HAVANA, Oct 12 (NNN-ACN) — Cuba ratified Tuesday at the Executive Council of UNESCO its commitment to the values and mandate of that organization in the pursuit of peace and the promotion of sustainable development.
According to information from the Cuban foreign ministry, the island’s permanent representative to this body, Yahima Esquivel, highlighted the multilateral organization’s support for a considerable number of development programs in education, science and culture.
At the 215th Session of the forum, held in Paris, the diplomat underscored the uninterrupted cooperation with UNESCO since Cuba’s entry, 75 years ago, and assured that her country will continue defending its founding values and principles, which are fully valid to face the current global challenges.
This, she added, has allowed Cuba to promote development and access to scientific progress as a public good at the service of humanity, and to face global emergencies such as the Ebola and COVID-19 pandemics with a vocation of solidarity.
Esquivel highlighted Cuban participation in the organization’s response to challenges such as the digital divide, Internet governance and ethics in artificial intelligence, as well as the right to access to information, the safeguarding of heritage and cultural diversity.
The Caribbean nation is honored to have in Havana the first office that UNESCO established outside its headquarters, a mission approved by the General Conference in 1948, the diplomat continued.
On behalf of the Cuban government and people, Esquivel thanked the expressions of solidarity received after hurricane Ian hit the western part of the country, causing severe damage. –
Meanwhile, the 5th edition of the International Colloquium of Studies on Native Cultures of the Americas kicked off today at the headquarters of the Casa de las Americas in Havana.
The meeting will be held until Oct 14, and has as its main theme Indigenous People: memory, communication and languages, reported La Ventana, the information portal of the cultural institution.
Participants in the event will address aspects related to the current economic, political, social and cultural reality of the indigenous people of the region of the Americas, as well as their actions against the mechanisms of dispossession and oblivion of their cosmovisions.
Among other topics, they will also discuss some forms of articulation among these populations that present communication strategies, artistic creation, experiences of resistance, activism and leadership.
The 2022 edition of this international colloquium is part of the actions of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly with the aim of guaranteeing the right of these people to preserve, revitalize and promote their languages, and to integrate aspects of linguistic diversity and multilingualism into sustainable development efforts. — NNN-ACN
