Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria serves as a major source of information that will substantially improve understanding of the UNESCO World Heritage programme in the German-speaking coun-

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Activities at international level included the 4th ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Abu Dhabi/UAE on 28 September to 2 October 2009, where for the first time elements were accepted to the three international lists – the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent

4th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Abu Dhabi; from left: Maria Walcher (ÖUK), Awadh Ali Saleh, Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee, Anna Steiner (BMUKK)

ACTIVITIES 2009 Safeguarding, and the List of Programmes, Projects and Activities to Preserve the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Austria sent Anna Steiner (BMUKK) and Maria Walcher (ÖUK) to the session. For the Representative List, which already includes 90 “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, 111 more files were submitted, of which 76 met the criteria. The elements accepted into the List include, i.a., the Tango (submitted by Argentina and Uruguay), the whistled language of the island of La Gomera (Spain) and the Aubusson tapestry (France). Of the 15 elements submitted for the List of Elements in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, 12 were accepted. The List of Programmes, Projects and Activities is currently made up of three elements. Due to the geographic distribution of inscribed elements (61% are from Asiatic countries), and the preference given to the Representative List, a considerable imbalance is emerging between lists. The Operational Guidelines were adapted and revised in some aspects such as new submission deadlines, use of the logo, increase and use of moneys for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, accreditation of NGOs and inclusion of NGOs from developing countries.

tage”, held at Ptuj/Slovenia on 13–14 November, was used to exchange experiences in handling Intangible Cultural Heritage with a focus on South-eastern Europe. Attendants discussed topics and cooperation schemes with a view to the multinational submissions to the international lists preferred by UNESCO.

NATIONAL LEVEL The States Parties to the Convention undertake to identify elements of their intangible cultural heritage for safeguarding, drawing on communities, groups and NGOs in doing so, and making these elements accessible by way of one or more lists. The National Agency was entrusted with the preparation and maintenance of a national List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Austria. In line with UNESCO recommendations, this heritage will be made available to an interested public in the form of an online database. To help prepare the National List, an advisory panel was established which consists of representatives from federal

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS Set within the scope of the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, held in Bonn from 31 March to 2 April, a special event entitled “Synergies between Intangible Cultural Heritage and Education for Sustainable Development” was organised at ÖUK’s suggestion, to highlight the close link between sustainability and intangible cultural heritage. The South East European Experts Seminar on intangible cultural heritage in Zagreb on 22–27 April was used chiefly as a platform for the exchange of experiences in preparing national inventories and applications for inscription in the international lists. Once again, the Austrian contribution discussing sustainability and intangible heritage was received with great interest. On 13–17 May, an UNESCO Interregional Workshop took place in Vienna where the Austrian National Agency organised, jointly with Fernando Brugman from the Section on Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO Paris, a working group on “UNESCO Public Information Plan at international and national levels: Planning, implementation and evaluation of a joint HQ-Field Office-NatCom strategy”. Participants discussed strategies to strengthen awareness of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at national and international level, and set up a working group for further discussion and implementation of the ideas thus assembled. An international conference on “Living with Cultural Heri-

Event informing of the preparation of a the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Austria

left: Application of Fasnacht (carnival night) at Imst for inscription in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Austria; right: Application of Falconry for inscription in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Austria

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ACTIVITIES 2009 government and the nine Länder and experts on the five domains of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and which decides on accepting elements into the National List and their nomination to one of the international lists in accordance with the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The first round of applications was launched in September and the deadline for submissions ended on 31 December.

FOCAL SUBJECTS IN 2009 Language as an underpinning of Intangible Cultural Heritage is a key prerequisite for preserving oral traditions and expressions. One activity reflecting this is a school project prepared jointly with Bad Aussee (the Alpine Town of 2010) and to be followed by a workshop on “field names”, to be held in the autumn of 2010. The International Day of the Midwife was used as an occasion for the National Agency to organise a conference, jointly with the obstetrics department of the Krankenhaus Göttlicher Heiland, the Ethnographical Museum and the Austrian Ethnomedical Society, where experts in obstetrics, medicine and cultural sciences discussed the importance of traditional knowledge of pregnancy, birthing and parenting and how to improve its appreciation.

Symposium on traditional midwifery knowledge on 5 May; from left: Albert Mayer, Uschi Reim-Hofer (Krankenhaus Göttlicher Heiland)

Considerable resources were once again put into the cooperation with the ministry responsible for forestry to illuminate the importance of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in forestry and timbering. In January, the second expert workshop on “Intangible cultural heritage and forestry” was held at St. Georgen am Längsee, followed by a second course on “Forest and culture” at Gmunden in September. A new working group was constituted on “Forest and health”, and the National

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11th Tourism Forum in Salzburg, Dr. Stephan Mikinovic (AMA)

Agency sent a delegate to the 4th Forest Forum of the Austrian Forest Dialogue. The research project on complementary and traditional healing methods, supported by the BMG and the Austria Foundation of UNIQA and headed by Michaela Noseck, a cultural anthropologist, could be continued with a view to creating the foundations for a future documentation and information centre. Within the scope of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014), reference was repeatedly made at events and numerous meetings to the close link between intangible cultural heritage and sustainability, especially when considering that knowledge passed on locally contributes substantially to breaking new and future-proof ground on sustainability. On 19–20 November, the National Agency joined forces with the Communication Science Department of the University of Salzburg and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Tourism Research (INIT) to hold the 11th Tourism Forum, in cooperation with cultureconcept and FMK&T and supported by the BMWFJ. Under the motto of “Intangible culture heritage and tourism: rituals, traditions, stagings”, culture workers, tourism workers and scientists from a range of sectors looked into the positive and negative aspects of the clash of intangible cultural heritage and tourism, discussing various aspects in keynote presentations and working groups.

ACTIVITIES 2009 4. PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY Cultural property comprises structures, places and other properties that are of great importance for the cultural heritage of all peoples. The purposeful destruction of cultural property in the context of war, the scavenging of archaeological sites, the pillaging of cultural sites and the theft of pieces of art from churches and museums everywhere in the world – such activities threaten the scientific study, preservation and general access to our joint cultural heritage.

ARMED CONFLICTS The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954 with its two Protocols is one of the key legal instruments available in the field. Austria accords great importance to the protection of cultural property and thus to the Convention and its two Protocols. With its newly founded National Committee of the Blue Shield and the Austrian Society for the Protection of Cultural Property working at both national and international level, Austria has established a worldwide reputation. In 2009, the tenth anniversary of the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention was celebrated. The Austrian National Committee of the Blue Shield and the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna used the occasion to organise a festive event at the Ceremonial Hall of the Academy on 28 September. ÖUK President Eva Nowotny held a keynote speech on the “Tenth Anniversary of the Second Protocol to the Hague Conventions and Perspectives for UNESCO”. In 2009, Austria was voted into the twelve-member Intergovernmental Committee of the Hague Convention for another four-year term. The Committee’s fourth meeting and an extraordinary meeting in Paris (27–29 May and 2 September respectively) finalised the guidelines for implementing the Second Protocol, with the active participation of the Austrian delegates Mr. Desch (Ministry of Defence) and Mr. Bazil (BMUKK), which were then adopted at the Conference of States Parties in November. ÖUK supports the BMUKK and its delegate in the Committee and is a standing partner for the Austrian National Committee of the Blue Shield and the Austrian Society for the Protection of Cultural Property.

RESTITUTION AND ILLEGAL TRADING The UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 1970 defines basic principles for the international protection of cultural property and minimum regulations for relevant legislative, administrative and contractual measures. These include regulations for measures against illicit trading, preventive protection measures, especially with regard to the illegal export and import, and measures to restitute cultural property if so requested by their country of origin. At present, 118 states have ratified the Convention, among them 23 EU member states. Austria is not yet a state party to the Convention. Nevertheless, and not least due to efforts by ÖUK, some of the reservations cited by Austria could be clarified, problems solved and the ratification process initiated, so that ratification can be expected to take place in 2010.

AUSTRIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE BLUE SHIELD The Austrian National Committee of the Blue Shield was formed in 2009 with a view to providing even more effective protection, both nationally and internationally, of cultural property. The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS) had been founded in 1996 in order to protect the cultural heritage of humanity against threats by war and natural disasters, and it has since sprouted several national committees. Constituent members of the Austrian Committee are ÖUK, the Austrian National Committee of the International Council of Museums ICOM, the International Council on Archives ICA, the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS, the International Federation of Library Associations IFLA, the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archive Associations CCAAA and the Austrian Society for the Protection of Cultural Property. Its president is Günther Dembski, with Friedrich Schipper acting as its secretary-general. ÖUK SecretaryGeneral Gabriele Eschig is its auditor. It held its constituent meeting at the ÖUK premises on 4 May, and was officially established by a festive act at the Federal Defence Academy on 8 June.

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ACTIVITIES 2009 COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION

In view of the revolutionary changes arising from the new information and communication technologies (ICTs), UNESCO perceives itself as an international forum for the dialogue on the social, cultural, ethical and legal challenges in our age of the “Information Society”. It is UNESCO’s goal to create a knowledge society and it therefore supports free access to information, knowledge and facts and to the means of transferring knowledge, linguistic and cultural diversity through local contents and the development of institutional capacities. In conformity with UNESCO’s Programme for 2008–2009, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO accorded top priority this year to the Information for All Programme and to press freedom. Regarding its Memory of the World Programme, it was decided to set up a national committee to provide a new impetus.

1. INFORMATION FOR ALL PROGRAMME – IFAP The UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP) aims to encourage the international discourse on ethical, legal and social aspects of the information age. It wants to promote the principles of freedom of opinion, the basic right of access to information and knowledge and respect for cultural and linguistic diversity. The programme includes better access to information as well as questions concerning protection, digitalisation and specialised further education particularly with regard to lifelong learning. It is vital for UNESCO to support the member states in developing strategies and methods to implement these goals and to motivate them to participate in international cooperations and project partnerships.

IFAP AND AUSTRIA At the 34th Session of the UNESCO General Conference in autumn 2007, Austria was elected for another period of four years into the 26-member Intergovernmental Council for IFAP so that it has been actively contributing to defining the programme since 2003. Austria is represented by Dietrich Schüller (former Director of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a member of ÖUK) who is also a Bureau member of the Council. The Intergovernmental Council is mainly charged with advising the Director-General and Secretariat of UNESCO in planning and implementing the concerns of IFAP. Its work is supported by the Austrian IFAP National Committee set up within ÖUK.

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IFAP NATIONAL COMMITTEE Established in 2004 within the frame of ÖUK, the IFAP National Committee seeks to lobby for Austrian interests within the programme, to promote implementation of the programme at national level, to disseminate at a global level best practice examples of Austria’s experience, and to point out problems in Austria. The Committee is composed of representatives of ministries and the Federal Chancellery, universities, archives and libraries, museums and cultural facilities, as well as experts for audiovisual media and cyberlaw (see Appendix). Since 2008, its chairperson has been Gabriele Sauberer, Executive Secretary of TermNet. In order to handle IFAP concerns even more effectively in Austria, three working groups were set up by a workshop in March 2009 to cover the IFAP priorities of information literacy, information access and information ethics. The information preservation priority is already covered by the National Committee for the Memory of the World Programme. The working groups operate along project lines within the IFAP National Committee and are authorised to consult, in a temporary capacity, experts who are not members of the IFAP National Committee.

PRIORITIES AND PROJECTS In setting up these working groups, Austria has defined clear priorities for the national activities within IFAP which in future are to enhance visibility of the IFAP National Committee in Austria. As a first step to achieve greater visibility, the IFAP National Committee contributed to a symposium on “Press

ACTIVITIES 2009 freedom and quality journalism: at the interface of print and internet”, organised by Reporters Without Borders Austria jointly with the Austrian Parliament. As the IFAP National Committee endeavours to advance press freedom within its priorities of information access and information ethics, it supported the event by noting it as a “contribution of the Austrian Information for All Programme of UNESCO”. In this way, it was possible to communicate IFAP National Committee activities to a broader public. Within the scope of the Working Group on Information Competence, a project entitled “Information competence at Austrian UNESCO schools” was launched in June. A questionnaire was used to identify deficits as well as strengths in terms of information competence at schools. The questionnaires were disseminated to pupils at the primary stage and secondary stages I and II, their teachers and parents. In developing the questionnaire, the Working Group consulted Friederike Koppensteiner, who furnished the teaching perspective, and Igor Mitschka, a pupil and chairman of the ÖUK Youth Advisory Panel. The return rate of filled-in questionnaires was far higher than expected – a pointer to the relevance accorded by schools to information competence as a key skill. The findings of the project will be published in 2010. Invited by the Intergovernmental Council of IFAP, UNESCO, the Russian National Committee for IFAP, the Russian Commission for UNESCO and the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Culture, 17 IFAP National Committees met in Moscow on 7–8 December for an exchange of opinions and to develop joint guidelines for the national implementation of IFAP. Austria’s delegate was Gabriele Sauberer, chairperson of the IFAP National Committee. The resulting template “National Information Society Policy” (NISP) achieved the goal of addressing all member states and formulating guidelines for implementing IFAP. Austria was assisted in restructuring its IFAP National Committee by the establishment of working groups. The project on “Information competence at Austrian UNESCO schools” generated considerable interest among participants. The findings of the project are therefore to be translated into English and made accessible to all IFAP National Committees.

2. PRESS FREEDOM Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been proactively working to implement Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. UNESCO calls for pluralistic media in all states of the world as well as independent journalism

without any interference such as censorship or repression. To remind the world of the importance of protecting the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and press freedom, UNESCO annually celebrates the World Press Freedom Day on 3 May and points out violations of the right to information and freedom that occur in many countries, also honouring journalists who are frequently threatened or have been killed in fighting for press freedom. In 2009, the UNESCO Guillermo Cano Prize for Press Freedom endowed with US$ 25,000 was posthumously awarded to Lasantha Wickrematunge, newspaper editor and journalist from Sri Lanka, who was murdered in January. Lasantha Wickrematunge was an investigative reporter, and the Sunday Leader, a paper founded by him jointly with his brother, was considered a highly critical voice speaking out against the war between the army and the Tamil rebels. In spite of numerous death threats and legal disputes, he did not forego his critical reporting. The UNESCO Press Freedom Prize takes its name from Guillermo Cano, a Colombian newspaper publisher who was assassinated in 1987 because of his reporting on the drug cartels in Colombia.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY AND PRESS FREEDOM AWARD Press freedom is also a major issue for the Austrian Commission for UNESCO. Each year events and press conferences are organised in cooperation with Reporters Without Borders Austria on 3 May to make people in Austria aware of the manifold threats to press freedom. At a press conference held at the Café Prückl on 4 May, Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig joined Rubina Möhring, President of Reporters Without Borders Austria, and Franz C. Bauer, President of the Austrian Union of Journalists, to respond to questioning from journalists. Same as every year, ÖUK extended its patronage to the “Press Freedom Award – Signal for Europe”, endowed with €15,000, which is conferred by Reporters Without Borders Austria to journalists from Eastern and South-eastern Europe. In 2009, a jury awarded prizes to journalists from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. The growing incidence of threats faced by media people worldwide is alarming. Seen against this background, the Press Freedom Award given away by Reporters Without Borders Austria is of the greatest importance. The prize serves to publicly honour and award people who stand out for their courageous reporting. On 18 –19 February, Reporters Without Borders Austria organised, together with the Austrian Parliament, Der Österreichische Journalist and ÖUK, a symposium on “Press freedom and quality journalism. In the hot spot between print and

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ACTIVITIES 2009 internet”. President Eva Nowotny opened the event together with Barbara Prammer, President of the National Council, and Rubina Möhring, President of Reporters Without Borders Austria, welcoming a great number of participants. The symposium was organised in cooperation with the IFAP National Committee which is a major player in fighting for press freedom within its focal subjects of information access and information ethics.

158 entries, among them the Final Document of the Congress of Vienna, the Colonial Archives of Benin, Senegal and Tanzania, the Aztec Codices of Mexico, the Annals of the Choson dynasty in Korea, and the archives of the Warsaw Ghetto. Austria now accounts for nine inscriptions plus one joint application (see Appendix).

MEMORY OF THE WORLD NATIONAL COMMITTEE

3. MEMORY OF THE WORLD With its successful “Memory of the World” Programme, UNESCO intends to safeguard the documentary heritage – books, manuscripts and audio-visual media – in libraries and archives worldwide. In this context, UNESCO wants to strengthen the role of libraries, archives, information centres and networks, to develop guidelines for digitisation programmes, and to promote the digitisation of collections. For the preservation of the digital heritage of the world, UNESCO keeps a Register which is open to proposals by member states to include documents or collections of international importance. An independent international expert panel decides on the final inscription on the list. At present, the Register counts

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In order to promote the objectives of the Memory of the World Programme at national as well as global level, some 60 national committees have been set up worldwide. In 2009, ÖUK established its own Memory of the World National Committee as a subcommittee to the IFAP National Committee. Its remit includes, i.a., developing proposals for inscription of Austrian entries in the international Register, preparing a national Memory of the World list, contributing to the programme and its progress, promoting national activities to improve the preservation of and access to documents of all kinds, and supporting research to improve conservation and restoration methods. The constituent meeting of the Memory of the World National Committee was held on 6 April, followed by another meeting on 18 November. Dietrich Schüller from the Phonogrammarchiv was elected chairman of the Committee, supported by Rainer Hubert (Österreichische Mediathek) as his vice-chairman. On 7 October, UNESCO’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, President Eva Nowotny held an introductory lecture to a symposium on “Digital availability of audiovisual archives in the age of the internet”, where she discussed “Destroying – preserving; forgetting – remembering?”.

ACTIVITIES 2009 YOUTH The Youth Advisory Panel met on 27 April to finalise its main project for 2009, a competition on “Speaking My Language”. As a follow-up to the 2008 International Year of Languages, young people were invited to create three-minute podcasts on the subject of “You Talk – We Listen”. The project aims to get multilingualism across as something positive and enriching. Winners Oguzhan Karakoyun, aged 16 (“RAP-ABC”), Christian Petrovic, aged 16, and his team (“Love is the language”), and Gökhan Külekci, aged 18 (“A lost past is bleeding in me”), were awarded prizes and participated in the workshop on “Language and music” held by mica (music information center austria), where they revised their podcasts, helped by Clemens Wenger, a professional music expert and authority on the Vienna music scene, for broadcasting by Freie Radios Österreich. The contest was sponsored by Vielfalter, an initiative set up by Western Union, Interkulturelles Zentrum and BMUKK in order to promote projects on multilingualism and intercultural competence.

Workshop on “Language and music”

INTERNATIONAL YEARS INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY “The Universe, Yours to Discover” was the central theme of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) 2009, which was launched by the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations on 19 December 2007 (Resolution 62/200). The BMWF made available altogether € 81,000 to celebrate the Year in Austria. Events were coordinated by Thomas Posch from the University of Vienna Institute for Astronomy. On 20 January, the IYA was officially launched in Austria at the Science Aula with the premiere of the dramolet “Kepler, Galilei and the Telescope”. ÖUK was represented by Friederike Koppensteiner. Throughout the year, numerous activities took place in all of Austria, which are described in more detail under www.astronomie2009.at. Special highlights were an exhibition “The heavens declare the glory of God” at Melk Abbey, and “Travelling to the stars” at Rein Abbey near Graz, both of which centred around historically valuable books from six centuries of astronomy. Other star-studded events were the setting up of a fully-automated meteorite monitoring camera atop the Martinsberg in Lower Austria (opened by Hermann Mucke on 8 August), and the creation of a network of sensors to measure the brightness of the night sky (Günther Wuchterl from the Kuffner Observatory).

Helped by the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), ÖUK printed a poster on the subject for the use of schools. It inspired many UNESCO schools to carry out projects, reports of which can be found at the Forum 2009. In the course of the IYA, ÖUK managed two collaboration projects with the Kuffner Observatory. One was an event held at the Urania planetarium on 29 May, entitled “Danube Canal stars present the IYA”, where young participants were given insights into astronomy, technology and the life sciences. Sigrid Berkebile-Stoiser, fellow of the L’OREAL UNESCO Austria stipend, held a lecture on astronomy as a profession. The second project involved an outing organised within the framework of a scheme called “Holiday from war – children from Western Sahara in Austria”, which invites children to spend two months in Austria in order to recover from their hazardous life in the refugee camps in southern Algeria. The scheme was launched by Karin Scheele, today a member of the Lower Austrian government, in 1991. As part of the official IYA cornerstone project “Developing Astronomy Globally”, the children were invited to the Kuffner Observatory on 13 August, to enjoy an astronomy programme specifically tailored for kids.

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ACTIVITIES 2009

She is an Astronomer, Ars Electronica Center Linz

Cosmic poetry; from left: Mercedes Echerer, Clementine Grasser

On 19 October, ÖUK and BMUKK invited children from the UNESCO schools to the Ars Electronica Center in Linz to hear about “She is an Astronomer”. Gerfried Stocker (Ars Electronica Center) opened the event, followed by Matthias Eck from ÖUK. Astronomers Sigrid Berkebile-Stoiser from the University of Graz and Konstanze Zwintz from the University of Vienna held exciting talks about the sun and the birth of stars, to direct the attention especially of girls to astronomy as a possible field of study. Dietmar Hager discussed the problem of light pollution. At the Deep Space of the Ars Electronica Center, the children got a breathtaking three-dimensional tour of the universe. The UNESCO project “She is an Astronomer” is one of the official cornerstone projects organised within the IYA, aimed at globally increasing the rate of women in astronomy. On 24 November, ÖUK and BMUKK organised a poetry and music evening on “Cosmic poetry” at the Urania. Astronomy has always been a fascinating subject for poets the world over. The evening was dedicated to the works of female poets from all continents. Mercedes Echerer recited poems written by women in three millennia, accompanied by Clementine Gasser playing musical interventions on a five-string violoncello. The evening was rounded off by a guided tour of the observatory. Both projects were accepted as best practice examples on the website of UNESCO’s gender section.

destined to set up a Starlight Reserve, since, owing to progressing light pollution, the Milky Way will soon be observable only from the peaks of the Alpine range. A possible first territory in Austria is the Gesäuse National Park. Currently a case study is undertaken, coordinated by Günther Wuchterl from the Kuffner Observatory.

Within the scope of the International Year of Astronomy, UNESCO extends its support to the “Dark Skies Awareness Project” which aims to protect the night sky over cultural landscapes and national parks. It involves the creation of socalled Starlight Reserves – places where the night sky is screened off from light pollution and enables a clear view of astronomical phenomena. A territory awarded the title of “Starlight Reserve” is obliged to protect the quality of the night sky and the cultural, scientific, astronomical and natural features of the place. Austria, being an Alpine country, is pre-

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FOLLOW-UP TO THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LANGUAGES 2008 For 2008, the UN General Assembly had proclaimed the International Year of Languages (see Annual Report for 2008). On 12 May, ÖUK called experts to a meeting to follow up the Year. They discussed possible subjects for follow-up activities in Austria and whether to support the planned global summit on multilingualism. Experts from EFZ in Graz, the Paedagogical College of Styria and the Austrian Language Competence Centre used the International Year of Languages to develop a workshop module for schools (primary and lower secondary schools). Their object was to sensitise teachers, principals and parents to the (added) value and use of multilingualism. In 2009, the workshop was held at five schools and an adult education institution. Its materials – an information brochure, extensive working papers on an interactive basis and a poster – were made available to the schools for their own use. The workshops will be continued in 2010.

FOLLOW-UP TO THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANET EARTH 2008 The International Year of Planet Earth was proclaimed in 2008 (see Annual Report for 2008). Activities in this context were continued in 2009. Coordinated by Thomas Hofmann, a special issue of the UNIVERSUM magazine was created on the

ACTIVITIES 2009 subject “Geology is more” which was presented at the Federal Geological Institute on 14 May. It was distributed at all schools (to children aged 15 and over) and is available commercially. The publication sees itself as showcasing local earth sciences and its many aspects. The project included a poetry contest (“Geology is a poem”), whose winners were chosen during the “Long night of research”. The photo volume “PLANET Austria – Stein, Wasser, Leben” (PLANET Austria – rock, water, life), edited by Günther Köck, Lois Lammerhuber and Werner Piller and financed directly by the BMWF, presents a select choice of projects carried out in Austria through international programmes handled by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The volume, which illustrates the interdisciplinary linkage of various knowledge fields with the earth sciences, was distributed jointly with the UNIVERSUM magazine “Geology is more” to all secondary schools in Austria. The book was also presented at the Austrian Embassy in Paris in presence of several UNESCO representatives.

A “mineralogy bus” project (“Geology on the road”), initiated and implemented by Robert Krickl, started out from Vienna on 27 October, from where it toured all of Austria. It returned to Vienna in time for the “Long night of research” on 7 November, where the bus served as a waystation of the Night project and attracted Federal Minister Hahn amongst its visitors. On 18 November, Robert Krickl collected the “LUPE award for excellent science communication” for his project. Within the scope of the Via GeoAlpina Project, coordinated by Werner Piller, four regions were selected and folders prepared in a uniform design. They are the “Geopark Karnische Alpen” in Carinthia, the “Triassic Park & Triassic Trail Steinplatte” in Tyrol, and the “Koralm Kristall Trail” and “GeoLine”, the two latter being Styrian projects of the European and UNESCO Global Geopark “Naturpark Steirische Eisenwurzen”.

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THE P.R. STRATEGY New appearance for the National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage: In 2009, the National Agency had its web site completely revised and linked to its counterpart operated by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO. Its contents can be now be found under www.unesco.at/nationalagentur. Another novelty is a newsletter structure that regularly informs about current projects in the field of our intangible cultural heritage.

HIGHLIGHTS / COOPERATION PARTNERS IN 2009 CLOSED MEETING ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY March 2009 The EU XXL Film Festival in Krems provided the context for the second closed meeting on the “Protection of cultural diversity in Austria”. Held in March, it assembled artists, lobbyists and officials from BMUKK and ÖUK. Participants prepared press releases to inform the media of the catalogue of cultural policy requests identified by the working group.

SYMPOSIUM: TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF MIDWIVES May 2009 Jointly with the Austrian Ethnomedical Society, the obstetrics department of the Krankenhaus Göttlicher Heiland and the Austrian Ethnographic Museum, the National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage organised an attention-grabbing workshop revolving around the valuable traditional knowledge of midwives.

HIGH-RANKING UNESCO DELEGATION IN LOWER AUSTRIA May 2009

CONTEST “SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE” May 2009 Cooperating with the Vienna Youth Centres, the Youth Advisory Panel of ÖUK developed and organised a contest for young people in May. Youths produced creative texts, podcasts and music which were then broadcast in various wireless programmes.

In 2009, the annual meeting of representatives from the UNESCO Commissions of Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland took place in Austria’s Wachau valley. Their discussion focused on “Management of world heritage viticultural landscapes”. The high-ranking UNESCO delegation attracted wide-scale press reporting – especially from the regional media.

INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY May 2009 In line with its priority on press freedom, ÖUK has for years been cooperating with Reporters Without Borders Austria. At a joint press conference held on 4 May, Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig and Rubina Möhring, President of Reporters Without Borders Austria, underlined the importance of press freedom also in Austria (media concentration, working conditions for journalists, etc.).

September 2009 Year after year, ÖUK endeavours to get full press coverage for the International Literacy Day held on 8 September. In 2009, one of the focal points of the media information was the launching of the OECD study for 2010 and the first survey of recent data on secondary illiteracy in Austria.

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD FOR AUSTRIAN PROJECTS October 2009 On 2 October, the international UN sustainability logo was awarded to Austrian projects for the fifth time since 2007. The award ceremony was hosted by the town of Wiener Neudorf. The attention-winning award of special projects involving sustainability is organised in cooperation with the BMUKK and BMLFUW.

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THE P.R. STRATEGY

Sustainability Award in Wr. Neudorf

Austrian World Heritage sites Conference, Wachau

AUSTRIAN WORLD HERITAGE SITES CONFERENCE

TOURISM FORUM “INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE AND TOURISM“

October 2009 This year’s conference, held in the Wachau, revolved around “Cultural landscapes – according equal importance to nature, scenery and architecture”. Regional media used the opportunity to report on current developments.

APPLICATION FOR INSCRIPTION IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE

November 2009 Cooperating with ÖUK and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Tourism Research (INIT), the University of Salzburg organised the 11th Salzburg Tourism Forum, this time on the subject of “Intangible cultural heritage and tourism”. The discourse on the special quality of the intangible cultural heritage in general and its importance for tourism specifically was widely reported by the media.

October 2009 In October, the National Agency issued its fourth newsletter to notify ratification of the Convention and the rules governing applications for inscription in the National Register. Information on this Register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was spread by press releases, media articles and roundtables (e.g. with Initiative Minderheiten).

FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE November 2009 In a joint scheme with L’OREAL Österreich, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Federal Ministry of Science and Research, four young female scientists received a grant for “Women in Science” in a ceremony held for the third time in a row. Thanks to the excellent cooperation between the partners the event produced a broad response among Austrian media.

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35TH UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE Every two years, representatives of all Member States meet for UNESCO’s General Conference in order to decide on the course of future development for the organisation. The outstanding event at the 35th UNESCO General Conference, held in Paris on 6–23 October, was the election of its new Director-General. On 15 October, Irina Bokova (Bulgaria) was elected with 166 of the 173 votes cast. Benita Ferrero-Waldner withdrew her candidacy in the fourth round in favour of Ms Bokova. tion, submitted by Japan, to reinforce the UNESCO Associated Schools Project. Both resolutions were adopted.

SCIENCES

Federal Minister Claudia Schmied, 35th UNESCO General Conference

More than 3,000 participants, including eight heads of state and government and some 260 ministers and deputy ministers, attended this year’s General Conference. Austria was present by a delegation of representatives from BMeiA, BMUKK, BMWF and ÖUK, accompanied by experts and led by Federal Minister Claudia Schmied. Through its adoption of the Programme and Budget, UNESCO has altogether US$ 653 million at its disposal for the period 2010 –2011, of which US$ 118.5 million are allocated to education, US$ 89 million to science (of which US$ 59 million go to the natural sciences and US$ 30 million to the social and human sciences), US$ 53 million to culture and US$ 33 million to the communication programme.

THE PROGRAMME COMMISSIONS EDUCATION The Education for All Programme was confirmed as having top priority in the Education Sector. UNESCO will concentrate even more on those countries where the deficits are greatest. A budget increase of 4% was welcomed by Member States. A resolution to strengthen the Education for Sustainable Development Programme proposed by Germany and Japan was supported by Austria, which also gave its support to a resolu-

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Climate change and its consequences were at the centre of debates by the two science commissions. Once again, participants called for interdisciplinarity. The resolutions cosponsored by Austria – a resolution on the role of UNESCO in the fight against climate change and a resolution to support the biosphere reserves – were adopted. The global importance of the work performed by the ethics commission (COMEST, IBC, IGBC) was emphasised. Austria contributed a resolution to facilitate youth participation to the Report on the activities carried out to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

CULTURE The Culture Commission confirmed its focus on preserving the tangible and intangible cultural heritage and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions. The draft of the Declaration of Principles relating to Cultural Objects displaced in connection with the Second World War, hotly disputed for many years now, once again failed to be adopted due to sustained resistance. Intense negotiations at the fringes of the session produced agreement on a compromise only which involves acknowledgement rather than adoption of the Declaration of Principles. The Commission also decided to develop a Recommendation for the Conservation of the Historic Urban Landscape until the 36th General Conference and to examine the usefulness of an international standard-setting instrument for the protection of indigenous and endangered languages.

COMMUNICATION Attention in this sector remains focused on press freedom and media funding in the developing countries. Broad support was given to the activities of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) and that of the

35TH UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE

From left: Matthias Eck, Igor Mitschka, Christine Stromberger

Memory of the World Programme. A resolution to increase support to the Information for All Programme (IFAP), which was supported by Austria, made it possible to incorporate this intergovernmental committee in the biannual programme of UNESCO.

Austria was successful in several elections to subsidiary committees. Thus it was voted into the International Coordinating Council of the Programme on Man and the Biosphere with 111 votes, and into the IGBC (Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee) with 105 votes. It is also a new member of the Intergovernmental Council of MOST (Management of Social Transformations Programme). Currently, Austria is present in five intergovernmental programmes run by UNESCO. A novelty was the attendance of a youth (Igor Mitschka, Chairman of the Youth Advisory Panel of ÖUK) as a member of the Austrian delegation. Emphasis should also be given to the Austrian resolution regarding the “Report on the activities carried out to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. The proposal to facilitate youth participation in human rights programmes, prepared by the chairman of the Youth Advisory Panel of ÖUK, was adopted with only minor changes. In the run-up to the General Conference, ÖUK was, as always, charged with coordinating the preparatory work of the programme commission.

UNESCO YOUTH FORUM NATIONAL COMMISSIONS As always, representatives of National Commissions made up a large number of the delegates from Member States. ÖUK sent President Eva Nowotny, Secretary-General Gabriele Eschig, Mona Mairitsch and Matthias Eck to this year’s General Conference. ÖUK delegates attended the meeting of National Commissions for the Europe and North America region and the Interregional Meetings of National Commissions, and were also present at all side events organised for National Commissions, thereby strengthening their network relations with other National Commissions. The BRX Commission praised the system of National Commissions as a feature unique in the whole of the United Nations Organisation.

Madeleine Potzmann (member of the Youth Advisory Panel of ÖUK and pupil of a UNESCO school) and Dieter Mayr (student), attended this year’s UNESCO Youth Forum (1–3 October) as Austrian delegates. The Forum offered a platform to 143 young people from 96 countries to discuss “Investing out of the crisis: towards a partnership between UNESCO and youth organisations” in workshops and plenary meetings. The theme was complemented by a second theme on ways and means for young people to participate in UNESCO activities. Delegates discussed options by the States Members to promote youth development in order to find a way out of the crisis, and proposed a close cooperation between Member States, their National Commissions, NGOs and youth organisations with a view to facilitating the integration of youths in the work of UNESCO.

AUSTRIA’S CONTRIBUTION Federal Minister Claudia Schmied pointed out to the plenary that equal opportunities, gender equality, free access to education, compliance with the human rights and freedom of expression are goals pursued by politics in Austria, same as is the promotion of multilingualism, cultural diversity, the protection of our cultural heritage and the dialogue between cultures, all of which enjoy top priority in Austria. She also participated in the plenary ministerial forum, where ministers discussed, in a smaller round, strategies to overcome the global economic crisis and the future of UNESCO as a multilateral organisation.

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES UNESCO INTERREGIONAL WORKSHOP

UNESCO MEDIA DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

Vienna, 13 –17 May

Zagreb, 25 September

In mid-May, an international workshop held in Vienna provided a forum for representatives of National Commissions from Europe and Africa to discuss their strategies and activities regarding p.r. work and publication policy with staff members from the UNESCO Secretariat. Four working groups dealing, respectively, with “Information materials – experiences of public information at a national level”, “Outreach to networks, partnerships and media relations”, “Associated public information measures – focus: international days & years & decades” and “Joint public information campaign – focus: intangible heritage” came to the conclusion that there is sufficient willingness and potential for Member States and Headquarters to harmonise their p.r. activities in the future and pursue selected activities on a joint basis. The synergies thus released will certainly lead to a multiplication of results and greater visibility for UNESCO.

On 25 September, an international conference on "UNESCO media development indicators: monitoring media development in Croatia” was organised in Zagreb, where Austria was represented by Daniela Kraus from Medienhaus Wien. The object of the meeting was to draft political recommendations for the development of media policies that embody the free expression of opinions, media pluralism and media diversity by drawing on the know-how of expert participants. Also on the agenda was the development of model curricula for journalist training and a future outlook.

59TH MEETING OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE FOUR GERMAN-SPEAKING NATIONAL COMMISSIONS FOR UNESCO Dürnstein, 6 – 8 May Held since 1949 and extended in 2004, this year’s meeting of the German-speaking National Commissions took place at Dürnstein in the Wachau World Heritage region on 6–8 May. Invited by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, delegates from the Commissions of host Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland assembled chiefly in order to prepare for the 35th General Conference. They also discussed cooperation in their p.r. activities, joint UNESCO publications and the use of joint resources. An exchange of information and experience with the UNESCO Conventions on Cultural Diversity and the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Education for Sustainable Development Decade, the UNESCO World Heritage, UNESCO schools and current priorities and activities of each National Commission were given adequate space in the informal part of the meeting.

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UNESCO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CONFINTEA VI Belém, 1– 4 December Guided by its motto “Living and learning for a viable future: the power of adult education”, the 6th International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) was hosted in Belém, Brazil from 1 to 4 December. The conference focused on two issues: how can adult education contribute to global sustainable development, and how to officially recognise skills typically acquired outside the formal educational institutions. From Austria came Martina Zach (BMUKK), Michael Landertshammer (Austrian Economic Chamber), Michaela Marterer (Steirische Volkswirtschaftliche Gesellschaft), Krisztina Dér (Austrian Institute for Research on Vocational Training) and Alexander Springer (Austrian Embassy, Brasilia). The conference concluded with the adoption of the “Belém Framework for Action”.

TRAINING SEMINAR FOR NEW OFFICIALS OF NATIONAL COMMISSIONS Tirana, 1–3 November On 1–3 November, UNESCO and the UNESCO Commission for Albania co-hosted a training seminar for new officials working at National Commissions, held in Tirana, Albania. Matthias Eck, who has been working for ÖUK since autumn 2008, attended the seminar and held a lecture on p.r. activities at ÖUK.

CO-OPERATIONS The National Commissions for UNESCO, set up to act a hub between politics and civil society, endeavour to develop strategic partnerships with decision-makers from science, public administration, non-governmental organisations, business and the media. Within the multilateral system, they are thus a unique and uniquely successful model of how to achieve systematic and structured involvement of civil society in the work of UNESCO and the United Nations. In 2009, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO expanded its cooperation activities with institutions and organisations in Austria pursuing the objectives and ideas of UNESCO, and was thus a major factor in spreading UNESCO ideas in Austria.

RADIO AFRIKA

AUSTRIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE BLUE SHIELD

The ÖUK-supported project “School children on the air – learning by doing – the African way” organised by Radio Afrika TV was continued in the 2008/2009 school year. Five schools were involved in the project that focuses on linguistic diversity and interculturality. School children created radio plays on their own, which extended their media competence. Guided by Radio Afrika TV, they investigated the continent of Africa, its history, economy and everyday life. Each school concentrated on a special subject. Diversity was actively pursued by the use of different languages in the radio plays. Intercultural dialogue took place not just theoretically through the creation of radio plays which focus on Africans living in Austria, but also along practical lines through their collaboration with Radio Afrika TV staff members Stella Asiimwe (Uganda) and Alexis Nshimyimana Neuberg (Rwanda). The radio plays were broadcast on Radio Afrika TV (Orange FM 94.0) and made available for downloading on www.radioafrika.net.

The Austrian National Committee of the Blue Shield was formed in 2009 with a view to providing even more effective protection, both nationally and internationally, of cultural property. Constituent members of the Austrian Committee are ÖUK, the Austrian National Committee of the International Council of Museums ICOM, the International Council on Archives ICA, the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS, the International Federation of Library Associations IFLA, the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archive Associations CCAAA and the Austrian Society for the Protection of Cultural Property. Its president is Günther Dembski, with Friedrich Schipper acting as its secretary-general. ÖUK SecretaryGeneral Gabriele Eschig is its auditor. ÖUK also provides the National Committee with its postal address.

KULTURKONTAKT AUSTRIA The project on the theme “Cultural Heritage. Tradition with a Future” was continued in the school year of 2008/09, organised, as in the past years, by BMUKK, the Federal Monuments Office and ÖUK and handled by KulturKontakt Austria. Through this scheme, 2100 youths from 59 schools discussed monuments, heritage buildings and natural heritage sites and looked into their intangible cultural heritage – language, religion and music. On 9 June, ten schools demonstrated the findings of their work at the BMUKK, an event which SecretaryGeneral Gabriele Eschig and Maria Walcher attended on behalf of ÖUK. All projects are documented by words and pictures. The project will be continued in the 2009/10 school year with the help of ÖUK.

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS AUSTRIA Reporters Without Borders, a human rights organisation with observer status within the Council of Europe and UNESCO, has been a partner to ÖUK for many years. Annual joint activities are events in connection with press freedom and events held on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. ÖUK regularly extends its patronage over the annually awarded “Press Freedom Award” by Reporters Without Borders Austria.

ADVISORY PANEL ON GERMAN-LANGUAGE TERMINOLOGY (RaDT) The Advisory Panel on German-language Terminology (RaDT) was established on the initiative of the German-language National Commissions. It aims to create an awareness of the importance of terminology in the German-speaking countries, to promote cooperation, and to coordinate and encourage terminological activities. In consultation with partners it develops guidelines on terminology policy and strategic papers,

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CO-OPERATIONS disseminates them and helps implement them. The Advisory Panel typically meets twice a year. ÖUK is represented in the body by Infoterm.

INFOTERM As early as 1949, UNESCO pointed out the importance of technical terminology in technical communication. In 1963, it encouraged the foundation of an “International Committee for the Coordination of Terminological Activities (ICCTA)”. In 1967, it recommended the establishment of a terminology clearing house, and eventually, in 1971, it decided to form an International Information Centre for Terminology (Infoterm). In the same year, Infoterm was set up on the basis of a contract between UNESCO and the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) with the support of ÖUK. Since then ÖUK has greatly encouraged Infoterm’s work and given it substantial support at UNESCO level.

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ARS ELECTRONICA AND PRIX ARS ELECTRONICA Since 2004, the Prix Ars Electronica, the world’s leading award for digital art, has been tendering a prize in the Digital Communities category. Sponsored by UNESCO, this prize takes into consideration the far-reaching social impact of the internet as much as the latest developments in social software, mobile communication and wireless networks. Digital communities are about innovation in human interaction, about bridging the geographical as well as gender-caused digital divide, about outstanding social software and about improving accessibility to technological and social infrastructure. UNESCO has not only assumed patronage for the prize but also spreads its tendering through the UNESCO network and its DigiArts programme. Yet the collaboration between Ars Electronica and UNESCO/ÖUK does not stop here. The Ars Electronica Festival features UNESCO focus themes and provides content to the UNESCO portal, and the two partners organise joint events and presentations.

PATRONAGE By extending patronage over events, UNESCO and ÖUK publicly document their support of institutions and individuals that promote education, science, culture and communication within the meaning of UNESCO. Patronage is connected with the right to use the UNESCO or ÖUK logo for a given event. In 2009, the following events were granted patronage:

ACADEMY OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN SCHOOLS ACES An initiative to network Central European Schools UNITED WORLD GAMES 2009 A sports event held in Klagenfurt on 18 –21 June DIE KLEINE EULE Multilingual publication by the Library of Lienz PRESS FREEDOM AWARD 2009 Award conferred by Reporters Without Borders Austria SUMMER MUSIC CAMP – “OPEN WORLD” A summer camp focusing on Energy for Life – Social Foundation, Baden, 26 May –1 June LISTENING TO MUSIC – UNDERSTANDING MUSIC – CREATING MUSIC A series of concerts organised by the UNESCO Club Vienna, Furth and Vienna, 18 May – 7 June ARCHITECTURAL WORKSHOP “ALONG THE GREAT WALL” Symposium at the Technological University of Vienna and Vienna Confucius Institute, 15 –17 May RECONCILIATION PARTY 2009 Event, Afro-Asiatic Institute, Vienna, 5 November 9th KASUMAMA AFRICA FESTIVAL 2009 Music festival organised by the KASUMAMA Club, Moorbad Harbach/Lower Austria, 8 –12 July

YOUTH CONTEST “SPRICHCODE 5” Youth writing and photo competition, Leonding, 16 October – 21 February WE WANT TO HAVE OUR SAY – CITIZENS INITIATIVE FOR MORE CODETERMINATION FOR PUPILS AND SCHOOL DEMOCRACY Initiative, Cool School Pupils’ Association, Vienna 2 July SYMPOSIUM ON CULTURESCAPES Symposium, Salt of the Earth Association et al., St. Andrä-Wördern, 1 and 17 May TEM (TRADITIONAL EUROPEAN MEDICINE) ASSOCIATION Lectures on pregnancy, birth and menopause at the Saalachtaler heilsame Tage, Maria Alm, 19 and 20 June TEXTILE CULTURE HASLACH Summer workshop on “Textile Culture Haslach 2009”, 19 –31 July, and conference of the European Textile Network on 22 – 24 July, Haslach STYRIAN SUMMER_ART 09 “ARTS EDUCATION FOR ALL” Art festival, Verein styrian summer_art, Pöllau Valley nature park, 4 –26 July 200 YEARS LATER ... LIVING TO RESIST Exhibition on “200 years later… living to resist – fighting against the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery”, Südwind and others, Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus District Museum, 7–23 October

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APPENDIX FACTS AND FIGURES

MEMBERS STATUTORY MEMBERS

RESPONSIBILITIES Under Section 2 of its statutes, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO is an association, which serves as a National Commission pursuant to Article VII of the Charter of the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), Austrian Federal Law Gazette no. 49/1949. Its activities are of a non-profit nature. Under Section 2, its objectives are as follows: – advising the federal and state governments as well as other governmental and non-governmental institutions with a view to implementing UNESCO’s objectives; – instituting and maintaining contacts between UNESCO and interested institutions and individuals in Austria; – cooperating with UNESCO-relevant regional initiatives; – contributing to the response to enquiries by UNESCO; – participating in the organisational preparations for UNESCO events (e.g. preparing the UNESCO General Conference); – informing the public of UNESCO goals and programmes, implementing them as well as providing information about UNESCO; – cooperating with UNESCO Commissions of other countries.

Under Section 3, these objectives are to be achieved by: a) organising scientific and other events, exhibitions and conferences in all of Austria; b) obtaining comments and expert opinions and awarding projects, etc.; c) issuing publications; d) attending to UNESCO representatives, other UNESCO Commissions and UNESCO fellows; e) promoting Austrian UNESCO schools; f) carrying out information and p.r. activities; g) cooperating with tertiary and other educational facilities (“UNESCO Chairs”).

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– The Federal Government, represented by: – Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture (BMUKK) – Federal Ministry of Science and Research (BMWF) – Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMeiA) – Federal Chancellery (BKA) – Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW) – Federal Ministry for Health (BMG) – KulturKontakt Austria – The Länder (Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, Vorarlberg) – European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU), since 2002 – Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR), since 2002 – Umweltdachverband (Network for the Environment), since 2002 – International Information Centre for Terminology (INFOTERM), since 2002 – International Network for Terminology (TermNet), since 2009 HONORARY MEMBERS – Johann MARTE Director-General, ret., President of ÖUK (2001–2008) – Marianne POPP Vice-President of ÖUK (2002–2008), University of Vienna THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED DUE TO THEIR FUNCTIONS AT UNESCO PARIS – Günter KÖCK, 2005–2013 Austrian representative at MAB – Dietrich SCHÜLLER, 2003–2011 Austrian representative at IFAP – Helga TRENKWALDER, 2003 member of the Director-General’s Task Force for Iraq – Ulrich H.J. KÖRTNER, 2006–2009 Austrian representative at COMEST – Karl Heinz GRUBER, 2006–2009 Austrian member of the IBE Panel – Werner JANOSCHEK, 2006 member of the Honorary Committee of UNESCO’s Global Network of National Geoparks – Christoph BAZIL, 2005–2013 Austrian member of the International Committee of the Hague Convention

APPENDIX – Sepp REDL, 2007–2009 Austrian member of the Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS) – Harald TREIBER, 2007–2011 Austrian member of the Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS) – Christiane DRUML, 2008–2011 Member of the International Bioethics Committee – Bert GROEN UNESCO Chair of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for South East Europe, Karl Franzens University Graz – Wolfgang DIETRICH UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies, University of Innsbruck

BOARD – Eva NOWOTNY (from 16 February 2009) President, Ambassador, ret. – Johann MARTE (until 15 February 2009) President, Director-General, ret. – Wolfgang WALDNER (from 5 November 2009) Vice-President, MuseumsQuartier Errichtungs- und BetriebsgesmbH – Anton PELINKA (5–26 November 2009) Vice-President, Institute of Conflict Research – Marianne POPP (until 15 February 2009) Vice-President, University of Vienna – Elke ATZLER / Stefan PEHRINGER BmeiA (Cultural Policy Department) – Norbert RIEDL BMUKK (Arts and Culture Division) – Anna STEINER BMUKK (Cultural Heritage Division) – Christine STROMBERGER BMUKK (Education Division) – Matthias TRAIMER / Martina HOHENSINN BKA (Communication/Information Division) – Christina ZIMMERMANN BMWF (Science Division) – Franz SCHULLER Vienna State Government (for the Austrian Länder) – Gerhard KOWAR KulturKontakt Austria – Gabriele SAUBERER TermNet (Chairperson of the IFAP National Committee / Advisory Panel – Helmuth HARTMEYER Austrian Development Agency (Chairman of the Advisory Panel on Education for Sustainable Development and Global Learning) – Igor MITSCHKA Pupil (Chairman of the Youth Advisory Panel)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND BOARD MEETINGS An extraordinary General Assembly was held on 16 February 2009, and the eighth General Assembly took place on 5 November 2009. The Commission noted the Annual Report of 2008 and adopted the working programme and budget for 2010. The ÖUK Board met twice in 2009.

BUDGET The Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture pays an annual membership fee that covers the cost of infrastructure and staff, as well as activities in the field of education. In 2009, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO received € 195,500.– for administrative and personnel costs, as well as € 58,000.– for projects in the field of education from BMUKK funds, as well as € 20,625.– to cover losses caused by rising labour costs in 2008, 50% of which was paid by Department I and the Executive Department each. The Ministry also provides the office space for ÖUK and covers the personnel cost of Gabriele Eschig, the current secretarygeneral. It also provides 20 hours of work per week by a federal teacher (currently Friederike Koppensteiner) to coordinate the Austrian UNESCO schools. For activities regarding the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity, BMUKK (IV/9) paid ÖUK a grant of € 25,000.–, and another grant of € 16,000.– came from BMUKK (IV/3b) for activities related to the cultural heritage. For the 5th and 6th award ceremonies for Decade projects (Wr. Neudorf, 2 October), BMUKK and BMLFUW contributed € 1,818.50. For the National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage within ÖUK, the Commission obtained altogether € 100,000.– from BMUKK, BMLFUW and BMG. Preparation of an online directory of Austria’s intangible cultural heritage yielded a grant of € 8,400.– from BMUKK (IV/9). The Cultural Department of the City of Vienna gave a grant of € 1,500.– for a symposium on “Traditional knowledge of midwives”. The project on “Traditional and complementary healing methods in Austria”, managed by Michaela Noseck, received a grant of € 30,000.– from the Uniqa Foundation. The 11th Salzburg Tourism Forum, which discussed “Intangible cultural heritage and tourism: rituals, traditions, stagings”, obtained altogether € 10,000.– from the BMWFJ. The UNESCO Interregional Workshop was sponsored by funds from the UNESCO Participation Programme (€ 10,000.–) plus another € 5,000.– from UNESCO/Paris. Organising the international art education workshop Linz09– Dakar10 produced € 9,000.– from BMUKK, BmeiA and KulturKontakt Austria plus € 10,000.– from the UNESCO PP. L’OREAL Austria contributed € 1,000.– towards the ÖUK Annual Report for 2008.

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APPENDIX

Eva NOWOTNY President

Wolfgang WALDNER Vice-President

Gabriele ESCHIG Secretary-General

Mona MAIRITSCH Deputy Secretary-General, Culture and Communication/Information

Matthias ECK Education, Science and Youth

Eva TRÖTZMÜLLER Press/p.r. work

Martina MERTL Secretariat

Friederike KOPPENSTEINER National ASP Coordinator

Maria WALCHER Director, National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Dina YANNI Scientific Assistant, National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Eva STIERMAYR Scientific Assistant, National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage

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APPENDIX BOARD

OTHER EMPLOYEES (BY QUASI-FREELANCE CONTRACT)

– Eva NOWOTNY (from 16 February 2009) President, ambassador, ret. – Johann MARTE (until 15 February 2009) President, director general, ret. – Wolfgang WALDNER (from 5 November 2009) Vice-President, MuseumsQuartier Errichtungs- und BetriebsgesmbH – Anton PELINKA (5–26 November 2009) Vice-President, Institute of Conflict Research – Marianne POPP (until 15 February 2009) Vice-President, University of Vienna

– Eva KUMAR (until 15 February 2009) for cataloguing the library

SECRETARIAT

WORK PROGRAMME AND STRUCTURE

– Gabriele ESCHIG Secretary-General – Mona MAIRITSCH Deputy Secretary-General, Culture and Communication/ Information (from 1 July 2009; parental part-time employment until 30 June 2009) – Matthias ECK Education, Science and Youth – Eva TRÖTZMÜLLER Press/p.r. work – Martina MERTL Secretary – Friederike KOPPENSTEINER National ASP Coordinator – Maria WALCHER Director, National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage – Dina YANNI Scientific Assistant, National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage (until 31 March 2009), stand-in for Culture and Communication/Information (until 30 June 2009) – Eva STIERMAYR Scientific Assistant, National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage (from 1 April 2009)

The Advisory Panel is charged with the following responsibilities: – analysing all UNESCO Programmes with regard to issues that concern young people; – developing own priorities; – regular exchange of information and opinions within the Advisory Panel; – cooperation with ÖUK’s other Advisory Panels and Working Groups; – helping to develop Austrian positions on the respective subject areas; – promoting a wide national discourse, providing momentum, creating public responses, as well as taking measures to increase public awareness (by organising panel discussions, seminars, conferences, publications in cooperation with ÖUK, etc.).

INTERNS Jochen Schwarz (2 February to 30 April 2009) Christian Bahoo (1 April to 29 May 2009) Sarah Prehsler (4 May to 31 July 2009) Nadine-Gabriele Lauterbach (13 July to 11 September 2009) Alexander Schiestl (31 August to 27 November 2009) Tim Grunwald (14 September to 18 December 2009) Natalja Salnikova (from 30 November 2009)

ADVISORY PANELS AND WORKING GROUPS YOUTH ADVISORY PANEL

The Youth Advisory Panel met once, on 27 April 2009. It is chaired by Igor Mitschka.

MEMBERSHIP Membership comprises: – pupils and students, students’ and pupils’ representatives, representatives of organisations such as the Austrian Federal Youth Representative Council, etc. WORK STRUCTURE The Youth Advisory Panel is a group of experts formed as a working platform. Its work is initiated and coordinated by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO which also prepares the minutes of the meetings. The Youth Advisory Panel elects its chairperson and a vice-chairperson from its members. The chairperson is proposed as a member of the board of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO for the duration of his/her mandate. The Youth Advisory Panel convenes twice a year for consultations relating to its strategy and position and to decide on its yearly activity programme. The panel communicates

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APPENDIX chiefly through e-mail and is supplemented by specific Working Group meetings on specific questions. TERM The Advisory Panel was set up for three years in 2006, initially for three years, and its mandate was extended until 2012 in 2009. MEMBERS OF THE YOUTH ADVISORY PANEL – Igor MITSCHKA Chair, pupil and chair of the “COOL SCHOOL” Association – Madeleine POTZMANN Pupil, BG Wien V “Haydngymnasium” – Julia FORSTNER Austrian National Union of Students – Maria WOLF Federal Ministry for Health, Family and Youth – Richard KRISCH Association of Vienna’s Youth Centres Deputy: Werner PRINZJAKOWITSCH – Philipp S. NAGEL Chair, Austrian Federal Youth Representative Council Deputy: Benedikt WALZEL Manager, Austrian Federal Youth Representative Council – Christine STROMBERGER BMUKK, Department I/6 – Bettina RAMP Working Group Young People Against Violence (Graz) – Barbara RIEPL Austrian Institute for Youth Research

ADVISORY PANEL “EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL LEARNING”

The Advisory Panel “Education for Sustainable Development and Global Learning” met twice in 2009, on 13 March and 27 October. It is chaired by Helmuth Hartmeyer.

– promoting a wide national discourse, providing momentum, creating public responses; as well as – taking measures to improve public awareness by organising panel discussion, seminars, conferences, publications in cooperation with ÖUK, etc. MEMBERSHIP Membership comprises: – representatives of the ministries concerned; – education experts from NGOs working in the relevant thematic fields of the Decade; – representatives of education and research facilities (universities and educational institutions); – representatives of Austrian state governments; – representatives of the media, business and the social partners, etc. WORK STRUCTURE The Advisory Panel “Education for Sustainable Development and Global Learning” is a group of experts set up as a working platform. Its work is initiated and coordinated by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, which also prepares the minutes of the meetings. The Advisory Panel chooses its chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its members. The chairperson is proposed to the General Assembly as a member of the ÖUK Board for the duration of his/her mandate. The Advisory Panel convenes up to two times a year for consultations relating to its strategy and position and to decide on its yearly activity programme. The panel communicates chiefly through e-mail and is supplemented by specific Working Group meetings on specific questions. TERM The Advisory Panel was set up in 2005 for a term to span the entire Decade ending in 2014. MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY PANEL “EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL LEARNING”

WORK PROGRAMME AND STRUCTURE The Advisory Panel is charged with the following responsibilities: – analysing documents relevant for the Decade; – holding an exchange of information and opinions on all issues in connection with the UN Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” which are considered relevant at national as well as at international level; – cooperation with the Steering Group of the Austrian Sustainability Strategy;

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– Helmut HARTMEYER Chair, Austrian Development Agency – Günther PFAFFENWIMMER BMUKK – Josef NEUMÜLLER /Christine STROMBERGER BMUKK – Evelyn NOWOTNY BMWF – Wolfram TERTSCHNIG Alternate: Peter IWANIEWICZ BMLFUW

APPENDIX – Marianne POPP University of Vienna – Friedrich ZIMMERMANN University of Graz – Franz RAUCH University of Klagenfurt – Lutz-Günther SCHEIDT Vienna University of Technology – Franz HALBARTSCHLAGER Südwind Agentur – Monica LIESCHKE Forum Umweltbildung – Christian GUMMERER Agenda 21 Office, Upper Austria – Friederike KOPPENSTEINER National ASP Coordinator

WORKING GROUP ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY The Working Group on Cultural Diversity met twice in 2009, on 10 March and 2 June. The Group is chaired by Bernhard Perchinig, whose deputy is Veronika Ratzenböck. In 2006 it joined the international network “Coalitions for Cultural Diversity”. WORK PROGRAMME AND STRUCTURE The Working Group is given the following tasks: – analysing the draft texts furnished by UNESCO; – holding an exchange of information and opinions on all issues considered relevant, for Austria as well as internationally, in connection with the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity; – preparing proposals for Austrian comments submitted by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO; – promoting a wide national discourse, providing an impetus, creating public responses, taking measures to improve public awareness by discussions, workshops, conferences, publications, etc. as a contribution to the work of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO. MEMBERSHIP Membership comprises: – national cultural players: artists and their associations, culture producers, culture workers and experts in the field; – representatives of federal and state governments. WORK STRUCTURE Providing a platform for the work of a group of experts, the Working Group is launched and coordinated by the Austrian

Commission for UNESCO, which also prepares the minutes of the meetings. The panel chooses its chairperson and vicechairperson from among its members. A team of editors from amongst its midst prepares the Working Group’s written comments on the draft texts and other documents proposed by UNESCO. The panel works chiefly through e-mail, supplemented by periodic meetings to agree on its positions and exchange political and social evaluations. TERM The Working Group was originally set up to develop the Convention (summer 2004) and accompany it through its adoption (autumn 2005) and ratification by Austria. As the members of the Working Group felt that their work was not done with the adoption of the Convention, the Working Group’s term was prolonged indefinitely to support and promote the national implementation of the Convention after its ratification by Austria. MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY – Bernhard PERCHINIG Chair, Austrian Academy of Sciences – Veronika RATZENBÖCK Vice-Chair, Österreichische Kulturdokumentation – Norbert RIEDL / Anna STEINER / Yvonne GIMPEL BMUKK – Barbara FRÄNZEN / Brigitte WINKLER-KOMAR BMUKK – Bettina MÜLLER-JESCHKO BMUKK – Kathrin KNEISSEL / Aleksandra WIDHOFNER BMUKK – Elke ATZLER BMeiA – Christian AUINGER Federal Ministry of Justice – Franz SCHULLER Provincial Government of Vienna – Eugen SCHERER / Martin GRÜNEIS Provincial Government of Lower Austria – Josef TIEFENBACH / Jakob PERSCHY Provincial Government of Burgenland – Reinhard MATTES / Paulus WALL Provincial Government of Upper Austria – Monika KALISTA / Christian HALLER Provincial Government of Salzburg – Gabriele RUSS / Christiane KADA Provincial Government of Styria – Erika NAPETSCHNIG Provincial Government of Carinthia

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APPENDIX – Benedikt ERHARD Provincial Government of Tyrol – Werner GRABHER Provincial Government of Vorarlberg – Gernot GRANINGER State-approved Association of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (AKM) – Gabriele GERBASITS IG Kultur – Peter RANTASA Musikinformationszentrum mica – Stephan NISTLER Kompetenzzentrum Kunst- und Kulturrecht – Franz PATAY IMZ – Internationales Musikzentrum – Gerti SPIELBÜCHLER Verband Freier Radios Österreich – Ludwig LAHER Board Member of IG Autorinnen Autoren and of the International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD) – Maria Anna KOLLMANN Umbrella Organisation of Austrian Filmmakers – Mercedes ECHERER EU-XXL, actress – Peter Paul SKREPEK Trade Union for Art, Media, Sports and Freelancers Musicians Guild – Sabine PROKOP Interessengemeinschaft Freie Theaterarbeit Austrian Cultural Council – Andrea ELLMEIER Cultural Research – Renate WASL KulturKontakt Austria – Werner MÜLLER Trade Association of the Austrian Audiovisual and Film Industry – Werner RAZA / Iris STRUTZMANN Vienna Chamber of Labour – EU and International Affairs – Harald HUBER Austrian Music Council – Franz-Otto HOFECKER Vienna University of Music and the Performing Arts – Andreas BAUM Musician – Gerhart RUISS IG Autorinnen und Autoren – Georg SCHÖLLHAMMER Springerin – Frank STAHMER Composers Association – Klaus UNTERBERGER ORF Public Value Competence Centre

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ADVISORY PANEL ON THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE WORK PROGRAMME The Advisory Panel uses a catalogue of criteria to decide on inscribing proposed elements of intangible cultural heritage in the national List, nominating elements of the national List to the international Lists (the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” and the “List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding”) as well as nominating those programmes, projects and activities to preserve the intangible cultural heritage that best correspond to the principles and objectives of the Convention. The Panel’s brief includes motivating NGOs to apply for accreditation as advisory organisations to the Intergovernmental Committee. MEMBERSHIP Membership comprises: – representatives of federal government (BMUKK, BMG, BMLFUW, BMWF); – one representative of each state; – experts in the five domains of the intangible cultural heritage. The representatives of the federal and nine state governments are appointed ad institutionam, whereas experts serve ad personam. WORK STRUCTURE The Panel meets as required but at least once a year, reflecting the deadlines for nominations to the international Lists and for nominating programmes, projects and activities. These deadlines are as follows: – for safeguarding programmes, projects and activities that best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention: 1 March (decision to be taken in the same year); – for the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: 31 March (decision to be taken in September of the following year); – for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: 31 August (decision to be taken in September of the following year). The Advisory Panel consists of 23 voting members (representatives of federal and state governments and experts). The Panel has a quorum when at least 12 of its members are present. Voting requires the members’ presence at meetings. An element will be accepted to the national List and nominated for inscription on the international Lists if a unanimous decision is made by at least 12 voting members. A single negative

APPENDIX vote means that the element will not be accepted into any of the Lists. Abstentions are considered votes not cast. The National Agency informs the applicant of the Panel’s decision, giving grounds therefor. If an element is rejected on formal grounds only, a new application may be submitted for its inscription on the national List. The meetings are convoked, coordinated and chaired and its minutes are taken by the National Agency for the Intangible Cultural heritage within ÖUK. TERM The Advisory Panel was established in July 2009 for a term of five years. The decision on its extension is taken about six months before its expiry.

– Christian VOGL Institute of Ecological Agriculture, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna – Wolfgang LOBISSER Interdisziplinary Research Platform Archaeology, Vienna – Elisabeth NIEDERMAYR Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna – Hannes SCHEUTZ German Studies, University of Salzburg – Ingo SCHNEIDER Institute of History and Ethnology, University of Innsbruck – Hildegard WEISS Institute of Sociology, University of Vienna

MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY PANEL

AUSTRIAN IFAP NATIONAL COMMITTEE

– Anna STEINER BMUKK – Ursula BRUSTMANN BMWF – Alfred GRIESHOFER BMLFUW – Robert SCHLÖGEL BMG – Franz SCHULLER Office of the Provincial Government of Vienna – Werner GRABHER Office of the Provincial Government of Vorarlberg – Benedikt ERHARD Office of the Provincial Government of Tirol – Gabriele RUSS Office of the Provincial Government of Styria – Monika KALISTA Office of the Provincial Government of Salzburg – Alexander JALKOTZY Office of the Provincial Government of Upper Austria – Eugen SCHERER Office of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria – Erika NAPETSCHNIG Office of the Provincial Government of Carinthia – Richard GIEFING Office of the Provincial Government of Burgenland – Ulrike KAMMERHOFER-AGGERMANN Salzburg State Institute of Ethnology – Ursula HEMETEK Institute of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology, Vienna – Helmut EBERHART Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Graz – Manfred KREMSER Institute of Ethnology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna

The IFAP National Committee met twice in 2009, on 2 March (when a workshop was included in the proceedings) and 29 October. It is chaired by Gabriele Sauberer, with Sigrid Reinitzer acting as the vice-chairperson. WORK PROGRAMME AND STRUCTURE The Austrian IFAP National Committee is charged with the following responsibilities: – incorporating Austrian interests in the programme development; – promoting the programme by active contributions in fields of Austrian competence; – developing proposals for comments by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO to the IFAP Council; – assisting IFAP in implementing its goals in Austria and implementing IFAP Council decisions; – promoting an exchange of information and opinions in all issues connected to IFAP; – promoting a wide discourse in Austria, supplying impulses, developing a public response and taking awareness-raising measures by way of panel discussions, workshops, conferences, publications, etc. as a contribution to the work of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO. MEMBERSHIP Membership at the IFAP National Committee/Advisory Panel comprises: – representatives of libraries, archives, museums and documentation points, workers in the fields of information processing, communication technology, content development, media education and cyberlaw; – representatives of federal and state governments.

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APPENDIX WORK STRUCTURE The IFAP National Committee is a group of experts. Its work is launched and coordinated by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO which also prepares the minutes of the meetings. The IFAP National Committee chooses its chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its members. The panel communicates chiefly through e-mail, supplemented by periodic meetings to agree on its positions, especially with regard to the IFAP Council and bureau meetings, to comment on UNESCO papers and on the two-year programmes and budgets. TERM The Austrian IFAP National Committee has been established for the term of IFAP. Its members and chairpersons serve for two years, in parallel to the composition of the IFAP Council, and may be re-elected. MEMBERS OF THE IFAP NATIONAL COMMITTEE – Gabriele SAUBERER Chair, Termnet – Sigrid REINITZER Vice-Chair, Graz University Library – Gerhard BUDIN Centre of Translation Studies – Christian GALINSKI International Information Centre for Terminology – Ingrid GERETSCHLÄGER Advisory Point on Media Education – Albrecht HALLER Lawyer – Martina HOHENSINN Federal Chancellery – Rainer HUBERT Austrian Mediathek – Gerald LEITNER Austrian Library Association – Lorenz MIKOLETZKY Austrian State Archives – Alfred SCHMIDT Austrian National Library – Dietrich SCHÜLLER Phonogram Archive – Helmut STEMMER BMUKK – Johann STOCKINGER Austrian Computer Association – A Min TJOA Vienna University of Technology – Carola WALA Austrian Society for Documentation and Information

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WORKING GROUPS WITHIN THE IFAP NATIONAL COMMITTEE The Working Groups were established by the workshop in March 2009 and they meet as required within the scope of their respective project. The Working Group on Information Ethics met on 9 April and 28 May; the Working Group on Information Access assembled on 9 April, and the Working Group on Information Competence came together on 30 March, 10 April, 8 May and 29 May. Some members of the Working Groups are experts who do not serve on the IFAP National Committee. These experts are consulted in an advisory capacity. They are not standing members but are called in as required. Membership in a working group terminates either with the expiry of membership in the IFAP National Committee or with the dissolution of a working group. MEMBERS OF THE IFAP NATIONAL COMMITTEE WORKING GROUP ON INFORMATION ETHICS – Gabriele SAUBERER Chair of the IFAP National Committee – Albrecht HALLER Lawyer – Martina HOHENSINN Federal Chancellery MEMBERS OF THE IFAP NATIONAL COMMITTEE WORKING GROUP ON INFORMATION ACCESS – Gabriele SAUBERER Chair of the IFAP National Committee – Christian GALINSKI International Information Centre for Terminology – Falk RECKLING Austrian Science Fund (non-standing member) MEMBERS OF THE IFAP NATIONAL COMMITTEE WORKING GROUP ON INFORMATION COMPETENCE – Gabriele SAUBERER Chair of the IFAP National Committee – Dr. Gerhard BUDIN Centre of Translation Studies – Christian GALINSKI International Information Centre for Terminology – Carola WALA Austrian Society for Documentation and Information – Johannes GÖLLNER Military Academy, Science Management (non-standing member)

APPENDIX – Hermann HUEMER Austrian Society for Documentation and Information (non-standing member) – Friederike KOPPENSTEINER Coordinator for Austrian UNESCO schools (non-standing member) – Klaus MAK Military Academy, Science Management (non-standing member)

MEMORY OF THE WORLD NATIONAL COMMITTEE In 2009, the Memory of the World National Committee was established as a sub-committee to the IFAP National Committee. Its constituent meeting took place on 6 April, and a second meeting was held on 18 November. It its chaired by Dietrich Schüller, with Rainer Hubert acting as its vice-chairperson. MEMBERS – Dietrich SCHÜLLER Chairperson, Phonogram Archive – Rainer HUBERT Vice-chairperson, Österreichische Mediathek – Peter CSENDES University of Vienna – Lorenz MIKOLETZKY Austrian State Archives – Sigrid REINITZER Library of the University of Graz – Norbert RIEDL BMUKK – Johanna RACHINGER / Alfred SCHMIDT Austrian National Library – Christina ZIMMERMANN BMWF – Hans ZOTTER Library of the University of Graz, Special Collection – Gabriele SAUBERER ex officio: Chair of the IFAP National Committee, TermNet

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APPENDIX AUSTRIAN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES 1996 1996 1997

1998

1999 2000 2001 2001

Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg www.salzburg.info Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn www.schoenbrunn.at Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape www.salzkammergut.at Semmering Railway www.noe.co.at/partner/trsued/ whsemmeringbahn/home.htm City of Graz Historic Centre www.graz.at Wachau Cultural Landscape www.arbeitskreis-wachau.at/html/welterbe.html Historic Centre of Vienna www.vienna.info Fertö/Neusiedler See Cultural Landscape (jointly with Hungary) www.welterbe.org www.fertotaj.hu

AUSTRIAN BIOSPHERE RESERVES 1977

1977

1977

1977

2000 2005

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Gossenköllesee, Tyrol www.biosphaerenparks.at/biosphaerenparks/ bsr/deutsch/gossenkoellesee/gossenkoellesee.html Gurgler Kamm, Tyrol www.biosphaerenparks.at/biosphaerenparks/ bsr/deutsch/gurglerkamm/gurglerkamm.html Lobau, Vienna www.biosphaerenparks.at/biosphaerenparks/ bsr/deutsch/lobau/lobau.html Neusiedler See, Burgenland www.biosphaerenparks.at/biosphaerenparks/ bsr/deutsch/neusiedler/neusiedlersee.html Grosses Walsertal, Vorarlberg www.grosseswalsertal.at Vienna Woods, Vienna/Lower Austria www.biosphaerenpark-wienerwald.org

AUSTRIAN ENTRIES IN THE MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER 1997 1997

1999

2001 2001 2003 2005

2005

2005

2007

Vienna Dioscurides, Austrian National Library www.onb.ac.at Final Document of the Congress of Vienna, Austrian State Archives www.oesta.gv.at Historical Collections (1899–1950), Audiovisual Research Archives of the Austrian Academy of Sciences www.pha.oeaw.ac.at Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer, Austrian National Library www.onb.ac.at Vienna City Library’s Schubert Collection, Vienna www.wienbibliothek.wien.at Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem, Austrian National Library www.onb.ac.at Brahms Collection, Vienna Society of Friends of Music www.musikverein.at Collection of Gothic Architectural Drawings, Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna www.akbild.ac.at/Portal/einrichtungen/ kupferstichkabinett Bibliotheca Corviniana, Austrian National Library (jointly with Hungary, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy) www.onb.ac.at Tabula Peutingeriana, Austrian National Library www.onb.ac.at

APPENDIX AUSTRIAN MEMBERSHIP IN UNESCO’S INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEES/COUNCILS – International Coordination Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme (2009 –2013, 2005 –2009) Representative: Günther KÖCK, Austrian Academy of Sciences – International Council of the Information for All Programme (2007–2011, 2003 –2007) Representative: Dietrich SCHÜLLER, Phonogram Archives of the Austrian Academy of Sciences – International Council of the International Bureau of Education (IBE) in Geneva (2005 –2009) Representative: Karlheinz GRUBER, University of Vienna – Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict/Hague Convention, Second Protocol (2009–2013, 2005 –2009) Representative: Christoph BAZIL, BMUKK – Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2007–2009) Representative: Helene STEINHÄUSL, Austrian Permanent Delegation to UNESCO/BMeiA – Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS) (2007–2011) Representatives: Sepp REDL, BMUKK and Harald TREIBER, Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports – Intergovernmental Council of the “Management of Social Transformations” (MOST) Programme (2009–2013) Representative: Günter BURKERT-DOTTOLO (BMWF) – Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC) (2009–2013) Representative: Marjo RAUHALA, BKA, Office of the Bioethics Commission

AUSTRIAN EXPERTS WITH UNESCO – Christiane DRUML International Bioethics Committee (2008–2011), Ethics Commission of Vienna Medical University and of the City of Vienna General Hospital AKH – Ulrich KÖRTNER COMEST (2006–2009) Head of the Institute for Systematic Theology and Religious Science of the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Vienna

AUSTRIAN UNESCO CHAIRS – UNESCO Chair on Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (established in 1996), Europäische Friedensuniversität (European University Centre for Peace Studies, EPU), Stadtschlaining Holder: Gerald MADER Coordinator: Alexandra ELBLING Homepage: www.epu.ac.at/epu/ – UNESCO Chair of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for South East Europe (established in 2007) at KarlFranzens University of Graz, Faculty of Catholic Theology Holder: Bert GROEN Homepage: www.uni-graz.at – UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies, Innsbruck University Holder: Wolfgang DIETRICH Homepage: www.uibk.ac.at/peacestudies/

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2009 Annual Report – Austrian Commission for UNESCO Published by: Austrian Commission for UNESCO, Universitätsstrasse 5, A-1010 Vienna, Austria, www.unesco.at Editorial: Gabriele Eschig, Mona Mairitsch, Matthias Eck, Eva Trötzmüller, Maria Walcher, Eva Stiermayr, Martina Mertl, Friederike Koppensteiner, Dina Yanni; Translation: Gertrude Maurer; Design and Typesetting: Ursula Meyer; Print: Agens & Ketterl GmbH, Mauerbach/Vienna