Some 200 policy-makers, representatives of regional, sub-regional and non-governmental organizations, donors, members of parliament and experts met in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 5-8 March, to examine issues of education, water, biodiversity, cultural diversity and access to information and knowledge in Africa.

These topics were the core of debate at a seminar sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Blaise Compaoré, the President of Burkina Faso, and John Kufuor, the President of Ghana and of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), participated on 7 March in a high-level session chaired by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura.
The Seminar addressed three main themes: how UNESCO can help its African member states integrate NEPAD’s objectives in their national programmes; the best ways to involve parliamentarians, the private sector, NGOs, and civil society in strategies for development and the struggle against poverty; and how UNESCO, through its African offices, can help in building capacity and encouraging the implementation of regional and sub-regional projects. More information on this meeting is available online at: http://portal.unesco.org/