This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

190852Z May 06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003362 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/UNESCO KELLY SIEKMAN, KEVIN PILZ, AMY OSTERMEIER, OES 
BARRIE RIPIN, OES/STAS ANDREW W. REYNOLDS 
STATE FOR NSC GENE WHITNEY 
STATE FOR NSF INTERNATIONAL OFFICE ROSE GOMBAY 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: AORC EAID KDEM KSCA SOCI XA SG UNESCO EDU
SUBJECT:  UNESCO: DAKAR OFFICE CHIEF OUTLINES DECENTRALIZATION 
CHALLENGES 
 
 
¶1. Summary and Comment:  To explore issues relating to 
decentralization, Ambassador Oliver and Science Officer met with 
Lalla Aicha Ben Barka, Director of the UNESCO Office in Dakar and 
the regional office for Education in Africa (BREDA).  Although the 
UNESCO secretariat often highlights its decentralization efforts, 
Ben Barka described a challenging situation, including limited 
resources and lack of strategic coordination from headquarters.  Ben 
Barka explained that a key challenge has been identifying a niche 
for the office, particularly with respect to other UN agencies and 
aid bodies.  She is pursuing a role for the office as a purveyor of 
information, for example in advancing education goals via sector 
analysis.  Another potential niche for UNESCO in Africa might be in 
providing information on methods of civic education, Ben Barka noted 
enthusiastically. 
 
¶2.  As this conversation highlights, the panel reviewing UNESCO's 
Natural and Social Sciences sectors should examine carefully the 
issue of decentralization.   The Dakar office serves as the regional 
office for education.  But its staff also includes a science officer 
-- reporting also to the regional science office in Nairobi -- who 
has a limited program budget (80,000 USD over two years).  Given the 
lack of strategic direction from headquarters, it is perhaps no 
surprise that many complain that UNESCO programs, including in the 
area of hydrology, have limited impact in Africa.  End Summary. 
 
A Key Challenge:  Strategic Coordination from Headquarters 
 
¶3.  Ambassador Oliver opened by querying Ben Barka on challenges 
facing the Dakar office.  Ben Barka explained that the office has 
limited means.  As a regional office for education, it is meant to 
provide technical assistance to 46 sub-Saharan countries.  In 
addition, it serves as a cluster office for 7 countries in West 
Africa promoting activities across the range of UNESCO's mandate. 
In principle, the office is meant to have eight officers, four 
working on regional educational issues (two of those posts are 
vacant), four in the cluster function in the areas of culture, 
natural sciences, social sciences and communications.  (Note: 
According to the Dakar office website, it is the largest UNESCO 
office in Africa.  End Note.) 
 
¶4.  One related issue is that of the profile and distribution of 
UNESCO's presence in the field, i.e. cluster offices versus national 
offices.  Ben Barka explained that national offices were meant to 
enhance the visibility of UNESCO in the field, particularly with 
regard to other UN agencies, but they have not reached a size that 
allows them to have much impact.  That said, national offices could 
play a role in post-conflict situations, Ben Barka noted.  In 
addition, the national offices need enhanced support from the 
regional offices; regional offices should build a "roster of 
expertise" and work with headquarters and UNESCO institutes to 
address needs identified on the national level. 
 
¶5.  Then there is the question of the Dakar office's mission. Ben 
Barka described lack of communication with headquarters as "a major 
problem."  Action requests from headquarters arrive with no context, 
and often at the last minute; in addition, two or three departments 
sometimes ask for the same thing.  She noted that ADG for Education 
Peter Smith is working with a consultant to ameliorate the problem 
of communication between headquarters and the field, including 
UNESCO's education institutes.  On strategic planning, Ben Barka 
described consultative regional meetings meant to inform UNESCO's 
medium-term strategy as inefficient.  Although field offices are 
represented at the meetings, they do not really contribute 
substantively to the process.  Field offices should be involved in 
advance, contributing quantitative and qualitative information on 
in-country conditions before the meeting.  (The regional meeting for 
Africa on the Medium-Term strategy will take place in Rwanda in 
June). 
 
Carving out a Role for UNESCO in Sector Analysis... 
 
¶6.  Ambassador Oliver queried Ben Barka on the coherence and impact 
of the office's work, given that it is meant to implement 130 
activities.  Ben Barka stressed the need to clarify the niche of the 
office.  Given limited human and financial resources available, it 
would make most sense for the office to serve as a producer and 
purveyor of knowledge, including to other UN agencies, rather than 
as an implementer of programs.   Ben Barka reported that her 
predecessor had begun to carve out a niche for the office in this 
area.  Thanks to the French aid agency, young statisticians, 
planners and economists were seconded to the office to do a sector 
analysis report on Dakar plus five goals (on education).  One goals 
of the analysis was to help the four sub-Saharan LIFE ("Literacy 
Initiative for Empowerment") countries formulate, implement and 
assess the impact of their national policies.  In general, sector 
analyses of needs are key to building in-country capacity.  Other 
initiatives informed by this type of sector analysis include AIDS 
education and Education for All (EFA). 
 
¶7.  Of course, sector analysis is not enough; it is important that 
the resulting information be disseminated, for example via regional 
workshops involving civil society, or meetings with parliamentarians 
in advance of national budget votes.  Ben Barka noted that the Dakar 
office had launched a forum for parliamentarians to train lawmakers 
on education issues.  In June 2005, the Dakar Office organized a 
conference on Education for All meant to track progress and analyze 
obstacles faced by national education systems in meeting EFA goals. 
 
¶8.  Ben Barka observed that neither UNICEF nor the World Bank is 
involved in this type of work - doing upstream analysis and working 
with national governments to enhance their own analytical capacity. 
To promote education in Africa, UNESCO should focus on production of 
knowledge to put at the disposal of the World Bank, UNICEF, 
bilateral aid missions and national governments. 
 
.... and Civic Education in Africa 
 
¶9.  In addition to sector analysis, Ben Barka saw another possible 
niche for the Dakar office in providing guidance to national 
governments in the field of civic education programs.  This would 
include good governance, the electoral process and democratic 
decision-making.  45 years after independence, this is imperative 
for continued African progress in establishing sound government 
services and systems.  How can national educational systems be used 
to build transparent societies?  This also touches on issues 
relating to identity and language, Ben Barka noted. 
Oliver