Austrian UNESCO Commission

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Austrian UNESCO Commission
 

UNESCO logo
Organization type society
Abbreviation ÖUK
management Sabine Haag (President)
status National liaison office
Founded 1949 (club: 2001)
Headquarters Vienna 1 , Universitätsstrasse 5
Upper organization UNESCO
Subsidiary organizations National Agency for Intangible Cultural Heritage
www.unesco.at

The Austrian UNESCO Commission ( ÖUK ) is the liaison office for UNESCO affairs in Austria. After Austria joined UNESCO on August 13, 1948, the Austrian ÖUK according to Art. VII.1. of the UNESCO constitution in 1949 as a national liaison office (Federal Law Gazette No. 49/1949). Initially located in the Ministry of Education , it was spun off in 2001 and re-established as a registered association.

tasks

According to the statutes, the primary task of ÖUK is to advise the federal government, the state governments and other governmental and non-governmental institutions on the implementation of UNESCO's goals in Austria and the dissemination of UNESCO's goals to the Austrian public. Another priority is the development of long-term expertise and the optimal use of the national and international networks of UNESCO. The increase of the visibility of UNESCO by lobbying for the participation of Austria in international UNESCO programs as well as the cooperation in the implementation of international law treaties are further important tasks of the ÖUK.

ÖUK does not have a funding budget and therefore cannot subsidize external events. The ÖUK represents UNESCO as the owner of the rights to the name and the UNESCO logo for Austria and is therefore entitled to use the UNESCO emblem.

Analogous to the UNESCO 2-year program, the Austrian UNESCO Commission has the following priorities, which at the same time reflect the organizational structure of the ÖUK:

  • Education: literacy, intercultural peace education, cultural education, education for sustainable development, UNESCO schools
  • Sciences: Biosphere reserves, For Women in Science , UNESCO chairs
  • Culture: World Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Protection of Cultural Property, Cultural Diversity
  • Communication and information: digital heritage, freedom of the press, information-for-all program

education

The main priorities of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO in the field of education include the “Education for All” program, the implementation of the UN Decade on Literacy (2003–2012) and the UN Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” (2005–2014), intercultural Peace education, cultural education (e.g. World Heritage education) and the UNESCO schools  (ASPnet).

UN decade for literacy

As part of the UN Decade for Literacy (2003–2012), the Austrian UNESCO Commission reminded every year on September 8th, World Literacy Day, that some people in Austria also have inadequate reading and writing skills. Reliable figures, a basic requirement for targeted measures against illiteracy, did not yet exist in Austria. Therefore, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO supported the participation of Austria in the PIAAC (Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) of the OECD .

education for Sustainable Development

As part of the World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development from 2005 to 2014, the Austrian UNESCO Commission honored exceptional Austrian educational projects as UN Decade Projects twice a year. Projects awarded in this context should cover the three sustainability dimensions of economy, ecology and social issues.

UNESCO schools

The more than 80 Austrian UNESCO schools are part of the international school network of UNESCO. Founded in Paris in 1953, the ASPnet network now includes thousands of educational institutions worldwide at all levels, from kindergarten to teacher training. Participation in the network of UNESCO schools is designed as a long-term commitment. The entire school community is called upon to continuously incorporate UNESCO's concerns into all areas of everyday school life.

Sciences

The main focal points of the Austrian UNESCO Commission in the science sector include the biosphere reserves, For Women in Science / L´ORÈAL and the UNESCO chairs.

Biosphere reserves

Biosphere reserves are designated as part of the Man and Biosphere  (MAB) program. The central goal is not only nature conservation, but also specifically designed for closely interlinked natural and cultural landscapes that "model biological diversity and cultural values ​​with social and economic development". They are internationally representative land, water or coastal regions in which sustainable development is lived. The spectrum ranges from urban recreational areas ( Lobau near Vienna 1977), through agricultural and forestry  regions ( Neusiedler See  1977, Großes Walsertal  2000, Wienerwald 2005) to retreat landscapes with alpine tourism ( Salzburg Lungau and Carinthian Nockberge  2012).

For Women in Science

Since 2007, L'Oréal Austria, in cooperation with the Austrian UNESCO Commission and the Austrian Academy of Sciences and with the support of the Federal Ministry for Science, Research and Economy, has been awarding four grants a year for young basic researchers (medicine, natural sciences, mathematics). The aim of this initiative is to encourage young women scientists to pursue a career in research or to make their start easier.

UNESCO chairs

In Austria there are currently four UNESCO chairs in the global network of over 600 UNESCO chairs:

Previously there were also chairs at the University of Vienna (UNESCO Chair for Multilingual, Transcultural Communication in the Digital Age, 2010–2014) and at the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution (UNESCO Chair for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy, 1996–2014).

Culture

The focus of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO in the field of culture includes the following topics: cultural diversity, world heritage, intangible cultural heritage and the protection of cultural property, especially in the event of armed conflicts.

Cultural diversity

With the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005), the international community has taken a pioneering step towards an international cultural policy. A new legal area was created through political self-commitment, which recognizes the right to national cultural policy and state cultural funding, as well as establishing cultural policy as part of official development cooperation. Austria ratified in 2006. The Convention entered into force in 2007. In addition to the Convention, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO has a contact point for the Convention in accordance with Article 28 of the Convention. The contact point is supported by an advisory board and a working group of experts, artists and cultural workers and their interest groups as well as representatives of the federal and state governments.

World heritage sites

Austria ratified the World Heritage Convention in December 1992. The nine sites in Austria include old town landscapes and buildings ( Salzburg  1996, Graz  1999 with Eggenberg  2010, Vienna  2001 and Schönbrunn  1996), a technical ( Semmering Railway  1998) and an archaeological monument ( pile dwellings  2001, with Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France , Slovenia) as well as cultural landscapes shaped by millennia-old cultivation ( Hallstatt – Dachstein / Salzkammergut  1997, Wachau  2000, Neusiedler See  2001 with Hungary).

Intangible cultural heritage

Austria has been a signatory to the UNESCO Convention on the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage since July 9, 2009 . To support the Austrian ratification process and the implementation of the Convention, the National Agency for Intangible Cultural Heritage was set up on January 1, 2006 within the Austrian Commission for UNESCO. Her tasks include, above all, the identification of elements of intangible cultural heritage in Austria and their publication in a national directory. There are 79 entries in the national directory and two entries from Austria in the world list of masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of mankind ( Imster Schemenlaufen and Falknerei , both 2012).

Document and digital heritage

In the World Register Memory of the World  (MOW) 19 outstanding works from Austria (as of October 30, 2014) are registered, from manuscripts, early prints and original documents ( Dioscurides , Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem , Tabula Peutingeriana , Congress Act 1815 , parts of the Bibliotheca Corviniana ) up to entire extensive collections ( Archduke Rainer papyrus collection , Gothic architectural drawings, Schubert collection , Brahms collection , Arnold Schönberg estate ), including an archive for audio documents ( phonogram archive  1899–1950).

Communication and information

The main focal points in the communication and information area of ​​the Austrian Commission for UNESCO include the following topics: preservation of the digital heritage, the "Information for All" program and freedom of the press. Every year on May 3, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, together with Reporters Without Borders Austria, celebrates International Press Freedom Day to draw attention to the many threats to press freedom.

Web links

Programs:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quotation Man and the Biosphere (MAB) ( Memento from August 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) , unesco.at
  2. ↑ UNITWIN / UNESCO chairs ( Memento from September 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive )