The Philippines was one of the first signatories to the UNESCO Constitution.

To be able to properly discharge its obligation as a Member State, the Philippine Congress passed Republic Act No. 176 on June 20, 1947 creating the National Commission on Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Matters (NACESCUM). The NACESCUM served as liaison between UNESCO and the Philippine Government.

In 1951, Republic Act 621 was enacted establishing the uNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM). From its traditional role of liaison, UNACOM now does more progressive, diversified, and expanded work. It performs various functions as an advisory, liaison, information and executive body.

The Commission is composed of 42 members appointed by the President of the Philippines and three ex-officio members.

The UNACOM Executive Committee is headed by a chairman, who is the Secretary of Foreign Affairs; the elected vice-chairman; and the chairpersons of the five programme committees - education, science and technology, social and human sciences, culture and communication - and four elected Commissioners as members.

Its Secretariat, headed by a Secretary-General, serves as its technical and administrative arm. The technical and programme committees are organized along UNESCO’s areas of concern.

Towards life-long education for all

Over the years, UNACOM’s thrust and support for education have been pursued through such activities as:

provision of technical assistance to multi-grade and mobile teaching to reach underserved areas;

provision of financial and technical assistance to research and policy formulation on literacy promotion, especially among women and girls;

review and evaluation of the values education programme;

upgrading of science and technology teaching in secondary schools;

strengthening of technical and vocational education in secondary schools;

organization of multi-level training programme for teachers of preschool street children;

conduct of information dissemination campaign on environment; and

participation in cross-cultural research towards designing a curriculum for citizenship education for the future based on the concepts of peace, human rights, democracy and development.

Sciences in the Service of Development

Aside from actively participating in the international and regional programmes of UNESCO in the field of sciences in the service of development, UNACOM implements various projects under:

popularization of science and technology;

biotechnology, biodiversity; and basic sciences; and

information technology and communication activities.

To fight against all forms of exclusion and intolerance, the UNESCO Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme under the social and human sciences focuses on the implications of change in multicultural and multiethnic societies.

UNACOM, in cooperation with the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, convened the Expert Group Meeting on Women’s Contribution to a Culture of Peace, which aimed to highlight women’s contribution towards peace-building in its broadest sense. This meeting, held in 1995, was UNACOM’s contribution to UNESCO’s preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development, and Peace in Beijing.

Among its social sciences activities are:

publishing the Book on Tolerance (The Recounting of History as an Entry Point for Values Education and Tolerance Towards a Culture of Peace);

teaching of human rights through popular theater;

empowering women politically;

publishing studies on violence against women; and

disseminating environmental information and using education for development.

Cultural Development: The Heritage and Creativity

UNACOM supports the continuous evolution and growth of Philippine cultural heritage and tradition. It encourages an environment conducive to the production, recognition, and dissemination of Philippine cultural and artistic works by:

encouraging young Filipino researchers to participate in the Hirayama Silk Roads Fellowship Programme and the UNESCO-ASCHBERG;

publishing and promoting the works of Filipino Living Human Treasures;

promoting Philippine arts, music, dance, crafts and literature;

publishing Filipino literature and producing Filipino music for distribution around Asia, under the Asian Joint Publication and Production Programme; and

sponsoring seminars, conferences, and meetings of artists, musicians, librarians, anthropologists, linguists, authors, publishers, archivists, and other cultural workers and experts for the promotion of Philippine art and culture.

The Philippines hosted one of the three maritime expeditions under the Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue Project of 1990-92. This enabled experts, scholars, and journalists, including Filipino historians’ to retrace the roads that first linked the East and West. These cultural "encounters" produced workshops, publications, and multi-media projects on the history and civilization of the silk roads, projects to preserve ancient sites and texts, and environmental studies, such as on the desertification of the Aral Sea.

Four Baroque Churches, the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in Palawan, and the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were recently approved for inscription in the World Heritage Sites. They joined 440 protected sites around the world that receive logistical support on site management and conservation techniques.

Communication, Information and Informatics

UNESCO’s programme in communication and information has three objectives:

to promote independent and pluralistic media while developing communication infrastructure and human resources in developing countries;

to promote international cooperation in the sharing of scientific and technological information, and in improving the organization and operation of libraries and archives to ensure greater access to knowledge; and

to accelerate the technological convergence among telecommunication, computing, information products and mass communication and to harness informatics for social development.

In the Philippines, attainment of the three objectives is pursued through the following:

strengthening the role of the General Programme Information (PGI) to study the legal and ethical aspects of access to information;

cooperating with non-government organizations and press associations like the Press Foundation of Asia, Philippine Press Institute, the Philippine Movement for Press Freedom, and the World Press Freedom Committee, in monitoring infringements on press freedom and recommending measures to address the problems;

supporting the education and further training of journalists, giving financial and technical assistance to schools and colleges of journalism, notably the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, and sponsoring seminar-workshops and conferences for journalists and journalism teachers;

helping to upgrade the equipment of small private media outfits; and

financing and publishing studies and reports of research and educational institutions on community journalism, impact of new communication technology, population education, press coverage of women and minority groups, and media legislation and policy.

Under the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), Project TAMBULI in the Philippines has set up six rural radio stations and community media centers in far-flung areas. Controlled and operated by the community, these low-cost radio stations serve as forum for the sharing of information and opinion. This improves intercommunal relations and foster wider public participation in local governance. Awarded the 1996 IPDC-UNESCO Rural Communications Prize, Tambuli is set to expand to more localities.

In informatics, UNESCO sponsors the education and further training of librarians to improve their skills in the management and distribution of scientific information by using new technologies. Thus, the Science Information Program at the University of the Philippines Institute of Library Sciences was set up.

Likewise, UNESCO helps to upgrade the information technologies of the libraries.

The 1948 Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials enables the UNESCO National Commission to recommend the entry of imported educational, scientific, and cultural materials. This enhances the transfer and exchange of scientific information.

A transdisciplinary project coordinated by the Committee in Communication and Information is the National Distance Learning Programme. This is done in cooperation with the heads of 15 private and state colleges and universities, who helped design the Programme. Their institutions have since formed a network responsible for resource generation, the training of trainors, and the development of prototype learning modules, including a Manual of Operations for the NDLP.

Among the UNACOM Philippines’ recent projects are:

convening of the IPDC Regional Experts’ Meeting;

publication of an anthology on the Aurora Aragon Quezon Peace Winners;

training series on the development of learning modules on community communication and information technology as a response to the need for training on module writing of tertiary educators;

forum on book publishing development;

translation and publication of Folk Tales from Asia;

translation of UNESCO Courier into Filipino;

production of Earth Notes, a TV plug on environmental issues; and

awareness project on the Philippine heritage sites inscribed in the World Heritage List.

UNACOM Publications

Among the UNACOM publications are:

UNESCO Philippines: This is a semi-annual publication which provides updates on projects and activities of the secretariat and the five programme areas.

UNACOM Annual Report: It presents the accomplishments, special activities and important events of the year. It provides information on approved Philippine participation programmes: UNESCO-Philippine Missions, UNESCO fora coordinated by UNACOM, and UNESCO-supported meetings and training courses held abroad attended by Filipino participants.

Ang UNESCO Courier Filipinas: This contains selected articles from the international issue translated into Filipino and think pieces written by noted Filipino scholars.

UNACOM organized and established the UNESCO Fellows Alumni Association of the Philippines (UFAAPP) and its inaugural assembly. UFAAP aims to maintain contacts between UNESCO and former fellows; foster a two-way flow of information among the Fellows; prvide much-needed feedback to UNESCO on the efficiency of its fellowship and training programmes; and provide understanding of the support for UNESCO.

The UNESCO Associated Schools Project (ASP) consists of more than a hundred members. Together with the UNESCO clubs, they are active partners in promoting UNESCO’s goals of tolerance, peace and global solidarity, human rights and democracy, and development.

UNACOM initiated the organization of the Asia-Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education (APNIEVE). The network aims to promote and develop international education and values education for peace, human rights and democracy, tolerance and sustainable development. This is achieved through interagency cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region among individuals and institutions working in these fields especially in the field of teacher training, curriculum design and instructional materials development.

The Commission hosted and organized the First Regional Meeting of Experts from Asia-Pacific of the IPDC, which considered the role of the region in the elaboration and appraisal of IPDC projects as well as questions on project monitoring and evaluation.

UNACOM promotes UNESCO’s MOST programme. Among its projects is the Asia-Pacific Cooperative Research Project on Migration.

The UNACOM and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) hosted the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation Meeting of the World Commission on Culture and Development held in Manila on November 21, 1994.

In 1995, UNACOM coordinated the hosting of the Second International Forum on the Culture of Peace. The forum focused with great depth and specificity on the processes through which societies coming from a situation of armed conflict or violence develop, sustain and consolidate a Culture of Peace.

Who said learning can’t be fun? And who said watching television is not good for kids?

Now children can learn a lot of new things out of school and have fun while they’re at it. This time, it’s through television.

YES TO KIDS: The UNESCO Hour is a new television show for kids that is both educational and entertaining. This TV show for Filipino children is telecast every Sunday on IBC-13 from 2:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Y2K or YES TO KIDS offers a loaded package of information. Y2K is an alternative venue of education for Filipino children by maximizing the potentials of television to give information and at the same time, entertain its viewers.

The show presents relevant topics and issues in the realms of science, technology, arts, culture, sports, communication, and other issues affecting kids of today.

Maxene Sofia Maria Magalona, a twelve year old girl, hosts the show together with UNESCO Secretary-General Rosario G. Manalo, who acts as Sofia’s grandmother. Sec-Gen. Manalo introduces the projects of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines. Through Y2K, UNESCO is promoting its principles and goals of Education for All, a Culture of Peace and Tolerance, and Respect for Cultural Heritage.

Each episode has a theme presenting the objectives of UNESCO including the preservation of the environment and the protection of human rights. UNESCO’s projects are introduced by video clips. The program also includes visits to the wonders of the world, some of which are the Philippines’ heritage sites.

Also in the show is Juan Valetin, the puppet sidekick of Maxene. JV, like the other kids, is very observant and inquisitive. With Maxene, both of them try to discover the world and learn from all their fun experiences in the show.

YES TO KIDS is not just for Filipino children, but also for teachers, parents and other people who can influence their growth and learning process. This show is created and produced by IBC-13 in coordination with the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication.