NA UNESCO reps meet in
March to discuss way forward
PHILIPSBURG--Representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in the five Netherlands Antilles islands will meet in March to determine how the organisation will operate under the new constitutional statuses of the islands.
Local UNESCO representative Marcellia Henry, who has been functioning in her current capacity for the past four years, says decisions have to be made on whether each island will apply individually to have a UNESCO arm in their respective islands once the Netherlands Antilles has been dismantled and how the smaller islands such as Saba and Statia will be represented.
“Seeing that we are going for separate status the various UNESCO representatives from the Netherlands Antilles will have to decide how the organisation will continue to function and whether St. Maarten will have to apply for membership on its own.”
Henry said, since her appointment, she has been able to raise awareness on a number of issues including the rights of the women and children, the importance of education and on cultural issues. She would like to continue to operate as the UNESCO local representative and plans to express this interest during the March meeting.
“I have been able to secure many friendships and collaborate with many organisations in St. Maarten focusing on children and women’s rights, education and culture. I have also had the opportunity to work with a lot of people to bring about awareness on many issues.”
