HFAC STAFFER KILLION MEETING WITH UNESCO ADG EDUCATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS FR 002260 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2018 TAGS: SCUL UNESCO SUBJECT: HFAC STAFFER KILLION MEETING WITH UNESCO ADG EDUCATION BURNETT CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR LOUISE OLIVER FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: ADG Burnett expressed his hope that the U.S. will continue to play a key role in education at UNESCO. While not getting out in front of the DG, he let us know that he intends to keep Mrs. Bush involved in literacy, and will be extending an invitation to Mrs. Biden regarding her participation in a July 2009 World Conference on Higher Education. End summary. ¶2. (C) Majority House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) staff member, David Killion, met with UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education, Nicholas Burnett on 9 December at UNESCO. He was accompanied by U.S. Mission Deputy Chief of Mission Stephen Engelken and Mission political specialist, David Ostroff. ¶3. (C) Mr. Killion began the meeting by explaining he had traveled to Paris to express the serious concern of the HFAC regarding the candidacy of Egypt's Farouk Hosni for the position of Director-General of UNESCO. Mr. Killion said that the HFAC was advising President-elect Obama's transition team on UNESCO matters, and wanted to communicate to both Member State representatives and key Secretariat managers that the incoming Democrats were likely to share the Bush administration's belief that Hosni, as an individual, would not be an acceptable Director General. ¶4. (C) ADG Burnett responded that he "took note" of the message, but as an international civil servant could not comment on the political issues connected with the DG election race. ¶5. (C) Killion stressed that the Obama administration has stated that it is interested in pursuing "soft power" goals through multilateral organizations, and he expects that the role of UNESCO in connection with education will remain a key priority for the U.S. Burnett said that he has been working to establish greater confidence both internally and externally following the departure of his predecessor, Peter Smith. Burnett said that in terms of policy, there was no "roll back" of major decisions made by Smith in connection with his proposed reform program, but added that financial constraints are making progress difficult. Burnett noted that he is working to achieve greater focus with the resources available to him, and that the financial realities, given the current economic situation, will oblige UNESCO to work effectively with what it has, to earn the right to expect greater funding. ¶6. (C) Burnett mentioned that the World Health Organization has a budget of over US dols 900 million, while UNESCO's education sector only has a budget of some US dols 117 million in comparison to carry out its enormous mandate. During the discussion, Burnett mentioned that he expects an American to be selected as the new Chief of Finance for the Education Sector in the coming days. ¶7. (C) In response to a question about key elements of the education program, Burnett said that EFA (Education for All) remains his top priority. He added that he hopes to raise the visibility of education-related subjects at the next G-8 meeting, as well as at the upcoming EFA High Level meeting in Oslo. ¶8. (C) Burnett said that his current contract, a two-year term, would expire in September 2009, but that he expected all of the ADG's would be extended in their positions until December 2009, permitting the incoming DG to recruit and install his own senior staff. ¶9. (C) While discussing the importance of programs related to higher education, both Burnett and Killion agreed on the important role of community colleges, which are not seen in many parts of the world as an alternative to larger universities in teacher training and life-long learning programs, despite their success in the U.S. Killion mentioned that Jill Biden, the wife of the incoming Vice President, is a teacher at a community college, and might be interested in helping UNESCO promote community colleges in the coming years. Burnett said that he would be interested in exploring a possible role for her to play in this regard. ¶10. (C) Burnett expressed his thanks to the U.S. for its help in promoting literacy, noting that the U.S. is the only OECD country to promote literacy forcefully, and has been diligent at working to ensure that it receives the funding and attention it deserves. Burnett said that some 776 million people are illiterate in the world today - over one-sixth of the adult population - and current projections indicate that the number will drop only to 700 million by ¶2015. Burnett said that despite the lower figure, the results are simply not good enough and stressed the need to do more. He noted, with appreciation, the work of Mrs. Bush as the Honorary Ambassador for the UN Decade of Literacy. Killion said that good ideas must remain outside of partisan politics, and hoped that Mrs. Bush would be able to stay involved in the program. ¶11. (C) In response to Mr. Killion's question about where money should go for better results, Burnett said that education advocacy and planning at UNESCO are vital, as UNESCO must maintain its role to help in capacity building and developing a global alliance to share knowledge, particularly in developing countries. UNESCOPARI 12122260 002 OF 002 ¶12. (C) Finally, Burnett mentioned four major fora that will take place in the coming year that will provide an opportunity for the Obama administration to continue in the U.S.'s participation in education through UNESCO. He noted the Education for Sustainable Development conference in March, the Adult Education conference in May, the Higher Education conference in July, and UNESCO's General Conference in Paris in October. He added that he hopes the U.S. will be able to participate in each gathering. OLIVER