| No.176 |
| No.176 |
We are now in early summer with its fresh verdure. Lustrous leaves, storing
as much energy as possible, look dazzling in the sun. Such a scene of nature
reminds me of UNESCO in its infancy, and I say to myself, “In those days
fifty years ago, when our country joined UNESCO several years after its
establishment, our predecessors, who were putting their hearts and souls
into the UNESCO movement
It's been half a century since Japan became a member of UNESCO. The big propelling force that enabled Japan, a defeated nation, to join this international organization before it was admitted to the United Nations, was an upsurge of the nongovernmental UNESCO movement that could almost shake the earth. On June 21, 1951, immediately after UNESCO's 6th General Conference in Paris adopted a resolution admitting Japan as a member nation, Tamon Maeda, Japan's chief delegate, made an address of gratitude. In his speech, which began with the words “on behalf of the Japanese people”, he said, “Now the door is open, and our long-cherished dream was fulfilled, but it does not mean that the Japanese people are simply complacent about this benefit. I'd like to assure you that we feel a great deal of responsibility for taking part in the realization of the lofty ideals UNESCO is based on.” He further said, “The Japanese people are eager for cultural exchange with other countries, especially for the harmonization of Eastern and Western cultures.” Then, asking to mention that the late Dr. Inazo Nitobe, the then Assistant Secretary General of the League of Nations, had played an important role in the establishment of the International Committee for Intellectual Cooperation, the forerunner of UNESCO, he said, “The international spirit created by our fellow countryman is now left in our hands, in the hands of his successors.” Half a century later, UNESCO, which had inherited the aims and objectives of the International Committee for Intellectual Cooperation, entrusted its management to a Japanese. Now, Director General Koichiro Matsuura is reportedly carrying out determined management reforms and is encouraging vigorous action in order to accomplish his mission. And here in our association, an attempt to realize what we have long wished has just startedー the information provided on the Web by UNESCO's headquarters, in fact only a small fraction of it, has started to be put on our web site, so that we can read it in Japanese. (See next page) Although this attempt is still in the trial-and-error stage, we are thankful for the first step taken by the Meguro UNESCO's staff in charge of the English newsletter, and wish to share with you all a sense of unity, realizing that our modest UNESCO movement is linked with our local community, with our country, and with the world |
