The Philippines was elected by the UNESCO General Conference as a member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Council (IGC) of the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme for the term 2021-2023.
MOST is one of the major programmes of UNESCO under the Social and Human Sciences (SHS) Sector, which promotes the use of social and human science knowledge to support policies and build capacities, transmit knowledge through research-action activities, and contribute to national and international policy debate and agendas.
MOST IGC is composed of 35 Member States of UNESCO which shall establish the priority areas to be researched, decide on overall policy and funding questions, and handle the relations with governmental authorities. Its function includes the approval of strategies and programmes and the facilitation of relations with national research centers and policymakers.
For its membership in the MOST IGC, the Philippines shall be represented by NEDA Undersecretary for Policies and Planning Rosemarie Edillon, supported by the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM), and the Permanent Delegation of the Philippines to UNESCO.
During the SHS Commission meeting of the 41st General Conference on 15 November 2021 in Paris, France, the Philippines highlighted the importance of maximizing partnerships with civil society, the academe, business sector and public and private organizations not just to carry out the proposed programmes but also to extend the sense of commitment in achieving these goals.
In consideration and adoption of the Draft Programme and Budget 2022-2025 (41 C/5) of UNESCO, the Philippines called for greater attention to the SHS Sector stating “if there is a sector that puts greater emphasis to those who are vulnerable and other concerns that receive lesser support, it would have to be the Social and Human Sciences sector. With the continuing and emerging challenges confronting humanity, this sector strongly demands not just our attention but our full commitment towards building an inclusive and just global community.”
The Philippines shall participate in the Review of the new MOST strategy (2022-2029) draft in the upcoming virtual Extraordinary Session of the MOST IGC on 30 November – 01 December 2021. -rir
