Japan will make a contribution of almost $10 million to UNESCO to finance the Organization's emergency measures in Ukraine. This amount is made in addition to other contributions Japan decided this year to support UNESCO projects in many other countries.
The Emergency support Japan is providing to UNESCO within the 2022 yearly Supplementary Budget adopted by the Japanese National Diet on December 2nd reaches a record this year. The sum of nearly $16.1 million is to be invested in projects in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Mozambique, Nigeria, Thailand and Yemen.
Most recently, Japan has agreed to donate almost $10 million to finance UNESCO's emergency measures in Ukraine and neighboring countries, in the fields of education, culture and the protection of journalists. This contribution makes Japan the leading partner in UNESCO’s Ukraine response.
The Director-General of UNESCO, and Ambassador Atsuyuki Oike, Permanent Delegate of Japan to UNESCO, signed this new agreement during a ceremony at the Organization's headquarters in Paris (France), on 31 January 2023.
From February, the funds will enable UNESCO to carry out the following projects:
Education: Mental health and psychosocial support for pupils, teachers parents and caregivers. In coordination with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, UNESCO will train 20,000 Ukrainian teachers, parents and caregivers to provide psychosocial interventions. 160,000 vulnerable learners will also be provided with psychosocial support in schools.
Culture: The protection and restoration of sites from the World Heritage List and the National Tentative List – for which the authorities may submit a World Heritage nomination. In coordination with the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, four of these sites will be restored, including the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and ten sites will be provided with an emergency preparedness plan, which will include their full digitization in 3D. These funds will also finance the continuation of the satellite monitoring system and the delivery of additional equipment to protect cultural buildings. About fifty professionals will be trained in urgent stabilization work.
Journalism: Enhanced support for newsrooms. UNESCO will provide psychological support and legal advice to journalists, and increase the number of training courses for media professionals on how to protect themselves in war zones. It will also deliver equipment to newsrooms, in particular electric generators, so they can continue their vital work to inform. Finally, UNESCO will support local media in Moldova, Romania and Slovakia to provide information in the Ukrainian language to refugees in these countries and promote understanding between refugees and host populations.
Source: UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization