DUSHANBE, May 4, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, is arriving in Dushanbe today afternoon, according to the MFA information department.
Today, the UNESCO head is scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi and representatives of the UNDP Country Office in Tajikistan.
Tomorrow, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura will meet with President Emomali Rahmon and tomorrow afternoon, he is expected to visit the Kulob region to see a number of local historical sights, the MFA spokesman Davlat Nazriyev said.
UNESCO was founded on November 16, 1945. For this specialized United Nations agency, it is not enough to build classrooms in devastated countries or to publish scientific breakthroughs. Education, Social and Natural Science, Culture and Communication are the means to a far more ambitious goal: to build peace in the minds of men.
Today, UNESCO functions as a laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter to forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues. The Organization also serves as a clearinghouse – for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge – while helping Member States to build their human and institutional capacities in diverse fields.

