Three-hundred thousand children from all over the world took part in a contest which requires children to keep a text and picture diary illustrating their contribution to the preservation of the environment and of World Heritage sites. The contest which is titled Panasonic Eco Picture Diary award is part of a longstanding partnership between Panasonic Company and UNESCO’s World Heritage Center helping to raise awareness among the public about the need to ensure the protection of world national heritage and environment.

Twenty eight children were selected as the finalists and were given a three-day trip to Paris and a visit to UNESCO for their participation in the Eco Picture Diary on December 5th, 2013.

This is the third international award ceremony organized by Panasonic in the framework of the partnership with UNESCO’s World Heritage Center.

As the world mourns the passing of Nelson Mandela and celebrates his life, UNESCO paid tribute to former South African President Nelson Mandela earlier this week.

“Nelson Mandela was truly a giant among men,” Irina Bokova said. “He not only changed South Africa’s history, he changed the world and made it a better place. He taught us all a lesson on the power of peace and reconciliation; the importance of forgiveness and respect for the dignity of each and every human being.

“UNESCO is proud and honored to have counted Nelson Mandela as a member of its family,” the Director-General said. “The greatest tribute we can pay him is to carry on his message of hope and to continue his fierce defense of the values he stood for.”

In 1991, Nelson Mandela was awarded the UNESCO-Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize. In later years, he served the Organization as a Goodwill Ambassador.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela  (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through addressing and tackling institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation.

Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Nelson Mandela was the most celebrated of the prisoners on Robben Island in South Africa, incarcerated there as a political prisoner for over 27 years. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999, Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th and 20th centuries as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups and a military base. Its buildings, particularly those of the late 20th century such as the maximum security prison for political prisoners, witness the triumph of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism. The last political prisoners left the island in 1991 and the prison closed down finally in 1996.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) while some of its staff works in Syria trying to destroy the country’s stockpile of chemical weapons. OPCW is an intergovernmental watchdog formed in 1997 to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.

In it’s announcement, The Nobel Committee stated that the work of the OPCW has defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo under international law and that the recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have once again underlined the importance of the elimination of these weapons. 

OPCW which is based in Hague has been mostly an obscure organization has not been able to persuade all countries to become member states and sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Non-members of the OPCW include Israel and Myanmar, which have yet to ratify the convention, and Angola, Egypt, North Korea,South Sudan, which have “neither signed nor acceded” to the convention (www.opcw.org).  The CWC aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties. States Parties, in turn, must take the steps necessary to enforce that prohibition in respect of persons (natural or legal) within their jurisdiction.

In a statement by the OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu, talked about the decision by the Nobel Committee: “The decision by the Nobel Committee to bestow this year’s Peace Prize on the OPCW is a great honor for our Organization. We are a small organization which for over 16 years, and away from the glare of international publicity, has shouldered an onerous but Nobel task – to act as the guardian of the global ban on chemical weapons that took effect in 1997.

That year, a hundred-year effort was crowned with success as the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force. Our organization was tasked to verify the elimination of chemical weapons from the world and to encourage all nations to adhere to this hard-earned norm. “We have since then worked with quiet determination to rid the world of these heinous weapons – weapons which have been used to horrific effect throughout the twentieth century, and, sadly, in our own time too.  We are conscious of the enormous trust that the international community has bestowed on us.  Working to realize the vision of a world free of chemical weapons, we rely on the expertise, professionalism and dedication of our staff – qualities that have been forged through a solid record of achievement.” (http://www.opcw.org/)

The Pasargad Heritage Foundation Presents:

The Nowruz Award March 21, 2013.

This press release has been published by the Pasargad Heritage Foundation to the Personalities of the Year for their vision and efforts to preserve the national, cultural, historical, and natural heritage of Iran that also belongs to all humanity.