UNESCO Courier articles from June 1996

UNESCO Courier archives from June 1996

Ismael Serageldin: 'a philosophy of development.' (interview with World Bank vice president)(Interview)
June 1, 1996... The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), generally known as the World Bank, was established in 1945 as a result of decisions taken at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at Bretton Woods (U.S.A.). It...

Month by month. (corruption)
June 1, 1996... In one of the opening scenes of a satirical film that enjoyed an enormous success in France a few years back, a seasoned - and corrupt - police officer describes his philosophy of life to a young and as yet untainted colleague as they stroll...

The roots of a long tradition. (corruption)
June 1, 1996... Study of corruption's many forms since Antiquity throws light on the dangers it presents to modern democracy Ever since classical antiquity the central problem of politics in the West has been how to control individuals and groups inclined to...

The underside of globalization. (corruption)
June 1, 1996... Corruption is an old story, one way or another as old as society. Periodically there have been explosions of anger from long-suffering, docile victims seeking to wipe it out. It has been a causal element in most revolutions, sometimes the...

Corruption and democracy.
June 1, 1996... Corruption is a disease that worsens by feeding on itself Political corruption has long been considered a disease typical of the pathological but temporary phases that precede the advent of democracy. According to this reading of events, it...

A hidden enemy. (underground economy)
June 1, 1996... In over-regulated societies the underground economy can act as a safety-valve. In bloated form it jeopardizes economic development and undermines political liberties. What is the connection between a Frenchman who does odd jobs about the house...

Easy come, easy go.... (political corruption)
June 1, 1996... Politics dominated by cronyism and easy money is the road to ruin Corruption in industrialized countries tends to be concentrated in the higher echelons of power; in the developing world it seems to extend to virtually every level of economic...

Glasnost and after. (corruption in the Soviet Union)
June 1, 1996... Institutionalized corruption was one reason for the downfall of the Soviet system In 1987, the "Dictionary of Foreign Words" published in the USSR defined corruption as "Venality and misappropriation of funds by public figures, politicians and...

The virus of power. (corruption)
June 1, 1996... Defence of the rule of law is the best antidote to the misuse of power Corruption is as old as the idea of the state itself. When the French philosopher Montesquieu set forth his theory of the separation of powers in the eighteenth century, he...

What can be done? (fighting corruption)
June 1, 1996... From government action to citizens' initiatives, an arsenal of weapons to fight corruption Corruption is in the news again, and fitfully, almost schizophrenically, we, the public, respond. On the one hand we are outraged. We call for firings...

The press for peace: 'we shall not let voices be silenced.'
June 1, 1996... When a journalist is killed, not only does a person die but a voice is silenced and a part of democracy disappears. The silencing of voices is a well-known way of subverting peace. We shall not allow voices to be silenced. It is UNESCO's duty...

UNESCO past and present. (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
June 1, 1996... The watershed year of 1945 saw the awakening of a new spirit of planetary awareness that was to become one of the hallmarks of our century. The time had come for nations to be more receptive to one another and abolish the distances between them....

A monastery in the mountains. (Bulgaria's Rila monastery)
June 1, 1996... A prestigious monument of Orthodox Christianity in the Balkans, Rila monastery is also one of Bulgaria's richest architectural sites and a focal point of Bulgarian history. It was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1983. In the tenth...

Waterworlds. (floating and underwater facilities)
June 1, 1996... One-third of the world's population today lives less than ten kilometres from a lake or ocean shoreline. In the last fifty years the movement of populations to coastal' regions has been growing, and several countries have already tried to...

Galina Gorchakova: 'music is food for the soul.' (interview with Russian opera singer)(Interview)
June 1, 1996... Russian soprano Galina Gorchakova is one of today's most expressive opera singers. The daughter of musicians, she was educated at the Conservatory of Novosibirsk in Siberia. Since making her debut in Russia in 1988 she has sung on the world's...

'Culture must be one of the foundations for world understanding.'
June 1, 1996... In order to grasp the full significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is well to he fully aware of the world situation that gave birth to the United Nations and to UNESCO. The devastation wrought by the wars of the last half...