Hasina opens BDF-2010,
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressing the
inaugural function of two-day-long Bangladesh Development
Forum at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the
city on Monday.
The donor countries and agencies did not make any specific commitment in their meeting on the issue of development of the country's power and energy sector on the first day Monday. They rather heard of the government about its development strategy and plan for the sector.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2010 at the Bangbandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city on Monday
Later addressing a briefing after the first day's meeting, Prime Minister's Adviser on economic affairs Dr. Mashihur Rahman said that the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF) meeting was not supposed to make any commitment on any specific sector.
"Actually, the pattern of the development partners' meeting has been changed in recent years. Unlike before, they do not make any specific commitment for funding. Nowadays, they like to know about the government's plan and programmes…later they adjust their investment programme with the government's ones on case to case basis."
He informed that no question was raised by the development partners on the corruption issue. "Only they discussed about the goal and strategies of the government's programmes," the PM's adviser said.
This year, the government has laid special focus on power and energy sector development in the BDF meeting targeting huge financial support to implement its programmes.
Prime Minister's Advisor on energy affairs Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, who attended the meeting, said that the development partners had supported the government's all the plans and strategies for the power and energy sector that includes a tariff rationalization programme as well.
The tariff rationalisation means an increase in the prices of electricity. After assuming office, the Awami League government already increased the power tariff in December last.
About the PPP projects, he said, the development partners suggested creating appropriate agencies for monitoring and supervision.
He said the government will create a special fund for power and energy sector beside the support of the donors.
When his attention was drawn to the tariff rationalization issue, Bangladesh chief of UK's DFID said this is a very complex issue. DFID is playing a coordinating role in holding the BDF meeting this year in Bangladesh.
Earlier addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2010 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the climate change is a threat to the country's development and also its food security.
"A threat to our development as well as food security is climate change,"
Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the inaugural session. Vice president of the South Asian Region of World Bank Isabel Guerrero, director general of the South Asia Regional Department of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Sultan Hafeez Rahman and deputy director general of the International Cooperation Bureau of Japan Foreign Ministry Kazuo Sunaga made the introductory remarks.
UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and co-chair of the Local Consultative Group (LCG) Chris Austin, and ERD secretary and co-chair of the LCG M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan gave the welcome speeches.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged for quick disbursement of climate funds promised in COP 15 in Copenhagen last December, for adaptation and mitigation, particularly for MVCs, LDCs, and low-lying coastal and small island countries.
She said: "Our development partners should also, considering the gravity and grimness of the impacts of climate change, now ensure fulfilling their ODA targets of 0.7 percent of GNI for developing countries, and 0.2 percent for LDCs as reaffirmed in the Brussels Programme of Action."
The Prime Minister elaborated her government's self-preservation measurers for adaptation of climate change, which included dredging of major rivers, land reclamation, homesteads for the displaced on land raised by silt, crop varieties attuned to climate change, protection of biodiversity, etc.
"We've built 100 cyclone shelters with more on way. We've also approved 134 climate change action plans. To meet the costs, we've established a US$100 million Climate Change Fund; and also a Multi-Donor Trust Fund with US$150 million from friends. We've intensified micro-financing for poverty reduction under Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan," she said.
Describing her government's various development activities in the past, she said: "I also believe that development is meaningless without social safety-nets."
Hasina said presently her government has initiated cash and food transfer programmes, and special programmes for minorities, marginalized, disabled, physically challenged and the underprivileged. "Our new policy also includes providing employment to one member of each poor family."
After the inaugural session, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the Development Fair. The Development Fair, being held as a side event, on the Bangabandhu International Conference Center premises with some 40 stalls showcasing the advances of Bangladesh in various sectors.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD), on behalf of the government, is jointly organizing the Forum in collaboration with the Local Consultative Group-LCG (donors' forum) that includes the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations, DFID, USAID, Canadian Cida and Denmark.
Besides, representatives from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Kuwait Fund, UAE, India and China are invited to the international meet of the Forum, previously known as Paris Consortium.
INTERNATIONAL MOYHERS LANGUAGE DAY
12 Implementation of a language policy for the world based on multilingualism1
The General Conference,
Recognizing the need to improve understanding and communication among peoples,
Also recognizing the great importance of safeguarding the linguistic and cultural heritage of humanity and extending the influence of each of the cultures and languages of which that heritage is composed,
Considering the current threat to linguistic diversity posed by the globalization of communication and the tendency to use a single language, at the risk of marginalizing the other major languages of the world, or even of causing the lesser-used languages, including regional languages, to disappear,
Also considering that educating young people throughout the world involves sensitizing them to dialogue between cultures, which engenders tolerance and mutual respect,
Further considering that substantial progress has been made in the last few decades by the language sciences, but that insufficient attention has been paid to the extraordinary ability of children to reproduce sounds at key periods of their development,
Noting that the ability of children to acquire phonetic and grammatical skills has been scientifically corroborated,
Considering that these skills enable young children to acquire competence at an early age in real communication, both passive and active, in at least two languages, whichever they may be,
Aware that democratic access to knowledge depends on a command of several languages and that provision of such access for all is a duty at a time when private language training, which is both expensive and elitist, is spreading in many countries,
Mindful of the resolutions adopted in support of bilingual education at its 18th and 19th sessions (1974 and 1976),
Taking into account the establishment by the Executive Board in October 1998 of the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education and the creation of the Languages Division in the Education Sector by the Director-General in 1998,
- Recommends that Member States:
(a) create the conditions for a social, intellectual and media environment of an international character which is conducive to linguistic pluralism;
(b) promote, through multilingual education, democratic access to knowledge for all citizens, whatever their mother tongue, and build linguistic pluralism; strategies to achieve these goals could include:
- the early acquisition (in kindergartens and nursery schools) of a second language in addition to the mother tongue, offering alternatives;
- further education in this second language at primary-school level based on its use as a medium of instruction, thus using two languages for the acquisition of knowledge throughout the school course up to university level;
- intensive and transdisciplinary learning of at least a third modern language in secondary school, so that when pupils leave school they have a working knowledge of three languages - which should represent the normal range of practical linguistic skills in the twenty-first century;
- an assessment of secondary-school leaving certificates with a view to promoting a grasp of modern languages from the point of view of communication and understanding;
- international exchanges of primary- and secondary-school teachers, offering them a legal framework for teaching their subjects in schools in other countries, using their own languages and thus enabling their pupils to acquire both knowledge and linguistic skills;
- due attention in education, vocational training and industry to the potential represented by regional languages, minority languages, where they exist, and migrants’ languages of origin;
- availability to teachers and education authorities of a computerized network, including a database, to facilitate exchanges of information and experience;
- the establishment of a national and/or regional committee to study and make proposals on linguistic pluralism in order to initiate the necessary dialogue between the representatives of all professions and all disciplines so that they can identify the main lines of a language education system which is adapted to each country but which also facilitates international communication, while preserving the rich and inalienable linguistic and cultural heritage of humanity;
(c) encourage the study of the languages of the major ancient and modern civilizations, with a view to safeguarding and promoting a literary education;
- Invites the Director-General to refer the matter to the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education.
37 Draft recommendation on the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace 1
The General Conference,
Having examined the report submitted by the Director-General, in accordance with 29 C/Resolution 36, on the implementation of activities on the ethical, legal and societal aspects of cyberspace,
Taking note of the results of activities carried out by the Organization on the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace, as reported in document 30 C/31,
Also taking note of the establishment by the Director-General of the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education, in accordance with 29 C/Resolution 38 (para. 2.B(b)),
Recognizing the importance of multilingualism for the promotion of universal access to information, particularly to information in the public domain,
Recognizing also the importance of multilingualism for the promotion of multiculturality on global information networks,
- Reiterates its conviction that UNESCO should play a leading international role in promoting access to information in the public domain, especially by encouraging multilingualism and cultural diversity on global information networks;
- Invites Member States, non-governmental organizations, the world intellectual community and the scientific institutions concerned to support and participate actively in the development of multilingualism and cultural diversity on the global information networks by facilitating free and universal access to information in the public domain;
- Invites Member States to approve, in this light, the proposed new strategy "Initiative B@bel" outlined in paragraph 14 of document 30 C/31;
- Invites the Director-General, after consultation with the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education, to submit for approval to the 159th session of the Executive Board a list of the first projects to be undertaken in this framework;
- Also invites the Director-General to undertake the following concrete actions to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity on global information networks:
(a) to strengthen activities to make cultural heritage in the public domain which is preserved in museums, libraries and archives freely accessible on the global information networks;
(b) to support the formulation of national and international policies and principles encouraging all Member States to promote the development and use of translation tools and terminology for better interoperability;
(c) to encourage the provision of resources for linguistic pluralism through global networks, in particular by reinforcing the UNESCO international observatory on the information society;
(d) to pursue further consultations with Member States and competent international governmental and non-governmental organizations for closer cooperation on language rights, respect for linguistic diversity and the expansion of multilingual electronic resources on the global information networks;
6. Further invites the Director-General to submit to it at its 31st session a report on the implementation of the actions outlined above and a draft recommendation on the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace.
HSC EXAMINATION 2010 RUTEEN
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