This is the fourth issue of Uganda National Commission for UNESCO Magazine which comes when we are just about midway implementing the 2002-2007 UNESCO Medium Term Strategy whose unifying theme is contributing to peace and human development in the era of globalisation through education, science, culture and communication.

This is therefore a good time to review progress on the achievement of this theme. The theme has not been lost to Uganda NATCOM, hence the programmes and activities it has engaged in singularly or with partners over the past years have been geared to addressing this theme. Given the importance of education as the key to all the other sectors, substantial resources have been channelled to support education in its broadest senses. This emphasis tallies very well with the messages of the 47th Session of International Conference on Education of promoting quality education and training for all young people so as to secure a better future and combat social exclusion. A number of articles in this issue therefore address both formal and informal education. Also recognising that education occurs in and is influenced by the cultural setting, that it needs to respond to latest scientific and technological advances as well as benefit from modern communication, the programmes of 2004 also give due attention to activities in this regard.

It was also our honour to host the Director General of UNESCO Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura in Kampala in July 2004. The focus of his visit was to strengthen further collaboration between Uganda and UNESCO. In this regard we are intent not only at strengthening the existing cooperation but also broadening and enlarging its scope. To this end we plan to continue with the overall mission of UNESCO, emphasising its international and regional outlook but, also being mindful of the important national duty the National Commission can play in the areas of education, science, culture and communication. We will strive to promote activities that will lead to achievement of quality education for all Ugandans, that address the important role culture and technology play in our lives, and also recognise the centrality of culture in nation building and in all that we do, as well as empower communities to access timely and relevant information.

To do this well, we plan to evaluate ourselves in the next year and align our international mission with our national aspirations and priorities. This we believe will position us strategically to be active players in the realisation of UNESCO’s goals in Uganda but also integration of Uganda’s aspirations into UNESCO’s mission.