REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA

STATEMENT BY
Mme Unity Dow
MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
(Ministry Responsible For Relations With
UNESCO In Botswana)
at
38th UNESCO General Conference:
Paris France
Thursday 5th November 2015

This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of

creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

Mr. President of the General Conference, Mr.

Chairperson of the Executive Board, Madam
Director General of UNESCO, Distinguished
delegates from all UNESCO Member States,
Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you
warm greetings from the Government and
People of the Republic of Botswana.
I am deeply honoured to address this
distinguished assembly of the 38th Session of
the UNESCO General Conference. Before I do
so, Mr. President, let me join others in
congratulating you for your election to the
Presidency of this important body. Your
visionary leadership, the leadership of the
Director General and the leadership of the
UNESCO structures together presents an
opportunity to succesfully take UNESCO beyond
its 70 years of existence. Mr. President, allow
me to share with this Assembly some of our
modest achievements across major programme
areas:
Education
This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of
creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

Let me indicate that Botswana continues to

allocate over 20% of its annual national budget
to education and indications are that this trend
will continue. Botswana continues to review its
policies and programs in response to national
priorities. The Education and Training Sector
Strategic Plan (ETSSP) is one such policy. This
strategy is underpinned, by among others, focus
on Life Long Learning, developing new and
alternative
pathways
for
education;
strengthening skills development; and improving
quality, relevance, equity and access to
education. This turnaround strategy will require
both financial and technical assistance from
partners like UNESCO, whose support we very
much welcome.
Following
yesterdays
adoption
of
the
Framework for Action 2030, I want to pledge
Botswanas commitment to its implementation
by aligning our ETSSP strategy to the
Framework. This alignment and mapping will cut
across all the Sustainable Development Goals to
ensure that they are mainstreamed into national
This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of
creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

development strategies
implemented.

and

are

effectively

The Government of the Republic of Botswana

appreciates both the technical and financial
support to the value of USD 15, 514.00 it
received from UNESCO for the support of the
national consultations on Education for
Sustainable Development, National Education
For All Review and the launch of the 2015
Global Monitoring Report. In addition, Botswana
received 2 million USD over 5 years from
UNESCO in collaboration with the Republic of
South Korea through the BEAR Project, whose
goal is to address the mismatch between skills
training and the needs of the labour market.
Mr President, I am pleased to confirm that the
Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for
Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ)
Coordinating Centre has been relocated from
Paris to Botswana. Botswana will host the 10th
Session of SACMEQ Assembly of Ministers on
26th and 27th November 2015 in Gaborone. I
This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of
creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

look forward to hosting my fellow ministers in

Gaborone.
On a related matter, Botswana is still committed
to the establishment of a Category II Institute for
Skills Development and we look forward to
UNESCOs support as we work towards
concluding this matter.
Social and Human Sciences
Botswana is a State Party to the UNESCO
International Convention against Doping in
Sport. In this regard, we have received financial
support worth 14 810.00 USD from UNESCO to
implement the Clean Sport Project. This project
aims to educate young athletes on key antidoping issues. To this effect, a good number of
Sport Teachers and Student Athletes have been
reached. This has greatly assisted us to raise
awareness on the hazards of doping and the
importance of clean competitive sport in our
country.
Culture:
This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of
creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

Distinguished Delegates, it is our conviction as

the Government of Botswana that the culture of
a people is central to the countrys development,
hence preservation of culture and heritage is
one of the key national priorities. The founding
President of our republic is credited as having
said, "A nation without a past is a lost nation,
and a people without a past is a people without
a soul". In this regard, Botswana has actively
pursued
implementation
of
UNESCO
conventions of cultural heritage which has led to
the listing of the Okavango Delta as the 1000th
World Heritage Site. I pause to invite each one
of you to come to Botswana to behold this
wonder of nature.
Botswana appreciates the financial support it
received
through
UNESCO
Participation
Programme to the value of 83 000.00USD. This
contributed immensely to the promotion and
protection of natural, cultural and heritage sites
including the training of sixty-four young
graduates on care and management of World
Heritage Sites.
This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of
creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

Furthermore, Botswana has made strides in

implementing the 2003 Convention on the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
(ICH), resulting in identification of 472 ICH
elements. One of these elements, Kitso ya go
bopa Dinkgwana tsa Sekgatla a cultural
pottery project, has been successfully inscribed
under the UNESCO List of ICH in need of urgent
Safeguarding. Meanwhile, the results of the
second element are expected to be released
soon by the ICH Intergovernmental Committee.
Communication and Information; and Natural
Sciences
Botswana has embraced innovation as a key
driver to achieving a knowledge driven
economy. This has led to the development of
the 2011 Botswana Policy on Research,
Science, Technology and Innovation (RSTI)
which highlights the demand for technology
based solutions and an increase in production of
local products and services.

This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of

creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

The national RSTI policy is driven by four (4)

major directives namely:
1. The development of a coordinated and
integrated approach to RSTI planning and
implementation.
2. The development of RSTI indicators along
the guidelines of the Fractal and Oslo
manuals,
3. The start of regular participatory foresight
exercises and;
4. The strengthening of the institutional
structures which are responsible for policy
monitoring and implementation.
To confirm our commitment to increasing
investment in RSTI, the Government of
Botswana launched August as a month of
Science, Technology and Innovation to be
commemorated annually. In addition, Botswana
is in the process of establishing national fund for
innovation and research.
As part of promoting RSTI in Botswana, the
Botswana Innovation Hub has been established
This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of
creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

as an incubator for start-up companies by

providing state of the art facilities to promote
RSTI in Botswana. Since its establishment, Hub
has continued to approve and register entities
that will operate in a dedicated park.
Mr President, while the above does not
represent all our achievements, we have
deemed it appropriate that we propose to this
General Assembly, our commitment to further
serve UNESCO through Dr. Gloria Somolekae,
as Botswanas candidate to UNESCO Executive
Board. Dr. Somolekae is a distinguished woman
of repute whose legacy will be felt beyond the
tenure of her office.
I thank you for listening.

This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of

creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation

Pula!
May
we
be
blessed with
rain.

This Ministry supports the Vision 2016 in terms of

creating an educated informed nation, a
prosperous, productive and innovative nation
and an open, democratic and accountable
nation