At UNESCO, A New Chapter for Literacy

Posted by David T. Killion / September 19, 2012

Image used by UNESCO to promote women's literacy, September 2012. [UNESCO Image/ Used by Permission]

The days are long for the women of Yeumbeul, a village on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. But after hours of selling fruit in the market, house chores and caretaking for their families, they flock eagerly to the local community center for evening literacy classes. Among them is twenty-year old Kewe Ndiayea, who dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but was forced to leave the school at age eleven when her family could no longer afford the $2 monthly tuition. Today, literacy classes are helping her make this dream a reality, and now Kewe is determined to become the next Diouma Dieng Diakhate, the Senegalese couturier cum political activist.

The Senegal courses are part of the UNESCO Global Partnership for Girls' and Women's Education, a groundbreaking initiative launched in May 2011 that leverages public-private partnerships to address gender disparities in literacy… more »

Posted under: Behind the Scenes

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Why We Should Open SESAME

Posted by David T. Killion / May 12, 2012

An object of the exhibition,

Next week I am going to a meeting in Switzerland for SESAME, which I happen to think is the most exciting and revolutionary scientific undertaking that practically nobody outside of the scientific community has ever heard of.

What is it and why do I think it is so radical and so important?

The first question is easy.

SESAME actually stands for 'Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East' and will be the region's first major multi-country scientific research center. It's being developed under the auspices of UNESCO and is scheduled to open fully in Jordan in 2015. When it is completed, SESAME will be the Middle East's only source of so-called "high intensity synchrotron X-rays," key building blocks for research into biology,… more »

Posted under: Near East and Asia

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Celebrating International Jazz Day

Posted by David T. Killion / April 26, 2012

Louis Armstrong, atop camel, enchants the ancient sphinx and pyramids at Giza, near Cairo, Egypt January 28, 1961. His wife Lucille, lower left, records the scene on film as the camel perks its ears in appreciation of the unusual concert. The Armstrongs are on a U.S. State Department sponsored Goodwill Tour of Africa and the Middle East. [AP File Photo]

Back in the United States my colleagues at the State Department have long recognized the power of jazz as a means of connecting people. More than 50 years ago, the Department launched a landmark jazz diplomacy effort featuring American musical legend Dizzy Gillespie. Ever since then, jazz has been a continuing feature of U.S. cultural engagement programs. (See some great old photos here.)

Well, I am very proud to announce the latest chapter in the State Department's "jazz diplomacy" program kicks… more »

Posted under: Behind the Scenes

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