Paris, 17 November 2021 (TDI): The Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education, Valery Falkov; recently participated in a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting. Falkov’s speech raised there multiple points, on 15 November.
UNESCO’S SPEECH
In his speech, he talked about the significance of preserving world cultural heritage. Minister Falkov prompted that Russia was dedicated to cultural preservation. Falkov directed his speech towards members of the UNESCO conference as well as the wider international community.
Then invited member states of UNESCO to attend the 45th Anniversary session of the World Heritage Committee taking place in Kazan in June 2022. The States further discussed on implementing the aforementioned preservation would take place.
Falkov also acknowledged the widespread issues of information and journalistic ethics. He reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to protecting freedom of speech as imposed by international commitments.
However, about that, he raised the matter of journalistic ethics, inferring that the media should make sure to stick to ethical guidelines, even if it means compromising on free speech. He further mentioned his intention of working with UNESCO in this area.
In addition to that, Minister Falkov stated that the Russian Federation condemns discrimination targeted at linguistic minorities. Particularly, he hopes that the International community acknowledged violations of the Convention against Discrimination in Education, a global issue that he resonates with.
The minister additionally demonstrated that Russia has adopted a certain Code of Ethics in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This ethical code is in line with draft UNESCO recommendations. He imposed that the global community should play an active role in developing such monitoring and evaluation methodologies in the area of AI in their nations.
Falkov congratulated Audrey Azoulay on her re-election to the post of UNESCO Director-general. Finally, he noted the importance of maintaining a respectful dialogue and the principle of equality of states.
RUSSIA’S HISTORY WITH UNESCO
Russia joined UNESCO in 1954. They have a permanent delegation at UNESCO’s offices in Paris. The country ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1988, and they are currently holding the World Heritage Committee Presidency from 2019 to 2023. Also currently Russia has 30 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.
