hello again a welcome to spotlight. on r.t.r. logar love and today my guest in the studio is it in the box. since she became the director general of unesco cher's been promoting the concept of new human is how successful is she and has the world become more humanistic and that you know when you talk about it the director general of unesco is our guest in the studio today. to read a book is a daughter of a prominent bulgarian communist activist your daughter after graduating from the moscow state university of florida relations just started her political career in the bulgarian foreign ministry when the socialist bloc to sold in bulgaria launched democratic reforms irina temporarily withdrew from bulgarian politics nine hundred ninety five as the deputy foreign minister

a year later rena was appointed the foreign minister but was forced to resign with the rest of the cabinet a few months later. irina actively promotes european values in bulgaria while the european political forum she created she is currently a european general for your time as director general of unesco. hello and welcome to the show thank you very much for being with thank you for inviting me first welcome to moscow welcome to russia today and i want to ask you about this world conference on early childhood care and education that that's held in moscow well why the attention to this problem and why as a conference out of moscow well this is our first such conference on early childhood care and education because we. consider as the leader of the.

second millennium development goal which is education for all we do can see the better early childhood care in education have an extremely important role in the life of every human being afterwards. the recent scientific research also shows for one dollar invested in preschool education in child care it means that we can save eighty eight dollars for the run during the education process and i'm happy that we have this conference here in moscow moscow has offered to its hospitality and the russian government of course and we could also share experience we have discussions also among sixty eight ministers of education from all over the world and also with the delegations of more than one hundred twenty countries i would say that this is a conference which is the last of a whole series of important conferences on education that unesco has organized in

the last two years. you know probably to all to well that education is so one of our priorities it's within our mandate we are the only united nations agency which looks at age occasion from a holistic point of view we follow education starting from the preschool being the primary school the secondary high education also so we can see that this is an important. finalizing of the whole process of thinking what is education what does it occasionally represent in in our base world how we respond to the challenges we talk about the quality education we talk also about a technical implication of training we talk about the values so within age occasion we talk about education for human rights for sustainable development so it's really . an extremely important moment in the life of our organization during the russians

like to say the preschool education system is exemplary is a true bible you know school standards and what makes it unique is if it is i discussed yesterday with the minister for saying the challenges also which definitely are in in all of the countries say in the world both developed and developing countries and and i have to commend russia that russia pays a lot of attention on the priest calling although as the minister himself has said still a lot needs to be done of course our message is taking the examples of for different countries where they have good systems. on one hand to make the advocacy for preschool link and the other hand also to have a link between priest calling and primary school i think this is also very

important you know. this so talk about the higher higher education there is a widespread perception in russia that these days the quality of piled high with acacia is decreasing dramatically well at least in russia but also in other countries what those you know school have to say on those disrespect you know i just come from the second congress unesco chair. within the russian federation we do have here fifty eight to misquote chairs. from all different regions you know are really a vast country and we did discuss also the question of the quality of education i would say that it's it's a challenge. in many countries. the dynamism of the contemporary development in the world the rick. hiraman serve

a quick technological innovation the end of a quick adaptation also and the quick i would say the very closely in between economic activity and education between the social agenda in the economic agenda of different countries is very demanding so i understand perfectly well that there is always a need for a higher quality of education i discussed this issue with the such a prominent the russian academician intellectual i would say. that emission the sergei kopete so we discussed exactly the question of for the quality of education and i and those who believe here is decreasing well how do they see what is the person as an optimist i think no i think he's it's not the matter of optimism or of pessimism i think it's a matter of for how certain system and how certain i would say way of intellectual thinking inscribes within the overall world thinking because i do believe that

nowadays not not countries isolated nobody's isolated in this world and especially in the terms and especially in scientific terms and i was quite ahead be told to hear such a prominent thinker a member of their own club also believe expressing once again the believe there too in a school could lead to these international search for for high quality and also promote closer cooperation among scientists among the different circles because all the the challenges are common in the responses also should be common well does the ball one year process guarantee the quality of education because in russia it's a matter of great controversy especially for for example the the unified state examination it's a it's a it's a subject of very heated discussions and. president what are the advantages of the

bologna process from your point of view i think that to belong to sets criteria one is sets of standards. of all on your also the fact that so many academic institutions follow this process and also that many also of the russian or high schools. economic institution also fold this but this creates the possibility of a a cause of cooperation in some kind of a common common the descending and common sense i think this is important i wouldn't pass judgments and say this is the perfect one i don't believe that there is a perfect when but but still it's high setting high standards and following this and that's i think it's an important stage. in this process of international cooperation a little a little does so the standard but since most of the russians are saying that once we join the blah new process the quality of russian education is becoming low does

that mean that the russian style ludes were higher than the bar just that a lot of the food it's going down i it's difficult. to pass judgment i know that you were educated in this country and you yourself were educated russian yes. yes and i can say that the institute where i studied the moscow state he said that of international relations. said it had been extremely high quality of education. very qualified professors i would say a world class high class quality of education and why recollection of what i mostly valued was that they were provoking and encouraging analysis and thinking which was not very easy times but i do believe. that if if we

look at from this from this point of view i think that. in russian universities. standards are high but i would not like to pass judgment whether it's laurel high i think it's a. it's a it's a very good them base and took i have a high quality of education in the learning and but i do believe also that. nobody's isolated there should be a common approach and they should because a corporation and i would say your personal i mean your personal opinion since you are passing judgments on the bill are you process what's more important to teach the kids students school students high school students to think to analyze or to do to make them fit into certain standards to go further in life to high school high school university graduate then i think. don't contradict yourself there because i mean you can go from from last h. term out there and at the same time you can think it's

a matter of how your approach is and where you what method where where you put a priority in doing this. i don't believe that they contradict each other so is it in the book of a director general of you know ask our spotlight will be back shortly right after the break so stay with us don't know. like kids are leaving england and france tried to reason with hitler germany demands of that land and gets its way they are being treated the safety net for them so. thirty nine the whole of europe is involved in war efforts to establish a system of collective security nine hundred thirty eight failed and it's still on the. lessons to be learned from the. in the brief on our t.v.

. show biz the entertainment value of the insel trade into nice presentation high production staff it's graphics music all of this is a way to try to focus people's attention by using techniques that are something that steve now during this war we had nearly to the military had to take the. lead. live a. living. the to live.

welcome back to spotlight on elderly novena just a reminder that my guest here in the studio is it in the book about director general of unesco it is just before the break you said an interesting thing that that you think that speak of education we can do both in harmony you can we can teach children young people to think. to analyze and at the same time make them fit into certain standards to be ready to live in a modern technological society but as far as i understand these things do contradict each other because like like in the army you have to fit into started this is the name of the game the less you think the better your career goes in the army but on the other hand in it in science mr perelman doesn't fit into any standards at all but he is a great thinker so so you still believe that these things. it can be horrible or is

it well you're very convincing the way you express it but i really do believe that when we talk about quality education especially when they're in higher education there should be really some stand there it's the way you reach this tender attend of course you may overpass this ten that you may. think out of the box you may be very creative of course or even on very many examples we know that they can see that some point even to be almost mentally retarded because he didn't excel in schools we have such such cases but but my in my point is that if we want to really have a competitive to give the possibility of very many students from from all over the world i would say and from from different countries in different institutes. to be competitive. we still have to follow some kind of a

a common part otherwise we won't have a specific rate teria for evaluating them but in any case i still believe all by your very convincing i can win the center i still believe that thinking and the ising of trying to find your own way can be encouraged also in high school or should be encouraged ok. you know sco is one of the main u.n. organizations and they're all human organizations are pursuing the so-called millon human development goals you this states that i quote if we want to make development sustainable we have to invest in education in which part of the world do you think the situation the situation with education is the most deplorable you know the millennium development goals i believe were the most ambitious and the same at the same time the most humane the gender that the united nations and the international community. have set up in the recent in the recent decades and that's why i would

say there is so much even patient around the implementation of these goals i was just in new york a week ago i participated in the debate summit of the united nations and of course mostly engaged with the education because this is our priority tendin we are the leaders there. our assessment is that. the there is certain progress in any case there is a lot of firm movement forward there is a lot of progress in the primary education in the roman t. in the very many parts of the world. in countries where for example. taxes for primary education were abolished we have seen in the roman double in countries such as tanzania been in senegal in many countries but also we see that in many countries it will be impossible to reach the millennium development goals

in general and in concrete in education and there are probably some twenty countries in sub-saharan africa which are confronting enormous difficulties and we believe that we have to focus and help them but let me make another point talking about education i do believe that all of course the eight millennium development goals are closely interlinked poverty eradication of poverty or gender equality or pandemic such as ha ve in aids. in education of course closely interlinked but still i believe that education underlies the implementation of all the other a millennium development goals the secretary general mr bank human said a new priority in the rightfully so i would say concerning maternal health and child mortality where progress has. been probably the least. analyzed

and good. and now by discuss that also with the world health organization with the director general mr mcnamee says margaret chank and with unicef a coordinator and with mr banking on himself for the last week i do believe that. without education whatever investment we make in maternal health and child mortality to take just one example which is so much important we won't reach results on a sustainable basis we may reach some results on the on the concrete basie's on a temporary basis we may do things but if we want to really to have something on a sustainable basis i think that education is so much important and all the recent developments schol that if a mother is said to k. to primary education the all the data about

mortality and child care in everything improve dramatically in if a woman a mother receives secondary education then this improves in times so once again my edward because he is that education so be it should be the priority of the grio this when we talk about the implementation of the millennium development goals i also understand that there is a problem in europe too for example let's say let's take the problem with gypsy children which is a pretty popular subject these days. as far as i understand there are a lot of efforts made to improve the situation with education but less than fifty percent of gypsy children complete even primary education if this is if this is really the case is there a program to do this problem it is a problem and countries where there are good relations with the. majority of their

own population is. many least in europe but not only in eastern europe also in some other countries syrup and countries recognize this this problem they have for asked us also for some assistance and some advice and we are working with the council of europe on that matter we will participate tenth of october also in a meeting with the council of europe on the education the for the roma children and we are putting also our first such program in order to especially in the area of education because there are other problems canonic problems but education he says basic in other to solve also all the rest and by the way this is a an excellent thing sample also for the developing countries that without education they cannot have the problems of poverty or for exclusion which is important so yes we will be involved. we will try to contribute to the planting

of the proper responses for this problem well more of this now from spotlights. in the august fronts explodable two thousand drew back to their home countries over many years and. they returned mostly to public little chance of implement the decision by the french president was controversial and led to protests across europe it brought the suit issue to the international school white an estimated ten million members of the roma community in europe like access to health care education employment and housing according to a unesco we would half of the room with children failed to complete prime rib you cation extra costs of schooling a huge problem for many families sometimes do not have warm clothes and prefer to have thank you desert home and cold weather to sample garia which is home to one of the largest room. unities in europe twenty percent crude children never go to

school. in many countries such kids will have sent to school and up will cost especially created for children with mental disability said we gave only contributes to the exclusion of the room in the us group hold true sponsibility and government in calls on them to think of the school social causes which would lead to whom the children get in a fresh start in life. since you since you became director general of you know school you have been promoting the concept of new humanism. what is it do you want to say that the contemporary world is losing its humanistic values the world. well. modestly i would say that. all that is within your nest unesco's agenda.

is very closely linked. i would say two to two human values. took human rights to the dignity of. for human beings it sits inscribed in our constitution that. we should throw education culture science and communication we should build peace in the minds of people in the sugar for the human dignity and and i believe that probably. this believe that we have to reconsider unesco's a trend which is still extremely valid and not also our agenda but the overall approach of the united nations and international community to solving their problems i call the kind of when you knew him when ism and for me for example you can win is i'm definitely is the millennium development goals agenda which is one of the most humanistic agenda that the international community. said to her after

the establishment the creation of the united nations for me a new film we need them is the way we look to the climate change. a protection of our environment i would say that also new who needs the means the quest also in the bishan to preserve for biodiversity we do need to have a different look from you poor me also and you can win easily is the protection of cultural diversity and the promotion of cultural diversity of protection of languages languages who are in danger in danger of promoting mother tongue education promoting also with the new i would say conviction and new stronger political will gender equality i believe all these seas i knew very clear when you stick agenda and as long as i am now director general for this great organization i would call your next call i believe that we could contribute

more to this new search of for humanistic various and how we implement the matter i believe that the economic and social crises send environmental crisis also to some extent also accelerates and should make us more convinced that we have to bear once and make society smaller in course if and more coherent thank you thank you very much for being with us in just a reminder that my guest today was in the back of the director general of unicef and that's it for the hour from all of us here are going to have your say on spotlight to have someone in mind who you think i should into next time just drop me a line we'll be back with more first i'll comment on what's going on outside russia until then stay on party and take care thank you thank you very much.

have totally until they can do everything that they want and nothing will happen. outrage mount cyzon alleged torture is put in charge of policing arab affairs in jerusalem. and unfettered creates sweeps through russia and as the party drug surges in price chemist's risking life and limb to the computer on the fourth being locked up. votes in the parliamentary elections amid the baltic states worst economic crisis to date is approaching russian minority party come out the window.

and it's twelve noon here in moscow we're watching r t welcome to the program the appointment of an infamous israeli interrogator to a high ranking police post i sent shock waves among human rights groups and among inmates as captain george he's accused of numerous cases of torture and abuse of arabs he's in charge of arab affairs many palestinians fear for their lives reports . i was kidnapped by an israeli commando on the twenty first of may nine hundred ninety four they came to my country to my learn to my house and arrested me before the eyes of my children. most of the divine me spent the next eighteen years in a secret prison later dubbed israel's upper grade and his interrogator a name that still seems chills down the spines of prisoners. i have to remember.