Video - Closing Remarks

Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General, UNESCO

DR. GREGORIAN: When King Ptolemy created Library of Alexandria, it had the mission to collect all the work knowledge of the world. There were 700,000 titles.

Several years ago, the Frankfort Fair, I learned that every year 1 million titles are published around the world. Today, everybody could have access to the entire of humanity's knowledge, which are millions and billions of this information.

Everyone can have today their own Library of Alexandria, your own Library of Alexandria from wherever you are, to have access to world's and humanity's entire knowledge. But for that, you need education because connectivity does not guarantee delivery.

As Mark Twain said, when Maine was connected to San Francisco, "That Maine has been connected to San Francisco, and Maine nothing to say to San Francisco."

This is the age of information, age of culture, science, technology and knowledge. Knowledge is power, a source of autonomy, dignity, and economic and social progress. But for the individuals and collectivities, literacy is the necessary ingredient of learning and hence knowledge, the necessary ingredient for building a healthy society and a sustainable economy.

In this age of globalization, the knowledge economy, societies and the nations will divide between those who have access to information and knowledge and education and those who don't. Those who have access will have power, autonomy, and progress. Those who don't will be relegated into temporary or permanent dependency.

The institution that has a major international role to promote literacy, hence knowledge, to narrow the gap between haves and have nots, is UNESCO. Is also has the awesome responsibility to preserve the cultural heritage of humanity.

UNESCO has great opportunities great opportunities also responsibilities, as well as major challenges. In order to succeed it needs the active collaboration of all of us, all of you.

The person to whom we have entrusted the UNESCO's mission is Koïchiro Matsuura the director general of UNESCO. Prior to his assuming its leadership, Mr. Matsuura was the chairperson of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. A distinguished diplomat, who is fluent in Spanish, English, French, not to mention his mother tongue Japanese, has served his country very well in many important diplomatic positions, including deputy of foreign ministry of Japan and Japan's Ambassador to France.

He is the author of five books; thank God all our diplomats are writing books, including Condoleezza Rice is dedicated to the mission of UNESCO and has worked during the past six years very hard to accomplish major goals.

It's my pleasure to introduce a diplomat of diplomats, the distinguished director general of UNESCO, the honorable Koïchiro Matsuura.

(Applause.)

DR. MATSUURA: Thank you very much for your kind introduction. Mrs. Bush, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, I wish to begin by congratulating Mrs. Bush for her initiative in hosting this first ever White House Conference on Global Literacy. In her role as honorary ambassador for the U.N. Literacy Decade, Mrs. Bush has taken her inspirational work for literacy in America and extended it across the world.

Today's conference marks a major breakthrough in the international community's engagement with a global literacy challenge.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Mrs. Bush's announcement of a $1 million prize to the UNESCO Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Program, LAMP. Improved monitoring will be absolutely essential to our success in meeting international literacy targets. UNESCO deeply appreciates your generous support in this area. Thank you very much.

We have learned this morning about the power of literacy and its importance for the exercise of freedom and democracy, for individual fulfillment, and for effective social and economic participation. In particular, we have seen the far reaching implications of female literacy on health, nutrition, household income, education, and all aspects of family well being.

Your initiative, Mrs. Bush, has helped to draw attention to the enormous impact of literacy. It has also directed attention to the hundreds of millions of women, men, and children who are deprived of its benefits.

UNESCO is working hard to put an end to this interminable situation, both through its international cooperation of the U.N. Literacy Decade and through the launch of a special Literacy Initiative For Empowerment, LIFE, which targets the needs of countries facing the greatest literacy challenge.

I am confident that the present here are so many eminent and distinguished persons, will create new momentum and boost our efforts to provide literacy to all as a basic human right.

UNESCO will sustain and build on this renewed impetus through the organization in 2007, 2008, of a series of high level regional conferences. These conferences will address specific regional challenges in literacy with the aim of building cooperation among stakeholders and organizing resources for our concrete interventions at the country level.

I am delighted to announce that the first regional literacy conference for the Arab region, will be hosted in Qatar on 12 to 14 March, 2007 by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah, UNESCO special envoy for a basic and higher education.

The regional conference for Europe and Central Asia will be hosted in Azerbaijan by Mrs. Aliyeva, First Lady of Azerbaijan as the UNESCO good will ambassador.

The regional conferences for Africa and for Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in Mali and Costa Rica respectively.

Let me add that we have already received several firm offers from countries in the Asia and Pacific region, and we'll announce our decision as soon as possible.

UNESCO is extremely grateful for these generous commitments. We also deeply appreciate the continuing support of the U.N. foundation. It is my hope that these regional conferences will provide the platform for forging new partnerships in support of literacy.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is our responsibility to ensure that today's landmark event serves to place literacy at the center of the international development agenda.

Your leadership, Mrs. Bush, has created unique opportunity to accelerate and expand efforts towards achieving global literacy. UNESCO greatly looks forward to working with you during the follow up regional conferences, and beyond that, to continuing to strengthen our action in support of the U.N. Literacy Decade and LIFE.

We must maintain our outspoken advocacy for literacy as a level of individual empowerment and an instrument for building stable and prosperous societies. We must also redouble our efforts to help countries develop effective strategies for meeting their literacy needs.

The task before us is immense, but by working together, I am convinced that we will meet the challenge. It can be done. Thank you very much.