Minister of Education Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahid al-Hammadi Qatar participated in the 37th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)'s General Conference. HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahid al-Hammadi, who is also the Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council (SEC) and Chairman of Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, represented Qatar in the conference, which is being held in Paris with the participation of education ministers and delegates from all 195 UNESCO Member States.
This 37th session will shape the Organisation's strategy and direction for the next eight years. It is held at a particularly critical time for UNESCO. The Organisation is in the midst of a major reform, aimed at making UNESCO more relevant, more effective and more performing in response to global challenges to peace and development.
In Education, UNESCO is accelerating the Education for All (EFA) movement to speed up progress towards universal primary education in the run up to 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  It is working to increase political commitment to the EFA goals and to define the vision for education in the sustainable development goals that will follow the MDGs - with a particular focus on providing quality education.
The defense of press freedom and freedom of expression is also another focus of UNESCOs work through support provided to governments and civil society organizations for the growth of independent and pluralist media, the development of legal frameworks and the improved training of journalists, as well as through the promotion and implementation of a UN-wide plan to improve safety for journalists.
Source: QNA