UNESCO Courier articles from December 1997

UNESCO Courier archives from December 1997

Islands of the imagination. (fictional islands)
December 1, 1997... A guided tour of some of world literature's many fictional islands Islands occupy a special place in our mythologies, often as the scene of mysterious or extraordinary occurrences. Being cut off from the rest of the world, they are depicted as...

Iceland's hidden fire.
December 1, 1997... The modern-minded traditionalists and hard-headed dreamers who live on an island of extremes Iceland. Not a very inviting name for the prospective tourist turning the atlas round with an indolent finger while looking for somewhere to relax....

The Pacific: the coming of the ancestors. (creation of myths and ancestor worship are widespread in the Pacific islands)
December 1, 1997... Creation myths and ancestor worship are widespread in the Pacific islands The world of islands that is the Pacific Ocean embraces very many different cultures. But from the Ryukyus of Japan, to Samoa and Tahiti, local mythology largely agrees...

Solstice islands. (poem)
December 1, 1997... Departing sun darting into abysses who know that lands to lands are joined that beneath the vast ocean vestments roots advance from islands to peninsulas from archipelagos to continents from here all around that everything and everyone come...

The trials of Ulysses.
December 1, 1997... There are more than 1,360 Greek islands. Many are just bare rocks, home to a few seagulls. Others are a little bigger but have no water or other resources. They too are uninhabited, except by wild goats and seals. I've been to many of these small...

What, my brother, is an island?
December 1, 1997... Where the waters of the Ganges meet the ocean The memory of a folk-song heard in childhood, in a dialect of Bengali, comes back to me: What, my brother, is an island once you've left it? It's nothing, nothing, nothing. What, my brother,...

Easter Island's last secret: the only Polynesian island where traces of an indigenous script have been discovered.
December 1, 1997... The only Polynesian island where traces of an indigenous script have been discovered The azure waves which break on the shores of Easter Island have come all the way from the far edge of the Pacific Ocean - a thought which makes the place seem...

Cuba's gold.
December 1, 1997... Once upon a time there was a beautiful island . . . I like to imagine the first encounter between the Spaniards and the Indians of Cuba. The Spaniards disembark as conquistadors with drums and trumpets. Helmeted and booted, they carry halberds...

UNESCO at work: peace, development and democracy.
December 1, 1997... Through its work in education, science, culture and communication, UNESCO seeks to free the individual. It combats poverty, exclusion and violence, promotes tolerance and multicultural dialogue and helps to protect human diversity. Convinced...

The treasure of the Cerro Rico.
December 1, 1997... Indigenous miners who work the ore-rich mountain of Potosi (Bolivia) believe it to be the incarnation of Pachamama, an Andean god. The city has featured on the World Heritage List since 1987. The history of the Bolivian city of Potosi began in...

Climate change: the great debate.
December 1, 1997... Some people see the Third Conference of the States Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is being held in Kyoto (Japan) this month, as the last chance to fight global warming by taking urgent mandatory steps. Others see it...

Isabelle Leymarie talks to Steve Turre. (American trombonist and composer)(Interview)
December 1, 1997... American trombonist and composer Steve Turre combines respect for tradition with openness to all types of music. * How did you first get interested in jazz? Steve Turre: Coming from a musically gifted family - especially my mother, who is...

Funding a new home for Egypt's ancient treasures.
December 1, 1997... Cairo Museum possesses what is regarded as the world's richest collection of Egyptian antiquities, comprising some 176,000 items. Only 40,000 of them are on display, however. The rest are stacked in the museum's basement areas. The museum has...

Between utopia and reality. (poet Rene Depestre)(Interview)
December 1, 1997... A Franco-Haitian poet, essayist and award-winning novelist looks back on his nomadic life, speaks out against totalitarian ideologies and reaffirms his attachment to public spiritedness based on planet-wide solidarity and mutual respect. *...