At UNESCO conference, Gul calls for investment in culture and education despite economic crisis

President Abdullah Gul, now paying an official visit to Paris at the invitation of his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, yesterday made the opening remarks at a Plenary Ministerial Forum as part of UNESCO's 35th General Assembly. Touching on the global economic crisis, Gul urged nations to work together against it, adding that the downturn underlined the importance of enhanced global governance. "The current crisis has clearly proven that improved global governance carries key importance," he said, calling for a new and reinvigorated spirit of multilateralism to tackle global challenges. Stating that old solutions can no longer be applied to economic problems, Gul called for a restructuring of the world economic and financial system in line with modern economic and political realities. He also said lessons must be learned from the crisis to avoid future crises. Stressing the forum's importance for finding creative solutions to global challenges and improving UNESCO's role in handling them, Gul called on governments from around the world to maintain investment in culture and education despite the crisis. "Governments around the world should resist the temptation to first cut the social sectors, and continue to invest in culture because investing in the protection of cultural heritage means strengthening our societies," Gul said. Calling cultural diversity an engine of economic and social progress, he said that it should be integrated in major developmental strategies along with country-level development programs. Underlining UNESCO's key role in improving cross-cultural dialogue, he called the 2010 UNESCO-led International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures as timely, particularly because fostering mutual understanding is vital to effective conflict prevention. Saying that never before has investment in education and scientific and technological progress been so important, Gul added that no one must let the economic crisis hurt democratic reforms or human rights, particularly freedom of expression, across the world. Gul also spoke of how Turkey supports UNESCO’s priorities, such as the Outreach to Africa policy it launched in 2005. "Working to achieve gender equality is also a priority for Turkey," Gul stated, noting that women in Turkey account for 40% of academics, 54% of health professionals, 33% of law professionals and 27% of diplomats. Gul, the first Turkish president to address UNESCO's General Assembly, also held bilateral talks with its head Koichiro Matsuura. Addressing the forum, Matsuura cautioned, "We must avoid the pitfalls of the 1980s recession, when a reduction in investment hit the social domains. Consider education, for example. Spending on education is one of the best investments a country can make. Research shows that each extra year of schooling increases gross domestic product (GDP) per capita by 4 to 6 percent."