The National Commission for UNESCO is in a better position to highlight its projects and programmes following the participation of one of its members Maria Crawford in a Website Development Workshop which was held in Jamaica from September 2-4, 2014.
The workshop which was spearheaded by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO as part of UNESCO’s Bridge Capacity Building Project was jointly organized by the Jamaica National Commission (JNCU).
Secretary General of the largest National Commission for UNESCO Mr. Dong-seok MIN of the Korean National Commission told participants that only one-third (1/3) of National Commissions for UNESCO have websites and as such much of UNESCO’s work has not received the recognition and awareness it deserves.
The Secretary General of the Korean National Commission shared that it was his desire to see the percentage increased and as such designed the project to assist fellow National Commissions in this regard to help maximize information sharing about UNESCO’s projects on the ground.
Secretary General of the St. Kitts Nevis National Commission for UNESCO, Antonio Maynard said his organization jumped at the offer for technical assistance when it was presented and was among five successful territories approved, having already begun the process of creating such a website locally.
Participant, Maria Crawford who serves on the National Commission for UNESCO as the Information and Communications specialist revealed that the workshop was very hands-on and that months of preparatory work guided by experts from the Korean National Commission had resulted in a draft website which should be ready to launch shortly after fine tuning and approval from local authorities.
She applauded Programme Officer of the Korean NATCOM Ms. Song Kwon for her outstanding role in the website development project as well as website specialists Sunjung JO and Minyoung JUNG from the KNCU for their direct input.
Gratitude was also expressed to Mr. Everton Hannam Secretary General of the JNCU for his willingness to extend the programme offered by the KNCU to his counterparts in the region.
Ms. Crawford was recognized by the Korean National Commission’s Chief of International Relations Jinsung JEON for outstanding preparatory work on the website and much of the workshop manual featured examples from the St. Kitts Nevis National Commission for UNESCO’s draft website.
Secretary General of the St Kitts Nevis National Commission for UNESCO Mr. Antonio Maynard, said the website is an important tool as it will reach students, teachers, relevant government departments, civil cociety and the general public.
Participating countries included Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; as well as St Kitts and Nevis. A large contingent representing various stakeholders of Jamaica’s National Commission for UNESCO also participated.
The Launch date for the website will be released in the near future.