March 15, 2013
We, the members of the U.S.-based Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), call on the Government of the United States (U.S.) to restore its funding for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The CIES, founded in 1956, has a membership of nearly 2500 academics, practitioners, and students. For over five decades, CIES members’ activities have contributed to deepening our understanding of education from a comparative perspective and applying those understandings to planning, implementing, and evaluating educational policy and practice in the US and in countries around the world.
We know firsthand the important roles that UNESCO plays in shaping and improving educational policies worldwide. Through its various institutes, including the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, the UNESCO International Bureau of Education, and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, CIES members have benefited from valuable resources for research, teaching, planning, and reform efforts. In addition, we note the 18 UNESCO Chairs in the U.S. located at major American universities who serve to deepen scholarly exchange, and further promote international understanding.
We recognize UNESCO’s leadership in promoting, implementing, and monitoring the Education For All initiative, and its contribution to poverty reduction through the UN Millennium Development Goals. We believe that the U.S. Government shares our commitment to expanding opportunities for quality education for all children, youth, and adults in the world, and we view UNESCO as an essential international organization for achieving that purpose.
Therefore, we urge the President, the House of Representatives, and the Senate to work together to immediately approve a national interest waiver, so that the U.S. can again pay its dues and retain its full membership in UNESCO.
We, the members of the U.S.-based Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), call on the Government of the United States (U.S.) to restore its funding for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Whereas the CIES, founded in 1956, has a membership of nearly 2500 academics, practitioners, and students. For over five decades, CIES members’ activities have contributed to deepening our understanding of education from a comparative perspective and applying those understandings to planning, implementing, and evaluating educational policy and practice in the US and in countries around the world.
Whereas CIES members know firsthand the important roles that UNESCO plays in shaping and improving educational policies worldwide. Through its various institutes, including the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning, the UNESCO International Bureau of Education, and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, CIES members have benefited from valuable resources for research, teaching, planning, and reform efforts. In addition, we note the 18 UNESCO Chairs in the U.S. located at major American universities who serve to deepen scholarly exchange, and further promote international understanding.
Whereas CIES members recognize UNESCO’s leadership in promoting, implementing, and monitoring the Education For All initiative, and its contribution to poverty reduction through the UN Millennium Development Goals. We believe that the U.S. Government shares our commitment to expanding opportunities for quality education for all children, youth, and adults in the world, and we view UNESCO as an essential international organization for achieving that purpose.
Resolved, that the CIES on behalf of its members urges the President, the House of Representatives, and the Senate to work together to immediately approve a national interest waiver, so that the U.S. can again pay its dues and retain its full membership in UNESCO.