Malaysia’s bid to achieve World Book City status

MALAYSIA has officially announced Kuala Lumpur’s bid to achieve the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) World Book City status in 2020.

Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid announced this in his speech at the world body’s 39th general assembly’s policy debate session.

Mahdzir, who is also the Malaysia Unesco National Commission president told the assembly that the prestigious World Book City (WBC) status is crucial to nurture reading habits among Malaysians.

“Actively profiling our commitment, Malaysia and the city of Kuala Lumpur, intends to bid for the award of the title of Unesco World Book Capital in 2020,” he said in the the speech.

In a press conference later, Mahdzir said Malaysia would be submitting the application next year.

He said the bidding process was being spearheaded by a working committee comprising representatives from the ministry, Kuala Lumpur City Centre (DBKL), Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), National Books Translation Institute and Malaysia Books Council.

“We will try our best to lobby for the prestigious World Book City status and we will submit the application to Unesco by next year and in the meantime, were are carrying out efforts to improve the reading habits of Malaysians nationwide,” he said.

Mahdzir added that Malaysia, which also sits in the Unesco executive board and the vice chair of Electoral Group (IV) representing the Asia Pacific region, would continue lobbying for the WBC status in the 40th Unesco general assembly scheduled to be held in 2019.

The WBC status is awarded to selected countries for a period of one year, whereby various activities promoting the reading of literacy, arts and culture materials, would be carried out throughout the year .

The WBC status had been awarded to Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates until 2019 while Thailand’s capital, Bangkok was one of the southeast Asian cities awarded the status.

On another note, Mahdzir said the Malaysia Education Development Blueprint 2013-2015 was in line with Unesco’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) vision.

He said Malaysia was committed to continue emphasising on the Higher Education quality and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as the game changer for the Malaysia’s economy.

“With our Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11th MP) spearheaded by the Economy Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia has mapped the 17 SDGs within the 11th MP.

“The economic plan is a peoplecentric vision with the ultimate aim to create a high-income society and inclusive nation by 2020,” he said.

Mahdzir added that there are 17 items under Unesco’s vision under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). One of them is providing education access to all the citizens.

“Actually we have met the SDG elements through the ongoing National Education Blueprint by providing access to education to all our multiracial community both in peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak.

“Our priority is to churn out quality graduates at the teachers training institutes and public universities while at the same time emphasising on early education among young children,” he said.

Mahdzir added that Malaysia was committed to ensure that young children across the country are getting access to education up to the tertiary level, in line with the second wave of the National Education Blueprint from 2017 to 2020.

He later told the assembly that Malaysia was extending the funding of education programmes for nations in Asia Pacific and Africa, through a collaboration with Unesco to June 2019.

He told the assembly that the government was committed to ensure the continuity of the Malaysia FundsIn-Trust (MFIT) under the MalaysiaUnesco Cooperation Programme (MUCP) which was initiated a decade ago, under a new Supplementary Agreement on Cooperation in Education, Sciences, Culture, Communication and Information.

Mahdzir said to date, the project which was mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2009, had benefited the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) located in the Asia Pacific region and Africa through 26 programmes.

He later announced that under the MUCP-MFIT Programme, Malaysia in partnership with Unesco and Asean Secretariat, would be hosting Asean’s first symposium and consultation on the implementation of the Recommendation Concerning the Preser vation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage in Digital Form.

He said the symposium, held in May 2017, produced the action plans for its implementation by the Unesco-Asean member states.

As the current Chair of the Asean Education Ministers Meeting, he said Malaysia also strongly supported the joint commitment between Unesco and Asean countries to address, among others, the issue of out-of-school children through the implementation of the Asean Declaration on Strengthening Education for Out-of-School Children and Youth (OOSCY).

Mahdzir told the assembly that Malaysia was also assisting the provision of education for Rohingya’s Displaced Persons as well as other marginalised groups.

In his speech, Mahdzir also told the assembly that Malaysia and Unesco had actively partnered and hosted the Asia-Pacific Conferences on TVET and Early Childhood Care and Education under the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum of Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme.

“In 2017, Malaysia has achieved another milestone, by hosting the first MOST Regional Forum of Ministers of Social Development for the Asia-Pacific Countries in Kuala Lumpur which was chaired by the Women, Family and Community Development minister

Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim as the president of the Intergovernmental Council (IGC) of the MOST Programme,” he said.